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Most business owners and managers know what the term “ethics” means. However, society has been changing so rapidly in terms of values and beliefs that few people really know how “ethics” relates to specific business problems. Ethics, for many, is simply a term that encompasses a wide range of situation with little meaning. This article discusses ethics, research on ethics, and how to make ethical decisions. Ethics is based upon a person’s culture and only mildly on the company someone works for (Bernardi, Neidermeyer & Schmee, 2007). Depending on which culture you work for, you will have a different set of ethical values. The company has only a mild influence on your behavior but what your culture/country values is what defines you. Within the large country of the United States we have different cultures and set of ethics based upon your race, religion, geographic location, and income. For example if you are a white, well-to-do capitalist you will have a different set of values than a black inner-city member who is attempting to make ends meet. These values affect your decision making process. Poor ethical decisions increase the chance of government interference. If a business owner acts unethically there are an increased chance that they will be prosecuted, sued, audited and/or incur government legislation. Take Anderson and new Sarbanes Oxley (Kaplan, Roush & Thorne, 2007) legislation or Kenneth Lay and his prosecution as a warning. Kinds of Ethical Standards: The Utilitarian Approach: Tries to increase good and reduce bad. Everything is judged by its results. The Rights Approach: Everything is judged by the rights of everyone else. If you are violating someone’s rights it is not moral no matter how many people are being helped. The Fairness or Justice Approach: Everyone is treated fairly depending on some defensible standard. Thus if you work harder and produce more you should receive more compensation. The Virtue Approach: The almost forgotten virtue approach states that people evaluate their behavior by their higher standard of existence. For example, displaying courage, forgiveness, kindness, fairness, justice, etc. a person is acting with ethics. Business owners and managers may still be confused as to whether or not they are making a proper ethical decision. Each time you are faced with this problem simply ask yourself, "If my decision was on the front page of the local newspaper how would I feel?" If you are proud and could live with the decision then you have problably made the right one. However, if you would be embarrassed or shunned by society you have made the wrong one. Murad Ali is a three-time business author, a Ph.D. candidate and a human resource manager. http://www.thenewbusinessworld.blogspot.com
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