ETHICAL PRINCIPLES FOR BUSINESS
ETHICAL PRINCIPLES FOR BUSINESS
Ethical
principles are universal standards of right and wrong. These principles
prescribe the kind of behavior an ethical company or person should engage in.
Business people and business executives should practice the principles in their
personal life also.
Principles
of an ethical business can be explained as follows:
Honesty
Be
honest in all communications and actions. Ethical business should be trustworthy.
It should not deliberately mislead or deceive others by misrepresentations,
overstatements, partial truths, selective omissions, or any other means.
Integrity
Maintain
personal integrity. Integrity refers to a wholeness of character demonstrated
by consistency between thoughts, words and actions. Ethical business should be
principled, upright and positive. It should not sacrifice principles for
convenience and for the sake of practicality.
Promise-Keeping
Keep
promises and fulfill commitments. A business is worthy only when it makes every
reasonable effort to fulfill the letter and spirit of its promises and
commitments. It should never try to interpret agreements in an unreasonably
technical or legalistic manner in order to rationalize non-compliance or create
justifications for escaping from commitments.
Loyalty
Ethical
business executives should demonstrate loyalty by safeguarding their ability to
make independent professional judgments. Their decisions should always be for
the growth and development of business. They should never use or disclose
information learned in confidential way, for personal advantage.
Fairness
Strive
to be fair and just in all dealings. Business people should never make use of
any kind of indecent means to gain or maintain any advantage. They should never
take undue advantage of another’s mistakes or difficulties. Ethical executives must
be committed to justice, and should give equal justice and treatment to all
individuals. They should be open-minded; and willing to admit their mistakes.
Caring
Demonstrate compassion and a genuine concern for the well-being of others. Ethical executives should be caring, compassionate, benevolent and kind towards all stakeholders of business. Whenever they take decisions, they should consider the financial and emotional consequences of their actions on all stakeholders.
Respect Others
Treat everyone with respect. Ethical executives should demonstrate respect for the human dignity, autonomy, privacy, rights, and interests of all those who have a stake in their decisions. They should be courteous and treat all people with equal respect and dignity regardless of sex, race or national origin.
Law Abiding
Obey
the law. Every business should follow laws, rules and regulations relating to its
business activities.
Commitment to Excellence
Pursue excellence all the time in all things. Ethical executives must be excellent in performing their duties. They should be well-aware of all environmental factors around and be prepared to increase their proficiency in all areas of responsibility.
Leadership
Exemplify
honor and ethics. Ethical executives should be conscious of their own
responsibilities. They should make use the opportunities of their position of
leadership and should be positive ethical role models by their own
conduct and character.
Reputation and Morale
Build and protect the company’s good reputation and morale of its employees. It is the duty of business executives to create, maintain and increase the reputation of the company. They should never engage into any actions which hurt the morale of employees.
Accountability
Be
accountable. Business should be accountable to its own people such as
management, employees etc. and also to communities, customers, competitors and
government. It should expect a social audit every time and should be prepared
for it.
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