Business ethics is important and required in all business activities as well as any companies. But, why is this important? One thing for sure, it ensures that all company activities are conducted in line with the standards and rules. Read further information though the explanation below.

What is Business Ethics?

Each company has different ethics. The fundamental goal of it is to establish a positive and healthy relationship between employees, management, and other external parties.

Not only that, but this kind of ethics also refers to the norms and rules that employees must stick to. Why? Because the use of this ethics may aid in the transparency, morality, and professionalism of office activities.

According to an expert, Velasquez, business ethics is a discipline that focuses on what’s right and wrong. This involves considering whether moral principles may be applied in the context of a company or organization.

The other expert, Josephus, thinks business ethics as “applied ethics” in which these concepts are “usually incorporated in human activities such as doing business.” As a result, the goal of applying it is to improve the moral behavior of businesspeople in their everyday activities.

What is the Purpose of Business Ethics?

So, why should you be concerned about this matter? What is the purpose of this? The following are some of the goals of this ethics.

Established effective management procedures

Ethics and standards are created to prevent fraud, unprofessionalism, negative image, and unproductive and inefficient company operations. As a result, it is critical for businesspeople to develop ethics to prevent some bad things from happening.

Motivate Your Employees.

One of the goals of ethics in the business is to encourage people in the organization to develop their skills and engage in as many economic activities as possible. This will motivate not only the employees but also the company to keep growing and innovating.

Enhance Your Relationship.

When we talk about ethics, we’re referring to a set of rules that must be followed. These positive principles should be implemented in order to develop good relations between people in the organization.

Benefits of Business Ethics

Applying business ethics also has good benefits for the company. The benefits are:

Upholding Morality

First, the benefit of ethics is to uphold morality. Ethics and morality have a close relationship where they will affect positively on the behavior and morals of the employees themselves.

Increase Trust

Second, the benefit of ethics is to increase trust. Building trust between a company and consumers can start with honesty. Companies that apply the ethics have the potential to get loyalty and recommendations from consumers. Remember, word of mouth plays an important role in increasing consumers’ trust.

Establish a Good Image for the Company

The third advantage is that it helps to establish a positive corporate image. A favorable image will influence the increasing presence of customers. It also helps a company to develop and reach its goals.

Profit Growth

This ethics can also increase profitability. It starts from increasing consumers’ trust and building a good company image, and those things will lead to an increase in earnings.

Business Ethics Principles

Following are the principles; honesty, faithfulness, autonomy, moral code and win-win situation.

Honesty

The first ethics principle is honesty. Honesty, believe it or not, can be the key to your company’s success. Because honesty represents a company’s value, and this value will subsequently impact customer trust.

Loyalty is important in business ethics

The second ethics principle is loyalty. Sincerity and loyalty can be utilized as work standards, but the business must also stick to its vision and goal.

Autonomy

The fourth ethics principle is autonomy. It is mostly about making wise decisions based on the regulations, conditions, and other aspects.

Moral integrity

Moral integrity is the fifth ethics principle. Companies must constantly strive not only for a good reputation, but also for building trust. This trust extends not only to customers, but also to all corporate employees.

A win-win situation

Finally, the sixth ethics concept is mutual benefit. In the end, having business ethics will benefit all parties –employees, companies, and customers.

Business Ethics Violation

How often have you heard of corporations attempting to benefit from criminal activity? That can be considered a business ethics violation. Here are the other examples.

Theft and fraud

Fraud and theft involve manipulation of information and earnings as well as personal data theft. This is hazardous because it means individual privacy is not being protected.

Bribery

Bribery may be defined as any activity involving the exchange of goods or money in exchange for specific benefits. Bribing contractors, for example, so that they do not perform what their rivals want.

Discrimination

Third, discrimination is a breach of professional ethics. Ethnic, racial, and religious discrimination are still commonly found in the workplace.

Destruction of the environment

Environmental destruction is also a breach of the ethics of business. Many people are unaware of the relevance of the environment to human life. Indeed, environmental destruction may be a cause of disasters such as floods and landslides.

Business Ethics Examples

The following are some instances of business ethics in Indonesia.

Basic Business Ethics: Say Sorry, Please, and Thank You

Saying sorry, please, and thank you is the first example of business etiquette. The words sorry, please, and thank you are meaningful and bring positive vibes. If you are incorrect, need help, or feeling grateful for something, don’t be afraid to utter these things.

Maintain a Positive Attitude

The second example of the ethics of business is maintaining a positive attitude. There is a lot you can do to demonstrate these traits in yourself. For example, when getting to know each other, stand up, bow, and don’t keep your hands in your pockets.

Recalling a Name

Remembering names is a third example of the ethics of business. Even though it may seem insignificant, knowing someone’s name shows them respect and comfort since it may be the start of your relationship with them.

Business ethics is a standard that must be followed by all people in the organization in order to be able to manage the employees and business, as well as the environment around. Remember that all benefits of the ethics of business above can be achieved or reached if you implement this ethics consistently.