Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Business Ethics - Essay Example In a contemporary organisation, ethical issues include fair trade, sustainability, globalisation and most importantly corporate social responsibility. According to the traditional approach, the key objectives of the entity are to make profits and come up strategies of attaining this (Ardalan, 2008:513). The modern approach states the organisation’s performance and accountability of the organisation. The modern ethical organisation of an entity in the twenty first century explains that success of the entity is determined by the combination of the 4Ps strategy. As earlier mentioned, the organisation’s main objective is to make profits for the shareholders. The major characteristic of an ethical organisation is one that puts the matters affecting the people at heart (Ardalan, 2008:514). These include employees, customers, suppliers, the community at large, stakeholders and other parties that are interested in the company’s operations. It can be observed that stakeho lders are either internal or external and have a huge impact on the organisation’s ethics. The organisation should take environmental issues in consideration with regards to sustainability and fair trade (Maignan and Ferrell, 2004:45). The company has a social responsibility over the global environment and should take into account the expectations of the public. The core ethical principles of the entity are integrity, truth and honesty. These principles have to be in line with the environment in which it operates and within the organisation. This enhances the sustained success of the entity in the long run. In the contemporary business environment ethics should be constantly managed in an entity and it is imperative to understand the ethical value of the company (Maignan and Ferrel, 2005:34). An analysis of the elements in an ethical management framework to give a deeper understanding of the ethical status of an entity should be carried out. Firstly, the leadership and senior management has to show commitment towards the program (Maignan and Ferrel, 2004:34). Secondly, there should be an assessment of the efficiency of ethical value in the organisation. Thirdly, there should be codification of the ethics and proper communication within the entity (Maignan and Ferrell, 2005:45). Fourthly, there should be formalisation of the code of ethics through proper training and communication (Maignan and Ferrel, 2005:34). Lastly, the code of ethics should be integrated into the organisation’s culture. In order to achieve this, the leadership should be on the forefront in ensuring the company’s ethics are upheld. Some of the unethical considerations in the operations of the organisation entail issues that are not necessarily illegal but are viewed as being unethical (Maignan and Ferrell, 2004:45). Examples of such cases include lack of transparency, exploitation as to maximise profits, environmental pollution, and misuse of power, reputation and confli ct. The organisation’s activities are impacted directly or indirectly by the stakeholders (Maignan and Ferrel, 2005:34). External stakeholders include regulatory bodies, advertising agencies, competitors, consumers and other interest groups. The internal stake holders include the entity’s top management, employees and other departments in the company (Maig