Moral Judgments in Business Ethics - Essay Example

 In a highly professional business world, such things may not be considered a sin. But ethically it is not a good practice since such practices may result in unhealthy competition which will be harmful to the overall business activities. A company that follows strong ethical standards in their business will never go after such undercutting methods and we can conclude that normal decisions and moral decisions are entirely different in the current world in general and in the business world in specific.

Morality is a social invention that is essential for the sustainability of a society. We cannot think of a society that is filled with immoral activities, that survive for a long period. For example, if robbery is legally allowed in society to tackle poverty, what will happen? Thus moral decisions are always different from rational decisions.

Information is one of the main segments of an organization. It is often said that man, material, machine, and money (4M’s) are the four major components required for the smooth functioning of an organization. Information is equally important with the above-mentioned 4M’s of business. Like all the other resources of an organization, the information of a company needs to be protected well for business growth. It is easy for competitors to devise strategies well in advance to counter the innovative and challenging business strategies of an organization if the secret information of the company is leaked via the managers or some other employees of the organization. The managers have a variety of information regarding the plans of an organization. It is necessary to keep such information as secrets for the well-being of the organization. If the managers purposefully reveal such information to the competitors, ethically it cannot be considered as a good thing. The manager may get some financial benefit out of it. But the organization that employed him will be suffered immensely from such things.

For example, it is easy for Nokia to think in terms of touch screen phones well in advance, if they get the information regarding Apple’s plan for touch screen phones. Suppose a manager, who was employed by Apple, has resigned and joined Nokia at a stage when Apple was thinking in terms of touchscreen phones. If this manager reveals Apple’s plan to Nokia, it is easy for Nokia to counter Apple’s plan. The manager will get some financial benefit. The Nokia organization also will be benefited from such confidential information while the sufferer will be only the Apple Company. If such unhealthy things happen, Apple Company will also try to follow the same path, and hence society will be suffered from unhealthy competition because of the clashes between the organizations.

To conclude, business ethics must be followed by organizations and employees for the healthy development of the individual, organization, and society. Read More