Being ethical when it comes to any form of business process does not, in any way, hinder a company or a corporation from being in the front row of the top competitive companies list. In fact, according to the Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals in Business (2011), being ethical or simply considering ethics and ethical implications in every decision that is related with a business is kind of a prerequisite to be on top of the competition.
One company indeed needs to have an appropriate level of expertise but they must never forget that considering confidentiality, integrity and competence and other ethical and professionally related values should be done at all at the same time. This is rather an ideal model of business and so far, I believe that no single company has ever achieved. It may be hard to achieve but it is not impossible.
Values like secrecy when it comes to business process, like for businesses like banks for example can have a greater impact if you are going to compare it with other companies like a simple supermarket where secrecy is not that highly-valued. Nevertheless, incorporating all of these ethical values in the overall practice of a company should still provide an optimum level of competence both professionally and ethically (Fieser, 2011).
The companies Microsoft and Apple which are competing for market shares of computer products would be one of the best examples. Even though they treat each other as a tight competitor, they still do not forget about the importance of ethics in business although there are times that one crosses the line and the other one has to take it lightly to avoid further conflicts and vice versa.
References
Association for Accountants and Financial Professionals in Business. (2011). IMA Statement of
Ethical Professional Practice. New Jersey.
Fieser, J. (2011). Approaches to Business Ethics. Business Ethics. Accessed Novermber 2011.
Available at http://www.utm.edu/staff/jfieser/vita/research/Busbook.htm.
