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Business Ethics Training – Why Important?
Many people wonder if business ethics is just a buzzword that has been tossed around lately, due to some of the aggressive tactics we have seen them as we enter the 21st century. I assure you, it is here to stay. What needs to be done is for more people to brush up on their ethics, as they relate to business, to make sure they always operate with a high standard of moral conduct. In this article, I will discuss with you why this is important to help you with your business.
Business ethics training comes in two forms — one for the employer and one for the employee. For the employer, a good sense of what type of ethics are required as a business owner is needed, because the owner is the one who makes all the final decisions. They need to be a good leader and a representative of somebody who has strong moral and ethical ideology, if they are going to expect the same from their employees.
For the employee, business ethics training is even more important. Especially for somebody who is new on the job. If you start early, and instill a good sense of ethical conduct within your employees, or as an employee cultivate these ethics within yourself, then you can be assured of working in a company that will not fall prey to deceptive practices and fraudulent processes.
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”.
Ethics in Business
Most companies realize that they need to develop and implement a business ethics and compliance program.
Establishing a Code of Business Ethics
Whenever I think of ethics I am reminded of the ancient quote of sufi poet Jallaludin Rumi – “Out beyond the ideas of right doing or wrong doing, there is a field, I shall be waiting for your there.” We are in life, sometimes facing ethical dilemmas and are on this gray field not knowing which direction to take and where it will lead us. Our personal ethics define our personal value systems, character and behavior. In the present world, with organization having an identity of its own, it requires a code of business ethics with which people can identify its value system and expected behavior.
Business ethics defines a code of moral conduct for the business, which specifies that the business should achieve growth and profits in a socially and legally responsible manner and is accountable for their decisions to the internal and external stakeholders and public at large. Institute of Business Ethics, London defines it as – “Business ethics is the application of ethical values to business behavior. It applies to any and all aspects of business conduct, from boardroom strategies and how companies treat their employees and suppliers to sales techniques and accounting practices. Ethics goes beyond the legal requirements for a company and is, therefore, about discretionary decisions and behavior guided by values. Business ethics is relevant both to the conduct of individuals and to the conduct of the organization as a whole.”
In most countries, the accounting and stock exchange institutes have mandated that each organization should have a code of conduct implemented within the organization. There is no standard code of ethics, and broad guidelines are given which can be adapted according to the organization culture and business requirement. Each organization Ethics & Compliance department is required to prepare a written Code of Conduct and implement the same within the organization.
