The term "business ethics" refers to a set of principles that should guide company behavior, maintain customer security, and improve the environment (Shaw & Barry, 2011, p. 15).
Making Money vs Ethics
Making money is what businesses are in it for. On the other hand, ethics are socially ingrained standards that are taught to people (Trevino & Nelson, 2016, p. 24). Naturally, the primary goal of business frequently clashes with the idea of ethics. Fundamentally, this is due to the ethical requirement that ideas come before a company's financial line. The violation of a business' ethics is usually seen as a betrayal of the very foundation of society. Ethics are based on matters that touch on the building blocks of trust that companies use to prosper. To successfully build an empire, one needs to understand the importance of these relations (Carroll, et al., 2012, p.3). A good investor would work on these relations to capture the market and gain a competitive advantage.
The Temptation of Competitive Advantage
Additionally, competitive advantage is the reason why investors are tempted to break ethical codes (DesJardins, 2011, p.25). It is never the intention of an individual to break any fundamental rules. An anonymous writer once said that the will of a person is not seen during good times but rather when his back is against the wall (Hoffman, et al., 2014, p. 1). After my high school days, I too was faced by this dilemma. Most children in my neighborhood went for flashy holidays during the summer time. A large spending base marked these periods. Consequently, many businesses raised their prices to make a huge profit. Because of this, I saw a niche in the market, and I decided to act on it. My neighborhood had few beverage stalls. Therefore, many people were forced to walk long distances to purchase soft drinks. Upon realizing this gap in the market, I opened up a small stall.I made a fortune during the first year. My parents advised me to buy products in bulk when prices of soft drinks were down and sell at a premium during the hot season. I used my first profits to expand the product catalog. In good time, I diversified to natural and homemade drinks to decrease the expenditure. My customer base increased exponentially. However, due to an exponential rise in demand, my stock often sold out in record time. Ultimately, this meant that I was unable to cater for the needs of all my clients. To cure this shortcoming, I watered my drinks and added a bit of artificial sugars. At the time, I merely saw this act as a small trick intended to boost customer satisfaction and increase my profits.However, in relation to what I have studied in school, I have realized that my actions were in full dismissal of business ethics. I was not honest to my customer base (Fisher & Lovell, 2009, p. 48). I built a brand based on the fact that my products, particularly the homemade juice, were all natural. Whenever a brand fails to live up to the image that it portrays to the public, then it is a sham (Shao, et al., 2008, p. 7). This course has altered my thinking towards my daily transactions. A business solely based on a profit mentality fails in numerous ways; business success has other numerous factors (MacDonald, et al., 2014, p 26). Not to mention, running an ethical business increases the lifespan of a business and its profit potential (Parrish, 2016,p. 36).
The Responsibilities of Investors
All investors need to understand this dominating fact - we all have a responsibility to maintain our business ethics (Seppala & Griseri, p. 20). It is our duty as the shapers of the future, to head our field in the way they are intended to be run. Let us be the markers of progression by maintaining the ethics placed upon us.Part B
The Importance of Ethical and Moral Reasoning
Ethical and moral reasoning is a tool that every future professional can utilize because it sensitizes the individual against committing wrongs in the course of business (Hoffman, et al., 2014, p. 17). Essentially, by learning about business ethics, the individual is shaped towards giving his full dedication to service delivery and care for the environment. It allows a company to expand exponentially without drastic effects on the environment within and around the work environment. Ethics have allowed the business to practically become a better way of developing a region (Fisher & Lovell, 2009, p. 19).
Caring for the Environment
In a practical essence, every business is required to have an environmentally sustainable way of disposing the wastes produced. During the industrial revolution, multiple industries disposed of their wastes in landfills, and as a result, there was degeneration of the environment. This decreased the value of the land after the enterprise was done, and it decreased progress as the landfills came with their own troubles. However, with business ethics, companies have been mandated to care for their environment. Illegal disposal of wastes has been banned, and this has increased the level of awareness of the environment (DesJardins, 2011, p. 14). Research shows that businesses that use their resources to develop the regions around them have a more attractive profile to investors than industries that ignore the areas around them (Shaw & Barry, 2011, p. 19).
Building a Welcoming Work Environment
In the management of a business, an employer is required to develop a work environment that raises employee morale. You are required by ethics and basic morals to develop your work environment as a welcoming environment. To do this, the employer needs to reduce labor turnover. Once this is done, productivity is increased, and the customer receives the result of this action (Trevino & Nelson, 2016, p. 31). The customer satisfaction is reflected in the improvement in sales experienced by the company. In addition to this, by reducing recruitment costs, you attract more talent. These tactics are one of the tools taught in an ethics course. They teach investors the roles they play in increasing profits without breaking any laws, risking the future of the company, and facing litigation costs.
Identifying Legal Market Niches
Understanding morals and ethics allows an individual to identify niches in the market within legal boundaries (DesJardins, 2011, p. 12). It trains a businessperson to dedicate himself to his work, and as a result, we see a higher and long-lived span of profits realized than if he broke the code of ethics. One such example is the investor's duty to the shareholders. An investor can wait upon dividends and still run a profit. However, a good investor would place his shareholders' interests above his own. He would seek investors to raise the share price (Trevino & Nelson, 2016, p. 31). Consequently, this leads to an increase in profits. Ethics train an individual to place the customer's rights above his own. Substandard goods are damaging the economy of the country. An ethical businessman or woman would understand this and dedicate him or herself to offering a better customer experience. High-quality goods would secure a more stable customer base and therefore assure profits (Shao, et al., 2008, p. 7).In conclusion, an analysis of ethics shows that the implementation of these ethical rules stands to raise the profile of a company (Hoffman, et al., 2014, p. 52). It seeks to improve the experience the customers face and mainly benefits the environment around the business. Through the maintenance of business ethics, we see that the benefits surely outweigh the risk of failing to adhere to the rules. Business ethics and moral reasoning are the keys to expanding and practicing business.
Reference List
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