Importance of ethics in business administration

Introduction

Initially, human work was limited to the acquisition and supply of the necessary elements for daily life, but the creation of increasingly numerous human nuclei, created the diversity of trades and needs; it led to the differentiation of tasks and consequently to specialization and dedication for those who had to fulfill them. Thus began the genesis of the trades and to the extent that such trades were required theoretical and practical content, the professions were created and consolidated.

The profession being a fruitful personal legacy, and after enormous sacrifices and vicissitudes, demands responsibility, honesty, dedication, suitability, permanent communication and updating, thus, the profession is exercised for the benefit of the community which expects and places the trust in that the solution of the requisitions are made with full consent.

The vocation as the natural inclination of a person for the profession, a complex reality that allows the individual, through his work part, to achieve fullness as a person, makes it possible for people to select the appropriate profession and in this way optimally develop the functions that fall within this profession.

If you do not have an appropriate ethical behavior for the profession as a Business Administrator, you run the risk of “falling”.

Development

In the business world, or particularly in the conduct of a business, the application of a strategy, the omission of relevant information or disinformation, can be economically beneficial. Indeed, it could be said that a business has been good not only because both parties have benefited but because one has benefited more. It could be established that a good business in the moral sense is a bad business in the economic sense, since in the moral sense a sincere beneficial agreement is sought for both parties, and in the economic sense it seeks to gain an advantage from the view of expectation. Faced with these conflicting positions, it is necessary that we make a stop along the way, reflect on our actions as business administration professionals,and we issue a self-critical judgment by means of which we can establish a solid position, in either of the two poles, that defines us as ethical professionals, or quite the opposite;

Are you spending most of your time plugging holes or hiding cracks?

Managers of companies heading for disaster have lost the big picture of the business. Instead, their attention is often myopically focused on postponing impending disaster. Substantive issues are hidden under the rug or pushed out of consciousness as you obsessively seek the best angle on the latest bad news, cunningly hiding any corporate flaws. This frenzy is usually accompanied by a rationalization with which the leader simply seeks to buy time and make substantive arrangements later.

Is there someone you can trust to tell you that the emperor is naked?

It's wonderful to have a chorus of loyal advisers and assistants marching under the Chief. But you also always need someone to advise when the team or someone part of it marches into the abyss. Having someone who always questions everything is especially important, because those leaders who are prone to recklessness and raving are often too fond of creating an organizational world that reflects their own optimistic values and tendencies to move forward. For these types of professionals it is key to have someone who can speak openly and give them an open assessment of the situation, with all its problems. Not having these types of people in your organization - or in life - is one of the first signs that you may be dangerously isolated or sheltered.

Are you too greedy?

We have a hard time accepting that we are greedy. We all know how hard we have to work to get to the top; however, the tireless and competitive search for more power and more status becomes an end in itself. The real problem begins when the appetite for more becomes the dominant factor in any decision. Not only do we want it all, but we feel we are entitled to it all. That can happen all too easily due to the human tendency not to place value on things that were once a standard of progress and success. The alert professional tries to combat his greed by giving something back to society.

After the previous questioning, although very superficial, will this be a good time to pause, do something different or do absolutely nothing?

Although it is a simple question, it is one of the most difficult to answer, especially at times when we seem to “fly higher”. Many professionals fail just when the waters seem calmer. So allowing yourself to slow down or even take time off to reassess your path may be the best strategy. Many failures of leaders start with quick decisions that are made on a day like any other. Furthermore, the decisions that have brought down many professionals seem inconsequential and easy to delegate to any subordinate. But once the decisions are made they seem to take on a life of their own.

Obviously, if after conducting a thorough self-examination, we have detected some type of ethical failure or deficiency in our professional development, it is necessary to proceed to evaluate the situation more thoroughly.

Social impact of the ethical behavior of the business administrator

It is argued that ethics is not an ingredient to succeed in business, but wrongly, since business is done through people, and therefore it would be a mistake to take the interaction strictly to the focus of profitable benefit for the strongest.

Doing one's job honestly is one of the radical demands of man in any culture. In the field of competition in which the company is inserted, the strict ethical vision does not apply either. On the contrary, competition is raw and sophisticated impact strategies are built to achieve success. This is a war performance, where the consumer's mind is the battlefield.

A good ethical performance is simultaneously a good professional performance. Ethics discovers in men something of more value than simple action.

Business ethics is a requirement of the person, whatever their job. If you genuinely maintain a concern for employees by providing them with "dignity and respect," the worker will be happy and motivated to produce quality. In many companies immersed in competitiveness and lack of time for everything, workers are the "human resource". This can at least be interpreted as subjects who are not people but resources (with all the ethical implications that this implies). These resources are attractive to the extent that they meet their youth, dedication, results, identification with the company, an effort that goes beyond strict responsibility, being able to work as a team, being pleasant, knowing computers and having an alternative language. Even better if its cost is "low."This is the behavior of companies towards human resources or rather, human talent in most companies that interact in an environment of competition, and yet there are companies that do not hesitate to mention that people are one of their main assets.

So are ethics a limit for business?

The search for profitability does not consist in opposing ethics, since there are qualities thanks to which one works more and better; and because there are several other dimensions of life that pose limits to profitability. In other words, the answer to this question could be "not alone, not always." Ethical considerations are the element of rationality in business analysis. Ethics turns out to be an inexorable dimension of human and business activity in which the following considerations must be highlighted:

In ethical language, the difficulty of knowing when a human action is good or bad is similar to that of wondering if a business will be good or bad: we are not sure, but we have enough idea to know if a decision is reasonable. It is not enough to have the best tools, to go from analysis to execution you have to be convinced, you have to foresee the consequences and responsibilities. You have to take the risk. The passage from being to should be carries risks. This is what ethics and business basically have in common: effort and success, the concepts that are normally handled in the business world have intangible and diverse connotations depending on the concept that each one has, therefore they cannot be judged as true or convenient from the perspective of the quantifiable.To the extent that we consider the reality of work from the point of view of a dignifying need of the human being, we will look at work under a deep sense of solidarity. Work and employment are not the same. Business ethics is not an added value Ethics is an intrinsic value of all economic and business activity, since any business activity includes the human being. Ethics is a requirement that becomes more significant the greater the social complexity. If ethics is embedded in all business activity, it cannot be considered as an Added Value but as a Component Value.Business ethics is not an added value Ethics is an intrinsic value of all economic and business activity, since any business activity includes the human being. Ethics is a requirement that becomes more significant the greater the social complexity. If ethics is embedded in all business activity, it cannot be considered as an Added Value but as a Component Value.Business ethics is not an added value Ethics is an intrinsic value of all economic and business activity, since any business activity includes the human being. Ethics is a requirement that becomes more significant the greater the social complexity. If ethics is embedded in all business activity, it cannot be considered as an Added Value but as a Component Value.

If ethics is not a limit for business, why not promote an Administration based on Values?

Ethical values are sustained in the field of morality; in the life of otherness and in the encounter with others, with oneself and with what surrounds us. Ethical values enhance the freedom of the human being; They help us guide our individual actions and choices. Managers seek to manage the ethical climate in organizations looking for ways in which these values can participate in their business.

Businesses should be shaped by responsible purposes aimed at achieving ethical values for the community and employees. The business activity of an organization affects many constituent groups or Stakeholders. A responsible attitude is demanded of her towards said community, since her behavior affects her directly or indirectly. Being responsible means managing the company by measuring the impact of its actions on these groups, respecting their rights and legitimate interests. Avoidance of deception and misinformation is required. Honesty requires rectitude and sincerity with the information demanded by the community. The signals delivered by a company affect many people, who, trusting the information, make decisions that in turn affect others.The community will trust these signs as long as they are honest.

Furthermore, trust requires the recognition of commitments implicit in promises. Fair competition and the pursuit of real quality are part of trust. Its brokenness directly hurts people.

Special attention should be paid to trying to act fairly both in the granting of opportunities within the company, and in front of all those groups that have a direct or indirect relationship with the work of the organization.

You should also avoid submitting to improper influences, personal interest-based favors, or engaging in behavior that affects the integrity of executives. Managers should try to ensure that their employees do not fall into this type of influence. Acting with integrity supposes a loyal behavior towards the obligations and tasks that must be undertaken, within the framework of the trust placed in the employee. In its fullest sense, one must act in accordance with the convictions of moral requirements, even if it presupposes a cost.

Respect means recognizing that individuals maintain relationships outside the company, possess autonomy, privacy, dignity, rights and needs.

On the other hand, executives must seek respect for intellectual and private property, taking special care when commercial activity involves the property of others (public or characteristic of nature).

Towards an Effective Administrator

Being an effective manager is a very demanding job, but today you face very unique challenges. Increasingly alarming industrial pollution reminds us that by allocating resources managers inevitably incur advantages and disadvantages, no matter what they do or do not do.

The study of who results, and who should be benefited or harmed by a particular action is called ethics, which also studies who enjoys rights of any kind, and who enjoys them.

On a superficial level, it is relatively easy to judge whether a business practice is ethically right or wrong. What is complex, particularly when conventional norms are not applied, consists in understanding the concepts and techniques of ethical decision-making in order to establish more adequate moral judgments.

Conclusions

Decades of research in the behavioral sciences suggests that people are not good at predicting how they will be influenced by extreme situations. The process of reaching the top almost always changes people in ways they did not anticipate or take into account. Lack of self-awareness seems to be a natural part of the human condition.

An acclaimed professional can really succumb to recklessness when he reaches power. But not all lose their way.

Therefore, the behavior of the business administration professional based on values benefits the entire society, the company and the economy in which the company is inserted. The principles form the basis of trust and cooperation; they also contribute to employee morale. A sense of pride on the part of employees in their productivity and overall attitude is especially important when they envision belonging to an organization that defines ethical values as a lifestyle.

From the point of view of the latter

Or sometimes directly at the cost of the other party's naivety or ignorance

The human factor.

Quality and environment, remuneration, sense of family, incentives, safety

Eg: «the rules are good for everyone, even if at a particular moment they don't favor me»

Experience as a reference plays a determining role

Success can be understood by some as obtaining better market shares, or higher profitability or prestige, etc.

Employment is very scarce, and work is a natural necessity. Work is the main source of personal fulfillment.

Suppliers, shareholders, clients, consumers, competition, general community, etc.

References

Boladeras, M. Freedom and tolerance. Ethics for open societies. Barcelona, UB Publications. 1993.

Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Editorial Paidós, Spain, 1987.