Whether in large corporations or small businesses, individuals across all types of business often face ethical dilemmas concerning employee conduct. These dilemmas involve various situations, including the permissibility of using work time for personal email accounts, how managers address harassment claims, and the extent to which managers can display favoritism towards certain employees when it comes to promotions. Engaging in unethical behavior as an employee can lead to legal ramifications.
Legal consequences may arise when a supervisor promotes an employee while engaging in gender, religion, or ethnicity-based discrimination. To prevent ethical issues concerning employee behavior, small business owners should create and have an attorney review clear standards applied to all employees. Furthermore, addressing the ethical concerns surrounding working conditions within the company is crucial.
Employers are responsible for prioritizing workplace safety and fair compensation for employees’ hours worked. They should also evaluate if they have imposed excessively long working hours or assigned exceptionally difficult tasks. Just like employers can face legal consequences for unethical employee behavior, they may also be held accountable for creating unethical working conditions like demanding unpaid labor or maintaining an unsafe work environment.
When considering supplier and customer relations, it is important for both employees and business owners to consider ethical factors. This involves evaluating the ethical acceptability of partnering with suppliers who engage in unethical practices. In interactions with customers or clients, individuals in business must handle information responsibly, refrain from making false claims about products or services, and avoid intentionally delivering substandard work.
Small Business Ethics
While ethical concerns such as discrimination can affect various aspects of business, different areas have their own distinct issues. Consultants, for instance, bear the duty of providing trustworthy advice. In small businesses, ethical dilemmas may arise concerning hiring, firing, and managing employees. Family-run enterprises might especially face conflicts of interest that result in ethical quandaries. When personal family matters undermine business decisions, it creates both a conflict of interest and an ethical matter.
Discrimination occurs when you are the boss in a mostly male setting. The arrival of a new female employee causes conflict as the company has not conducted sensitivity training. Some male employees make inappropriate comments to the new employee. She complains to you, and in response, you punish those responsible. Additionally, you consider transferring the new female employee to a different position to reduce the likelihood of drawing attention.
Treating a female employee differently due to her gender or in response to a harassment complaint is potentially discriminatory and unethical behavior. Side Deals: As a business manager with an employment contract, you are obligated to work exclusively for your employer and utilize your skills to bring in new clients for the company. If you start attracting more clients than you think your employer can handle, you may question the ethical implications of redirecting that excess business elsewhere and gaining the commission.
If you choose not to inform your employer about the idea, you could breach both your contractual and ethical obligations. In the event that you have a business partner and believe they do not deserve to benefit from the future success of the company, it may be tempting to remove their name from bank accounts and change locks. However, taking such action would likely contradict your ethical and legal duty to act in good faith towards your partner. Instead, it would be more prudent to consider buying out their ownership in the business. If you hold a position as a board member for a publicly traded corporation and rush through the investigation process for an anticipated merger with fellow board members just to finish early for holiday purposes, this indicates negligence in fulfilling your obligation of exercising the utmost care when making decisions that affect the corporation and its shareholders.
Not thoroughly investigating a matter related to one’s interests can be considered a serious negligence, which supports a violation of the ethical and legal duty of care. Comments made on social networking platforms about employers or colleagues have led to nationwide job losses. The ethical and legal issues surrounding the use of social media and its consequences in the workplace affect the entire business industry. Employers nationwide are implementing policies regarding employee usage of these websites during work hours and even controlling what employees say when they are off duty.
According to the Business Ethics website, Cisco Systems Inc., a software developer, offers a program called Cisco SocialMiner. This program enables employers to monitor their employees’ real-time social network site status updates, forum posts, and blog posts. This raises concerns about the balance between an employer’s monitoring rights and an employee’s privacy rights. Across all industries, maintaining professional relationships among employees poses challenges for employers.
This ethical dilemma arises when companies choose to project an image that has a strong sexual connotation, making it more challenging. It raises concerns about the images used by companies to promote their products and the expected conduct of employees at work. Harassment is never acceptable in any workplace, regardless of the circumstances. However, utilizing sexually suggestive imagery in advertisements might suggest an environment where harmful behaviors can take place. This can lead to expensive legal actions due to permissive climates, as reported by the Business Ethics website.
Although it is legally mandated for workers to be paid equally regardless of gender, race, age, ethnicity, disability or religion, numerous industries continue to struggle with this issue. The National Committee on Pay Equity’s 2010 research revealed a nationwide annual salary gap of $10,784 between men and women. This poses an ethical quandary when certain companies deliberately choose to pay men higher wages despite advocating for equality and fairness.
Honesty and integrity
Establishing a standard for business integrity is crucial as it forms the basis of trust. As Don Knauss, Chairman and CEO of Clorox, states, trust plays a vital role in commerce. However, without setting clear guidelines for business honesty and company integrity, different interpretations may arise within your staff and managers. To address this issue, it is important to create a formal document that defines these terms and provides practical examples from your industry’s typical situations. This document will not only give a working definition but also serve as a helpful reference for staff members who may still be unsure of the terms’ meaning.
Defining fair or just business practices necessitates the creation of a formal handbook that outlines the specific regulations employees must adhere to when representing your company. These handbooks address fairness, justice, and the overall well-being of both the company and the consumer, helping employees apply important ethical principles in the workplace. Employee training initiatives are also mandatory to further explain these concepts and provide management with an opportunity to reinforce the language outlined in the regulations.
When consumers define ethical business practices, they often consider personal moral issues when buying goods and services. In 2008, a study reported by “The Wall Street Journal” discovered that companies that make ethical choices, such as using environmentally safe practices and non-polluting technology in their products, attracting a diverse workforce through progressive hiring programs, manufacturing consumer-safe goods, and abiding by moral standards that respect human rights (including the prohibition of forced and child labor), were rewarded by consumers. These businesses received higher prices for the products they produced due to their commitment to high moral standards. Additionally, while “buyer beware” assumes that buyers accept the risks inherent in doing business, it is also important for businesses to have an ethical and moral obligation to disclose any hidden risks that may not typically be associated with a purchase or investment.
Different businesses have different types of disclosures. However, companies that sell products with a high risk of health damage or personal injury must have corporate guidelines for their staff in marketing and selling these items. It is also necessary for firms selling second-hand or damaged products to develop a policy for disclosing any potential flaws and imperfections. Sales of real estate and vehicles are two examples where clear corporate business concepts incorporating legal requirements and ethical principles are important for your firm.
There is increasing pressure on businesses and industries to improve their ethical track record. This pressure is often driven by consumer activism online, which scrutinizes business activities. Pressure groups are one example of external stakeholders that focus on the ethical practices of multinationals or industries with ethical issues. These groups combine direct and indirect action to potentially damage the target business or industry. Another challenge to business ethics comes from consumers themselves, who may take action against businesses they consider unethical or irresponsible. This includes businesses that use practices seen as unacceptable, such as the use of animal furs.
However, incorporating ethical practices can also bring benefits to businesses. Positive consumer support can lead to higher revenues and improve brand awareness and recognition. Additionally, businesses with strong ethical policies may experience better employee motivation and recruitment. On the other hand, pursuing ethical practices may also come with higher costs, such as sourcing from Fairtrade suppliers instead of focusing on the lowest price, and increased overheads due to training and communication of ethical policies.
