Many people ask why ethics is such a vital component of management
practice. Managers are occasionally faced with ethical dilemmas. It has been said that it makes good business
sense for managers to be ethical. Without being ethical, companies cannot be
competitive at either the national or international levels. While ethical
management practices may not necessarily be linked to specific indicators of
financial profitability, there is no inevitable conflict between ethical
practices and a firm's emphasis on making a profit; our system of competition
presumes underlying values of truthfulness and fair dealing.
In 1930, philosopher Wilbur Marshall Urban of Dartmouth College
wrote,
" . . .
it is the development or realization of selves that constitutes the 'good' . .
. and the theory of ethics which makes this the locus of value is called the
ethics of self-realization. By this is meant that the locus of the good is not
found in pleasure, nor in organic survival or welfare, but in the complete
energizing of our capacities as selves or persons . . . "
from Fundamentals of Ethics by Wilbur Marshall Urban
It is to this value that energizes and evolves the
self. It prescribes the course which could meet
the requirements of both personal development and long term organizational
success, if strictly followed. Knowing the fundamentals of ethics and applying
the knowledge to business by simply noting the distinctions between means and
ends, and between being and doing, result in a consequence of action which
could harm or benefit the business.
As an understanding to the
report, I perceived that moral philosophies and principles provide the ethical
framework and nature of delivery of services provided in business. This
framework is accomplished by the establishment of foundational standards.
Standards set the tone and culture for what will be considered right or wrong,
acceptable or unacceptable. Philosophies and principles are typically set by
higher authorities, senior management, governmental or state officials. Without ethical framework or in other words,
ethical standards, organizational structures would be arenas of
"chaos" and "anything goes." Organizations as well as
individuals hold varying degrees of moral, philosophies, and principles.
As a perspective on the
report, it can be said that ethical principles are the foundation of which
viewpoints are guided towards an acceptable common decision. In order for the
establishment of Ethical standards to be beneficial, there must be a set of
common goals. Business should not operate based on the philosophies and
principles of an individual accord. This type of structure would simply lead to
or could create potentially worse scenarios and the operations of management
could be extremely difficult to handle without order.
As a manager, I find it
very important to be acquainted with moral philosophy, ethical reasoning, and
application of ethics to business and management. Ethical theories and concepts
are important to resolving moral problems confronting business which must be
integrated in the decision-making process.
As I reflected further, that by ethically resolving moral problems
confronting the business, I am better able to understand and classify my own
moral beliefs and develop a critical and deep personal morality. Moral issues should
not be treated as philosophical questions, but also as fundamentally important,
practical, business questions.
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