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OEIB Organization Ethics in Business
Business ethics is a form of the art of applied ethics that examines ethical
rules and principles within a commercial context, the various moral or ethical
problems that can arise in a business setting, and any special duties or
obligations that apply to persons who are engaged in commerce.
In the increasingly conscience-focused marketplaces of the 21st century, the
demand for more ethical business processes and actions (known as ethicism) is
increasing. Simultaneously, pressure is applied on industry to improve business
ethics through new public initiatives and laws (e.g. higher UK road tax for
higher-emission vehicles).
Business ethics can be both a normative and a descriptive discipline. As a
corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily
normative. In academia descriptive approaches are also taken. The range and
quantity of business ethical issues reflects the degree to which business is
perceived to be at odds with non-economic social values. Historically, interest
in business ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both
within major corporations and within academia. For example, today most major
corporate websites lay emphasis on commitment to promoting non-economic social
values under a variety of headings (e.g. ethics codes, social responsibility
charters). In some cases, corporations have redefined their core values in the
light of business ethical considerations (e.g. BP's "beyond petroleum"
environmental tilt).
Overview of issues in business ethics
General business ethics
This part of business ethics overlaps with the philosophy of business, one of
the aims of which is to determine the fundamental purposes of a company. If a
company's main purpose is to maximize the returns to its shareholders, then it
could be seen as unethical for a company to consider the interests and rights of
anyone else.
Corporate social responsibility or CSR: an umbrella term under which the ethical
rights and duties existing between companies and society is debated.
Issues regarding the moral rights and duties between a company and its
shareholders: fiduciary responsibility, stakeholder concept v. shareholder
concept.
Ethical issues concerning relations between different companies: e.g. hostile
take-overs, industrial espionage.
Leadership issues: corporate governance.
Political contributions made by corporations.
Law reform, such as the ethical debate over introducing a crime of corporate
manslaughter.
The misuse of corporate ethics policies as marketing instruments.
See also: corporate abuse, corporate crime.
Professional ethics
Professional ethics covers the myriad of practical ethical problems and
phenomena which arise out of specific functional areas of companies or in
relation to recognized business professions.
Ethics of accounting information
Creative accounting, earnings management, misleading financial analysis.
Insider trading, securities fraud, bucket shop, forex scams: concerns (criminal)
manipulation of the financial markets.
Executive compensation: concerns excessive payments made to corporate CEO's.
Bribery, kickbacks, facilitation payments: while these may be in the
(short-term) interests of the company and its shareholders, these practices may
be anti-competitive or offend against the values of society.
Cases: accounting scandals, Enron, WorldCom
Ethics of human resource management
The ethics of human resource management (HRM) covers those ethical issues
arising around the employer-employee relationship, such as the rights and duties
owed between employer and employee.
Discrimination issues include discrimination on the bases of age (ageism),
gender, race, religion, disabilities, weight and attractiveness. See also:
affirmative action, sexual harassment.
Issues surrounding the representation of employees and the democratization of
the workplace: union busting, strike breaking.
Issues affecting the privacy of the employee: workplace surveillance, drug
testing. See also: privacy.
Issues affecting the privacy of the employer: whistle-blowing.
Issues relating to the fairness of the employment contract and the balance of
power between employer and employee: slavery, indentured servitude, employment
law.
Occupational safety and health.
Ethics of sales and marketing
M marketing ethics
Marketing which goes beyond the mere provision of information about (and access
to) a product may seek to manipulate our values and behaviour. To some extent
society regards this as acceptable, but where is the ethical line to be drawn?
Marketing ethics overlaps strongly with media ethics, because marketing makes
heavy use of media. However, media ethics is a much larger topic and extends
outside business ethics.
Pricing: price fixing, price discrimination, price skimming.
Anti-competitive practices: these include but go beyond pricing tactics to cover
issues such as manipulation of loyalty and supply chains. See: anti-competitive
practices, antitrust law.
Specific marketing strategies: greenwash, bait and switch, shill, viral
marketing, spam (electronic), pyramid scheme, planned obsolescence.
Content of advertisements: attack ads, subliminal messages, sex in advertising,
products regarded as immoral or harmful
Children and marketing: marketing in schools.
Black markets, grey markets.
See also: memespace, disinformation, advertising techniques, false advertising,
advertising regulation
Cases: Benetton.
Ethics of production
This area of business ethics deals with the duties of a company to ensure that
products and production processes do not cause harm. Some of the more acute
dilemmas in this area arise out of the fact that there is usually a degree of
danger in any product or production process and it is difficult to define a
degree of permissibility, or the degree of permissibility may depend on the
changing state of preventative technologies or changing social perceptions of
acceptable risk.
Defective, addictive and inherently dangerous products and services (e.g.
tobacco, alcohol, weapons, motor vehicles, chemical manufacturing, bungee
jumping).
Ethical relations between the company and the environment: pollution,
environmental ethics, carbon emissions trading
Ethical problems arising out of new technologies: genetically modified food,
mobile phone radiation and health.
Product testing ethics: animal rights and animal testing, use of economically
disadvantaged groups (such as students) as test objects.
See also: product liability
Cases: Ford Pinto scandal, Bhopal disaster, asbestos / asbestos and the law.
Ethics of intellectual property, knowledge and skills
Knowledge and skills are valuable but not easily "ownable" objects. Nor is it
obvious who has the greater rights to an idea: the company who trained the
employee or the employee themselves? The country in which the plant grew, or the
company which discovered and developed the plant's medicinal potential? As a
result, attempts to assert ownership and ethical disputes over ownership arise.
Patent infringement, copyright infringement, trademark infringement.
Misuse of the intellectual property systems to stifle competition: patent
misuse, copyright misuse, patent troll, submarine patent.
Even the notion of intellectual property itself has been criticised on ethical
grounds: see intellectual property.
Employee raiding: the practice of attracting key employees away from a
competitor to take unfair advantage of the knowledge or skills they may possess.
The practice of employing all the most talented people in a specific field,
regardless of need, in order to prevent any competitors employing them.
Bioprospecting (ethical) and biopiracy (unethical).
Business intelligence and industrial espionage.
Cases: private versus public interests in the Human Genome Project
International business ethics and ethics of economic systems
The issues here are grouped together because they involve a much wider, global
view on business ethical matters.
International business ethics
While business ethics emerged as a field in the 1970s, international business
ethics did not emerge until the late 1990s, looking back on the international
developments of that decade. Many new practical issues arose out of the
international context of business. Theoretical issues such as cultural
relativity of ethical values receive more emphasis in this field. Other, older
issues can be grouped here as well. Issues and subfields include:
The search for universal values as a basis for international commercial
behaviour.
Comparison of business ethical traditions in different countries.
Comparison of business ethical traditions from various religious perspectives.
Ethical issues arising out of international business transactions; e.g.
bioprospecting and biopiracy in the pharmaceutical industry; the fair trade
movement; transfer pricing.
Issues such as globalisation and cultural imperialism.
Varying global standards - e.g. the use of child labour.
The way in which multinationals take advantage of international differences,
such as outsourcing production (e.g. clothes) and services (e.g. call centres)
to low-wage countries.
The permissibility of international commerce with pariah states.
Ethics of economic systems
This vaguely defined area, perhaps not part of but only related to business
ethics, is where business ethicists venture into the fields of political economy
and political philosophy, focussing on the rights and wrongs of various systems
for the distribution of economic benefits. The work of John Rawls (1921-2002) is
a notable contribution.
Theoretical issues in business ethics
Conflicting interests
Business ethics can be examined from various perspectives, including the
perspective of the employee, the commercial enterprise, and society as a whole.
Very often, situations arise in which there is conflict between one or more of
the parties, such that serving the interest of one party is a detriment to the
other(s). For example, a particular outcome might be good for the employee,
whereas, it would be bad for the company, society, or vice versa. Some ethicists
(e.g., Henry Sidgwick) see the principal role of ethics as the harmonization and
reconciliation of conflicting interests.
Ethical issues and approaches
Philosophers and others disagree about the purpose of a business in society. For
example, some suggest that the principal purpose of a business is to maximize
returns to its owners, or in the case of a publicly-traded concern, its
shareholders. Thus, under this view, only those activities that increase
profitability and shareholder value should be encouraged. Some believe that the
only companies that are likely to survive in a competitive marketplace are those
that place profit maximization above everything else. However, some point out
that self interest would still require a business to obey the law and adhere to
basic moral rules, because the consequences of failing to do so could be very
costly in fines, loss of licensure, or company reputation. The economist Milton
Friedman was a leading proponent of this view.
Other theorists contend that a business has moral duties that extend well beyond
serving the interests of its owners or stockholders, and that these duties
consist of more than simply obeying the law. They believe a business has moral
responsibilities to so-called stakeholders, people who have an interest in the
conduct of the business, which might include employees, customers, vendors, the
local community, or even society as a whole. They would say that stakeholders
have certain rights with regard to how the business operates, and some would
even suggest that this even includes rights of governance.
Some theorists have adapted social contract theory to business, whereby
companies become quasi-democratic associations, and employees and other
stakeholders are given voice over a company's operations. This approach has
become especially popular subsequent to the revival of contract theory in
political philosophy, which is largely due to John Rawls' A Theory of Justice,
and the advent of the consensus-oriented approach to solving business problems,
an aspect of the "quality movement" that emerged in the 1980s. Professors Thomas
Donaldson and Thomas Dunfee proposed a version of contract theory for business,
which they call Integrative Social Contracts Theory. They posit that conflicting
interests are best resolved by formulating a "fair agreement" between the
parties, using a combination of i) macro-principles that all rational people
would agree upon as universal principles, and, ii) micro-principles formulated
by actual agreements among the interested parties. Critics say the proponents of
contract theories miss a central point, namely, that a business is someone's
property and not a mini-state or a means of distributing social justice.
Ethical issues can arise when companies must comply with multiple and sometimes
conflicting legal or cultural standards, as in the case of multinational
companies that operate in countries with varying practices. The question arises,
for example, ought a company to obey the laws of its home country, or should it
follow the less stringent laws of the developing country in which it does
business? To illustrate, United States law forbids companies from paying bribes
either domestically or overseas; however, in other parts of the world, bribery
is a customary, accepted way of doing business. Similar problems can occur with
regard to child labor, employee safety, work hours, wages, discrimination, and
environmental protection laws.
It is sometimes claimed that a Gresham's law of ethics applies in which bad
ethical practices drive out good ethical practices. It is claimed that in a
competitive business environment, those companies that survive are the ones that
recognize that their only role is to maximize profits. On this view, the
competitive system fosters a downward ethical spiral.
Business ethics in the field
Corporate ethics policies
As part of more comprehensive compliance and ethics programs, many companies
have formulated internal policies pertaining to the ethical conduct of
employees. These policies can be simple exhortations in broad,
highly-generalized language (typically called a corporate ethics statement), or
they can be more detailed policies, containing specific behavioral requirements
(typically called corporate ethics codes). They are generally meant to identify
the company's expectations of workers and to offer guidance on handling some of
the more common ethical problems that might arise in the course of doing
business. It is hoped that having such a policy will lead to greater ethical
awareness, consistency in application, and the avoidance of ethical disasters.
An increasing number of companies also requires employees to attend seminars
regarding business conduct, which often include discussion of the company's
policies, specific case studies, and legal requirements. Some companies even
require their employees to sign agreements stating that they will abide by the
company's rules of conduct.
Many companies are assessing the environmental factors that can lead employees
to engage in unethical conduct.
Not everyone supports corporate policies that govern ethical conduct. Some claim
that ethical problems are better dealt with by depending upon employees to use
their own judgment.
Others believe that corporate ethics policies are primarily rooted in
utilitarian concerns, and that they are mainly to limit the company's legal
liability, or to curry public favor by giving the appearance of being a good
corporate citizen. Ideally, the company will avoid a lawsuit because its
employees will follow the rules. Should a lawsuit occur, the company can claim
that the problem would not have arisen if the employee had only followed the
code properly.
Sometimes there is disconnection between the company's code of ethics and the
company's actual practices. Thus, whether or not such conduct is explicitly
sanctioned by management, at worst, this makes the policy duplicitous, and, at
best, it is merely a marketing tool.
To be successful, most ethicists would suggest that an ethics policy should be:
Given the unequivocal support of top management, by both word and example.
Explained in writing and orally, with periodic reinforcement.
Doable....something employees can both understand and perform.
Monitored by top management, with routine inspections for compliance and
improvement.
Backed up by clearly stated consequences in the case of disobedience.
Remain neutral and nonsexist.
Ethics officers
Ethics officers (sometimes called "compliance" or "business conduct officers")
have been appointed formally by organizations since the mid-1980s. One of the
catalysts for the creation of this new role was a series of fraud, corruption
and abuse scandals that afflicted the U.S. defense industry at that time. This
led to the creation of the Defense Industry Initiative (DII), a pan-industry
initiative to promote and ensure ethical business practices. The DII set an
early benchmark for ethics management in corporations. In 1991, the Ethics &
Compliance Officer Association (ECOA) -- originally the Ethics Officer
Association (EOA)-- was founded at the Center for Business Ethics(at Bentley
College, Waltham, MA) as a professional association for those responsible for
managing organizations' efforts to achieve ethical best practices. The
membership grew rapidly (the ECOA now has over 1,100 members) and was soon
established as an independent organization.
Another critical factor in the decisions of companies to appoint
ethics/compliance officers was the passing of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines
for Organizations in 1991, which set standards that organizations (large or
small, commercial and non-commercial) had to follow to obtain a reduction in
sentence if they should be convicted of a federal offense. Although intended to
assist judges with sentencing, the influence in helping to establish best
practices has been far-reaching.
In the wake of numerous corporate scandals between 2001-04 (affecting large
corporations like Enron, WorldCom and Tyco), even small and medium-sized
companies have begun to appoint ethics officers. They often report to the Chief
Executive Officer and are responsible for assessing the ethical implications of
the company's activities, making recommendations regarding the company's ethical
policies, and disseminating information to employees. They are particularly
interested in uncovering or preventing unethical and illegal actions. This trend
is partly due to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the United States, which was enacted
in reaction to the above scandals. A related trend is the introduction of risk
assessment officers that monitor how shareholders' investments might be affected
by the company's decisions.
The effectiveness of ethics officers in the marketplace is not clear. If the
appointment is made primarily as a reaction to legislative requirements, one
might expect the efficacy to be minimal, at least, over the short term. In part,
this is because ethical business practices result from a corporate culture that
consistently places value on ethical behavior, a culture and climate that
usually emanates from the top of the organization. The mere establishment of a
position to oversee ethics will most likely be insufficient to inculcate ethical
behaviour: a more systemic programme with consistent support from general
management will be necessary.
The foundation for ethical behavior goes well beyond corporate culture and the
policies of any given company, for it also depends greatly upon an individual's
early moral training, the other institutions that affect an individual, the
competitive business environment the company is in and, indeed, society as a
whole.
Religious views on business ethics
M Religious views on business ethics
The historical and global importance of religious views on business ethics is
sometimes underestimated in standard introductions to business ethics.
Particularly in Asia and the Middle East, religious and cultural perspectives
have a strong influence on the conduct of business and the creation of business
values.
Examples include:
Islamic banking, associated with the avoidance of charging interest on loans.
Traditional Confucian disapproval of the profit-seeking motive.
Related disciplines
Business ethics should be distinguished from the philosophy of business, the
branch of philosophy that deals with the philosophical, political, and ethical
underpinnings of business and economics. Business ethics operates on the
premise, for example, that the ethical operation of a private business is
possible -- those who dispute that premise, such as libertarian socialists, (who
contend that "business ethics" is an oxymoron) do so by definition outside of
the domain of business ethics proper.
The philosophy of business also deals with questions such as what, if any, are
the social responsibilities of a business; business management theory; theories
of individualism vs. collectivism; free will among participants in the
marketplace; the role of self interest; invisible hand theories; the
requirements of social justice; and natural rights, especially property rights,
in relation to the business enterprise.
Business ethics is also related to political economy, which is economic analysis
from political and historical perspectives. Political economy deals with the
distributive consequences of economic actions. It asks who gains and who loses
from economic activity, and is the resultant distribution fair or just, which
are central ethical issues.
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