Anchor business success on ethics

Servant leadership involves company leaders being warm, responsive, and humble when they interact with the clientele of the business.
It means leaders being fair, showing compassion and being sensitive to employee needs and those of all stakeholders. Servant leadership inspires employees and facilitates their growth in the organisation.

According to Spears (2004) servant leadership means listening intently and receptively to what others say, being accessible, and having empathy for others.
Leaders are a source of inspiration and are role models for employees and must be exemplary all the time.

Integrity, honesty, and truthfulness form the hallmark of good leadership. Leaders who engage in conflict of interest, insider trading, rent seeking, and corruption destroy the reputation and well-being of their businesses.

When leaders engage in such wayward behaviour their companies should make an example of them by swiftly disciplining them so that employees don’t model such bad behaviour.

An ethical business anchors its business strategy on formal ethics management processes.
This means that corporate strategies and mission statements should not only discuss profit, growth, and maximisation of shareholder value, but should also look at the bigger picture; the triple bottom line.

The ethically “flavoured” business strategy must be used to reinvigorate the entire processes in the firm so that employees, customers and all stakeholders understand what exactly the firm stands for and intends to achieve.

Companies should respect their stakeholders particularly employees by making sure their needs and reasonable expectations are taken care of as much as is possible.
The issues of health and safety, staff recruitment and selection, and fairness and equity in staff remuneration and all other staff issues must always be treated with utmost respect and carefulness to ensure a productive workforce.

Employees should never be seen as factors of production that must be exploited and discarded like  worn-out machinery.
Companies must recognise that employees are partners in the growth of the business.

Employees always want to experience real purpose and meaning in their workplaces, and companies must be built on the recognition of this glaring fact.
Ethical firms must take cognisance of every individual employee’s desire and right to be treated with dignity at work, to grow, learn and be a wholly integrated person who cannot simply be sacrificed for organisational expediency.

Companies must be anchored on ethical business practices that empower employees to work together and share knowledge where the strengths of one employee will compensate for the weaknesses of other employees as is the case in a successful football team.

Ethical firms promote a culture of tolerance of mistakes, experimentation, and operating outside the box, and employees operating under such positive work environments become invigorated to do more for the company and achieve set organisational goals.

And customer satisfaction is paramount to the growth of an ethical business. An ethical firm truly cares about its customers and clients.
Business wisdom postulates that customer satisfaction is the most important measure of any business performance.

Clearly, it is difficult for a firm to succeed when its products are substandard, much as it is difficult for a firm to fail when it is anchored on an ethical footing that guarantees competitive products.

Caring about customers also includes listening to them and hearing what they say. Listening to customer complaints is a powerful ethical tool, and is as well a good way of taping ideas for improving product quality.

Equally so, when business makes a mistake it should not be afraid to apologise and show remorse.
Apparently the strength of an apology is in acknowledging the mistake, communicating humility and sincerity, explaining why the mistake was committed and offering compensation where necessary.

An ethical company should establish and maintain strong ties with the community in which it conducts business. It should try as much as possible to hire employees from the local community and do business with local companies where possible.

After all, some of its customers will come from the surrounding areas, which means when the local community thrives, the business will benefit as well.
Improving the health delivery system and building schools for the community is a practical way of ensuring that a firm has an adequate supply of healthy, competent, and literate employees.

In like manner, the need for corporations to take care of the natural environment cannot be over-emphasised.
The buzz word these days is “going green”, which means the natural environment must be preserved for posterity. Apparently companies that advance environmental preservation issues are now able to secure a competitive advantage over their competitors particularly on the international market place.

Companies should always remember that taking great care of the needs of all stakeholders is what defines today’s business of choice.

Bradwell Mhonderwa is an ethics coach and trainer with the Business Ethics Centre. Send feedback to [email protected], or call 0772 913 875