THE CASE FOR ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR IN TODAY’S BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Despite the presence of professional ethical codes designed to govern professional conduct in specific industries, there has been numerous cases of unethical conducts which have led to the collapse of great companies in the past such as Enron and Worldcom. In recent times however, many organisations have been taking practical steps to incorporate ethical principles in the daily operations of the business in.
The importance of business ethics cannot be overemphasized in the role it plays for any organisations whose objective is to continue in business for the foreseeable future. In the bid to maximize profitability, several managers have failed in their responsibility to act ethically in the conduct of their business because they have given less consideration to the ethical issues, which will have long term impact on the organisations, while focusing on short term financial considerations.
Unethical behaviours do not just affect the organisation itself but also negatively affects all stakeholders of the organization – for example, giving bribe to a customer representative does not only affects the company’s reputation but also promotes the societal ill of dishonesty and lack of integrity; when a company is declared insolvent as a result of a fraud perpetrated by senior management, there is a threat to the source of livelihood of the employees of the organisation. Therefore, in order for a business to remain sustainable and relevant in the society, the role of ethics in the business conduct must not be downplayed.
So What is Ethics? Ethics is a concept of human behavior which promotes the principles by which people are expected to pursue their own fulfillment without undermining the fulfillment of others. These principles are wholly based on the idea of morality which is concerned with defining the