Foundations of Organizational Ethics

Foundations of Organizational Ethics

Ethics in organizations are critical. They are the key element for the organizations success. Organizational ethics or AKA Business ethics is the behavior that a business conducts to in its daily dealings with it environment. The ethics of a particular organization can be diverse. It may apply not only to how the business interacts with its environment but the world at large, and not limited also to their one-on-one dealings with an identified customer. Many organizations have gained a bad reputation just by conducting business. To like most individuals, businesses are interested in making profit, and that is the bottom line. We may call it capitalism in its purest form if we like. Making profit is not wrong at all. It may be the manner in which some organizations conduct themselves that brings up the question of ethical behavior. In the past the ethics has traditionally been the domain of philosophers, academics and social critics. Because of this, much of today's learning tools about business ethics were not geared toward the practical needs of leaders and managers

Good Organizational ethics should be a part of every business.

There are many factors to consider of course. When an organization does business with another that is considered unethical, does this make the first organization unethical by association? Some people would say yes, the first organization has a responsibility and it is now a link in the chain of unethical organizations. Many global wide organizations, including most of the major brands that we the public use, can be seen not to think too highly of good organizational ethics. Many major brands have been fined millions for breaking ethical organizational laws. Money and profit is the major deciding factor. If an organization does not adhere to ethics and breaks the laws, they most likely end up being fined. Many organizations have broken anti-trust, ethical and environmental laws and received multiple fines worth millions. The problem is that the amount of revenue these companies are making outweighs the fines imposed. Billion dollar revenues blind the organizations to their lack of ethics, and the dollar sign outweighs everything else and wins.

Organizational ethics theories include the moral principles or codes a business implements to ensure that all individuals working in the organization act with acceptable behavior. Company owners and managers can use an ethics theory they feel most appropriate for use in their daily operations. A few different organizational ethics theories do exist, such as the utilitarian, rights, justice, common good and virtue approach. Such theories can be used on their own or in combination with each other. Each of these theories includes specific traits or characteristics that focus on specific ethical principles that can help businesses correct organizational issues.

The utilitarian approach uses ethical actions that will set forth the most good or value among a society and it environment while limiting the amount of harm to as few individuals as possible. Among the organizational ethics theories, this is typically seen as the oldest theory, as it was propagated by many philosophers, such as Jeremy Bentham, James Mill, and Mill's son John Stuart Mill. Organizations can use this theory to ensure the outcome of various situations helps the maximum amount of stakeholders.

As I researched further I ran across the rights ethical approach which is based on the belief that all individuals have rights in life and must be treated with respect and dignity. Morals as we are well aware play a large role in this because individuals must personally use ethical behavior in order to achieve the end goal without hurting others. Organizational ethics theories often use this approach by not imposing their missions, products, or systems on consumers. I further learned that justice as an ethical approach in which all human beings are treated equally through society, regardless of rank, position, class, creed, or race. This is also known as the fairness approach in organizational ethics theories. If human beings are not treated fairly such as one employee receiving higher compensation than another a justifiable reason must exist and identified, such as higher technical skills or the exclusiveness of a particular employment opportunity. Finally I further read on that the common good approach seeks to promote the common values and moral or ethical principles found in most society. This can vary from place to place, based on countries' specific cultural or societal beliefs. By example, the moral principles found in Asia will often be very different than those in the United States. Many owners of business's and managers often implement various principles to ensure their company's overall mission is in sync with current society as a whole. I further read on that the common good approach