QN: What do you understand by the term Ethics?

QN: What do you understand by the term Ethics?

Ethics is the study of what is good and evil, right and wrong, just and unjust. So business ethics therefore is the study of good and evil, right and wrong, and just and unjust actions in business. Ethical managers try to do good and avoid doing evil. A mass of principle, values, norms, and thought concerned with what conduct ought to be exists to guide them.  

The potential for individual and organizations to behave unethically is limitless. Unfortunately, this potential is too frequently realized. When we discussing about unethical practice in the business this means, it is opposite of ethical practice in the business. It occurs when the business is doing things against the ethical practice of the business. Example if a managers they are not doing the right, goodness and justice in their business organization instead they are doing evils, wrong, and unjust ice. Not only managers can involve in the unethical practice in the business also other employees can involves in that habit. So unethical practice is the situation where by goodness,right,justice,law and principle of the business are not longer followed by the members of the business and hence due to that it leads to the occurrence of conflict of interest, fairness and honest, and communication or business relationship.

Conflict of interest, conflict of interest exists when a person must choose whether to advance his or her own person interest or those of others.

This means that as a managers he/she supposed to do things for the profit of the whole business organization but he/she decided to make it for his/he own profitable, he/she considered his self profitable without considered the organization. So due that we call it or known as conflict of interest. For example companies that dump dangerous medical waste materials into our rivers and oceans also appear to favor their own  interest over public safety and welfare. Although these examples are better known than many others, they do not appear to be unusual. In fact the story they tell one expert estimates that about two thirds of the 500 largest American corporations have been involved in one form of illegal behavior or another [gellerrman,1986] .Another example of conflict of interest is concerning the former president of Tanzania Benjamin mkapa, was involves in privatization of north Mara maiming gold for his own interest [profit] during his leadership.   

To avoid conflicts of interest, employees must be able to separate their personal financial  interests from their business dealings. For example federal investigators are looking into whether a$1million donation be citigroup to the 92 and st.ynursery school represents a conflict of interest.      

In another case, harms corporation pleaded no contest to charges that it participated in a kickback scheme involving a defense department loan to the philppiness [wal l street journal,1989]although this plea cost the firm $ 500000 in fines and civil claims.

Another example is bribe, this is a conflict of interest because it benefits on individual at the expense of an organization or society. This means if let say a manager taking bribe in dealing with any production or selling or buying of any product of an organization that is unethical  practice which grouped as conflict of interest, since she/he have done this for their own interest and not for the whole business organization.

Fairness and honest are at the heart of business ethics and related to the generally values of decision maker. At a minimum, business-persons are expected to follow all applicable laws and regulations. But beyond obeying the law they are expected not harm custormers, employees, clients or competitors knowing through deception mis-representation coercion or discrimination. This means that in fairness and honest the business firms they  have to compete in fairness and honest without causes the damage of goods and services of others[competitors]without breaking the principle and regulation of their business. Example of unethical practices in this was during 2007’swhere by TBL company was buying serenget larger and hiding them for the aim of maker it scarce and reduce it in the market. Another is federal court found Allegheny Bottlixing,a peps-cola bottling franchise, guilty of price fixing. The firm had ended years of cola wars by be-cola battling[New York Times,1988]. Since evidence showed most executives in the firm knew of the illegal price fixing scheme, the court not only fined Allege heny  1million but also sentenced it to thread since a firm cannot be imprisoned.           

Communication is another area in which ethical concerns may arise false and misleading advertising, as well as deceptive personal-selling tactics, anger consumers and can lead to the failure of a business. This means that, it involves the  truth ness about the product produced, that is safety and quality of that product. It is unethical practice when a business company advertised their product that it has good safety and high quality to their consumers while that product have no the mentioned quality and it is not safety. So the tendency of a certain business company to advertise their product misleading that is mentioned the content [quality,quantity,uses] while they are not truth this unethical practice example fountain of youth group, LLC and its founder, Edita Kanye, settled chargers brought by the federal Trade commission that the company made unsustantatiated  claims about its weigh-loss products under the settlement the firms agreed to stop making specific weight-loss and health claims about its product without competent scientific proof. It was also fined $ 6millions, but that fine was suspended because the firm of a deceptive business practice that we have seen in the industry is phantom aircraft bidding. This practice occurs when a charter brokerage offers a firm quote on      an aircraft at a price point that is not available in the charter market. After the charter broker ‘wins the trip’ by procuring a contract with the client, he or she will try to ‘fill the requirement’ by contacting several operators and using the client’s signature on the contract as promised, they will then tell the client that a mechanical, or  other event has to prevent the flight .Some companies fail to provide enough information consumers about differences or similarities between products. For example driven by high prices for medicines, may consumers are turning to Canadian, Mexican, and overseas internet sources for drugs to treat a variety of illness and condition. However, research suggests that a significant percentage of these imported drug, and the counterfeit drugs could even be harmful to those who take them. So according to those examples we have seen that misleading leading and laying to the consumer through communication is among of the unethical practice which are doing by the business organization  where by the providing the wrong information concerning their production. Business relationships, the behavior of a business persons toward customer, supplies and others in their work place may also generate ethical concern. Ethical behavior within a business involves keeping company secrects, meeting obligation and responsibilities and avoiding under pressure that may force others to act unethical. This means that it unethical practice if one of the member in a business organization tell their competitors the secret of his/her companies, not meet obligation and responsibilities. For example managers can influence employees to use prated computer software to save cost. The use of illegal software puts the employees may feel pressured to do so by their superior’s authorities.          Also in may 2002 members of Enron’s board of directors were questioned by the u.s senate. The company had collapsed after management and accounting leaders inflated profit numbers by $ 600 millions and his debts and exaggerated revenues in order to continue attracting investors many of whom were their own employees. Organization pressures may encourage a person to engage in activities that he or she might otherwise views as un ethnical such as invading other privacy or steeling a competitors secret. for example Betty Vinson, an accounting executive at world com, protected when her superiors asked her to make improper accounting entries in order to cover up the company’s deteriorate financial condition. She acquiesced after being told that it was the only way to save the trouble company. Another example concerning communication is where by the business labeling the product where by the labor involved or mentioned the content, which are not founded within that product .Example the U.S.A surgeon General currently require cigarette manufacture to indicate clearly on aigrette packaging that smoking cigarettes is harmful to the smokers health. However, labeling of other products raises ethical questions when it threatens basic rights, such as freedom of speech and expression.

In case of why the business organization practice the un ethical of course there is a lot of reasons but one of the reason is based on the idea that organization of ten reward behavior that violet ethical standards. Consider for example how many business executive are expected to deal in bribe and payouts despite the negative publicity and ambiguity of some laws and how good corporate citizen who blow the whistle on organization wrong doing may fear being punished for their action. Jansen and Van Glinow (1985) explain that organizations tend to develop counter norms accepted organizationally practices that are the country to prevailing ethical standards.

Another reason is because manageable values exist that un determine integrity. In a recent analysis of executive have developed some ways of thinking (of ethical behavior (Wolte 1988)

 So in case for the business to avoid unethical practice they should pay good rewards to the employees, and also managers they should have integrity in their heart concerning the business and follow all basic values such as integrity,honest,self sacrifices and others.   

written by Chilala G. and powered to you by Chiwambo Ausi R (Teofilo Kisanji University (TEKU) June, 2012