Ethics In Business
Ethics in Business : Focusing Values for SuccessBy Mark S. PutnamBefore the modern era of "soft skills" employee training like Empowered Leadership, Dress for Success, Customer Service Success, and others, there was the classic harassment and discrimination training. It was around long before business ethics in the workplace training was in vogue and may have been the only non-technical business ethics course available at the time. You've probably taken the same kind of discrimination course a dozen times in your education and career and can recite an anti-discrimination statement word for word. You probably have seen the same business ethics cases a numerous times. But is this the measure of your good business ethics success?As the saying goes, " Familiarity breeds contempt ," and the fact that you've taken the same business ethics course and seen the same business ethics cases a dozen times doesn't indicate that you've learned anything about what it means. It's a cold, hard reality that no one likes getting the short end of the stick because of an unfair advantage or cheating. In every avenue of life, all we want is to get fair shake. That is, we get a fair chance to be judged objectively by our merits and character and not anything else. Ethics in a business is fundamentally about fair play . We call someone who plays by the rules, "ethical." Let's talk about business ethics and values. Any good business ethics system, whether it involves codes of conduct, company rules, or legalities, will fail if the people who are making and following it do not adhere to an ethical code that is rooted in business ethics and values. But talking about "moral values" is a touchy subject, especially in a business and ethics context. Rather than talk about business and ethics and values directly, we prefer a simple crime and punishment approach to dealing with ethics in a business. For the most part, this model gets the desired behavior but it doesn't go below the surface to give employees the whys behind the issue. Herein lies the problem. We need to face the reality of moral absolutes and reject the ethical relativism that creeps in to undermine them. This is controversial territory because we can't get past some basic philosophical questions that block our path. Whose morals are absolute? Should someone dictate morality? How can we accommodate the diversity of people at work? Isn't morality a personal, religious, or philosophical issue? Well in actuality, ethics in the business world is precisely where the discussion of moral absolutes should take place because no arena needs it more desperately. This is where business ethics in the workplace begins. Imagine ethics in business world where ethical codes devoid of moral absolutes. What does that leave you with? What remains, are only good intentions, hollow expectations, and nice sounding ideas. The only thing that provides any semblance of ethics in business is brute force. But, who wants to work in a place like that? A workplace cannot be a police state nor can it be so permissive that it undermines the success of the company. This is not how ethics and business is done. There must maintain a balance between the ethical expectations of the employer and the character of the individual. When both have their ethical foundations built on absolute principles, they are in sync and they will counter the problem of ethical relativism. The challenge for us is to latch on to solid moral absolutes in a busy, hectic, morally-mushy ethics in business world. Moral absolutes are not your enemy. They must not be on the bench but on the field, in uniform, and a part of your ethics in business game plan for success. Avoiding relativism requires a business ethics course that uses business ethics cases that take a stand. In the long run, relativism and unfair play doesn't really help you. When you're facing a tough situation in ethics and business, grab on to the security of timeless moral absolutes. Good business ethics in the workplace are a matter of getting back to business ethics basics, getting rid of the emotion and self-interest. Be convinced that there are moral absolutes and close the door on ethical relativism. Believe it or not, there is a place for this topic in the workplace. It's been there all along but we've been too busy to notice. Let Global Ethics University be yo ur ethics and business partner. Our business ethics course selection covers a variety of business ethics cases that most employees will identify with. Business ethics and values can go together. Good business ethics is something that if you take seriously, you need to have company on your side that cares deeply about ethics in business and has the experience to get the job. |
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