The business world is sometimes characterized as devoid of any type of ethical standards, but in reality, the business world is held to quite stringent ethical standards. Ethics in business are a necessary part of doing business; without ethical considerations, the already-dog-eat-dog world of business would become even more cutthroat and abusive. When considering a strategic plan, for example, it is very important to take into consideration the appropriate ethical and moral actions to take in any given business situation.
When management in a company decides to design a business, they rarely go into the design process planning to create a business that is ethically unsound. If all ethical decisions were simple and easy, then there would be no need for business ethics to be a field of study. Many ethical considerations are complex and convoluted, and upper-level management may stumble into ethical quandaries that they did not foresee. When creating a strategic plan for a business, the first ethical issue that many upper-level management personnel consider is their ethical responsibilities to the stakeholder (Pierce and Robinson, 2011).
Linked to the issue of transparency in business and decision-making is the issue of independence. Team members at the upper levels of management cannot be under any type of duress or psychological intimidation when making ethical decisions regarding business strategy; if they are, then the likelihood of the individual making poor ethical decisions increases dramatically (Pierce and Robinson, 2011). When participating in strategic planning sessions, all the members involved should be respected as equal or, at the very least, given equal opportunity to air their concerns to the group at large; this will foster fair treatment and balanced discussion in the long run (Pierce and Robinson, 2011).
Behaving in an ethically and socially-responsible way in a business environment is not very different from behaving ethically and socially responsible in any other environment, but when money is involved, people frequently forget their moral and ethical obligations to themselves and to the other people involved in the process. This is why having transparency and a variety of people involved in the strategic planning process will help avoid any potential ethical issues that may arise.
When individuals are left to their own devices in the business world, they can quickly become overwhelmed by the potential to make a lot of money-- Bernie Madoff is an excellent example of this type of individual. However, when a group is involved, there is a much higher likelihood that ethical decisions will be made by the group as a whole; it is a type of failsafe for the business (Lennick and Kiel, 2005).
A socially-responsible business will treat all stakeholders in the business in a fair and ethical manner. The definition of “fair and ethical” may vary slightly from business to business, but the idea is the same regardless of the type of business: everyone involved in doing business with a socially-responsible business will be treated with respect and fairness (Pierce and Robinson, 2011). If a business begins to treat one client differently than another, then not only the client, but the business’ reputation will suffer in the long run.
I began this program with a certain bias towards an adherence to rules and the governing principles of an organization. However, with education and research, I have come to the conclusion that a strict adherence to rules, while a good methodology in general, can sometimes lead to poor decision-making in ethically-ambiguous situations (Lennick and Kiel, 2005).
As I have gotten older and better-educated on the issues that people face in the business world, I have come to have a more blended approach to ethical considerations. When the rule applies and causes no severe harm, it should be applied; in cases where a rule does cause harm, it should be re-examined and potentially put to the side. This, I believe, is the difference between following the “letter” of the law and the “spirit” of the law.
Ethical decisions should be made in business with the harm they could cause in mind. There will always be a decision that must be made that will harm someone; lay-offs, for example, may be a necessity when it comes to saving a business, even though they may harm many people in the process. However, when a decision is made that betters the position of one party while severely harming another, and the decision was not a necessity for the first party, the decision should be considered again on an ethical basis.
Similarly, I have come to the conclusion that poor ethical choices are less likely to be made by groups, but that they can still be made; just because a group agrees that a certain decision is right and ethical does not mean that the decision is ethical (Lennick and Kiel, 2005). Maintaining autonomy of thought and creating an environment where speaking one’s mind is valued is fundamentally important in the business world.
References
Lennick, D., & Kiel, F. (2005). Moral intelligence: Enhancing business performance and leadership success. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Wharton School Pub.
Pearce, J. A., & Robinson, R. B. (2011). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
