Introduction
Business ethics refers to the defined rules and norms of conduct that are generally regarded as appropriate or appropriate in the field of industry or a specific institution at large. The people who usually come up with these criteria are a variety of people who are interested in the industry in some way. Customers, the state, and even the company itself are among them. This is critical since they are all interested in the company in some manner at some time. Business ethics is a very key component of any organization or company that aspires to be successful in general. It is through it that we retain our customers, we have a healthy business competition and make the best profits of all time in a fair manner.
Learning Business Ethics as a Marketing Intern
As a Marketing intern for a Recruiting firm that uses graphic design, mailers, and so on, I have learned how the topic of ethics roles has opened my eyes in my day to day workplace as an intern. The topic has also enabled me to know what to look out for in the workplace, and it has as well taught me what to do and what not to in the workplace to get the best out of me and the organization or company in general.
Fairness and Honesty
Fairness and honesty are one of the key business ethics that I learned on this topic. According to Vickers et al “Honesty and fairness is one thing that is heart to any organization out here today in the world” (560). Honesty involves abiding by the rules and codes of the company or any organization. Fairness also involves having as honest advertisements as possible in general. Fairness and honesty involve things like even keeping the company secrets and being able to meet any obligations that the company should meet (Vicker, 58). Having known this, as an intern I learned to be as fair and honest as possible all through that time. It has opened my eyes in that I know that at times being dishonest could lead to even lose your job or even cause the whole organization a fortune. I know what to look out for, and that is honesty and being fair as a business ethics. I also know what not to do as dishonesty can cause a fortune to a company.
Misuse of Company's Time
Misuse of the company's time is also another unethical business behavior in our companies today. According to Ferell “It involves things such as having long lunch breaks, arriving late at work, seeking leave for being sick even when someone is not sick in general, using the internet even when it is not related to the appropriate work that is required and trying to oversocialized that is not very necessary in a company” (36). This could lead to losing income to the company as when you are needed to attend to a client or a customer you are not available (Ferell 37). You are away trying to buy time. Learning this helped me open my eyes to aspects of misuse of the company's time in my day to day around the firm. I now know what to check out for as trying to save every single minute to maximize the time at the firm. I also know what not to do to subscribe to the business ethics. I should not arrive late, have long lunch breaks, I should not have long conversations that indicate over socialization and leaving early as all this can at one point cost the company in general.
Abusive and Intimidating Behavior
Being abusive and intimidating to customers or even colleagues, in general, is an unethical business practice in our contemporary world today. However, over time it has been confirmed that sometimes identifying this behavior is at times very difficult. This is because it can be done in very many different ways. It could be through abusing someone orally or even using gestures at a workplace that tend to abuse either customers or even clients in general. Through learning this, it opened my eyes to the fact that this could undermine cooperation among colleagues working together as some of them could feel very offended by this behavior. This could lead to poor performance among colleagues in the firm or company hence causing the at large. I then knew what not to do as I make sure that I don't act intimidating or become abusive in interning and working in the marketing department.
Bullying
Bullying is also another form of an unethical business trait that is common. It refers to taking advantage of other colleagues, and it could even threaten them to do for you a certain thing in general. Bullying could be in the form of words, nonverbal or even implied means. In a bullying environment, people never give out their best, and even customers can run away feeling the intimidation and threat that comes with it. It opened my eyes to the fact that bullying is a killer behavior for any company that wants to succeed in their daily management. I make sure that I don't bully or report any form of bullying as this is a major threat to business.
Misuse of Company Resources
The other unethical business behavior is the misuse of company resources. This involves the use of company resources for purposes that they are not meant to do. It could be as simple as driving a company car to a destination that it was not meant to go to. This is unethical as it leaves the organization resources depleted and it makes the company spend much more trying to replace the things that have been misused. This could even cost a company millions in return. It opened my reasoning to the possibility of a company spending so much money trying to replace the misused resources in general. This makes me not waste any company resources at all. Proper usage of company's resources is a good business ethics.
Conflict of Interest
Conflict of interest is also another unethical behavior in the day to day management of a company and business. Having no conflict of interest is a good business ethics. Having a conflict exists when a person has interests that are almost the same as the ones that the firm is also carrying out. It involves things like even insider trading. This requires that someone has to decide as to choose whether to advance his interests or those of the company. It opened my eyes in the sense that I learned that having a conflict of interest could lead to someone not giving the best and having a divided attention. I then knew that I should not have a conflicting interest with the firm or organization.
Effective Communication
Communication is also another area that should be taken care of well. According to Kirrane et al “Having very honest communication is very ethical” (45). Honest communication involves aspects such as having certain advertisements all along. It leads to a customer trusting the company, and as a result, you retain the customer. It opened my eyes in my marketing internship as I told a client the honest truth and information about anything. I learned that lying could cost a company many customers at the end.
Conclusion
In conclusion, professional codes of Ethics are usually agreed upon set of standards that entail what the company or the organization expect its employees to abide by at all times. They normally don't have to be detailed and include all aspects but tend to give a general overview of the general expectations of the company in general. They are just guidelines in which if abided by they will help a business grow towards achieving its organizational goal and target at the end. It is, therefore, necessary that they should be abided by to have an excellent and successful company.
Work Cited
Vickers, Mark . “Business ethics and the HR role: past, present, and future.” Human Resource Planning, Mar. 2005, p. 26+.
Ferell. “ Sustainability: Business & your career.” M Business. 4th Edition. 2015. Mc Graw-Hill Education.
Kirrane, Diane. “Managing values: a systematic approach to business ethics.” Training & Development Journal, Nov. 1990, p. 52+.
