Fostering productivity through ethics

Bradwell Mhonderwa Business Ethics
THE need for corporate ethics in business can no longer be taken for granted or ignored because its a phenomenon that is gathering momentum throughout the globe. The governance chorus is reverberating worldwide and as the case with all change processes in organisations, those who needlessly seek to put a lid on this shall be blown off together with the lid.

In the current business environment riddled with unfair competition, underhanded business dealings, rent seeking, corruption, predatory pricing,and consumer distrust, the company that values its integrity over the bottom line will get ahead.

Indeed, the moment to transform businesses is now and it should be the duty of every responsible organisation to make sure it has incorporated effective ethical culture in its operations to anchor sustainable growth.

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 an environment with clear and sound workplace ethics will not hesitate to raise the alarm on malpractices perpetrated against the business by colleagues without fear of victimisation.

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.

Indeed, the value 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 practices in the workplace enhance decision making for both employees and their leaders. They enhance accountability and transparency,and during turbulent times a strong ethical culture guides the firm in dealing effectively with the situation including assisting staff on how to act consistently during 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, ethical and unethical 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.

However, leaders must understand that during difficult times unethical practices must never be used to justify doing wrong because such reasoning will only help to fast track the demise of the business.

Leaders mustn’t be boggled down by circumstances but should seek to rise above those circumstances and steer their organisations to future glory.

The fact of the matter is that there is no trade-off between ethics and performance because the two are mutual. Its either you are ethical and your business performs better and leaves longer, or you are unethical and you compromise the future of the business.

Even where short term profits are realised, the compelling truth is that there are no guarantees that these will continue in future.

When faced with 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.