Describe Ethical Business as a Top Priority (Essay Sample)

Student’s Name
Instructor’s Name
Course
Date
Ethical Business as a Top Priority
Business ethics refer to a system of moral principles applied in the commercial world (Velentzas and Broni 14). Business ethics discipline combines law theory and politics as much as philosophical and historical documents. In most organizations, business ethics provide the guidelines for acceptable behaviour by organizations both in the formulation of strategy and the implementation of day-to-day activities. With business ethics, it is possible for an organization to achieve success since the employees are motivated and determined to do the right thing at the right time. An ethical approach to business is also helping organizations to create a desirable corporate image, which boosts people’s perspectives of the company and motivate them to engage positively with it. When there is an ethical approach to business, organizations consider fairness, justice, environmental protection and display a wide array of characteristics that attract people to them (Fransen 215). For instance, an ethical organization ensures that employees are paid on time and that truthful financial reports are published for shareholders and prospecting shareholders to scrutinize and make investment decisions based on what they see. In this regard, businesses should consider ethical operations a top priority.
Ethics has become especially important in businesses these days because most companies are only interested in making as much profits as they could possibly make. However, concentrating more on making money alone can result in great ethical costs, including but not limited to harm to people and nature. To be committed to ethical business, many organizations are now formulating codes of conduct and operating principles to guide the company employees. Following these established principles and codes result in successful business but failure to adhere to them can result in continuous business loss and even closure. For instance, Enron declared bankruptcy and closed down in the early 2000s because of unethical conduct (Lin 552). There was massive and systemic corruption within the company that saw the company’s top employees steal millions of dollars from the company. The unethical conduct was so significant that these company executives began to deceive shareholders and the entire public by publishing falsified financial information that purported that the company’s performance was on the right track to avoid scaring investors away (Sims and Brinkmann 536). Prior to its dramatic collapse, Enron had been considered as one of the most successful companies in the United States. Luckily, the people that took part in the massive corruption at Enron were charged and they were found guilty and sent to jail.
The example of Enron shows that business executives owe it to themselves to avoid unethical conduct and to ensure the success of an organization because participating in unethical conduct is illegal and can earn an individual some jail sentence. Creating and defining core business values well can help and organization develop an effective corporate social responsibility program, which will contribute to a company’s success and positive image (Hartman et al. 57). The issue of ethical conduct is so important that companies cannot afford to ignore them. In fact, issues to deal with ethical behaviour should be given the most important consideration in business so that the company can earn the right to operate in a given community. Local communities can alter the future of an organization drastically depending on their perspective of the company. For instance, if members of the community believe that a certain company is engaging in unethical behaviour, then they will frustrate the company’s operations in that given area. In some cases, it might take the intervention of the government to save the company. Community members can frustrate operations by attacking a company that has lost favour with them, holding demonstrations against the company, or insisting that the company should be closed down.
For instance, there was a conflict between a mining company and the local Tuaregs that led to war in Northern Niger due to issues touching on ethical business and corporate social responsibility. Areva, a French state-owned corporation, has been running major uranium mines in Northern Niger for more than forty years but the locals have seen little benefit from natural wealth in their backyard (Guichaoua 247). The local Tuaregs accused the company of failing to compensate the community for the damages that its mining processes had caused to the locals. The uranium dusts resulting from the mining activities spread to wide areas in Northern Niger causing life threating radiation on people and their livestock. According to the locals, the radiation has resulted in the death of many people and animals and has raised the level of poverty in the area (van Walraven 125). The company has never been beneficial to them as it neither provides employment opportunities for them nor takes responsibility for the social and economic impacts that its operations bring to the locals. Although many locals went to seek employment in the company because their natural livelihood had been destroyed, they were turned away. The Tuaregs are a pastoralist community who depend on livestock. However, after many years of operation, radiation dust caused the area to dry up and the animals lacked pastures and they perished. Therefore, the community planned to attack the company, and they did with the help of the Al Qaida group. Many innocent people died during the attack on Areva and operations had to be postponed. The Niger government sent troops to the area but two years later, the local militia emerged victorious, until the French army was deployed to the region to manage the situation. Peace returned as the armed rebels fled and Areva resumed operations but peace had come at a very expensive price and after a long time. All the fighting and the bloodshed could have been avoided if the company took care of the locals by giving them employment opportunities and compensating them for the losses due to radiation effects.
The example of Areva and the Tuaregs illustrates how unsatisfied locals can disrupt business operations. Therefore, the 21st century community has become very competitive and people are expected to be responsible in business operations. Companies are ethically required to create programs and activities that benefit local people to increase chances of successful operations. Companies like Microsoft and Alphabet Inc. have well developed corporate social responsibility programs. They are also among the most profitable companies in the world today, a sure indicator that indeed corporate social responsibility goes hand in hand with commercial success (Wang et al. 537). Microsoft is regarded as having the most comprehensive corporate social responsibility product and it is no wonder that its products have become a household name. The Principle of Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility program is building trust with customers and partners for purposes of achieving business success. At Microsoft, they understand that earning people’s trust starts with a foundation of principles that guide its operations and how it impacts the rights of people across the globe.
The 21st century definitely demands that companies become socially responsible. Therefore, companies should regularly assess themselves and determine whether or not their behaviour and company operations are ethical. To do so, the company should look at its business culture, which is made up of power, bureaucracy, achievement and innovation, and support (Morrison 548). Companies should also understand that their culture, which ultimately influences behaviour and the application of ethics, is shaped by the company’s relationship to the environment, the nature of human relationships, human nature, and human activities (Joyner and Payne 300). The interaction of these different factors can give an organization adaptability culture, mission culture, clan culture, or bureaucratic culture. Regardless of which culture leaders promote, the point is to ensure ethical business while remaining committed to fulfilling the company’s operational strategy.
Failure to prioritize ethics in business can result in major challenges for an organization. The level of unethical practice involved will also likely determine the extent to which a business becomes successful. To participate fully in ethical behaviour, companies should create social responsibility programs and engage local communities in the process (Moore et al. 177). The voice of the locals is very important and can determine the success or failure o...