The Nature of Ethics in the World of Financial Market - Essay Example

? Prepare an Analysis of Ethics in the 21st Century Introduction Ethics is described as a philosophical branch of study which emphasizes different approaches of morals as well as values. It has been apparently observed that ethics also concentrates upon the distinctions between proper and improper aspects of human life. In relation to various ethical studies, numerous philosophers formulated several ethical theories for the motive of changing and defining correct and incorrect human actions, as well as perceptions. In this similar context it can be stated that the ethical theories include ‘emotivism’, ‘intuitionism’, ‘utilitarianism’ and ‘egoism’ among others (Yucel, Elibol & Dagdelen, 2009). It has been viewed that majority of the organizations value ethics for the purpose of attaining several significant benefits. The benefits may include enhancing the procedure of decision-making, improving profitability in the long-run, generating credibility and most importantly accomplishing a superior competitive position (Mahdavi, n.d.). In this discussion, the perception of ethics as well as its importance in the competitive financial market will be taken into concern. Additionally, a fundamental analysis of ethics in relation to 21st century will also be described in the discussion. Role of Ethics in 21st Century Ethics is known to play a decisive part in every business organization. It can be stated that an organizational structure related to the learning of business ethics is given increased importance. This is due to the reason that different roles as well as job descriptions which exist in a particular business organization might trigger some sorts of unethical behavior. It has been viewed that ethics broadly contributes to the organizations by assisting them to make effectual decisions which in turn enhances their productivity as well as profitability by a substantial level. By considering this factor, it can be stated that ethical behavior in organizations is majorly found to be occupying a central position in this era of 21st century. It not only affects the procedure of decision-making but also aids to develop the prevailing culture of organizations (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2009). It has been observed that the aspect of ethics has become a topmost priority for the business organizations in the era of 21st century. The organizations strongly believe that their technological advancements, organizational strategies as well as goals and values are considerably related to ethics. Moreover, the interrelation between the business leaders, customers, vendors and clients are supposed to get duly affected by ethics. In this regard it can be mentioned that the main intention of forming an ethical organizational background relates to the actuality of incessantly developing the relationships to avail significant benefits such as increased market share, business reputation and profitability. The organizations prioritize ethics because they realize that it is quite necessary for them to safeguard their business reputation and evade any sort of unfavorable media coverage. In the recent era i.e. in the 21st century, ethics is offered prime significance as it is regarded as a “values-based culture”. It has been observed that ethics is neither considered to be an alternative nor a comfort. It is simply an approach which emphasizes upon the competencies, intelligences and experiences of the members at all levels of an organization. According to various researches, it has been noted that there exists certain vital factors which contributes towards generating a values-based culture. The important factors include shared values, moral courage, commitment and common language (Brimmer, 2007). In relation to the factor of shared values, there are certain core values which can be observed in all the global cultures. The core values comprise honesty, compassion, accountability, fairness and respect. These vital core values act as a driving force which ultimately supports the organizations to formulate effective decisions. From the perspective of the factor of common language, it has been observed that the employees of an organization require a language of ethics which enables them to communicate comfortably with other members of the organization. With regard to the aspect of moral courage, ethics enable every individual belonging to any organization to witness any sort of ethical dilemmas or moral misdoings firmly. From the viewpoint of the factor of commitment, the business leaders of an organization should provide ethical training to each and every member for the motive of establishing a value or an ethical culture (Brimmer, 2007). The other significant role of ethics is that it tends to establish as well as constantly develops certain ethical practices within an organization. These ethical practices ultimately prevent the organizations to from encountering any adverse affects which are likely to harm the businesses and organizational performances at large. The adverse effects can relate to insufficient product quality, poor service towards the customers, immoral accounting practices and ineffectual schemes of human resource. It is considered to be the prime responsibility of the business leaders of the respective organizations to support as well as maintain an ethical organizational culture within the organizations by a considerable level (Sims, 1991). Benefits of Managing Ethics in the Workplace Ethics has already become a chief concern which has occupied a central position in every business organization. The appropriate management of ethics is supposed to deliver and entail several significant benefits for the organizations. By managing ethics and maintaining ethical behavior, the business organizations can reap several benefits. The benefits might include attracting valuable customers which in turn boosts the sales and increase revenues, decreasing the attrition rate of employees and thus raising the productivity and attracting employees to work more actively towards the attainment of the organizational objectives which eventually raises the business performance at large. One of the imperative benefits of managing ethics in the workplace is that the ethical programs as well as the values help to develop strong teamwork along with productivity by aligning the behaviors of the employees with the preferred ethical values of the business leaders of an organization. Apart from encouraging strong teamwork as well as efficiency, the ethical programs and the values supports substantial growth of the employees. Proper management of ethics in the place of work make the employees feel that their working activities are valued as well as respected which eventually enhances their confidence to work more and thus escalate the level of productivity for the organizations. The ethical programs as well as the values also help to promote and project a powerful public image of the organizations. It aids to develop strong public relations by making the people realize that the organizations value integrity, respect and honesty more than profit. Thus, collectively, it can be stated that the formation as well as the development of the ethical programs as well as values legitimize the supervisory activities in the place of work and reinforces stability and consistency of the organizations’ culture (Fernando, 2009). Furthermore, the ethical programs and values enhance trust in the interrelations shared between individuals as well as groups and support a greater degree of consistency relating to product quality and standards. The proper implementation as well as effective management of ethics in the place of work can ultimately lead towards attaining superior profits, raising operational efficiencies, improving business reputation, supporting long-term development and most importantly assisting the organizations towards attaining a significant competitive position. It has been apparently observed that there prevails the utmost requirement of certain important tools in order to implement and manage ethics in the place of work. The tools might comprise ethical codes, plans and procedures. For the purpose of implementing as well as managing ethics in the workplace, it should be taken into deliberation that the aspect of managing ethics is usually regarded to be a process-oriented action which needs incessant assessment and time. However, the other vital benefits of managing ethics in the workplace include increased retention of the employees, higher moral standards of the complete workforce and a substantially improved society. Additionally, by managing ethics in the place of work, organizations can enhance and develop a few definite and imperative aspects such as diversity management, quality management and strategic planning among others. The improper implementation as well as the management of ethics in the workplace can severely damage the business reputation, diminish the interests of the stakeholders and reduce the profit margin of an organization by a greater extent (Fernando, 2009). Conclusion After acquiring a brief idea about the perception as well as the nature of ethics, it can be stated that the business organizations broadly value ethics for their development and to compete with their major business competitors in this competitive world of financial market. Ethics play an imperative part for the business organizations in the period of 21st century. Consequently, majority of the business organizations consider ethics as one of the necessary elements while performing their different operational functions. The major role of ethics in the present era of 21st century is to support the organizations in terms of making effective decisions for sustaining in this competitive financial market. Proper management of ethics in the place of work entails several benefits which comprise increased profitability as well as productivity, enhanced growth of the employees and improved organizational performances. Thus, on the basis of the aforementioned discussion, it can be concluded that ethics play a decisive in the worldwide business market by a significant level in the present 21st century. References Brimmer, S. E. (2007). The role of ethics in 21st century organizations. Leadership Advance Online (XII), pp.1-6. Fernando, A. C. (2009). Business ethics: An Indian perspective. India: Pearson Education India. Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2009). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases. United Kingdom: Cengage Learning. Mahdavi, I. (n.d.). International business ethics: Strategies and responsibilities. Journal of Academic and Business Ethics, pp.1-6. Sims, R. R. (1991). Institutionalization of organizational ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 10, pp. 493-506. Yucel, R., Elibol, H., & Dagdelen, O. (2009). Globalization and international marketing ethics problems. International Research Journal of Finance and Economics (26), pp.93-104. Read More