The Issue of Business Ethics: Whistleblowing - Coursework Example

Business ethics by The of the The of the School The and where it is locatedThe Date Business Ethics Introduction If one takes a close look at the society that is formed by human being, one will be able to see that the notion of Ethics occupies a rather important place in it. Indeed, virtually every area of social life is influenced by this abstract concept. In addition to that the modern economic world features a rather close connection to it which contributed to the emerged of business ethics which stands for a set of moral rules and regulations that should guide people in their performance. This paper will analyze the issue of business ethics in general, the phenomenon of whistleblowing as well as apply several ethical theories to it. Business ethics in general Freedom of conscience In order to begin the analysis, it may be rather suitable to quote of one the scholar who said: “the right to freedom of conscience is justified by the interest we have in remaining true to our religious and moral convictions” (Velasquez 2012, p. 427). This is truly a deep as well as a profound statement that should be carefully examined. Thus, the scholar above suggests that freedom of conscience plays an important role in lives of the people. Indeed, one might note that this concept has often been seen as the basis for many other liberties that ensure that people are able to live life to its fullest. In addition to that, freedom of conscience is a principle that is closely connected to establishment of a modern as well as democratic society. For example, the above mentioned concept includes the idea of freedom of religion and this is a provision that is found in many constitutions all over the world. Indeed, the first amendment to the United States Constitution is often referred to as the establishment clause and it clearly states that freedom of religion (and, therefore, freedom of conscience) should be seen as one of the fundamental elements of a new society. Entitlement to freedom of conscience It is particularly important to point out that the above mentioned concept is not an abstract idea that exists in the academic field, but it is a right that people are able to use on a daily basis. Some scholars suggest that entitlement to it happened on the early stages of the social contract which enabled people to retain the sufficient amount of freedom in their mind so that they could have enough space for self expression (Kline 2010, p, 13). Later, it resulted in ability of chief executive officers to propose making a decision that might be a subject of debates. Since a right to freedom of conscience is a right that is often protected by the Constitution, there are some implications that should be taken into account. For example, if this is a right, then the government is able to punish those who violate it as well as protect it if a person is not able to exercise it properly. As a result, freedom of conscience allows people to act in the society in wider limits. Interest in proper behaviour In the above mentioned quote, it is pointed out that people are generally interested in following different kinds of rules and regulations. Thus, one can hardly object to the fact that the major force that drives the behaviour of people is the desire to achieve a certain positive outcome (Fisher & Lovell 2009, p. 36). This means that the society encourages people to follow certain guidelines as they are thought to lead to the desired results. This means that the right to freedom of conscience is also backed up by the inclination of a person to achieve positive outcome. What is more important is that this interest is natural for people and can be seen in almost every area of social life. Personal, formal or professional relations are equally influenced by the need to succeed. While sometimes there might be a situation when this may contradict with the rules which were established by the society, freedom of conscience allow people to operate in the grey area. In addition to that, this principle also reflects the natural desire of people to succeed regardless of the circumstances which often contributes to the emergence of different conflicts. Religious convictions It has been pointed out that the religious convictions have a considerable impact on the way people act. Indeed, the majority of the secular scholars note that religion should be recognized as an important factor that has a potential of modifying behaviour of the people in a particular way (Rowson 2006, p. 23). Indeed, if one analyzes the notion of business ethics from a broad perspective, one will be able to see that in different parts of the world it might be heavily influenced by the local religions. For example, it would not be logical to expect people who live in the Middle East to adopt the same view on the freedom of conscience as their counterparts in the Western countries would. Speaking of the significance of religious convictions when it comes to interaction with the notion of ethics, one should point out that the former introduce a higher supernatural power the authority of which is thought to be guiding people through ethical dilemmas. The peculiarity of this approach lies in the fact that people are largely motivated by some external forces to comply with certain rules. While some might suggest that this is oppression of one’s will, the people are willing to do so to achieve better consequences. Moral convictions Similar to the previously discussed kind of convictions, the one that will be analyzed in this section also serves as a modifier of one’s behaviour. Indeed, in the secular society morality is often seen as the counterpart of religion, equally effective when it comes to influencing people (Crane & Matten 2010, p. 14). Nevertheless, the major difference between them lies in the fact that the former utilizes forces that are located inside the mind of a person to guide one’s actions. Indeed, if the religious convictions utilize the image of the deity to have impact on a person, moral convictions operate with abstract values. In spite of the fact that they may not evoke an emotional response that is as deep as the one that is provoked by religion, they are able to be rather helpful when it comes to making a decision over a controversial problem. The major advantage of this approach lies in the fact that it allows people to be guided by the principles that they choose and not be guided by some external forces. This is particularly advantageous for the people who are willing to retain independence in every situation. Whistleblowing Overview of the practice If one takes a close view at the above mentioned phenomenon, one will have to point out that similar practice is primarily witnessed in the end of the twentieth century (Bickle & Cato 2008, p. 66). Indeed, during this period of time, the society pays attention to individuals who are willing to disclose the negative practices of the company that they are working for. The next logical step was to make sure that these people are not punished. A careful examination of the applicable legislature will reveal that the majority of it is relatively new. In other words, the phenomenon in question is also quite modern reflecting the shift in the thinking of the people. One of the major points that should be taken into account focuses on the fact that whistleblowing often occurs when there is a serious ethical dilemmas that can not be resolved otherwise, but with the help of disclosing it and engaging help from the public. In other words, there is a scope of issues that often provoke people to blow the whistle on them. This means that the very fact that such action is done already reflects the seriousness of the problem. With this in mind, it may be particularly important to examine this phenomenon. Legitimate rights of a company To begin with, it may be particularly important to point out that the practice of whistleblowing is in deep conflict with the legitimate rights that every company is entitled to. For example, the latter is able to design performance in the fact that it deems appropriate. Of course, there are some restrictions on this, but in the majority of the cases organizations are able to find balance between legal norms and the most effective practice. However, each company also must be held accountable for its actions. That is why the right to design performance is balanced by the need to comply with the rules and regulations. That is why every organization should be feature transparency when it comes to actions that it performs. In other words, it may be breaking laws, but the punishment of it will be inevitable since every company is the object of public scrutiny to a certain extent. That is why the may never rest assured that the practices that they apply will be a secret to law enforcing agencies or the government. The position of the shareholders The next perspective that should be taken into account is the one which shareholders have. Thus, it is beyond any doubt that the interest of the latter is primarily focused on the desire to maximize the investment that they made (Steurer, Langer, Konrad & Martinuzzi 2005, 267). In other words, business ethics and the way a company complies with it is none of their concern as they are motivated by the outcome. One would make no mistake that a shareholder that has only a couple of shares might be willing to pay attention to peculiarities of performance. However, as the number of shares grows, so that the amount of money that was spent on buying them; in the end, a person is far more interested in keeping the company profitable rather than ethical. However, it would not be a mistake to suggest that shareholders are motivated by greed only. They understand that they might be help responsible if the company that they invested into commits some kind of an offense. That is why they also want to make sure that the management does not perform any practices that age against the law (Goodpaster 1991, p. 54). In other words, the shareholders might also act as those who urge the senior management to imply more ethical practices, not because of the love for this kind of performance, but rather to make sure that they stay on the safe side. Employees of a company The next significant party that should be taken into account includes the employees that work in a company. Thus, their motivation is rather easily understandable: they do their best to earn money. As a result, they would favour any innovations that would enhance productivity and wait for a rise of payment that they receive. However, in the majority of cases, it is employees who initiate whistleblowing. The explanation for it can be found in the fact that they do not want to be told what to do, especially when it comes to performing some controversial practices. For example, a certain part of staff might be know about the way a company is able to avoid punishment for certain actions that it performs; these people might be encouraged to keep silent by fear (a possibility of dismissal) or bribery (additional bonuses to their payment). Nevertheless, when the employees understand that what is really at stake, they might be willing to be under the protection of whistleblower legislation to restore the balance. Organization in general Finally, one should also take a close look at the organization in general and see how it is affected by the consequences of whistleblowing. To begin with, it is important to note that any company is willing to gain a full control over the flow of information inside of it as well as make sure that the relationship with the public is maintained in a proper way. Keeping this in mind, one might point out that the phenomenon of whistleblowing goes against all the interest of a company and will be heavily condemned. In order to make sure that the negative practices are not being exposed, it is quite possible that the company would try to keep different department separate, so that no one would be able to gain a full picture. In other words, whistleblowing is likely to occur when a person understands the scope as well as the depth of deception and is willing to deal with it with the help of forces that are greater than the one which the company has. In other words, the power of a company is being overridden by the public opinion and applicable legislation. Application of ethical theories Utilitarian theory The first theory that will be engaged when it comes to exploring the issues of business ethics and whistleblowing is called Utilitarianism. According to it, every action should be judged according to the amount of happiness that it is able to generate (Brandt 1992, p. 130). There is no doubt that in the business world, the utility that is brought by an action is something that can be measures in financial terms. So, adherence to the provision of business ethics as well as the values of whistleblowing will be judged whether it is beneficial for the company. For example, let us imagine that the use of a controversial practice may be quite effective in terms of cost reductions. In addition to that, there is a high possibility of that this practice will never be disclosed. There is no doubt that utilization of it will bring a considerable amount of benefits to a company. That is why from the point of view of utilitarianism, in case the punishment may be avoided for sure, a controversial practice might be applied as it is more effect if compared to a different, more ethical one. Kantian Theory The next theory that should be taken into account is the one which was developed by Immanuel Kant. According to him, actions of people should be guided by a universal duty (Vilcox 2007, p. 57). In this case, the issue of adherence to business ethics as well as necessity to disclose negative practices do not pose an ethical dilemma: there is no other way, but to follow a duty to be an ethical company regardless of the negative consequences that such a behaviour might bring. From the point of view of this theory, the notion of social responsibility becomes an irreplaceable part of performance since it is seen as one of the essential duties of a company. In other words, the world of business should be guided not by the desire to maximize the return on investment, but the desire to adhere to the duty of being a company that does not try to bring any negative consequences to the society where it operates. What is more important is that the connection between the company and the society will be an extremely strong one, urging the former to adhere to the guidelines in every situation. Ethics of Care There is another theory of ethics that should be engaged while considering the issues in question. It must be noted that Ethics of Care pays a considerable amount of attention to responsibility that a company has when it comes to its relationship with the shareholders, the employees as well as the society in general. That is why adhering to the guidelines which are provided by business ethics and performance of whistleblowing might be regarded as a legitimate response to violations of the above mentioned responsibility. Another concept that this theory operates with is competence and might be projected onto the situations in the following manner: a company should recognize the amount of power that it holds and use it to mitigate any negative consequences that I might have caused in order to restore state of affairs. In other words, any organization should understand that it there might be situations when the damage that is done by it can hardly be reversed by any efforts. That is why the primary objective of a company is to never let actions that are beyond its power happen. Virtue Ethics The last ethical theory that will provide its own point of view on the above mentioned issues is Virtue Ethics. According to it, a company should have a specific image that is wants to reflect and never perform actions that are incompatible with it (Mizzoni 2010, p. 25). For example, if a company wants to position itself as a social responsible as well as an ethical one, it should not rely on the work of the so called sweatshops overseas since it will most certainly ruins it image and will undermine the trust of the people to it. Another point that should be mentioned is that while considering issues through the prism of business ethics, a company should try to find the golden mean between difference vices so that it could reach a virtue. For example, a company might introduce a rigid system of monitoring or let employee do what even they want in the workplace. In any case there will be a vice. However, the virtue will appear when the work inside a company is structures in a way so that every person is held responsible for one’s actions in case negative consequences are generated because of it. Conclusion Having examined all the points which were brought up in the paragraphs above, one will be able to suggest that the issue of business ethics, the phenomenon of whistleblowing as well as application of various ethical theory is a rather complex one. Indeed, there are many aspects that should be taken into account if one wants to develop an objective understanding of it. However, the most important point that that the desire to follow the rules and regulations should originate from within the organization. In this case the impact will be the biggest and it will allow the organization to modify its behaviour properly. References Bickle, R., & Scott Cato, M. (2008). New Views of Society. Glasgow: S.L.R.P. Glasgow. Brandt, R. (1992). Morality, utilitarianism, and rights. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2010). Business Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Fisher, C., & Lovell, A. (2009). Business ethics and values. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall. Goodpaster, K. (1991). Business Ethics and Stakeholder Analysis. Business Ethics Quarterly, 12(1), 53-73. Kline, J. (2010). Ethics for international business decision making in a global political economy. London: Routledge. Mizzoni, J. (2010). Ethics: The basics. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. Nonaka, I. (1991). The Knowledge-creating Company. Harvard Business Review, 69(6), 96-104. 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