Any enterprise which makes, distributes or provides any service which other members of the community need and are willing to pay for it
Economic activities
Profession
Employment
Business
Profession
An occupation carried on by professional people
Employment
A type of occupation under which one person provides his services
Business
An economic activity concerned with production and distribution of goods and service
Important features and characteristics of business
Production or acquisitionofgoods
Generatesemployment
Continuous process
Profit is the basicmotive
Risk or uncertainty of future
Creative and dynamic
Customersatisfaction
SocialActivity
Governmentcontrol
Optimumutilization of resources
Satisfying basic needs
Being fair, honest and ethical
Building Credibility
An ethical business organization that is propelled by moral values is highly respected in the society
Connectingleaders and employees
An organization driven by moral values is well regarded by its employees too
Enhancing Decision Making
The future of an organization is the total amount of all its decisions throughout its lifetime
Continuing Gains
Ethical businesses guided by moral values are profitable for a long period of time
Protecting the Society
Often ethics succeeds law in safeguarding the society
Ethics should be integrated from the start, shaping goals and relationships within the organization. Businesses should consider social benefits alongside profit objectives.
Survival
The goal of perpetuating one's biological being and averting to experience poverty, downfall, and death
What Makes Profits Unethical?
Reducing or even not providing the required benefits due to employees to minimize costs
A company's marketing may contribute a lot to its generating of profits. A strong marketing strategy may increase brand awareness, pull customers towards the company and eventually produce profits
The process of producing some goods and the delivery of some services are sometimes done using unethical environmental practices. Often, companies wanted to generate profits to the detriment of the environment
Producing goods and providing services especially premium ones are costly
Ethics
It is basically ethics that decides whether certain actions, conducts and behavior are right or wrong, good or bad, moral or immoral and just or unjust
Morals
Judgments, standards and rules of right conduct in the society. Morals provide direction to people on acceptable behavior regarding basic values
Features of Business Ethics
Code of Conduct
Based on Moral and Social Values
GivesProtection to Social Groups
ProvidesbasicFrameworks
Voluntary acceptance for Enforcement
Requires Education and Guidance
Relative Term
Not against profit making
Sources of Business Ethics
Religion
Culture
Law
Religion
The belief that wrongdoing, vice, disillusionment, and illusion may be defeated by grace, prayer, practices. Religion is one of the oldest foundations of ethical standards
Culture
The set of significant understandings that members of a community share in common that are transferred from one generation to another
Law
Procedures and code of conduct that are laid down by the legal system of the state. They are meant to guide human behavior within the social fabric
Normative Ethics
The attempt to provide a general theory that would guide people how they ought to live and act
Normative Ethical Theories
Virtue Ethics
Deontology
Consequentialism
Virtue Ethics
Focuses on the moral character of the agent as depicting an ideal of human character. Virtue ethics gives guidance as to the kind of characteristics and behaviors a good person will try to attain
Deontology
Centers on the act being done. Based on this theory, there are specific types of acts that are intrinsically good or bad or good or bad by nature
Consequentialism
An ethical theory that evaluates whether or not something is right by what its consequences are
Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development
His theory of moral development describes six stages of moral thinking that build on our cognitive development
Kohlberg's Six Stages of Moral Development
Stage 1 - Simple Obedience Orientation
Stage 2 - Conformity to Group Behavior Orientation
Stage 3 - Good Boy, Nice Orientation
Stage 4 - Law-and-Order Orientation
Stage 5 - Social-Contract Orientation
Stage 6 - Universal-Ethical-Principle Orientation
Machiavellian Principles
Rules suggested by Machiavelli which could guide a leader
Machiavellian Principles
Better to be feared than loved if one cannot be both
Gradual reward and immediate punishment
The lion and the fox
Envy and drive
The end justifies the mean
Cycle management forms
Promote criticism and frankness
Always make a choice
Don't micromanage, but center on one goal
Let passion be the basis of one's business
Capture the zeitgeist
Make friends and avoid enemies
Be cautious of "yes"
Leaders
Must be flexible and ready to evolve
Promote criticism and frankness
Feedback from subordinates is crucial for growth, and leaders should encourage honest communication
Approach to decision-making
1. Approach cautiously
2. Carefully weigh potential problems associated with each option
3. Sometimes choose the "lesser evil" option
Don't micromanage, but center on one goal
Focus on the main goal and trust employees to handle their responsibilities, avoiding unnecessary interference
Let passion be the basis of one's business
Nothing is too big and nothing is too difficult when a task to be done is to one's liking
Capture the zeitgeist
Leaders must stay attuned to the business environment and adapt to emerging trends to stay ahead
Make friends and avoid enemies
Networking and building relationships can open doors and create opportunities for your business
Be cautious of "yes" people
People only think of their own interest
Deal with business threats promptly
Proactively addressing threats helps mitigate potential damages and maintains productivity