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BUSINESS ETHICS AND SOCIETY

Societys expectations from Business

The fast rate of the changing technological, economic and political environmentis giving way to crisis in societies . Demands of society from business are on therise. The increase in consumerism and market competition is leading toquestionable ethics and illegal activities in society and business. Society basicallydemands that the business meets in societal obligations.

Societys expectations can be divided into categories!

Stakeholder

"roductivity with #uality

"hilanthropy

"rogressive

Values for Managers

$ professional %anager acts as a link between policy making body and workers.&e demonstrates a responsibility towards people, processes and the environment .&e develops a collaborative approach in building relationships, work in harmonywith his team and generates results. 'or this critical role, values are essentialinputs. (n fact, the company and the business live its leadership through itsmanagers.

There are however certain cultural contradictions. )rgani*ation cultures are builtup over the years, layer by layer. $part from the basic purpose of making moneyfor the stakeholders, an organi*ation is expected to hold all the employees and

stakeholders together . )rgani*ational culture is defined as shared values andmeanings which its leaders hold in common. These shared values are handled and

practiced by the leaders by the managers of the organi*ation. +orporate culturegoes around the organi*ation and evolves in time with!

eadership styles, values and practices. -y leaders setting examples ewards and punishments

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The rites, rituals and symbols the company keeps(n any organi*ation the culture is open and hidden, formal and informal. /hat isin reality may be entirely different than what is stated or written. (n the sameorgani*ation there may exist different or contradictory cultures in separatedepartments or *onal offices etc. The existence of such cultural differences leadsto difficulties in introducing ethical programs.

These cultural differences in a business house can be observed by studying! /hat the company writes about its own culture in terms of mission and

vision Study of physical conditions &ow the company treats its stakeholders &ow the manpower is utili*ed 0mployment conditions.

(f there are any hidden agendas of the companys top management, then thecompany culture goes down and gives rise to unethical activities.

Spirituality and Leadership

The various philosophical literatures have helped to redefine leadership whichincludes human and spiritual domains in their work. Spirituality is defined as theultimate meaning and purpose of life . 'rom the spiritual perspective a leadershould!

)bey ones conscience while making difficult decisions or when one is ina dilemma.

(ntegrity in dilemma (ntegrity and truthfulness 0nsure care and concern that harm does not occur and if at all it does, little

harm is done to fewer people. "rayer and patience in decision making.

Internal Policies

The purpose and core ideology of a company is pushed down the line to allemployees by internal policies, conduct rules and practices . The internal policieshold together the internal organi*ation system. (t is a link which combines vision,strategy, people, system and operations of the organi*ations. $ligning the systemis a necessity and not a luxury especially in large organi*ation which are spread

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geographically. The features of the internal ethical policies of a company shouldhave!

$lignment of the ethical policies with the vision, mission, values and codesof the company .

"olicies are made known to all stake holders, particularly to internal people by proper documentation, education and by effective rewards and punishments system .

The ethical policies should be clear so that the information is direct to the point and no confusion exists.

Document all current practices in the decision making in the organi*ation. 1pgrade policies and bench mark with the best. -e flexible in policy making to include different variety of situations and

also to accommodate new ideas.

SUMMARY

The growth of business and industry is making following of ethical rules andconduct important in all human activities. Society now expects lot of things from

businesses. The stakeholders are active and demand good governance. Theconsumer looks to good products of quality at affordable prices and value for hismoney. The general public and local governments expect philanthropy for the

society in which the business is located. (t is considered as a 2give back3 from theindustry for use of the societal resources. The investors and government expect business to be futuristic for its survival and growth. (n all business or industrydealings, society expects fairness and ethico4morals norms to be followed.)rgani*ation vision and practices should match these goals.

-usiness maga*ines are generally filled with stories of companies in trouble dueto bribery, corruption, tax evasion or court cases of some bad activities. Theseexamples act as deterrents of business ethics. Societys expectations are very highfrom the business and the industry. The society wants the business and theindustry to be industry friendly, a philanthropist, and progressive and improvevalue to the customers. The professional bodies and statutory authorities aredeveloping ethical codes to managers to guide them on ethical ways in doing

business.

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