Business Ethics 1

University Of Phoenix

Business Ethical Issues

MGT 216 – Organizational Ethics and Social Responsibility

By: Mrs. Katie L. Williams

09
 1In today’s society working can be stressful for some people. There is always a need for

something, whether it is to arrive on time, complete assignments promptly or to always act in a

professional manner. Many people throughout society do not fully understand the meaning of

Business Ethics, or how these ethical behaviors affect local communities or organizations.

Businesses in today’s society address many unorthodox ethical behaviors within their companies

each and every day. Learn what types of unethical behaviors employers have to face, and how

these behaviors create stress on the surrounding communities and organizations.

Defining Business Ethics

In today’s society working can be stressful for some people. There is always a

need for something, whether it is to arrive on time, complete assignments promptly or to always

act in a professional manner. Many people throughout society do not fully understand the

meaning of Business Ethics, or how these ethical behaviors affect local communities or

organizations. Businesses in today’s society address many unorthodox ethical behaviors within

their companies every day. Learn what types of unethical behaviors employers have to face, and

how these behaviors create stress on the surrounding communities and organizations.

Defining Business Ethics

When it comes to business ethics many people do not understand the true meaning.

However, according to the textbook, the definition of ethics is; “the principals, nouns, and

standards of conduct governing an individual or group - focuses on conduct. We expect

employers to establish guidelines for work related conduct, including what time to arrive and
leave the workplace, whether smoking is allowed on the premises, how customers are to be

treated, and how quickly work should be done” (Trevino & Nelson, 2006, p. 13-14). Many

companies pride themselves as being efficient in there codes of ethical behaviors; however, our

world is very competitive and there are not many companies that do this anymore. Furthermore,

here are two main key factors that will help to contribute to business success. One of these is for

each company or business to fully understand the meaning of business ethics, and how it affects

each individual within the workplace. The second key is for each business to know how to deal

with unorthodox behaviors in a successful, but productive way. Both these keys will help each

business strive to do their very best. For instance, if a company was to know how to deal with

these uncanny behaviors properly they may stop issues before they arise.

Bateman & Snell, (2009) stated that business ethics “comprises the moral principles and

standards that guide in the world of business” (p. 181). In the business world today, all

businesses have legal obligations they must obey. They must follow all rules and regulations,

including all local, state, federal, and international laws as well. These companies also have

many more responsibilities they must follow, such as ethical responsibilities. These ethical

responsibilities are not only social expectations of behavior, but also ethical codes of conduct.

Further, these organizations also have a cooperate obligation to fill which is “the obligation

toward society assumed by business. The socially responsible business maximizes the positive

effects on society and minimizes the negative effects, (Bateman & Snell, 2009, p. 181). This

essay will address three ethical issues from within the business environment. These ethical issues

will be from within the workplace such as: human resources, harassment (sexual and otherwise),

and customer confident issues as well.

Human Resource Issues

Many business owners have a difficult time managing their employees. Many companies

lack to see that there employees are the foundation of their success or failure. Trevino & Nelson,

(2006) stated that “66 percent of ethical issues encountered by the managers interviewed

involved managing human resources or internal organizational ethics or compliance hotlines,

regularly report that the majority or hotline calls from employees involved human resource

issues” (p. 67). In addition to this, many employees feel like they are under appreciated for the

work they do, which can lead to many issues in the HR department.

For instance, an employee, who knows that the work they do is appreciated, will be more

willing to work harder, longer, and be more creative. According to (Trevino & Nelson, 2006, p.

67), “Productively, which is at the very heart of competitiveness, can exist only when employees

feel respected by management and when employees are encouraged to respect one another when

they are engaged.” Many might ask how important are engaged employees? Well to be honest,

the difference is whether the company will succeed or fail. Companies that tend to encourage

their employees will make more money. Ethical issues occur in all departments of a company.

Some ethical dilemmas in the HR Department may include harassment (sexual or otherwise),

performance, and of course conflicts of interest.

Harassment (Sexual or Otherwise)

Another widely known ethical issue is harassment weather it is sexual or otherwise.

According to (Trevino & Nelson, 2006, p.72), Harassment (sexual or otherwise) is considered an

ethical issue as it “unfairly focuses on job satisfaction, advancement, or retention on a factor

other than the ability to do the job.” Harassment is one of the main ethical issues that have been
an ongoing problem for many years. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken

many steps to prevent this issue. For instance, if a company has more than 15 employees they

must hand out Harassment policies or procedures and offer training courses as well. Many issues

that are addressed as sexual harassment have nothing to do with romance or relationships, but

have all to do with power and fairness.

Therefore, if an employee feels like they have been a victim of sexual harassment, they

have the ability to: 1) File a complaint with his or her manager. 2) Once a complaint has been

filed, an investigation will be conducted on the incident reported. Also any and all disciplinary

actions will be handed out to the victim’s harasser. 3) The employer has the right and obligation

to inform the victim that there will be no disciplinary action held against them for reporting the

incident. Management also has the obligation to let the victim know the outcome of the

investigation. “Over one third of complaint handled by the (EEOC), are sexual harassment

claims” (Trevino & Nelson, 2006, p. 72). Harassment is only one of the many ethical issues in

the work environment, another is known as customer confidence.

Customer Confidence Issues

Another ethical issue that has come to be noted in today’s business world is the

disclosure of customer’s personal information. Now days, in small businesses and other

organizations, protecting client’s personal information is a priority. Business owners have

realized how important it is to ensure the privacy and security of their client’s personal

information. For instance, here are some examples of some of the personal information that may

need to be protected: bank accounts, credit card numbers, and of course social security numbers.

When companies do not protect their customer’s information, they become liable for any fraud
against their clients. This in turn could lead them to expensive lawsuits. For example, a few

months ago, an employee who used to work for a major corporation sold clients’ information.

Breaches such as these can ruin company’s reputations and reduce his or her client’s confidence

toward the company. Perhaps even so much that people will not want to do business with those

companies anymore. Therefore, to be successful organizations must have hardworking

employees with exceptional sense of ethics within his or her workforce to prevent the above

ethical issue.

Conclusion

Human Resource Issues, Harassment (sexual, or otherwise), and customer confidence

issues are all examples of ethical issues that every person will encounter throughout his or her

careers or life. The positive news is that several issues within the business environment are

predicable; therefore, understanding what ethics are and things about these issues before they

occur may increase the chance of being able to stop them before hand. Even though this may not

describe every employee, many act more ethical then others, management teams should teach the

values of ethics in their organization. If companies and communities were to embrace this

knowledge, they could possible save themselves from having to address these issues and even

possible lawsuits in the future.

 References

Bateman, T.S. and Snell S. (2009). Management leading and collaborating in the competitive

world (8t ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Trevino, L. K, and Nelson, K.A. (2006). Managing Business Ethics: Straight talk about how to

do it right (4th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons.