From time to time this part talks and writes a lot about Business Ethics or Business Ethics.
Discussion forums are held, courses and seminars are organized, articles are written in magazines and newspapers.
But, what is it about? What is this about business and business ethics?
The questions could turn into others such as:
- Is there honesty in business and business? Are there values as a filter of business and business acts? Can human behaviors in business and business be classified according to their ethics? Who are they? the subjects of those ethical or unethical behaviors?
And so we could continue with many other questions about it.
In the lines that follow we will try to break down some of the keys to clarify the panorama of the outlined questions.
In future works we will expand, as far as possible, their circle.
What is, in general, ethical and what is not ethical? In principle, ethical behavior would be one that agrees with established or defined values in this regard.
And the opposite would be unethical behavior. Therefore ethics and values are united from the beginning.
Without values there is no question of ethics.
What values are we referring to? There are different values, depending on the field in which we are located. So there are some:
- EconomicArtsyMoralEthicalReligiousSocial
Sometimes these values may be coincident.
In others, it will not happen that way. Values are a kind of foundation, of ashlars, of points of support for human behavior, in the field in which we are placing ourselves. They are recognized as such by society and do not depend on approval by human majorities.
Values are what they are and not what society wants them to be in each age of human becoming.
It is evident that human actions such as:
- Steal Deceive Defame Lying Blackmailing Extorting Mistreating
And many more that could be cited, have always been, are and will be acts recognized, at least internally, by each human individual and by society as contrary to ethics, as unethical.
Regardless of their consideration as unlawful acts, contrary to the laws, immoral or other considerations that they want to make about them.
On the contrary, human actions such as:
- Tell the truth Pay what is fair or what is due Contribute work due Respect the property of others Be loyal in relationships with others
They are examples of acts that man and society consider ethical.
This consideration of what is ethical and what is not, therefore does not depend on conjunctural circumstances, it is not something relative, changing, subject to opinions. What is ethical is, and what is not is not.
Another different thing is the greater or lesser difficulty to achieve ethical behaviors, to live them.
There one enters another terrain, since there are different factors, in different historical periods and social or geographical locations, that influence human individuals, with more or less force.
Thus, when everyone in a given environment is honest it is easier to be so than when the whole environment is touched by dishonesty. And this is applicable to any facet of human behavior that we consider.
In today's society, basically capitalist, free market and with a significant degree of neoliberalism, the principle of maximum profit, efficiency and utilitarianism prevails.
The combination of these factors leads to a "ruthless" fight for profit and profitability, for the usefulness of things and people, for their validity to win and to compete at all costs.
Economic life is a true "war" in which "a great battle" is fought every day in which we must win.
Not winning is going backwards, staying stagnant, losing, starting to die.
And it is in this scenario that ethical values must survive. It is there, where every day, men and women, have to act and have to carry out their work, economic and social activities.
Therefore, the difficulties are evident.
Now, is it worth it to skip “the bullfighter” ethical principles and act as appropriate in each case for the individual or collective good?
If the human being carried nothing within himself, if he were only a little animal that only eats and sleeps, if he did not have an inner consciousness that to some extent illuminates him, if he were oblivious to good and evil, if he did not have after If it has historical roots, passed from parents to children… then we could speak of ethical relativism, of considering ethical or not what is convenient in each case.
But it's not like that. And this experience, within us, we all have. We differentiate what is good and what is bad.
What to do and what not to do, what is ethical and what is unethical behavior.
It is worthwhile, even if it costs or sometimes has to give up "benefits" of various kinds, to follow ethical behaviors.
Furthermore, a society cannot settle on the unethical permanently. It would fall apart.
Imagine a society in which everyone, just like everyone else, deceives the rest of our fellow citizens.
Or one in which we all stole from others, to give a couple of examples.
Or we transfer these examples to a specific company or society. That society and that company would be unfeasible… they would sink.
Therefore, there does exist an entrepreneurial or business ethic, which is perceived as such by the members of that specific community and, correlatively, by its environment.
And these ethical principles are firm benchmarks, a kind of beacon that illuminates human behavior.
In all human behaviors, in the business and business world, the following can be considered:
- A fact or behavior Circumstances that influence and that can modify ethical judgment An objective or purpose of the subject who performs it.
Ethical principles allow, in each case, to judge the correctness or not of each behavior of individuals taking into account these three previous considerations.
Arrived here, it is convenient to clarify or make more explicit the range of the field or territory of business ethics. What kinds of issues, apart from the aforementioned honesty of the people, are we talking about? What do we mean?
Without making an inventory of all possible questions or situations, we can list some to clarify this question, without prior order or systematization:
- Unfair or exploitative wages and hiring Poor, poor quality work benefits Misleading advertising Lack of staff without sufficient reason Simulated sick leave Production and sale of defective products Unfair competition Loss of time in the company Ineffective post-sale services Commissions and contracts Ecological insensitivity to women Discrimination in employment psychological work Failure to comply with its duties and obligations by employees Accounting and tax falsehoods Deception or omissions in product labeling Maintaining machinery and facilities at risk for workers or their health Lack of performance at work Failure to comply with what is agreed in contracts.
A long list of situations that entail ethical problems in the company could be added, but those cited as an example and a “sample button” serve.
In general, in unethical behavior there is a beneficiary and one or many disadvantaged. The one who commits it benefits and harms those who have to suffer those behaviors.
But this statement is already answering the initial question, that of the title of this work. Yes, there is a business and business ethic!
Of these we are all aware.
