Is the Term Business Ethics an Oxymoron - Coursework Example

Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : xxxxxxxxxxx Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx @2013 СОRРОRАTЕ SОСIАL RЕSРОNSIBILITY & BUSINЕSS ЕTHIСS АSSIGNMЕNT Tropic: Is the term 'business ethics' an oxymoron? Ethics is inseparable with human being and every thing that is a delivertive of human beings for instance institutions such as schools, behaviors and even any kind of profession such as teaching and physicians. As such, ethics as many scholars have defined it is a set of standards that limits behavior making those behaviors to be morally right. Indeed according to Cohen (2003, Pp 446) for instance ethical standards encourage people to refrain from behaviors such as assault, slander, fraud and any ant social behaviors. At the same time, ethics encourages valuable virtues such as honesty, compassions and loyalty. Further according to Cohen (2003, Pp 446) ethics also require one to constantly review their own moral beliefs and their moral conducts and making effort to ensure that they and the institutions they helps to shape, live up to standards that are reasonable and social-based. In business organization there has been contradiction between business ethics and the chase for profit. Some times entrepreneurs have found themselves in a fix between choosing business ethics and profit where according to Rothlin (2009) profit always win. Many of them conclude that business ethics is an oxymoron. In this regards this paper intend to explore and provide an analysis of this hypothesis and bring to the fore different arguments from different scholars. (Cohen 2003, Pp 446) Corporate culture of any organization contains the business ethics that govern the standard of morality the organization embraces as Sinclair (1993 pp 64) concluded. The same way business organization differ between different organizations so does the organization business ethics. However, business ethics in general have basic similarities that include codes of conduct among the employees of different levels and managerial code of conduct. Business ethics in any organization culture are embedded in the rules and regulation that the organizations embrace. (Sinclair, 1993 pp 64). As such, the rules and regulation are devised by the executive bodies of the organizations and are meant to improve the productivity of every member hence sustainable success of the organization. Also they are meant to govern the production of quality products. This is achieved through regulating the relationship both formal and informal in the work place, therefore, ensuring good working environment for the employees as well as improving citizenship among the employees. Before the employees are fully recruited in an organization they usually signs on the code of conduct to show that they agree on the rules and regulation and vows to abide by them always. (Sinclair, 1993 pp 64). This protects the organization from consequences of ant social behaviors that the employees may involve in for instance sexual harassment of the customers which may lead to multimillion dollar legal settlement. Also the act may leads to damaging of the business image which seriously affect the market positioning of the organization. Other behaviors such as cheating to customers, misrepresentation quality the products may also have serious implications to the organization where the firm may be hit by substantial fines (Sinclair, 1993 pp 64). At the same time, according to Guziana & Dobers (2013, Pp 195,202) business ethics also protects the organization from corrupt managers and leaders who can damage the reputation of the organization. For instance managers may embezzle large sums of money which may jeopardize the position of the business organization. As such, the organization may become bankrupt hence making it difficult to meet its financial responsibilities to different stakeholder including employees and suppliers. In addition, codes of conducts of managers inhibit them from abusing their offices and power through involving in ant social behaviors such as sexual harassment of the employees and many others. Primarily, the leaders should facilitate to development of value-based organization by adopting leadership styles that encourage transfer of values from the leaders to the employees. Democratic and transformational leadership are encouraged in this case. Indeed, codes of conducts of managers ensure that leaders adequately fulfill their duties embracing justice, reliability, responsibility, and accountability towards the common good of the organization thus improved performance. (Guziana & Dobers, 2013, Pp 195,202). Through their leadership they encourage organization citizenship of other employees through executing their mandate with required respect. (Guziana & Dobers, 2013, Pp 195,202) While business ethos does care about the conduct of the employees and the leaders, it does also care about the conduct of the customers. Retail stores suffer a lot of losses each year due to shoplifters. Insensitive and unscrupulous customers buy clothing, wear them and then return them, thereby depriving store of deserved revenues. At times some customers may be abusive hence making the firm find it difficult for the employees willing to serve the public. Business ethics will protect the organization against such customers and at the same time maintain high level of value to the customers. A good organizational culture also ensures that the business ethics that the firm adopts cares about the moral ethics of the organization to the community. (Crane & Matten 2007, Pp 45). This is so because the organizations are part of human community as Wallace argued. Indeed, from the community business organization gets raw materials, customers, and also to some point the employees may be from the same community. In this regards business organization have the responsibility of caring for the public who justify their existence by providing customers who buy the products and services the organization offers. (Crane & Matten 2007, Pp 45). The community also is very vital to the organization by providing raw materials to the organization at reasonable prices which enable the organization to manufacture products and services at a cheaper price enabling the profit making once the products are sold. In this regards business ethics calls for organizational responsibility to the public in diverse ways that shows organization cares for the public. This has a lot of controversy to the entrepreneurs since some of the ethics demand on the organization jeopardizes the organization need for making profit (Crane & Matten 2007, Pp 45) Business ethics dictates that business organization should carry out corporate social responsibility activities such as responding to social matters such as philanthropy and also ensuring that the organization respond to environmental issues. (Ferrell & et al, 2011, Pp 29-51). Corporate social responsibility does not only mean philanthropy but it also means adding value to the stake holders beyond the value of the need they have in the organization other than having the economic value only. For instance the act of facilitating employees gain more skills through in-service training, training suppliers how to producer the best quality raw materials and also paying tax to the governments of the country so that development of the wider community is made possible. (Ferrell & et al, 2011, Pp 29-51). The companies should respond to the environmental degradation awareness thus helping add value to the geographical position that the organization is located. Activities such as cleaning the environment and disposing the business waste appropriately help in additional of value to the environment. Further according to (Ferrell & et al, 2011, Pp 29-51) all this activities have costs and they require firms to use some of their resources to adequately subscribe to any of the social responsibility activity. Several business entrepreneurs feels business ethics is an oxymoron as they as their prime aim is to make profit yet there are other string of social responsibility attached to it (Ferrell & et al, 2011, Pp 29-51). However Ben Tran (2010, Pp 238) argues that while business organizations incur a lot of resources in corporate social responsibility, its may not have a lot of benefit in the short term but instead very beneficial in the long term. An organization which adds value to the employees by providing them with in-service training helps improve future workplace since more skills will be applied in future activities thus, high productivity which will lead to sustainable success. The employees become more adaptable, valuable and more flexible as well as becoming more motivated. (Rothlin 2009) At the same time, an organization which takes part in an activity of philanthropy will receive more customers in future and hence increase its competitive advantage. This is based on the fact that customers will always want to be affiliated to the organizations that have their welfare at heart, those organizations that care for their needs beyond the customers and the employees relationship. (Ben Tran, 2010, Pp 238). Yes, the management may have risked by making the organization almost bankrupt, but the after birth results of risking leads to either higher productivity of the employees or sustainable competitive advantage of the organization (Ben Tran, 2010, Pp 238, Rothlin 2009). In regards to Ben Tran (2010, Pp 238) business ethics require the organization observe human resource ethics. Such ethics such as appropriate salary and bonus payment structures accordance to the labor laws, providing the best working conditions free from accidents either physical or emotional, refraining from child labor and refraining from overworking the employees. (Velasquez, 2012). Failing to observe the human resource ethics particularly the low payment reduces the cost of the business to some extent. On the other hand, the employees become de-motivated hence their creativity is inhibited. As such, there is low productivity of the employee and lack of citizenship therefore leading to reduced productivity of the organization as a whole. An the other hand, as Velasquez (2012) argues when the organization fails provide safe working condition in the work place leads constant employees demonstrations and resentment which apparently reduces employees productivity. Indeed the employees will always feel that the management lacks procedural and distributive justice and consequently loose confidence in the management. In this regard, the organization fails to realize its goals and objective as its employees who are the operating core have reduced productivity. (Velasquez, 2012) If corporate organizations observe the human resource ethics on employees tremendous amount of resources is therefore utilized. (Velasquez, 2012). In the long term the employees becomes motivated, creative and highly productive. Citizenship in the workplace is embraced by employees as their remuneration is justified and worth the amount of responsibilities and duties of every employee. Good working conditions which ensure safety in turn improves the performance of the employees through increasing their confidence and self efficacy as Bandura (1977, pp 192) points out. Employees equally gains confidence with the distributive and procedural justice of the firm hence good work place free from tension which is created by lack of confidence with the leaders. At the same, an organization which exempts it self from child labor exempts it self from organization heavy legal penalties and low productivity associated with children as they don’t have skills. Indeed it’s cheap to have children workers but the move have adverse consequences. As such it is very apparent that observing the human resource ethics is quit productive to a business organization in the long term but rather very unproductive in the short term. (Velasquez, 2012). Maintaining business ethics on human resources aspects, leads to accelerated performance of the organization and therefore sustainable competitive advantage of the organization over other competitor (Velasquez, 2012, Bandura 1977, pp 192) As pointed by (Carroll & Buchholt 2011, Pp 73, 143, 202) organizational ethics also entails market ethics of the organization. As such organization has a responsibility caring for the community through product pricing and marketing. Market ethics dictates that organization should not exaggerate their products and services in pricing. Its also call for business organization not to cheat in their marketing and to embrace genuine facts as they advertise their products and service either through traditional methods such as billboards and posters or modern methods such as print media and electronic media. Some business people may argue that the some form of exaggeration ether in pricing or marketing must be done so as to earn profit but (Carroll & Buchholt 2011, Pp 73, 143, 202) is of a different opinion. He further argues that if an organization sets insensitive prices for their products and services without legitimate justification, consumers will refrain from purchasing them. As such the company will incur a lot of loses as the consumers will go for cheaper products and services in the market. (Carroll & Buchholt 2011, Pp 73, 143, 202) At the same time, producers who have a tendency of exaggerating on the quality of the product than they essentially are risk losing their competitive advantage in the long term when the consumers realize the truth. (Haig, 2011, pp 173). It may appear as a perfect incentive to customers but what will happen when they are hit by reality right direct in their faces that the product is not as of good quality as it was said to be? Are the consumers/customers going to remain attached to the company still? Embracing markets ethics on the other hand makes the consumers to have continuous confidence on the products and services of the organization. (Haig, 2011, pp 173). The consumers may move away temporarily to a company that may have exaggerated their products but they will always come back for the genuine company when they are frustrated. The company, therefore, maintains the competitive advantages over other competitor hence constant high performance (Haig, 2011, pp 173) Organizational ethics also calls for production of quality products. (Sirgy & Lee, 2004 Pp 46) Regardless of how the production process is costly, a producer who has meant to produce the products should do it without compromising the quality such that it will be unhealthy for the consumer/customer. In this regard producers should produce product bearing in mind the health of the consumer is not jeopardized. The fact that a product is of good quality and that it will satisfy the need of the consumer is in itself an incentive of the consumer in buying the product. (Sirgy & Lee, 2004 Pp 46). Omitting some production process, results in non-quality products which are not fit for consumption. Indeed this may appear to be cheap as it is but it is very costly to the future performance of the business. In the short term the producer have the capacity to make crazy profits but to the expense of the consumer. In turn the worst may happen that the consumer realizes that the products are of low quality hence loosing confidence with the company and its products. This is a very big blow to the producer as the consumers who justify the existence of any company/business will go for other company’s products therefore reducing the competitive advantage of the former company (Sirgy & Lee, 2004 Pp 46) Conclusion In conclusion in the above analysis it is apparent that business ethics is not an oxymoron. Indeed it is evidently seen that business ethics helps improve and accelerate the business performance though its results are not experience in the short term but rather in the long term. At the same time disregarding business ethics is very profitable but has adverse results in the long term where business incur far much losses than the profit they made out of disregarding business ethics. The reputation of the business organization in the market risk deteriorating which is the genesis of failure in much business. References Bandura A, 1977, Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, vol. 8 (4), pp 191-215. Ben Tran, 2010, International business ethics. Journal of International Trade Law and Policy. Vol. 9 (3), pp.236 – 255 Carroll A, & Buchholtz A, 2011 Business and Society: Ethics: Ethics, Sustainability, and Stakeholder Management. 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