| |
| |
|
Ethics Information |
|
|
|
Top 10 Principles for Positive Business Ethics
This morning, I read about a company using on-line auctions to defraud customers. Last week, I consulted on an ethics complaint where a business coach betrayed a client's confidentiality. And, recently a Physician was convicted of insider trading based on information from a patient, a violation of both business ethics and her professional ethics. Business ethics are the key to profits. If clients and customers don't trust you, and your business ethics, they will not do business with you. Would you buy from a company you didn't trust? Of course not! Business ethics have become a hot-button topic. There are often ethical conflicts between making money, and doing what is right. There can be dilemmas about doing what is best for your employer, what's best for your own career, and what's best for the customer. Business ethics is about negotiating these mine-fields. Here are my Top 10 Principles for Positive Business Ethics: 1. Business Ethics are built on Personal Ethics. There is no real separation between doing what is right in business, and playing fair, telling the truth and being ethical in your personal life. 2. Business Ethics are based on Fairness. Would a dis-interested observer agree that both sides are being treated fairly? Are both sides negotiating in good faith? Does each transaction take place on a "level playing field"? If so, the basic principles of ethics are being met. 3. Business Ethics require Integrity. Integrity refers to whole-ness, reliability and consistency. Ethical businesses treat people with respect, honesty and integrity. They back up their promises, and they keep their commitments. 4. Business Ethics require Truth-telling. The days when a business could sell a defective product and hide behind the "buyer beware" defense are long gone. You can sell products or services that have limitations, defects or are out-dated, but not as first-class, new merchandise. Truth in advertising is not only the law, business ethics require it. 5. Business Ethics require Dependability. If your company is new, unstable, about to be sold, or going out of business, ethics requires that you let clients and customers know this. Ethical businesses can be relied upon to be available to solve problems, answer questions and provide support. 6. Business Ethics require a Business Plan. A company's ethics are built on its image of itself and its vision of the future and its role in the community. Business ethics do not happen in a vacuum. The clearer the company's plan for growth, stability, profits and service, the stronger its commitment to ethical business practices. 7. Business Ethics apply Internally and Externally. Ethical businesses treat both customers and employees with respect and fairness. Ethics is about respect in the conference room, negotiating in good faith, keeping promises and meeting obligations to staff, employers, vendors and customers. The scope is universal. 8. Business Ethics require a Profit. Ethical businesses are well-run, well-managed, have effective internal controls, and clear expectations of growth. Ethics is about how we live in the present to prepare for the future, and a business without profits (or a plan to create them) is not meeting its ethical obligations to prepare for the future well-being of the company, its employees and customers. 9. Business Ethics are values-based. The law, and professional organizations, must produce written standards that are inflexible and universal. While they may talk about "ethics", these documents are usually prescriptive and refer to minimal standards. Ethics are about values, ideals and aspirations. Ethical businesses may not always live up to their ideals, but they are clear about their intent. 10. Business Ethics come from the Boss. Leadership sets the tone, in every area of a business. Ethics are either central to the way a company functions, or they are not. The executives and managers either lead the way, or they communicate that cutting corners, deception and dis-respect are acceptable. Line staff will always rise, or sink, to the level of performance they see modeled above them. Business ethics starts at the top. Ethics is about the quality of our lives, the quality of our service, and ultimately, about the bottom line. An unhappy customer complains to an average of 16 people. Treating employees, customers, vendors and the public in an ethical, fair and open way is not only the right thing, in the long run, it's the only way to stay in business. © Copyright 2003 by Philip E. Humbert. All Rights Reserved. This article may be copied and used in your own newsletter or on your website as long as you include the following information: "Written by Dr. Philip E. Humbert, writer, speaker and success coach. Dr. Humbert has over 300 free articles, tools and resources for your success, including a great newsletter! It's all on his website at: http://www.philiphumbert.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Only Thing You Get for Free in Life is Hungry! My grandfather was a very wise man. Simple but wise. Minding Your Global Manners To say that today's business environment is becoming increasingly more global is to state the obvious. Meetings, phone calls and conferences are held all over the world and attendees can come from any point on the globe. Are You Selling Out Your Integrity? Integrity in business is a quality that is highly under-rated by executives these days. Many executives are so "pushed and pulled" by a not so hidden force called the "profit motive" that they often find themselves compromising something that without which they could lose all credibility and trust from those they are trying to retain business from. The Need to Survive; A Death Knell For Organizations Changing the driving force upon which business decisions are based is crucial in order to not only restore ethics in business but to truly improve the lives of those whom they were meant to benefit: executives, employees and consumers. After all, weren't business activities meant to improve the state of existence of human beings on this planet?So what is this driving force that I am referring to? Well its the "fear of not surviving". Ethics in Business - Please Have Some Is your business ethical?What I mean is "Does your business do the right thing when faced with that decision?" It's a simple question, which many businesses struggle with. I just don't understand the struggle part?I have worked for companies that believed they were ethical, and really have no clue. Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Shifting Culture and Climate in Todays Corporate World This articles relates to the AlphaMeasure core competency Culture and Climate. AlphaMeasure defines climate as the effect an organization has on the employees, while culture refers more to the acceptable behaviors, attitudes, and habits of the organization as a whole. Selling Truth as a Differentiator The last few years have been a period of heightened scrutiny and scandal for the financial services industry. Most recently, the SEC issued a report on pension consultants regarding conflicts of interest and the objectivity of advice given to retirement plan sponsors. Private Carrier Pepsi Embraces Diversity Amongst Employees Many companies claim to be committed to diversity, but private carrier Pepsico has proven their desire for a diverse employee base. With the progression of globalization in the world, Pepsi continues to embrace and value diversity in customers, suppliers and employees. Enron's Ultimate Victim: Ethics FROM the 'MORAL HIGH GROUND', where we imagine ourselves, the Enron fiasco should have come as no surprise. Enron is simply a quintessential example of the degradation of principles such as trust, loyalty and ethical standards. Business Ethics: How The Sales Function Can Transmit Company Values I recently got a "thank-you" call from a man who read my new e-book Buying Facilitation."Boy," he said, "this method sure helps me close more deals and make more money. Business Ethics: Functional Choices Years of experience have taught me there is no such thing as "Business Ethics". If a person isn't ethical in the rest of their lives, their business ethics aren't worth the shoe leather they've worn out either. How To Build A Business Ethics Program Recent corporate financial scandals have highlighted the importance of business ethics and legal compliance. Yet a recent National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) survey of 280 corporate CEOs and directors found that "only one of three directors felt that they were highly effective in ensuring legal compliance". Financial Projections in Business Plans One of the most difficult sections to write in a business plan is the proforma and financial sections. After all it is most difficult to what exact costs you will incur or what level of sales volumes are actually achievable. Brain Development and Due Process DUE PROCESSAfricans, especially Nigerians are stereotyped on the internet and offline in foreign countries as corrupt, cheats and thieves.Whenever I have to introduce myself to foreign contacts, whether online or offline, I must make visible effort to prove my contact wrong, because he or she instantly sees me as a scammer-419, another Nigerian cheat or thief. Diversity I know that diversity has been a big topic of conversation ever since the early 1990s when research supported the demographics that by the year 2000, 85% of the entering workforce would be female, African-American, Asian-American, Latino, or new immigrants. The fact that white males would be a minority entering the workplace was a wake up call for corporate America. Laws and Ethics?. Who's Kidding Who? Years ago I read an article by a renowned psychologist wherein he wrote his studies found one percent of all human beings would never lie, cheat or steal. One percent would always lie, cheat or steal and given the right set of circumstances, the rest of us would likely lie, cheat and/or steal. Vice of Buggery at FTC At the Federal Trade Commission we have seen attorneys who suffer from the vice of buggery get promoted to higher and more important international divisions. Now then, are these attorneys who have personal sexual problems and are breaking the laws of sodomy not wanted in the main group of Federal Trade Commission Employees? Is the FTC worried about sexual harassment laws? Are they worried about on-the-clock Men's Restroom "Quickies" and the possibility of the need for an unflattering in-house employee investigation becoming public? Is the Federal Trade Commission afraid to fire these buggerists, for some employee unlawful termination suit? Is buggery so pervasive that the FTC has to invent new titles for these guys so they can be moved up in rank to other divisions? If so why doesn't the FTC adopt a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy" to prevent special treatment of those who suffer from buggery? Can't the FTC get psychological help for these men who thrust their penis up another man's rectum? Obviously these human organs were not set up to do that. The Views of Karl Marx VS Max Weber Compare and contrast the views of Karl Marx and Max Weber with regards as to what motivates people to work.Karl Marx: [1] Exploitation[2] Proletariat have to sell their labour-power[3] The machines of the industrial revolution eliminate creativity require only the workers own labour, work is alienated, workers alienated. Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Work Ethics and the Customer This article relates to the Ethics in the Workplace competency, commonly evaluated in employee surveys. It gives examples of how employees and customers consider ethical behavior and sound values an integral part of your organization. Is Your Management Style Lead By Intimidation? So many women make the mistake of thinking that they have to be these big mean diva bosses, to get respect and cooperation from their staff and colleagues. They walk around the office huffing and puffing, never showing satisfaction at the work their staff does.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
