6 Business Ethics and How to Address Them
Business owners can find it difficult to manage ethical issues. Although there are statutes and laws that hold employers and workers accountable, they do not stop employees from acting unethically.
What are ethical issues in business?
Business ethics cover a broad range of issues. Business ethics are fundamentally about promoting trust and integrity. More complex issues include accommodating diversity and making decisions with empathy. Compliance and governance that is in accordance with core values and the organization’s standards for ethics also need to be addressed. Global Business Ethics Survey 2019 found that 25% of employees feel their senior managers don’t have a clear understanding of the key compliance and ethical risks facing the company.
To manage ethical problems in your business, you must first understand what they can look like. This will ensure that your business is able to grow and succeed instead of being remediated.
6 Ethics in Business: What to Do About Them?
Ethical issues in business
1. Harassment, Discrimination and Harassment in Workplace
Discrimination and harassment are two of the most important ethical issues facing business owners. If discrimination or harassment occurs at work, the consequences can be devastating for your company’s reputation and financial performance.
Every company should be aware of anti-discrimination laws that protect employees from unfair treatment. America The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of the United States (EEOC), identifies many different forms of harassment and discrimination that could affect your organization.
Age: This applies to all people over 40, as well as any ageist policies and treatments.
Disability: Employees with mental or physical disabilities are eligible for accommodations and equal treatment.
– Equal Compensation: Equal work compensation regardless of race, religion, sex or gender.
Pregnancy Accommodations and Equal Treatment for Pregnant Employees
– Race, employees treated the same regardless of race and ethnicity
– Religion: accommodation and equal treatment for employees of all faiths.
– Employees are treated the same regardless of their gender identity and sex.
2. Safety and health at work
Employees have the right to safe working conditions, as outlined by OSHA regulations. Their 2018 study found that 5,250 Americans died each year from work-related injuries or occupational accidents. That’s an average of over 100 per week, or 14 deaths each day. These were the 10 most common violations in 2018.
– Fall Protection Unprotected edges and sides
– Hazard Communication, e.g. Classification of hazardous chemicals
– Scaffolding, e.g. Maximum weight and resistance required
– Respiratory protection, e.g. Respiratory Protection, e.g.
– Lockout/Tagout, e.g. Controlling oil and gas-hazardous energy
– Powered industrial trucks, e.g. Safety requirements for firetrucks
– Ladders, e.g. There are guidelines for the weight that a ladder can support.
– Electrical, Wiring Methods, e.g. methods to reduce electromagnetic interference
Machine guarding, e.g. Clarification: Guillotine cutters are required to guard power presses, shears and other machines.
– Electrical, General Requirements, e.g. Conductors and equipment should not be placed in moist or wet areas
Safety and health concerns shouldn’t be limited to the physical. According to an International Labour Organization (ILO) report, the focus was on “psychosocial risk” and the increase in work-related stress. Factors including job insecurity (high demands), effort-reward inequality, low autonomy, and work-related stress were all identified as contributing factors to health-related behaviour risks.
3. Whistleblowing or social media rants
Employees now use social media to make their job easier. It’s difficult to determine whether an employee should be fired or punished for online postings. It is not easy to tell when an employee’s online conduct is disloyal.
It is possible to be penalized for a Facebook posting complaining about work, but not for the content.
Business owners should be able and willing to accept whistleblowers, whether they are from regulatory authorities or via social media. Employees must be encouraged to raise awareness about workplace problems online, and not punished. Yelp employed writer, Medium, wrote an article detailing her experiences at work. The article was published by a Yelp employee and it led to her being fired. Her case is unclear. She was fired for violating Yelp’s terms of conduct. This will help to eliminate the risk of confusion and avoid potential infringements.
4. Accounting Ethics
Accurate bookkeeping is essential for any organization. Companies with publicly traded shares should be concerned about “cooking their books” or using unethical accounting methods.
One famous example is the Enron 2001 scandal. Enron’s financial statements were incorrectly reported for years. Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm Arthur Andersen signed off statements even though they were wrong. Public shareholders suffered losses of more than $25 billion due to the deceit. Stockholder prices were affected by this fraud. Both companies ended up closing, with 85,000 jobs being lost.
In 2002, the U.S. Federal Government created the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This law mandates financial reporting to ensure that shareholders and consumers are protected. Even small companies can need accurate financial records in order pay the right taxes, share employee profits and attract investors.
5. Nondisclosure and corporate espionage
Ex-employees and current employees of many employers could steal information. Corporate espionage refers to the theft or illegal distribution of private client data. To discourage such violations of ethics, companies may establish mandatory nondisclosure agreements that impose severe financial penalties for violators.
6. Privacy and technology
The privacy concerns of employees and clients alike are also covered by the nondisclosure agreements. Employers can now monitor employees’ activity on computers and other company-provided devices. While electronic surveillance is intended to improve efficiency and productivity, it can also lead to serious privacy violations.
The American Management Association conducted a survey in 2019 and found that 66% organizations monitor internet connections. They also track keystrokes, content and time spent typing, while 43% keep and review files on their computers and monitor employees’ emails. Transparency and honesty are key ingredients to ethically using technology surveillance. According to the same survey, 84% said that their companies were telling employees they are monitoring computer activity. Employers and employees must be mindful of the potential ethical implications of monitoring employees.
Final thoughts on addressing ethical issues in business
Management is key to ethical business practices. Transparency and ethical business practices will be achieved by having clearly defined policies and processes.
There are many everyday actions you can make to deter and detect ethical issues within your company. It is important to establish and communicate a code of ethics for all decision-making and ask employees to follow suit. Keep abreast of discrimination laws in your area. Stay current on industry regulations and ensure compliance. Cooperate with accountants and maintain transparency in your financial reports.
You must be present at work to ensure that everyone is doing the right thing.
