Question

The J & J (talcum powder) and Wells Fargo (unethical incentives) scandals suggest that even companies whose reputations are based on ethical conduct can suffer ethical scandals. Why is this?

Answer 1

Ethics. Values. These things are extremely important to working professionals in any industry. In fact, 71% of professionals say they would be willing to take a pay cut to work for a company that has a mission or values they believe in and share.

And similarly, 39% of professionals say they would leave their job if they were asked to do something unethical or something they believed to be a moral dilemma.

Business leaders need to work to ensure their organization is one with high morals, principles, conduct, and ethics so that employees feel comfortable and confident there. Employees who believe in your corporate principles and conduct and share your values are a huge asset to the organization. Employees and management alike can work together to create businesses that have high standards.

Businesses that are unethical also lose favor with consumers. 56% of consumers say they will stop buying from companies they find unethical. Millennials have the highest standards for organizations and ethics; 70% of millennials say they carefully consider corporate values when making a purchase. Trust is vital for consumers to feel comfortable and confident with their purchases. Business ethics is its own set of morals and values that are vital in a workplace or corporation. Business ethics involves the industry, their business practices, how they deal with customers, profits, legal issues, and corporate conduct. Management needs to focus on business ethics as an important pillar of their corporation in order to make sure customers are happy with the appearance of their workplace..

The workplace should focus on their ethics and values so they can attract the right employees and consumers alike. The more willing a workplace is to create a mission that demonstrates their ethical values, the more likely the organization is to thrive and succeed.

Ethical scandals and dilemmas can deeply hurt the look of a corporation, which can make employees and consumers get a bad taste in their mouth about the morals of the company. How a company reacts to ethical scandals and dilemmas that happen on a small level will say a lot about their core practices and values. As a student of business, it’s valuable to learn from business scandals to understand what to avoid or watch out for in business ethics of a company, as an employee and as a consumer. Utilize your time as a student to learn from examples that can give you a deeper understanding as you prepare for a business career.

Promoting ethics in business.

Big scandals are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to business ethics. There are small, daily decisions happening with executives, managers, and employees that all make up a company’s ethical behavior. There are issues that the public doesn’t hear about that could be impacting culture and performance negatively inside an organization.

As a business student, it’s important to understand how to be ethical in a company now. Making decisions on your values and morals will help you be prepared to face ethical dilemmas in the future. There are many ways you can be ethical, including being honest with other employees and the public, whistle blowing on misconduct, paying employees what they deserve, not tolerating theft, being unwilling to participate in questionable accounting, respecting the environment, and refusing gifts from vendors in exchange for better treatment.

How to handle ethical dilemmas in the workplace.

To be prepared to handle ethical dilemmas in the workplace, you should try the following.

1. Decide what your ethics are before you start a job. Understand what your values, your personal mission statement, and your goals are in order to help you know ahead of time how you'll behave in an ethical dilemma.

2. Communicate with your manager. Management should be made aware of any areas that you feel are ethically questionable. This is usually best done via email, so you have record and proof or your actions. Be sure to let your manager know the entire situation, and how you feel about it. If a manager is behaving unethically, you can send an email explaining your feelings and concerns.

3. Work with HR if necessary. Sometimes management doesn't respond or react when you bring up ethical dilemmas at the office. If this is the case, go directly to your human resource manager and work with them to know how to best handle the situation.

4. Know when to get out. If you believe a company is going to continue unethical behavior, it's up to you to get out of the company. Work to find another job at a company that you feel will uphold your ethical standards. There is nothing wrong with leaving a job because you believe they are being unethical, and it can end up being good for you in the long-run.

If you’re hoping to be successful in business, understand that the best thing you can do for your employees and your consumers is to practice ethical behavior. Business ethics can be a slippery slope, so it's best to ensure you know what your personal ethics are, so when a conflict or challenge arises, you know exactly what you will do. Ethics are a vital element of becoming successful in business, and the more prepared you are, the better your career will be.