Ethics and Business Decisions, Assessment Example

While it may be difficult to differentiate between personal and business, or corporate, ethics, a distinction between must be made.  Personal ethics help to define how an individual conducts himself or herself and what actions and decisions which that person may make (Scvicque 2007).  Business ethics, on the other hand, help to define the values of a corporate entity.  Furthermore, business decisions often rely on corporate ethics to help guide a company into the direction that they want and help them to succeed.

Business, or corporate, ethics help to determine how an organization will be run and also help to establish protocols that should be followed if issues and problems are encountered within an organization (Marcoux 2008).  Because business ethics should be formulated with the idea that an organization is like an individual, and it’s members and employees are representatives of that individual, then ethical decisions must be made without compromising the beliefs of the organization.  A business’s code of ethics, if structured and defined thoroughly, will help to influence any decisions that an organization may make.  While business decisions affect an organization and how it does business, it is the ethical beliefs of the organization that provide it with a foundation of values and beliefs upon which decisions are formulated and executed.

At work, I am often required to submit paperwork to other departments in order for a transaction to be completed. Often, clients for which we work for will try and pressure us to skip steps, or to go above established (legal) protocols, in order for them to be proceed with their files.  Though it is important to satisfy our clients, it is equally important for our company to follow procedures so that it protects itself from any legal repercussions.  In this case, business decisions are based upon the need/desire to protect the company from any harm that may come upon it should an audit occur.  Because our company’s goal is to succeed as a business, we must do everything possible to ensure that what we value is not compromised by our decisions.

References

Marcoux, A (Fall 2008). Business Ethics. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward N.

Zalta (ed.), Accessed 4 October 2011, from <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/ethics-business/>

Scvicque, C. (31 October 2007). How to Define Ethics: The Meaning of Individual Morality.

Personal Development @ Suite 101. Accessed 4 October 2011, from http://christine-scivicque.suite101.com/defining-ethics-a34581.