Business Ethical Values - Essay Example

Values of both employers and employees, therefore, significantly determine success of a business. By designing suitable ethical expectations and codes of conduct, businesses ensure that ethical principles are upheld. While exploring significance of business ethics, Fisher & Lovell (2009) concludes that there is a strong correlation between individual values and business ethics. This paper explores specific values that make business leaders ethical. Choosing Best Values While choosing best values, it is important to select values and ethics that you not only believe in, but also define your character.

After the selection procedure, Glass (1981) advises that an individual must visibly live by the values every day. Living one’s values is a powerful tool for leading and influencing others. In business, values of employees and employers are dependent on one another. Thus, freedom of a business leader to choose ethical values depends on set of values defined by employees. Nevertheless, an ethical business leader, according to Guth (1999), is described by the following five traits: willingly chooses to lead, good role model to others, provides feasible future vision, provides inspiration, and makes other people feel appreciated and important.

Values that Make Business Leaders Ethical Honestly is the first and foremost value that business leaders must practice to become ethical (MSG, 2012). The value determines commitment of business leaders to observance of business principles in both favorable and unfavorable conditions. Mollie (2011) asserts that several corporations have different manuals with slogans encouraging commitment of workers to honesty. Integrity is another vale that makes business leaders ethical. Mollie (2011) defines integrity as possession of strong adherence to professional standards and/or moral principles.

Integrity, therefore, connotes stability, consistency, and strength of a leader. In other words, integrity implies that a leader is readily willing to take a high road by applying the most valuable ethical standards. Rhode (2006), however, defines integrity as a state of completeness and wholeness. Thus, based on Rhode’s definition (2006), demonstrating integrity indicates soundness and completeness in a leader’s character and in his/her organization. Responsibility, as another value, is an integral part of business ethics.

A responsible leader is accountable for his/her actions and decisions. He/she carries the entire liability of any judgment made in his/her organization. Irresponsibility, on the other hand, erodes cohesion and respect in any organization. That is, irresponsibility increases blame games and wrongful victimization in an organization. Rhode (2006), nonetheless, perceives actions and responsibility as both a cause and a result of the other. That is, actions or decisions a leader makes determine whether he/she is a responsible individual or not.

Conversely, being responsible in small actions or making sound judgment determines weight of tasks a leader is allocated. Responsibility is closely related to quality, which is another important value in business ethics. Quality measures output of a leader. Quality should not only focus on production of best products, but should also extend to every facet of a leader. A leader who appraises quality and struggles for it daily develops a deep sense of