Running Head: ETHICAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS

Ethical issues in business Name: Institution:

ETHICAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS

Business ethical Issues The mains ethical issues that businesses face today include the working conditions and behaviors of employees, and supplier or customer relationships. Examples of employee behavior include the amount of time that employees can spend while checking their personal emails and how mangers may handle cases of employee harassments. It also includes other ways through which managers can promote employees to higher job profiles. Normally, there are legal issues that control or limit the behaviors of employees (Conor, Jenny 2007). These legal issues may protect employees against religious, race or ethnicity exploitation by managers. Employees must also know the amount of time that their managers give them to spend in leisure activities or activities outside the scope of the job like chatting or checking their personal mails on the internet (Conor, Jenny 2007). Employees must also be aware if their managers require them work for long or extra periods of time. Managers must also not exploit employees by underpaying them or making them to work for extra hours without pay. In such instances, managers might often encounter lawful action. Business owners and employees must also consider the ethical while they relate with their customers and or suppliers (Conor, Jenny 2007). The managers or entrepreneurs must also consider the ethical issues while they relate with their suppliers and clients. Managers and business owner must ensure that pass the right information to clients regarding the availability of products or service (Conor, Jenny 2007). Level of ethical dilemmas in business The levels of ethical dilemmas depend on the dilemmas that a business faces. At the basic level, ethical issues usually involve legal and morals by law. Employees or managers who conduct illegal issues usually have to face the law and this might lead loss of jobs or accusations (Harsh 2008). All businesses have chances of unethical behaviors by the workers, and those

ETHICAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS

businesses that have higher financial risks often have more strict laws. Therefore, companies often have compliance programs that control the actions of employees. Ethical dilemma can also be technical (Harsh, 2008). This level of dilemma may occur when the managers fail to pay the employees or when they pay some employees more than the pay other because of personal reasons. Moral integrity is another level of ethical dilemma. This level of dilemma involves corporate and personal values in the moral integrity of individuals. Therefore, all companies have their laws that handle recruitment and firing of workers depending on the level of dilemma (Harsh, 2008). Influence on ethical behaviors It is highly challenging to mange ethical behaviors of employees in almost all companies. There are a number of factors that may influence the behaviors of employees. Some of the factors may include managerial philosophy, personality and decision history. Despite all these factors, the leaders or managers are the principal source of influence to the ethical behaviors of employees in the business (Iwanow, McEachern & Jeffrey 2005). If managers of provide quality examples to the employees, the employees will follow the examples. Managers must treat all the employees equally and listen to all their problems if they expect the employees to behave in a fair manner (Iwanow, McEachern & Jeffrey 2005). The personality of the employees is also a factor that influences behaviors. Individuals with quality personality have high chances of behaving well. People will always follow their instincts (Iwanow, McEachern & Jeffrey 2005). Factors that shape the behaviors of people The economic system also influences the way people behave in a business. If the economy progresses well, it means the workers will receive high payments and they will regularly attend jobs. The political and economic system relate with one another. Politics

ETHICAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS

determine how the business runs in the country. Some political systems are more strict that other political systems (Janet Mullin, Anusorn, Ashraf & Scott, 2004). Some political systems may require the workers or employees to pay more taxes than other political systems. The value system of the business also affects the way the employees behave and how they relate with the administration. The companies that have developed value systems will have workers with strong characters. These employees often understand their rights and are highly confident when defending the rights and the rights of their counterparts. The values of such companies shape the behaviors of the employees and dictates how the employees interrelate with the company. People who do not have ethical principles is often not prolific in the business (Randolph, 2010). Policies and programs that assist in ethical behavior The company legal system The companys legal system is a vital factor that affects how people behave in the organization. The legal system of a company dictates the freedoms and restrictions of the company staff. The employees will have to do only what the company requires them to do at the right time (Randolph, 2010). The company will judge when to prove that an employee is guilty or innocent and sometimes, in serious situations, the company might take the employees to court. If a member of staff behaves against the laws of a company, the member will face the consequence of the action (Randolph, 2010). Corporate Training If a company trains its workers, it will highly influence the way the workers act. Companies that train their workers often develop the attitudes of the workers and encourage workers to become resourceful in the company. The training system is highly significant in the development of employee behavior (Vilcox & Mohan, 2007).

ETHICAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS

ETHICAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS

References Conor O'Leary, Jenny Stewart, (2007),"Governance factors affecting internal auditors' ethical decision-making: An exploratory study", Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 22 Iss: 8 pp. 787 808 Harsh Suri, (2008),"Ethical considerations in synthesising research - Whose representations?", Qualitative Research Journal, Vol. 8 Iss: 1 pp. 63 - 73 H. Iwanow, M.G. McEachern, A. Jeffrey, (2005),"The influence of ethical trading policies on consumer apparel purchase decisions: A focus on The Gap Inc.", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 33 Iss: 5 pp. 371 387. Janet K. Mullin Marta, Anusorn Singhapakdi, Ashraf Attia, Scott J. Vitell, (2004),"Some important factors underlying ethical decisions of Middle-Eastern marketers", International Marketing Review, Vol. 21 Iss: 1 pp. 53 67 Randolph E. Schwering, (2010),"Sources of judgment error in environmental sensemaking", Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Vol. 1 Iss: 2 pp. 235 255. Vilcox, M. W., & Mohan, T. O. (2007). Contemporary issues in business ethics. New York: Nova Science Pub.