Individual and organization ethics - Admission/Application Essay Example

Basically, the term ethics is primarily concerned with distinguishing between something that is good and bad in the way individuals behave. On the other hand, business or organisational ethics refers to the values, principles and standards that operate within business and these attempt to make a distinction between something that is morally good from bad (Rossouw 2004).The major similarity between the two is that both individual and organisational ethics are against bad things for instance, ‘Is it ethical to lie?

’ The main difference between the two is that when ethics is applied to business, we tend to consider the implications of economic activity on the interests of all those who are affected by it while on an individual level, ethics will primarily refer to the way we behave. In this way, there is a correlation between identifying and implementing standards of conduct that will ensure that business does not negatively impact on the interests of the stakeholders as well as ensuring that the standard of behaviour will enhance the interests of all those affected by business.

Special attention should be on issues of morality and professional conduct in an organisation where honesty and integrity should be seen as the guiding principles. It is every organisation’s duty to know that it is operating within a certain social set up with its own norms and values that play a vital role in maintaining the fabric of that society. Ethically, the success of any given company would be determined by its willingness to observe the social norms of the areas it would be operating in.

It can also be seen that organisational ethics is concerned with upholding the principles of honesty and truthfulness in the company’s endeavour to satisfy the needs of the customers. One of the basic tenets of organisational ethics is honesty and truthfulness. Any organisational strategies premised on lies are bound to fail as they would be doubtful in the eyes of the potential customers.Over and above, it can be noted that the concept of ethics is mainly concerned with making a distinction between something that is good and bad.

Individual and organisational ethics are different in that organisational ethics are shaped by collective behaviour while individual ethics are primarily concerned with individual behaviour. ReferencesDesJardins J. (2006). An introduction to business ethics. 2nd Edition. Boston. McGraw Hill international Edition. Rossouw D. (2004). Business Ethics: 3rd Edition. Oxford. Cape Town. Oxford University Press. Weiss J. W. ( 1994). Business ethics: A managerial, stakeholder approach. California.

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