Introduction:

The word ethics comes from the Greek word “Ethos”, which means “character or customer”, writes philosophy professor Robert C. Solomon. According to the author Solomon, the etymology of ethics suggests its basic concerns; (1) individual character, including what it means to be “a good person” and (2) the social rules that govern and limit our conduct, especially the ultimate rules concerning right and wrong, which we know as morality. Garret Thomas says that ethics is concerned primarily with the relationship of business goals and objectives to specifically human ends. It studies the implications of acts on the good of the individuals, the firms, the business community and the society. Thus business ethics studies the special obligations which a man accepts when he becomes a part of business. For example, philosophical ethics, religious ethics, Social ethics, business ethics and above all normative and professional ethics

Business involves a number of objectives including profit maximization within a framework of social and other obligations. Ethics in business is related to national factors as well as global perspectives, varies from country to country, and potentially it is affected by many factors including the strength of legal, business regulation and human characteristics such as ethnicity, gender, level of education and socio-cultural environment. There is often a conflict between the pursuit of profit and the exercise of ethical conduct in business as managers pursue profit to maximize returns to investors and often to maximize their own self-interest. However, investors are no longer regarded as the only stakeholders in business organizations and managers must be cognizant of the, sometimes conflicting, interests of other parties such as government, employees, and various other social groups that may be affected by business operations and activities. Under competitive conditions when a free market economy prevails, managers make choices to maximize short-run profit, but to be sustainable in the long-run business organizations must usually satisfy both profit expectations and acceptable norms of ethical business practice.

Ethics reflects a society’s notions about the rightness or wrongness of an act. Ethics also involves the evaluation and application of certain moral values that a society or culture has come to accept as its norms. It is generally described as a set of principles or moral conduct.

Business ethics refers to the various perceptions of the morally right way of carrying out business practices and procedures, which has some very generally applicable meanings and some that are more individual or specific to businesses located in a particular geographical area due to influences from the culture or particular manner of perceiving such ethical concepts in the area. The different types of business ethics concepts are those subjects that form the bulk of the thrust toward the application of ethical considerations in the conduct of business. Such business ethics concepts include the relationship between the management of the organization and the employees, the relationship between the company and the customers, distributors and suppliers, the issue of corporate responsibility, and the relationship of the company with the environment.

Overview of Business Ethics:

· Metaphysics:

Deals with the Truth about the Metaphysical Nature of the Universe, cause & Effect Relationship, the Functions & Nature of Mind

· Epistemology:

Deals with Nature and Worthiness of Knowledge, Methods of Knowledge, etc.

· Axiology

Deals with values, Types of Values, Methods of Value Realization, etc.

(a) Logic:

Deals with Thoughts, Methods of Thoughts, etc.

(b) Ethics:

Deals Fundamentally with the rules of Human Conduct from Moral Point of View

(c) Aesthetics:

Deals fundamentally with the Theory of Beauty, Relation between Truth and Beauty, etc.

Element of Ethics in Business:

a) Honesty and Fairness

Honesty refers to truthfulness, integrity, and trustworthiness; fairness is the quality of being just, equitable, and impartial. Honesty and fairness relate to the general moral attributes of decision makers. At a minimum, businesspeople are expected to follow all applicable laws and regulations. In addition, they should not knowingly harm customers, clients, employees, or even other competitors through deception, misrepresentation, or coercion. Although businesspeople often act in their own economic self-interest, ethical business relations should be grounded on fairness, justice rowers.

b) Conflicts of Interest:

A conflict of interest exists when an individual must choose whether to advance his or her own interests, those of the organization, or those of some other group. For example, federal investigators are looking into where a $1 million donation by Citigroup to the 92^nd St. Y nursery school represents a conflict of interest. Jack Grumman, an analyst for Salomon Smith Barney, upgraded his rating for AT&T stock after San-ford Well, CEO of Citigroup (the parent company of Salomon Smith Barney), agreed to use his influence to help Grumman’s twins gain admission to the elite Manhattan nursery school. Grumman has denied elevating his rating for AT&T’s Stock for a quid pro quo, but his children were enrolled. 20 If Grumman placed his family’s interests ahead of his company’s and the investors who paid his company for imperial advice then those stakeholders are likely to consider his action a conflict of interest.

c) Fraud:

When an individual engages in deceptive practices to advance his or her own interests over those of his or her organization or some other group, changes of fraud may result. In general, fraud is any purposeful communication that deceives, manipulates, or conceals facts in order to create a false impression. It is considered a crime, and convictions may result in fines, imprisonment, or both. Fraud costs U.S. organizations more than $400 billion a year; the average company loses about 6 percent of total revenues to fraud and abuses committed by its own employees. Among the most common fraudulent activities employees report about their coworkers are stealing office supplies of shoplifting, claiming to have worked extra hours, and stealing money or products. In recent year, in recent years, accounting fraud has become a major ethical issue, but as we will see fraud may also relate to marketing and consumer issues.

D) Discrimination:

Although a person’s racial and sexual prejudices belong to the domain of individual ethics, racial and sexual discrimination in the workplace creates ethical issues within the business world. Once dominated by white men, the U.S. work force today in-clues significantly more women, African Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities, as well as disabled and older workers. Experts project that within the next fifty years, Hispanics will represent 24 percent of the population, while African Americans and Asians/Pacific Islander will comprise 13 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Theses groups have traditionally faced discrimination and higher unemployment rates and been denied opportunities to assume leadership roles in corporate America.

E) Information Technology:

The final category of ethical issues relates to technology and the numerous advances made in Internet and other forms of electronic communications in the last few years. As the number of people who use the Internet increases, the areas of concern related to its use increase as well. Some issues that must be addressed by business included the monitoring of employees’ use of available technology, consumer privacy, site development and online marketing, and legal protection of intellectual properties, such as music, books and movies.

· Small businesses:

Small scale business from a major part of a country’s productive sector . Although numerically they constitute the majority of the bank’s clientele it seems difficult to provide them with the necessary financing under the PLS scheme, even though often the banks are seen to suffer from liquidity overhangs. Due to the comprehensive criteria to be followed in granting loans and monitoring their use by banks, small-scale enterprise have, in general encountered greater difficulties in obtaining financing than their large-scale counterparts in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A similar situation is known to be prevailing in other countries.

· Running business:

Running business frequently need short-term capital as well as working capital and ready cash for miscellaneous on-the-sport purchases and sundry expenses. This is the daily routine chore in the business world. The PLS scheme is not geared to cater to this need. Even if there is complete trust and exchange of information between the bank and the business it is nearly impossible or prohibitively costly to estimate the contribution of such short-term financing on the return of a given business. Neither is the much used mark-up system suitable in this case. It looks unlikely to be able to arrive at general rules to cover all the different situations. Added to this are the delays involved in authorizing emergency loans.

· Government borrowing:

In all the countries the Government accounts for a major component of the demand for credit—both short-term and long-term. Unlike business loans there borrowings are not always for investment purpose, nor for investment in productive enterprise. Even when invested in productive enterprise they are generally of a longer-term type and of low yield.

· Ethical Behavior in Business:

Ethical actions are not, in the final analysis, the responsibility of the individual alone. Instead, most actions are the result of managers and employees following the norms of accepted behavior in the companies in which they work. As Bangladesh is an economy in transition the evolutionary process of transforming its business ethical values, norms and moralities has greatly hampered its organizational development. Business organizations are not yet fully implementing international standards or codes of ethics.

Business Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility:

Business ethics are moral principles that guide the way a business behaves. The same principles that determine an individual’s actions also apply to business. Acting in an ethical way involves distinguishing between “right” and “wrong” and then making the “right” choice. It is relatively easy to identify unethical business practices. For example, companies should not use child labor. They should not unlawfully use copyrighted materials and processes. They should not engage in bribery. However, it is not always easy to create similar hard-and-fast definitions of good ethical practice. A company must make a competitive return for its shareholders and treat its employees fairly. A company also has wider responsibilities. It should minimize any harm to the environment and work in ways that do not damage the communities in which it operates. This is known as corporate social responsibility.

· Ethics & Partnership:

When getting involved in a partnership, one of a number of issues you will have to face relates to ethics and the choice of your partner. Making sure any partner you choose to work with does not prompt ethics queries or issues is a very important part of choosing the right business or community group to work with. A mistake in choosing your partner that does raise ethics issues can be a very serious drawback for a community group or business, and can do more harm than good when it comes to the reputation and standing of your organization. Not only that, but it would also mean any partnership you have entered into will only be a short-lived (and not very successful) one. In reality, these sorts of ethical dilemmas are ones faced more often by a community group looking to partner with a business than vice versa. It is also often community groups we think of as having to contend with "selling out" or compromising their ethics and beliefs in the pursuit of support or exposure. However, business partners can still have to grapple with ethics issues in some circumstances, which means both community organizations and businesses, need to be aware of making the right decision on whom to partner with. This two-part Help Sheet is not designed to be a "cure-all" that addresses every single ethics issue. It is meant as a guide to identifying potential and present issues that could cause ethics problems and looking at some ways to avoid or reduce the heartache they bring about.

· Ethics and Community Groups:

Most of us would be able to think of a number of contentious ethics issues off the top of our heads. However other ethics issues can arise that don't have to be as contentious.

Some can be as simple as a potential business partner having questionable attitudes, practices or philosophies in a field your group feels strongly about, having associations that are in conflict with your group's beliefs, or are behind products that contradict values your group promotes.

· Ethics and Businesses:

It is important to remember that businesses can also have certain ethics-related issues when they are looking for potential partners. Like some challenges that face community groups when looking for a partner, not all ethics issues for businesses have to involve highly controversial topics. Some can relate back to an organization's social attitudes or associations with other businesses or individuals your business does not agree with.

· Relationship between Ethics and business:

Many experts suggest that the relationship between business ethics and profits can be very complicated. In some cases, the values needed to make a profit will totally conflict with an ethical viewpoint, leading to unethical business behavior as company leaders strive to bring in the most money possible. In other cases, companies actually benefit in numerous ways from operating with higher ethical standards, and the overall mindset of companies that consider ethics to be a high priority often seem to have advantages in unrelated areas. A complicating factor that may muddy the water in regards to the relationship between business ethics and profits is that each culture may have slightly different ethical ideals and expectations when it comes to corporate behavior.

· Business ethics network:

Business ethics network is used in reference to organizations that are specifically formed for the furtherance of the goals or ethical considerations in the practice of business. Such groups are usually in the form of professional business organizations or Non-Profit Organizations (NGOs) that are started with the intention of catering to the furtherance of the practice or application of various business ethics by the members of the organization. The business ethics network may be formed for individuals in the business world, in which case the membership will be based on an individual basis. Otherwise, the membership of the organization will be drawn from corporate entities, rather than individual members. In the case of the corporate entities, their employees will participate in the business ethics network since the members of the company are the ones to consume the corporate ethical practices in order to inculcate them in their practices.

· Business Ethics causes:

The main reason for the application of business ethics in various business transactions stems from the fact that a business world without any ethical considerations would be a chaotic one where anything would go . As such, the need for business ethics is related to the order, consideration and integrity that ethics infuses into the business world. Bearing in mind the fact that while some ethical considerations may be considered universal because they are derived from basic morality, the real meaning of ethics in business is not something that can be referred to as an established set of laws . This means that the perception of ethics in business is somewhat malleable and can have different meanings for companies, especially in the global business community where different cultures and values play an important role in determining the exact business ethics that will guide the operations of the company. The reasons for the application of ethics in business could be for marketing, corporate image or other personal considerations unique to the company.

Importance of Business Ethics:

The importance of business ethics should be obvious throughout every area of the business. When a business is known for dealing honestly with all people, from its employees and customers to shareholders and vendors, it is often more likely to become successful. While ethics is a subjective topic that may mean different things to different people, it's still very important in all types of corporate settings. Business ethics play an important role in hiring and business management practices. The first people hired should be aware of the company's values and ethics practices, so as the company grows and expands, those practices continue to be upheld. When a business is managed well, employees will usually feel that they are being treated fairly; this can help the company to hire and retain excellent employees, which is instrumental to its overall success. Of course, the importance of business ethics goes beyond the direct relationship between its employees and management team, extending out to how the company deals with the local community and its social responsibility. A business that behaves in an ethical way as a member of the community will often find that the community offers its support in return, which can also be invaluable to the success of the company. This may be done by assisting with community events, donating funds in support of local charities, or simply behaving honestly in dealings with other local businesses.

Business ethics are also important in financial matters. This becomes clear when the business is dealing with people such as vendors and shareholders. A business that does not behave with integrity may have difficulty conducting business, as vendors who supply the materials it needs might not be willing to extend credit, while shareholders might no longer be willing to invest their money. While the initial profits might be high, the appearance of ethical problems within the business can make investors uncomfortable risking their money. Customers who do not feel as if they are being treated fairly by a business will often not hesitate to do something about it. Social networks have made sharing negative information about a company much easier, and customers do not hesitate to do so. It does not take much bad press for sales to decline. This principle works in the opposite direction as well, however: customers who feel as if they are dealt with honestly are more likely to tell their friends to visit the business.

There are many reasons that business ethics matter. Companies that have made a commitment to behaving in a socially responsible manner know that committing to ethical behavior is not only the right thing to do – it's also good business.

· Understanding Business Ethics:

To answer the question of why business ethics are important, you must understand what the phrase "business ethics" really means. At the most basic level, business ethics are nothing more than the code of values and principles that govern the actions of a person, or a group of people, regarding what is right versus what is wrong.

A person's sense of ethics has an impact on the type of conduct the individual will exhibit. When people are able to tell the difference between right and wrong and they choose to do what is right, then they are acting in an ethical manner. Business ethics aren't just about the difference between right and wrong; they are the actual application of that knowledge to business.

Impact of Ethics and Unethics in Business:

Primarily it is the individual, the consumer, the employee or the human social unit of the society who benefits from ethics. In addition ethics is important because of the following:

Satisfying Basic Human Needs: Being fair, honest and ethical is one the basic human needs. Every employee desires to be such himself and to work for an organization that is fair and ethical in its practices.
Creating Credibility: An organization that is believed to be driven by moral values is respected in the society even by those who may have no information about the working and the businesses or an organization. Infosys, for example is perceived as an organization for good corporate governance and social responsibility initiatives. This perception is held far and wide even by those who do not even know what business the organization is into.

Uniting People and Leadership: An organization driven by values is revered by its employees also. They are the common thread that brings the employees and the decision makers on a common platform. This goes a long way in aligning behaviors within the organization towards achievement of one common goal or mission.
Improving Decision Making: A man’s destiny is the sum total of all the decisions that he/she takes in course of his life. The same holds true for organizations. Decisions are driven by values. For example an organization that does not value competition will be fierce in its operations aiming to wipe out its competitors and establish a monopoly in the market.
Long Term Gains: Organizations guided by ethics and values are profitable in the long run, though in the short run they may seem to lose money. Tata group, one of the largest business conglomerates in India was seen on the verge of decline at the beginning of 1990’s, which soon turned out to be otherwise. The same company’s Tata NANO car was predicted as a failure, and failed to do well but the same is picking up fast now.
Securing the Society: Often ethics succeeds law in safeguarding the society. The law machinery is often found acting as a mute spectator, unable to save the society and the environment. Technology, for example is growing at such a fast pace that the by the time law comes up with a regulation we have a newer technology with new threats replacing the older one. Lawyers and public interest litigations may not help a great deal but ethics can.

Ethics tries to create a sense of right and wrong in the organizations and often when the law fails, it is the ethics that may stop organizations from harming the society or environment.

Ethical issues of business communication:

Communication is the process by which individuals exchange information between other individuals or groups of people. Throughout the process, effective communicators try as clearly and accurately to convey their thoughts, intentions and objectives to their receiver. Communication is successful only when both the sender and the receiver understand the same information. In today's business environments, effective communication skills are necessary due to the highly informational and technological era. Regardless of context, communication involves choice, reflects values, and has consequences. For better communication, understanding the obvious and the subtle issues relating to communication is necessary. Any company that aims to be socially and ethically responsible must make a priority of ethical communication both inside the company and in its interactions with the public. In theory, many consumers prefer to do business with companies they believe are ethical which gives those ethical businesses an advantage in the market.

Ethical issues of business communication are one such issue. Some of the vital characteristics of ethical communication are discussed below.

· Conveying the point without offending the audience:

While communicating to the audience, conveying the desired message to them in a significant manner is of primary importance. For instance, the employees in a company can be asked to increase their efficiency in a demanding manner whereas managers and executives will feel offended if the same tone is used on them. There are different ways to explain the exact things to them in a much smoother manner.

· Maintain a relationship with the audience:

Maintaining the same wavelength with the audience is very important for a communicator to ensure the audiences feel at home. Experienced communicators immediately build a relationship based on trust with the audience as soon as they start speaking. Great orators such as Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi always were able to maintain a relationship with their audience because they were masters at striking the same wavelength of the audience.

· Avoid withholding crucial information:

In the modern era, information is vital for all decisions. Hence, it is vital for any organization to be cautious when communicating with the public. The communicated information should be absolute and all vital information must be conveyed appropriately. Purposely withholding crucial information might result in the public conceiving a bad image.

· Well organized value system:

In order to ensure that this concept is successfully practiced and understood in an organization, a well-organized value system must be established throughout the organization by the top management. If an organization functions on the base of value systems common to both the top management and the employees, mutual respect between them will be present. A sound and healthy value system can make way for ethical communication.

· Accuracy of information is necessary:

Any information that is to be passed on must be true and accurate. Communicating without checking the truth of the information can be highly dangerous for the organization. Identification of the source and testing the information is necessary before communicating it.

Communication & Ethical Issues in Business:

Business ethics is a subject that can vary greatly from one business to the next as far as how it is interpreted and implemented within the small business. What may seem ethical to one business is not to the next–and the same goes for employees. That is why it is important to clearly communicate the ethical stance of the business to all employees. Employees should not only be expected to act in an ethical manner, they should also fully understand the ethical stance of the small business.

Why are Business Ethics Important?

While many businesses have codes of ethics, the words written in a formal code are valuable only if their intent is reflected in the actions of the people who represent the organization. A business cannot be any more – or less – ethical than the people who run it and who work for it. Within a company, people take their cues regarding the behaviors that are acceptable based on how they see the company's leaders acting and the behaviors that they see being rewarded in their peers. Businesses that are managed by leaders who conduct themselves in an ethical manner and who reward employees for doing what is right are much more likely to be characterized by a positive ethical culture.

Importance of Ethical Communication:

In order for employees to effectively understand what the business considers to be ethical practices, it has to be communicated effectively to employees. Ethical behavior should be communicated daily to employees and that includes recognizing employees who have acted in an ethical manner. This not only gives praise to those employees for a job well done, it helps to set ethical standards for other employees in the business.

· Ethics Policy:

Every business should have a written ethics policy that details what is expected of employees within the business. It should communicate what the business believes are its ethical standards such as always being honest in communications, dealing with customers and other employees fairly and reporting ethical violations that the employee witnesses. The policy should also outline the consequences of acting unethically within the small business. This policy should be signed by employees upon their acceptance of employment as well as reviewed and signed on an annual basis.

· Ethics Training:

Because everyone’s idea of ethics can differ, it is important that the business conduct ethics training for all employees. Some employees may see taking business supplies for personal use as unethical whereas they don’t believe that taking a business pen home with them is the same. The business should educate the employees about its own ethical standards through role play as well as hypothetical scenarios. This can help employees recognize what the business considers to be ethical and unethical.

· Management Role:

Management’s role in ethical practices for the business is to always demonstrate ethical behavior in verbal and non-verbal form. Management should reinforce ethical behavior in others with praise while using unethical behavior as a teaching tool for other employees. In addition, management should realize they are role models for the business and must act accordingly. If they expect employees to act in a certain way, they must also act in the same way and lead by example.

· Considerations:

In monthly employee meetings, use stories from the news to reiterate the business stance on ethics. Pass the story out to employees to read and review before the meeting. During the meeting, discuss the article and have employees identify the ethical and unethical behaviors demonstrated in the story. Also ask the employees what should have happened and what they should do if they encounter the same or similar behavior in this business.

Top 10 Unethical Business Actions:

This list was originally titled “Most Evil Corporations” but the author thought it would be best to keep the site’s neutral status and minimize the probability of this list being classified as slander. As long as there has been big-business there have been dubious and flat-out immoral actions taking place to preserve profit, market share and public image. This list cannot be ranked too effectively, as the extent and severity of the misdeeds cannot be measured, but the items have been chosen because of their human and long-term cultural impact.

Tip of the iceberg can describe the story below. Wal-Mart is company No. 1 in the world. It has the most revenue over any other company ($421 Billion). But its riches equal its controversies. This story is probably the most apt at describing the unethical treatment of its workers, because of the sheer senselessness of it. In 2000, a collision with a semi-trailer left 52-year-old Deborah Shank with permanent brain damage and in a wheelchair. Her husband and three sons were fortunate for a $700,000 accident settlement from the trucking company. After legal costs and other expenses, the remaining $417,000 was put in a special trust to care for Mrs. Shank. However, six years later the providers of Mrs. Shank’s health plan, Wal-Mart, sued the Shanks for the $470,000 it had spent on her medical care.

Wal-Mart was fully entitled to the money; in the fine print of Mrs. Shank’s employment contract it said that money won in damages after an accident belonged to Wal-Mart. A federal judge had to rule in favor of Wal-Mart, and the family of Mrs. Shank had to rely on Medicaid and social-security payments for her round-the-clock care. Wal-Mart may be reversing the decision after public outcry. However this case pinpoints Wal-Mart’s often criticized treatment of employees as a commodity and its sometimes inhuman business ethics. Earlier in the year, there was media frenzy in the U.K. over celebrities getting court injunctions to silence the press from reporting on their various misdeeds and grubby encounters. This story actually stems from a far more serious beginning, in 2006.

Ways to overcome ethical dilemma:

· Message ahead of the person - Common good approach:^[5]

Most people in organization face ethical dilemma when they want to withhold crucial information because of conflict with an individual or a group. In such situations, importance should be given to the message to be communicated and not on the person or the group to which the message is to be communicated. Hence people should give priority to the common good of the organization rather than interpersonal or inter-group conflicts.

· Decisions that produce more good and less harm – Utilitarian approach:

When in ethical dilemma consider the effects of various alternatives after a certain period of time. Ethical decision is to choose the alternative which provides more good and less harm to the organization.

Ø Code of Ethics:

The International Association of Business Communicators has developed a code of ethics for business communication. The IABC code of ethics requires business communicators to be truthful and accurate and to personally correct any inaccuracies they have the opportunity to correct. They are also expected to support human rights, such as freedom of speech and to respect and understand the values of different cultures and belief systems. They must refuse to participate in any unethical business communication practices, follow all laws and regulations affecting their industry, avoid plagiarism in communication, maintain confidentiality except when it would be legally or ethically inappropriate to do so, avoid the appearance of bribery or conflict of interest, avoid promising unrealistic results or benefits to clients or customers and practice honesty with both self and others.

What are the Ethical Decisions that Impact any Organization?

Business ethics is an area of corporate responsibility where businesses are legally and socially obligated to conduct business in an ethical manner. Business ethics includes five key elements: honesty, integrity, trust, confidentiality and openness. Within the business world, ethical decisions are made each day that have an impact across all organizations.

· Ethical Advertising Decisions:

Most businesses, at one time or another will need to advertise their products or services so they can increase their customer base. It is important they do this in an ethical manner. Ethical advertising is considered honest when it truthfully portrays what is being sold. Unethical advertising is deceitful or misleading and can even be considered negative. Advertising that's considered negative often degrades a competitor's product so the business can make its product look better.

· Ethical Policies on Confidentiality:

Almost all codes of ethics used by businesses involve at least some guarantee of confidentiality. Customers want to know that their private information will not be used in ways in which they do not approve. Employees want to know their personal files won't be accessible by anyone other than authorized personnel. When businesses fail to disclose their intended business practices, such as selling customers' information to third parties, it's considered unethical behavior.

· Employee Performance:

A lack of ethics has a negative effect on employee performance. In some cases, employees are so concerned with getting ahead and making money that they ignore procedures and protocol. This can lead to additional paperwork and careless errors that result in the task having to be completed again. Additionally, employees who feel acting ethically and following the rules will not get them ahead in the business sometimes feel a lack of motivation, which often leads to a decrease in performance.

· Employee Relations:

When a manager or head of a business exhibits a lack of ethical behavior, he faces losing the respect of his employees. It is difficult to have a successful business without well-respected leaders. A lack of ethical behavior can also cause tension among employees, with some employees resenting those who do not play by the rules and still manage to get ahead. Unethical behavior in the workplace also has the potential to lead to a lack of trust among employees, which is detrimental to a business that relies on collaboration and a sense of community.

· Company Credibility:

If a lack of ethics in a business becomes public knowledge, that business loses credibility. While some businesses survive public knowledge of a lack of ethics through reimaging and advertising campaigns, many lose a key customer base. Even if a business recovers from news about its lack of ethics, it takes a lot of time and money to restore its image and consumer confidence. Preventing Unethical Behavior. Often a lack of ethics appears because of poor planning and faults elsewhere in the business. To prevent unethical behavior, set realistic goals for employees. If employees are expected to meet unreachable quotas and goals, they could engage in unethical behavior to attempt to reach those goals. Consistently monitor employee performance. Employees left unmonitored sometimes slack in their performance and take credit for completing tasks that were left uncompleted. Properly train all employees. Untrained employees often cut corners and make excuses for not completing work up to the standards the business requires.

Ethical Marketing:

That question has never had a satisfactory answer, but in recent years it has become a hot button issue. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, corporate profits soared to all time highs in 2011. At the same time, the world was suffering through a crippling economic downturn made worse by unscrupulous business practices. The vast disparity between corporations and their customers has made ethical business practices an extremely relevant issue. Companies realize the importance of acting in more ethical way, and broadcasting this transformation to their customers. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is through their marketing practices. If a company makes an effort to advertise more ethically, it reflects positively on every area of that business.

· What is Ethical Marketing?

Ethical marketing is less of a marketing strategy and more of a philosophy that informs all marketing efforts. It seeks to promote honesty, fairness, and responsibility in all advertising. Ethics is a notoriously difficult subject because everyone has subjective judgments about what is “right” and what is “wrong.” For this reason, ethical marketing is not a hard and fast list of rules, but a general set of guidelines to assist companies as they evaluate new marketing strategies.

There are distinct advantages and disadvantages to ethical marketing. Unethical advertising is often just as effective as it is unethical (See also Black). And since unethical behavior is not necessarily against the law, there are many companies who use unethical advertising to gain a competitive advantage.

Many people buy diet pills even though they are rarely, if ever, effective. This is because some diet pill companies use exaggerated and manipulative claims to essentially trick customers into buying these products. If that same company committed to using ethical advertising they would probably go out of business. However sneaky their business model may be, it is not illegal and it is keeping their doors open.

· Who Employs Ethical Marketing?

Every company has the opportunity to engage in ethical marketing. Any business, from the smallest mom and pop store to the biggest multinational corporation can choose to be open, honest, and fair when they advertise to their customers. When done in a thoughtful way, ethical marketing can be an economical and effective form of advertising. Similarly, unethical advertising doesn't guarantee higher sales or lower advertising costs.

Some companies operate according to lofty personal principles. For these companies, advertising in an ethical way is a natural and necessary extension of their corporate character. Corporate responsibility can be a major selling point to consumers who are interested in more than just price and quality. Companies that are known for treating workers fairly, sourcing sustainable materials, environmental stewardship, and charitable donation have to reflect these principles in their marketing efforts.

Types of Unethical Advertising:

· Surrogate Advertising – In certain places there are laws against advertising products like cigarettes or alcohol. Surrogate advertising finds ways to remind consumers of these products without referencing them directly.

· Exaggeration – Some advertisers use false claims about a product's quality or popularity. A Slogan like “get coverage everywhere on earth” advertises features that cannot be delivered.

· Puffery – When an advertiser relies on subjective rather than objective claims, they are puffing up their products. Statements like “the best tasting coffee” cannot be confirmed objectively.

· Unverified Claims – Many products promise to deliver results without providing any scientific evidence. Shampoo commercials that promise stronger, shinier hair do so without telling consumers why or how.

· Stereotyping Women – Women in advertising have often been portrayed as sex objects or domestic servants. This type of advertising traffics in negative stereotypes and contributes to a sexist culture.

· False brand comparisons – Any time a company makes false or misleading claims about their competitors they are spreading misinformation.

· Children in advertising – Children consume huge amounts of advertising without being able to evaluate it objectively. Exploiting this innocence is one of the most common unethical marketing practices.

· How is an Ethical Marketing Plan Developed and Implement?

Ethical marketing doesn’t refer to a plan in and of itself, but offers tools for companies to evaluate the marketing strategies they use in the past, present, and future. If a company decides that an ethical marketing strategy can increase their profits or advance their public image, they can take steps to revise their existing marketing (See also Public Relations Specialist). In some cases this involves minor changes; in others it will require entirely new ad campaigns.

Any ethical marketing effort will begin with a careful analysis of the company, its customers, and the markets it operate within. Ethical marketing has many advantages, but few companies would undertake an ethical marketing strategy if it reduces profits. Careful research is the best way to predict the effects of a change in strategy. If ethical marketing proves to be cost prohibitive, many companies will abandon the effort.

A company will then decide which features of their advertising to perform in ethical ways. As previously mentioned, the field of ethics is notoriously abstract. What is right to one may be wrong to another. Marketing professionals must reach an agreement about how they want to deliver their campaigns. They might decide to focus on making honest claims, avoiding marketing to children, or falsely criticizing competitors. A delicate balance has to be struck between the truth of the ad and its ability to persuade the customer.

Finally, ethical marketers need to make difficult choices about how to leverage the capitol of their ethical decisions. For most companies, the simple knowledge that they are doing the right thing will not be enough of a motivating factor. Ethical marketing often highlights the ethical choices a company has made in order to improve their public reputation. This can be a powerful way to connect with customers, but it also runs the risk of seeming self congratulatory. Any effort at ethical marketing has to balance a company’s self interest with their social responsibility.

Careers in Ethical Marketing:

· Ethicist:

Ethicists study the practical and philosophical dimensions of ethical choices. Many work in academic departments, but some larger companies employ their own in-house ethical officers. In a corporate setting, they will draft policies outlining the ethical obligations of the company, evaluate

An advanced degree in philosophy is necessary to find work as a professional ethicist. Corporate ethical offices will also need to have bachelor's degrees in business, marketing, or communications. Specialized training in the industry or department the ethicist works for will make the counsel they provide more relevant

· Marketing Manager:

Marketing managers supervise every aspect of a marketing campaign. They will conduct market research, guide the design of ads, monitor performance metrics, and negotiate deals with ad buyers. As the person responsible for making the final call about advertising decisions, the marketing manager will decide how ethical a company’s marketing strategy will be.

· Education/Experience:

A bachelor's degree in marketing is the minimum educational requirement for marketing managers. Many have advanced degrees in specialized forms of marketing. Additional training in business, public relations, or graphic design can also be helpful. Managers get promoted into their positions after several years of working in the industry.

· Education/Experience:

A degree in marketing is helpful but not absolutely necessary to become a copywriter. Some people enter the field after getting degrees in English, public relations, or communications. Strong language skills and an ability to write informatively and persuasively are the most important features of a copywriter.

· How Can a Degree in Marketing Help You Find a Job in Ethical Marketing?

Ethics are an abstract subject that can easily get overlooked in the high pressure world of business. Some companies treat ethical behavior as an obstacle and make only shallow efforts to behave responsibly. In some cases this has consequences, in others it does not. The only way to remain aware of the ethics of business decisions is to have a team constructed of ethically minded business people. Getting a degree in marketing from an accredited institution is a proven way to maintain this ethical focus. The ethics of marketing will be a feature of any marketing program. Students will study famous examples, consider case studies from the world, and have in-depth discussions about what is “right” and “wrong” in marketing.

· Ethical System Implementation:

The function of developing and implementing business ethics into an organization is difficult. Due to each organization's culture and atmosphere being different, there is no clear or specific way to implement a code of ethics to an existing business. The implementation should be performed to the entirety of the business including all areas of operations. If it is not implemented pragmatically and with caution for the needs, desires, and personalities (consider the Big Five personality traits) of the stakeholders, the culture, and the employees, then problems may arise. Although a great deal of time may be required, stakeholder management should consider the Rational Decision-Making Model for implementation of various aspects, details, and standards of an ethical system to the stakeholders. If implementation has been performed successfully, then all stakeholders have accepted the newly designed ethics system for the organization.

· Theories and Models:

Refer to the following theories and models for more information:

Ø Social Responsibility:

Small companies also have an obligation to protect the community. For example, the owner of a small chemical company needs to communicate certain dangers to the community when explosions or other disasters occur. The owner must also maintain certain safety standards for protecting nearby residents from leaks that affect the water or air quality. There are state and federal laws that protect people from unethical environmental practices. Business owners who violate these laws may face stiff penalties.

Organizational Structure of Ethics:

Ø Financial Ethics:

Business owners must run clean operations with respect to finances, investing and expanding their companies. For example, organizations must not bribe state legislators for tax credits or special privileges. Insider trading is also prohibited. Insider trading is when managers or executives illegally apprise investors or outside parties of privileged information affecting publicly traded stocks, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The information helps some investors achieve greater returns on their investments at the expense of others. Executives in small companies must strive to help all shareholders earn better returns on their money. They must also avoid collusive arrangements with other companies to deliberately harm other competitors.

Ø Considerations:

A small company's organizational ethics can also include taking care of employees with mental illnesses or substance abuse problems, such as drug and alcohol dependency. Ethical business owners help their employees overcome these types of problems when possible. They often put them through employee advisor programs, which involves getting them the treatment they need. Employees may have issues that lead to these types of problems. Therefore, they deserve a chance to explain their situations and get the help they need.

Ø Organizational Communication of Ethics:

In this chapter we examine how the philosophical world of ethics can be applied to organizational communication. When people hear the word “ethics” used in modern society, many different images and incidents quickly come to mind. Sadly, the 21st Century has already been plagued with many ethical lapses in the business sector. Turn on any major global news station, newspaper, magazine, or podcast and you’re likely to hear about some business that is currently in a state of crisis due to lapses in ethical judgment.

Ø Nature of Ethics:

Objectives:

Define the term “ethics” and how it relates to both means and ends.
Explain the four different ethical frameworks discussed in the ethical matrix.
Differentiate among the eleven philosophical perspectives of ethics and how they apply to both business ethics and communication ethics.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary (1963)The Oxford English Dictionary. (1963). Oxford, Britain: At the Clarendon Press., the word “ethics” is derived from the Greek ethos or the nature or disposition of a culture. Ethics is further characterized as both a field of study concerned with moral principles and the moral principles that govern or influence human behavior. Parhizgar and Parhizgar (2006) Parhizgar, K. D., & Parhizgar, R. (2006). Multicultural business ethics and global managerial moral reasoning. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. define ethics as the: critical analysis of cultural values to determine the validity of their vigorous rightness or wrongness in terms of two major criteria: truth and justice. Ethics is examining the relation of an individual to society, to the nature, and or to God. How do people make ethical decisions? They are influenced by how they perceive themselves in relation to goodness and/or excellence.

· Accessory to unethical acts:

An accessory to an unethical act is an individual who knows that an ethical violation has occurred by another individual. This knowledge of ethical violation could come either in the form of witnessing the ethical violation or somehow helping the individual commit the ethical violation. Ultimately, individuals who find themselves in the accessory position are faced with the ethical dilemma of whether or not to report the ethical violation.

· Moral balance (ethical dilemmas):

The idea of “moral balance” stems from a philosophical debate about individuals who are faced with the possibility that a good outcome of her or his behavior or decisions will lead to a secondary outcome that is bad. For example, an issue of moral balance is at stake when an organization wants to produce a new product that will save hundreds of thousands of lives (primary outcome), but will destroy the fragile ecosystem of a village and make it uninhabitable for the indigenous people who live there (secondary outcome). An inverse moral dilemma could also exist: if the company does not produce the product, the fragile ecosystem of the village will be saved (primary outcome) but hundreds of thousands of lives will not be saved by the product (secondary outcome). How do you decide which option is ethical? Unfortunately, these types of ethical decisions are often the most complicated to make.

Communication Association, endorse and are committed to practicing the following principles of ethical communication:

We advocate truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as essential to the integrity of communication.
We endorse freedom of expression, diversity of perspective, and tolerance of dissent to achieve the informed and responsible decision making fundamental to a civil society.
We strive to understand and respect other communicators before evaluating and responding to their messages.
We promote access to communication resources and opportunities as necessary to fulfill human potential and contribute to the well-being of families, communities, and society.
We promote communication climates of caring and mutual understanding that respect the unique needs and characteristics of individual communicators.
We condemn communication that degrades individuals and humanity through distortion, intimidation, coercion, and violence, and through the expression of intolerance and hatred.
We are committed to the courageous expression of personal convictions in pursuit of fairness and justice.
We advocate sharing information, opinions, and feelings when facing significant choices while also respecting privacy and confidentiality.
We accept responsibility for the short- and long-term consequences for our own communication and expect the same of others.

For the purposes of this chapter, we are concerned with providing guidance about organizational communication ethics. Previously, the basics of the philosophical field of ethics, business ethics, and communication ethics were discussed. In the next section, we will turn our attention toward organizational communication ethics.

Findings:

Ø Ethical Organizational Communication:

Ethics research in business communication: The state of the art. The Journal of Business Communication, 27, 251–272. Examined the state of ethics research in business communication by examining the empirical research conducted on this subject. Based on his analysis of 28 different research articles, Reinsch found nine basic areas of agreement:

· Communication behaviors vary in moral worth, and various groups (e.g., advertising executives, general public) demonstrate a relatively high level of consensus about the moral weight of many specific practices.

· Blatantly unethical behaviors sometimes occur in business organizations.

· Unethical business communication can be effective in the short run.

· A person’s behavior is related to his or her ethical beliefs.

· The concept of business communication ethics is relevant to many different aspects of business including direct mail marketing, management, and consulting.

· The concept of business communication ethics is related to other significant concepts such as honesty and trust.

· Persons differ in ethical values, beliefs and behaviors, and the differences may be associated with variables such as gender, age, perceptions of an employer as typical or “generous,” and the values, beliefs and behaviors of one’s cohorts.

· Ethical analysis in business communication has sometimes been impressionistic; consistent, careful attention to the work of ethicists in other fields (e.g., philosophy, interpersonal communication) is desirable.

· Business communication ethics should encompass oral communication as well as written.

In light of the earlier discussions in this chapter, the majority of this list is consistent with other perspectives on ethics. However, there is one major idea in this list that had not been previously discussed in this chapter. Reinsch (1990) concluded that sometimes unethical communicative behavior can be effective in the short-run. If unethical behavior was never effective, there would be no reason for anyone to engage in unethical behavior. The simple fact is, quite often unethical behavior can help people get ahead in life and in business. Reinsch noted that individuals interested in organizational communication ethics tend to agree that unethical behavior is effective in the short-run, but there is disagreement about the effectiveness of unethical behavior in the long-run. Basically, the longer someone engages in unethical communicative behavior, the greater the likelihood that others will start to notice, thus establishing clear diminishing returns to unethical behavior (to use an economics term).

Ø Unethical Organizational Communication:

As part of Redding’s (1996)Redding, W. C. (1996). Ethics and the study of organizational communication: When will we wake up? In J. A. Jaksa & M. S. Pritchard (Eds.), Responsible communication: Ethical issues in business, industry, and the professions (pp.17–40). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press. call for the field of organizational communication to “wake up” and start studying ethics, he created a basic typology of unethical organizational communication. The resulting typology of unethical organizational communication consisted of six general categories: coercive, destructive, deceptive, intrusive, secretive, and manipulative-exploitative.

Ø Ethical Principle:

The third phase of Mattson and Buzzanell’s (1999) framework for ethical analysis is applying the ethical principle. Mattson and Buzzanell explain what occurs in this phase when they write “inclusion of emotion in ethical considerations; refusal to develop or use single rules for identifying and resolving ethical dilemmas; utilization of values and ideas that empower, give voice, and emancipate people” (p. 63). According to Steiner (1997), “feminist inquiry is generally unsympathetic to rule-based ethical theories or theories that—as they usually do—exclude consideration of emotion” (p. 74). Mattson and Buzzanell argue that it is important to include individual’s emotional responses when thinking about ethical dilemmas because “these responses indicate what people care about and might be willing to change” (p. 66). In the end, many aspects of organizational life are accompanied with complex emotions, which should be considered when examining the ethical nature of organizational communication.

Ethical Performance Improvement Perspective:

While the previous section introduced you to both concrete and abstract views of determining the ethicality of organizational communication, this section will examine a perspective on increasing ethical organizational communication as proposed by Montgomery and DeCaro (2001). Montgomery and DeCaro proposed that one of the best ways increasing organizational communication ethics is to use a human performance improvement approach. “Ethical problems or dilemmas have behavioral consequences. Analysis can measure and monitor the behaviors leading to the unethical act, or the act, itself. By analyzing the antecedents and consequences, they can then design an intervention to correct the behavior” (32). Often, human performance interventions related to ethics happen in hindsight: an ethical violation occurs first and then the human performance improvement experts backtrack to determine how and why the ethical violation occurred. At other times, human performance interventions related to ethics start with a code of ethics (e.g., National Communication Association’s Ethical Credo in Communication “or the International Association of Business Communicators Code of Ethics in Note 2.35 "International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Code of Ethics") and then follow with suggestions for action in order to ensure that the ethical codes are followed.

Problem or Unethical in Business:

Ø Disclose the secrecy of Account: the prime relationship of a bank is to maintain the secrecy of account. That is not t disclose or share the customer information with any body. Sometime the bankers share such information with competitors.

Ø Availing undue advantage from the customers.

Ø Tempering customers financial information for emphasis own performance.

Ø Vague certification from the bank providing account information such as solvency certificate.

Ø Delay in cascading important information circular to the customer.

Ø Sometime Bribery practice for sanctioning large amount of loan.

Ø Taking benefit from the supplies. Helping customer lending.

Ø Sometime create illegal environment congenial to loan recovery.

Ø Do not proper evaluation of invoice to cash trial of sales ledger.

Recommendation:

Ø Do not disclose the secrecy of account and financial information.

Ø Avoid the bribery practices for sanctioning larger amount of loan.

Ø Create a legal environment congenial to loan recovery.

Ø Loans collection and provides by the ethical aspect.

Ø Proper security of invoice.

Ø Legal action.

Ø Proper evaluation of invoice to cash trait of sales ledger.

Ø Appropriate and enforceable documentation (factoring agreement, demand

promissory note, directors personal guarantees, power of attorney etc)

Ø Recommend recourse to client or enforcement of security for recovery of bad depts..

Conclusion:

Ethics involve systemizing, defending and recommending concepts of right & wrong behavior. Business ethics play an important role in hiring and business management practices. The importance of business ethics goes beyond the direct relationship between its employees and management team, extending out to how the company deals with the local community and its social responsibility. From the above we have seen that business ethics is highly importance in every sector of business and banking in Bangladesh. In today’s world the slogan is ‘Business of business is ethical business’. Ethical and social responsibility of business is matter of serious concern in modern discussions of the policy planner, management circles and government quarters. However, western civilization has failed to provide a solid basis for the development of an ethical and moral code of conduct for business. Its ethical values are largely utilitarian, highly relative, and situational in nature and devoid of any spiritual sanctioning power. Contrary to it, Islam offers a unique and ideal perspective of business ethics.

It considers business as a part of one’s worship, provided that it is conducted in accordance with the commands of Allah and the moral code of conduct prescribed by Islam. Principles of ethics such as truthfulness, honesty, trust, sincerity, brotherhood, science and knowledge and justice provide the general background for business ethics. These principles have far-reaching consequences for the business ethics. The focus of Islamic ethics is on changing the attitude, mentality and behavior of people. Ethics is modern society has attention of all people from different cultures and different countries. Violations of ethical code have taken place in almost every segment of human endeavor. The effort to overcome such problem in the area of business, both nationally and internationally, has been under taken by the legal and educational systems, and by professional and business corporations.

Business ethics has emerged as a separate and distinctive discipline, largely drawing on moral philosophy but often using a case study approach developed in management schools to illustrate the ethical dilemmas which business decision makers face. The literature on Islamic business ethics is much restricted, yet Islam has its own code of business, which has both similarities and differences with the practices. Businessmen in the Muslim world should apply their beliefs in their commercial dealings. At the same time, non- Muslims operating in the Islamic world need to be aware of what those beliefs are and their business implications.

References:

1. Singh, Meenakshi Raman, Prakash (2006). Business communication (2. impression. ed.). [S.l.]: Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-567695-5.

2. Rogin, Mary Ellen Guffey, Kathleen Rhodes, Patricia (2009). Business communication: process and product (3rd brief Canadian ed. ed.). Toronto: Nelson Education. ISBN 978-0-17-650046-7.