Ethics in business dictate how we as individuals are to conduct oneself in a corporate environment. Without ethical standards tailored to organizational needs the organization finds itself venerable to ethical issues such as harassment, conflicts of interest, or the proper use of corporate resources. Business ethics go a step above personal ethics and two steps above the law to ensure that there are not violations that could result in a poor staff or legal action. The following defines business ethics and clarifies conflicts within the issues of harassment, conflicts of interest, and proper use of corporate resources.
According to Trevino and Nelson (2007), "ethics can be defined as 'a set of moral principals or values'." Knowing the difference or right and wrong, good from evil, bad from good is how ethics can be defined. Business ethics go a step further and create guidelines for conduct within the business environment. These ethical standards set by an organization govern how employees conduct behaviors while working for the organizational goals.
Journal of Business Ethics
Society for Business Ethics
Institute of Business EthicsIssues such as what is acceptable use of company technology, permissible and impermissible behavior on company time, and what channels to go through if an individual is concerned with a behavior are a few problems that ethical structuring can aid an organization. The organization will benefit by having well informed ethical employees and the individual will benefit by knowing that he or she is acting with business ethics in mind.
An example of an ethical dilemma may include the harassment boundaries, both sexually and otherwise. Harassment in the workplace is becoming an ever-increasing obstacle for employers to hurdle over. The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) defines harassment in the workplace as a form of discrimination. One may also view his or her work environment as hostile creating even more ethical dilemmas to solve. One...