Philosophical Way of Evaluating the Behaviour of People in a Workplace - Book Report/Review Example

Topic Introduction The term ethics is a philosophical way of evaluating the behaviour of people in a work place or a social place. In the history of ethics, the main interest was on the five major branches of ethics which were the Meta ethics, the ethic and political philosophy, virtue ethics and practical philosophy. All these areas have their own role to play in the way people interact in terms of business and also in the social setting (Donaldson, Werhane and Zandt, 213-295). For example, the virtue ethics are necessary in business and especially when dealing with customers and fellow workers. Virtue ethics was concerned with the moral traits and the things that contribute to living a good life by a person. They have been evaluated by the actions of a person towards others or the environment in which one has to practice. The Meta ethics on the other hand is always concerned with the reasons as to why a certain action takes place. It does not look at how the action was taken. The political ethics are concerned about the growth of the society and power in which the society processes over the others. In terms of business, political ethics will be realized in the way a business seems to be in control over the rest and how they relate with one another. There is another form of ethics known as the normative ethics. For this one, it is all about coming up with directions and various forms of theories that will guide the people in a business or an organization, to determine the best way to improve the image of the organization. Ethics is made by many organizations in order to evaluate and construct the organization. Ethics do not describe how the organization exists. In the branch of philosophy, other forms of normative ethics include the utilitarian, virtue and deontological ethics. Applied or practical ethics are those ethics that can be laid in the companys policies and operation in order to improve the image of a company. This helps the company to improve its image. In the same sense, the practical ethics are essential because they enable an organization to strategize their marketing plan and also work on profitability and retention of customers. This paper looks at the applied practical ethics in a wireless electronic communication industry. The name of the company is AT&T from the United Arab Emirates. Description of Ethics in the Information, communication and media industry Communication ethics is one of the main areas within the applied or the practical ethics. In this area, there are several issues of morality that show the need for a moral judgement. The society of today is grown all the way from the agrarian moment to the present information technology age. For this reason, few ethical standards are set in order to embrace the rise in technology. Most people who are working in the IT industry will spend their time and resources trying to learn more about the development of the industry and profits. This is all important as it helps the industry grow as an equal employment and corporate centre. However, businesses always forget that development is not only about profits and employing more people. There are other ethical issues that determine highly the growth or the falling of any business. For example, there will be a need where a company may feel that it needs to increase the employee number or reduce it. This will depend on ways that they adapt the working environment and outsourcing other important skills that are needed in running the business. In history, the world has experienced various scandals in businesses all over that have to do with issues that are less related with the profits of the company. There are issues around breach of contract, sexual harassment of female and even male workers. Other issue that have been raised in the past also include the unfair competition that some businesses may present against the less developed ones. There are issues where communication industries have been blamed for tax evasions. Others have been found imposing high calling rates on consumers and even unreasonably cheaper rates in order to beat out another company. This is the reason why most organizations need to be guided by a certain code of conduct. Doing this makes their staff informed, and they are able to avoid issues that may arise and found to be unethical. For the purpose of this paper, it shall look at the ethical issues around the AT&T Company (AT&T, AT&T Company Information) AT&T Company’s Policy on ethics, and how it carries this out The AT&T company has a policy on ethics which is under their code of conduct 2013 (AT&T). This code of business conduct is necessary in keeping up the company’s policy on ethics. The code importance is seen in the way it guides them to uphold the integrity and also be able to resolve other concerns of ethics. Among the things that guide them in maintain business ethics is the upholding of their four main values which consist of; delivering the future first, building a stronger customer relationship, unleashing on human capabilities and operating on integrity and trust. Under the code of business conduct, the organizations employees are asked to follow it to the letter and show commitment to what is discussed. As a company, it is necessary to have a code of conduct so that employees are able to relate with people outside and inside. The conduct also works wonders for the employees. This is because it helps the organization to maintain synergy at all times. It protects the company reputation as a very ethical, honest and reliable business (Tavani, 37-54). The code of conducts also helps the organization in fulfilling the commitment with which it has made to its customers, and people whom they partner with. However, this does not mean that the company is never faced with challenges every now and then. The policy document is necessary in guiding the organization through these ethical challenges. It also ensures that it has maintained its place in the business world and most importantly it has not breached the code of conduct. This has helped the company to deliver its mission and vision effectively and efficiently over the years. Discussion The importance of business ethics in relation to AT&T Company is to provide for a well-defined framework. With this in mind, the company’s businesses would be evaluated along the corporate world. The business ethics are also essential as they assist in making an evaluation of the development of business and the implementation of new ways of doing business all round. There is also a chance for a critical analysis for an issue that arise in businesses and especially in relation to the other competing firms. With this in mind, it is agreeable to say that the business ethics of the AT&T Company are well structured and have helped the company maintain what it is. The business ethics have also contributed highly in the growth that the company enjoys over the years. Some of the pointers that are mentioned in their code of conduct include a commitment to being honest and acting with integrity at all times. This is important because it enables the company uphold trust among its workers, its shareholders and its customers. By keeping high ethical standards, the company is able to retain its clientele base. The company will also to attract new clients through partnerships by incoming investors. By working lawfully and in accordance to regulations that apply to its industry, the company shows its ability to follow rules and regulations for a communication, IT and media companies. It avoids itself from being caught by the law because of malpractices such as tax evasion of selling of low quality products to customers. The company also boasts of setting out standard operating procedures that ensure the rule of law is followed all the time. This is important as it helps a company clarifies laws to its employees, partners and customers. Reflection The growth of business ethics came into being in the early 70s when most corporate organizations at the moment found themselves under attack for unethical behaviour. Because of this, most organizations began coming up with social responsibility programs that would help guide the way organizations should behave themselves in a working environment. Ethical programs would include scholarship programs, charity support for community projects among others. However, this was not organized until the late 90s and the year 2000. Before these programs were put into effect, workers in various organizations had been complaining of poor working environment, unfair remuneration. Competing organizations would also complain of unfair trading zones and business competition between the private sector and the government owned firms (George, 15-32). For sure business ethics are necessary in any organization. This is because they assist companies in enabling them fuse the private and the societies responsibility in everything they do. While this is done the company is able to perform social responsibility course in a more systematic and more constructive manner. For the AT&T company, the business ethics are important because it will enable them be able to trace some of the moral problems that might be associated with their electronic products. Like say parental control for their television and other media gadgets. This may not be their undertaking, but with a laid out business ethics, they are well guided in the way they design and sell these products both to the young and the elder generations. It is of concern that no matter the business, ethics clearly define moral responsibility and what can they can be able to implement as a company for the customer. Lastly, the company just like any other, should train their staff to learn to use a common sense approach to issues so that it can prevent itself from being indicted under unethical issues like tax evasion, cheating consumers of the quality of products among other issues. . Works Cited AT&T. “ AT&T’s Code of Business Conduct.” 8 May 2013. www.att.com. 8 May 2013 . —. AT&T Company Information. 8 May 2013. 8 May 2013 . DeGeorge, Richard T. “Business Ethics .” DeGeorge, Richard T. Business Ethics . Pearson, 2009. 15-32. Donaldson, Thomas, Patricia Werhane and Joseph Van Zandt. “Ethical Issues in Business.” Donaldson, Thomas, Patricia Werhane and Joseph Van Zandt. Ethical Issues in Business: A Philosophical Approach (8th Edition). Pearson; 8 edition , 2007. 213-295. Tavani, Herman T. “The uniqueness debate in computer ethics: What exactly is at issue, and why does it matter?” Ethics and Information Technology 4 (1) 2002: 37-54 . Read More