Ethical workplaces drive up profits

Bradwell Mhonderwa Business Ethics
The number of businesses contemplating introducing formal ethics in their operations is increasing as it is becoming a useful emerging management tool.Indeed, it is the duty of every responsible business to incorporate and manage a strong ethical culture within its operations because a number of benefits are bound to accrue from it.

A business earns a lot of respect and cultivates a strong public image when it’s viewed as ethical. A strong ethical culture helps to safeguard company assets. Ethical cultures increase employee pride and discourage them from pilfering and misusing company property.

Employees who work in a business environment with clear and sound workplace ethics report malpractices perpetrated against the business by colleagues.

When a business adopts a business strategy that is driven by a strong ethics agenda, it becomes possible to resist the temptation to pursue short-term profits at the expense of long-term growth and business sustainability.

The importance of building a strong ethical culture in a business is integral to its reputation, growth, and financial well-being. Ethical practices in business help to build a reputation that attracts customers and increase company profitability.

An ethical culture is thus integral to fostering increased employee productivity and teamwork. It helps to align the values of the business with those of employees. Ethical conduct in the workplace enhances decision-making for both employees and their leaders.

It enhances accountability and transparency and during turbulent times, a strong ethical culture guides the firm in managing the situation including assisting staff on how to act consistently in such difficult times.

Because of the inherent competing priorities for businesses, business leaders often find themselves in situations where they have to make hard decisions.

And in such circumstances, choosing between right and wrong, and choosing between options that vary in their degree of ethical soundness can be very tricky.

Worse still, the overarching pressure to generate shareholder value makes it even more daunting. Leaders are thus sometimes forced by such circumstances to act in ways that are unethical, thus inadvertently dragging the name of the business into disrepute and compromising the sustainability of the business.

When faced with these difficult situations, business leaders can seek to remain within the confines of ethical decision-making by asking themselves the following questions:

How would I define the problem if I stood on the other side of the fence?

What is my intention in making this decision?

Who could be injured by this decision or action?

Will the stance I have taken be as valid over a long period of time as it seems to be now?
Can I disclose without any qualm this decision or action to any of my superiors, or will I be comfortable if its published on the front page of a daily paper? And to add to these questions, abiding by the following basic principles of ethical decision making will strengthen your decisions.