Upholding Moral Standards and Ethics in Modern Business
I guess upholding moral standards is both a natural trait and a taught ability. Learning about ethical issues only broadens one's understanding of the society perspectives on many issues. The requirement for businesses to provide what is best for customers and further serve stakeholder interests has dramatically altered how management views ethics in the modern world. In my opinion, the management holds that the relationship between the business and stakeholders is strengthened by complete adherence to moral principles. I genuinely believe that organizations or people who keep high ethical standards have a good probability of accomplishing their goals. For instance, a business that ensures all ethical imperatives in the systems tends to execute its activities accordingly. It is argued that ethics is doing what is right or moral, an assertion that I strongly support.
Ethics and its Role in Businesses
Ethics refers to rules and laws that guide a business or individuals about what is right or wrong. Ethics primarily encompasses morality issues, and all businesses, people, and professions are imperatively expected to comply with ethical postulations. In my view, ethics goes hand in hand with corporate social responsibility. Hence, this paper addresses current excellent ethical practice, and further an ethical aspect that needs modification in Elizabeth Suzann clothing production business.
An Ethical Aspect in Elizabeth Suzann Clothing Production Business
An aspect I find ethical from the case study. Evidently, this business strongly depicts the greatest level of accountability and openness of the business regarding provision of quality products to customers and at the same time, taking care of employee's rights and needs. Arguably, compliance to business ethical imperatives by companies indeed contributes to total commitment for achieving short and long term objectives. There is a belief that ethics contributes to success, but I suppose ethics is just a section that creates efficiency in business operations. The sheer fact is that achievement of a company's long and short-term goals significantly depends on the management effectiveness in putting all due processes intact. Operational processes in organizations require alignment with the mission and vision which conflate in spearheading for profit maximization, cost minimization, customer satisfaction and positively impacting on the social environment.
Transparency in Pricing and Employee Compensation
Firstly, the Elizabeth Suzann business is committed to ensuring its employees grow in all aspect as the firm grows and further provides the customers with quality products. This initiative of ensuring both the customers and employees also derive reasonable benefits from the business what is one of the primary ethical metrics that most selfish organizations have found too hard and even impossible to implement. In the apparel and clothing industry, the prices of various fashions have plummeted, and I feel the primary cause is the contravention of ethical imperatives regarding inputs quality, employees working conditions, wages, and quality of the outputs. As earlier stated, ethics goes hand in hand with compliance to moral assertions. In my opinion, the Elizabeth Suzann business uses deontological and utilitarian theories, and both significantly describe ethical practices hinged to impact the employees and customers positively. Based on these principles, a business is ethically right if the action taken benefits the majority of people.
The business of Elizabeth Suzann charges high prices for the customers what contrasts significantly with other firms in the industry. However, the high prices are only meant to cater for inputs of production accordingly, though the profit margin for this company is reasonable. This business has succinctly explained to the consumers why more dollars are paid for the clothes produced and sold. Sincerely, such actions can only be taken by few companies, but up to date, this is among the exceptional businesses to share production and profit margin information with customers that add up more credit to the management.
Ensuring a Safe and Healthy Working Environment
This gracious and transparency in pricing of the products is one of the ethical mandates for business. The prices probably match the quality of the clothes provided. In Kant's deontological theory, it is stated as unethical to charge pretty high prices for a product of low quality. Ostensibly, a customer should be offered products that ultimately meet the intended purpose. In my opinion, there should be a maximum derivation of the desired benefit that is even higher than the price charged. I also observed that this business considers offering cheap products and non-quality products to customers as unethical, injustice, and unfair. Moreover, this business rewards employees pretty well based on their contribution. By paying employees above the minimum wage aims to aid them to feed their families. I suppose it is unethical for a business to overuse employees and fail to reward them accordingly. It is perfectly clear that the number of staff in this institution has increased. The increase in the number of employees depicts good performance. Arguably, for a business to be ethically fit, employees should also benefit in other ways such as excellent salary package and safe working conditions irrespective of the position individuals hold. I suppose that initiatives enacted by the business to help all reflect utilitarianism principles where a good pay to employees is reflections of fairness and justice.
Conclusion
All things considered, the Elizabeth Susann business has upheld the highest degree of conforming to what is right and of benefit to both the employees, customers, and other stakeholders. Firstly, this business has ensured it always acquires quality inputs from the vendors. Consequently, the business will achieve the objective of producing quality products. However, these products are perhaps expensive, but customers are guaranteed to derive excellent satisfaction out of them. Simply, they are value-oriented and can be used for several years if contrasted to cheap clothes manufactured by other players in the clothing industry. Secondly, the employees receive a good reward for the right tasks. This business does not set a reasonable profit margin to benefit the owner and other stakeholders such as the government and employees. Hence, these two areas explored significantly portray a pretty good picture of ethical consideration for this business.
An Aspect to be Changed to Make the Business More Ethical
Despite applauding this business for maintaining and upholding good ethical practices, there is a need for this business to improve some of the existing ethical practices. Doing that it would be possible to make the business strategy more ethical. In fact, all the workers deserve health and safety programs. The implementation of this recommendation is instrumental in assisting the business to retain its workers and further attract new talents comfortably. Notably, health and safety programs for all levels of employees have been missed in this company. The efforts undertaken by the management of ensuring all the staff are well compensated and can further be improved and catered in order to make sure that safety and health aspects are constituted in employee programs. Arguably, every task exposes workers to particular health and safety risks. However, the apparel industry is not exceptional. The workers still experience some health problems such as fatigue and stress which ultimately result in illness. It can be argued that being considerate of the pay system but failing to address health and safety issues discredits the overall ethical practices of the company.
As a matter of fact, a safe working environment for employees greatly influences the reputation of the firm. For instance, most innovative and technology-oriented companies customize creating a decent working environment to attract talented employees. A healthy business environment further extends to consider other activities besides good pay, reward systems, and safety and health programs. A healthy and morally upright business working environment tends to limit all instances that may result in inflicting discomfort in employees. I suppose it also establishes a collaborative workforce where most of the activities focus on enhancing the growth of the company and the employees as well.
A decent business working environment portrays aspects such as adequate employee participation in decision making, high bargaining powers, and consideration of workers' rights. It is argued that Rawls' principles of liberty and equality ensure factoring of ethical imperatives in business. I suppose the principle of liberty should encompass the openness of the employees to contribute to any matters concerning the business or their rights, which are observable in this case study. Moreover, constructive ideas would be put forth and assist the management in fixing various issues before they adversely affect the business. Also, equality principles are achievable. There will be a system that significantly advocates for fair distribution of benefits in the firm. Basing on the Elizabeth Susann business, fairness and equality are achievable when the gap between the earnings of the senior and junior workers is very insignificant. Moreover, distributive justice will also be realizable. Distributive justice enhances the assigning of roles according to workers' ability. People are assigned roles based on their qualifications, which enables them to complete the tasks in time and accordingly.
I suggest that the Elizabeth Susann business should extend due to its the current good reward system and further incorporate health and safety programs. In contrast, in the matter of ethical and corporate assertions, as it is claimed by the majority of philosophers, ethics is considered to be a similar issue to morality, as it encompasses what is right. I think if the meaning of ethics is enlargeable to doing activities that benefit most people in society, then it becomes a corporate social responsibility matter. In this case, I compare ethical imperatives for professionals and business institutions. Apparently, business organizations are not different from professionals who are imperatively expected to uphold the highest degree of morality while discharging duties. A professional is supposed to ensure that no principle is compromised to favor personal interests. Ignoring that will be unethical and can eventually destroy the firm's reputation. The same applies to a business, which has a primary role in factoring the stakeholders' interests and at the same time, it achieves the profit-making objective. I think a firm can refer to Norman Bowie's principles, which succinctly explain how to ensure ethical address of the stakeholders' interests.
All things considered, it can be claimed that this business has enacted a system that appreciates the contribution of employees to its success. Perhaps, an aspect that will make ethical practices regarding employee's welfare in the business complete is health and safety programs that are fundamental for an ethical institution.
Work Cited
Kamm, F. M. “Chapter 5: Toward the Essence of Non-consequentialist Constraints on Harming.”
In Intricate Ethics: Rights, Responsibilities, and Permissible Harm. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
