Morality And Business - Essay Example

Morality And Business Introduction This essay would attempt to have an understanding about why business is incompatible with morality, especially when one chooses to strictly and meticulously adhere to ethical norms. To put it in other words, when this issue is viewed strictly from the perspective of morality, business does end up by being an unethical activity. And, it is this very aspect that is going to be elaborated in this write-up. Ethics and Business It would very much be appropriate in starting the discussion on the subject by seeing a real life example. Some of the claims made in various advertisements are nothing but sheer exaggerations, and this form of lying aimed at deceiving the people is never approved by morality. But here, the key fact to be noted is that, the existing laws have authorized these false claims, to a certain extent. Here, the obvious implication is that most of the businesses need to adhere to ethics, only to the extent dictated by the law. Beyond that, most of the entities are in no way willing to tread on the path of morality, lest their commercial motives are compromised. (1) Whether staunch adherents of morality like it or not, but the fact is that businesses cannot afford to lay excess emphasis on ethics, barring the legal stipulations. This is even more relevant in this contemporary era of heightened competition. There is no way in which business houses can survive in the markets, if they choose to give tremendous weight to moralistic ideals. In the context of the subject being focused upon in this paper, the only candid response is “Yes! It is not moral to do business!” Here, it has to be specifically mentioned that this particular response is addressed to only those who believe that, come what may, there should not be even a minute deviation from the ethical principles. (1) Of course, there is no denying of the fact that, even in this day, there are business organizations running the extra mile in sticking to some aspects of morality. In most of these cases, this results from the entities being committed to any particular social cause, or being associated with any non-profit organizations. Whatever may be the driving force behind the moral commitment of a business, the key point is that it is their voluntary decision to address various ethical issues. The law in no way mandates that business houses do stick to all the norms that fall under the purview of morality. (1) A brief focus on another real life example would make one to comprehend as to why morality, after a certain point, has no place in business practices. When the matter of deliberations between management and trade union is taken, the irrefutable fact is that both the parties conceal the truth from each other. It is also a fact that when viewed only from the angle of ethics, lying is highly improper. But in this example, both the parties are aware that the other party is lying, and owing to this, it just cannot be expected that there is a scope for speaking the truth. As a matter of fact, in this example, if either of the party decides that there is nothing greater than being moralistic and that they should speak only the truth, then there would be only one consequence: Its interests would be compromised at the altar of moralistic idealism. (1) It is not that all the arguments are only one side; there are people who strongly argue that businesses can further their commercial objectives, even by laying lot of emphasis on ethical norms. For example, an argument here is that when a company, by adhering to morals, manufactures safe products, the same would drastically minimize the chances of facing suits related to product liability. This in turn makes sure that even the financial resources of the company are safeguarded. For, it is but obvious that severe financial implications are inevitable while facing legal suits. In fact, people who have chosen to go with this particular argument also maintain that, even the profit motive of businesses get successfully addressed, when a relationship of trust is shared with the general public. It is also being stated that infringement of privacy of employee is a deviation from the accepted moral standards. When a company recognizes this fact and begins to give due respect to the privacy of employees, they in turn would be motivated to perform well. The fact that such enhanced levels of employee motivation effectively address the financial interests of the company warrants no special mention. (1) At his juncture, it needs to be candidly admitted that the points presented in the previous paragraph are not without drawbacks. Perhaps, the greatest disadvantage of all those arguments is that, carrying out business in a purely ethical manner would yield monetary returns only after a substantial duration of time elapses. On the contrary, this could go against the immediate priorities of the company. Moreover, when a business organization operates only for a limited time period, there is simply no way in which it would be inclined to follow practices that provide benefits only in the distant future. These drawbacks can be more clearly understood by focusing on another example. Ethics state that the services of senior employees should not be terminated only on the grounds of higher age. They should be provided with the needed inputs and allowed to continue giving their services to the company. But when this is seen from the perspective of business, there is no hesitation in stating that the monetary interests would be compromised by following such measures. Instead, replacing the older employees with youngsters is the most viable option for any company. This again highlights as to why when there is a clash between profit motive and morality it is only the former that prevails. (1) There is one more school of thought voicing the view that employees and customers of a company are empowered to make sure that the ethical principles are adhered to (by the company). Customers can be adamant that they would buy the products/services only if they are convinced about the company’s integrity. Likewise, employees can also demand that they would be ready to work for the company only if their privacy is respected. When faced with such a circumstance, the company would be left with no other option but to modify its behavior in a manner that conforms to morality. But the unpleasant fact is that, even this view is an entirely flawed one. In the real life scenario, it is just not possible that employees and workers can exert such an influence over the company. As a matter of fact, what is being seen is that, consumers prefer to go with low priced services/products not up to the mark. Similarly, the employees have no objections to their privacy being violated if the financial compensation given by the company is lucrative. Owing to all these points, in actual situations, expecting the workers and consumers to make the company adopt a moral approach is tantamount to wishful thinking. (1) Persons going with the opinion elaborated in the previous paragraph argue that the profit motive is strongly linked to the moralistic approach of the company. The commercial interests of a company are heavily reliant on the customers and as well as the services rendered by its manpower. And, any action of the company that is not to the liking of both these profiles (consumers and employees) can be detrimental to the long term financial objectives. But the second part of the last paragraph clearly explains as to why such a scenario is just not possible in real life situations. At this juncture, it would be highly apt in succinctly elaborating on a view voiced by several writers on the topic of business morality. They strongly opine that for businesses, morality is something that is way beyond both the law and also the profit motive. They state that business organizations should refrain from actions harming others and should also be carrying out their operations in a fair manner. Also, the commercial entities are necessitated to revere human rights. When viewed from a purely idealistic perspective, it is felt that all these principles have to be scrupulously followed by the companies, for they are universally recognized as being accepted moral standards. But here again, things are quite different when the practical day-to-day situations are taken. Firstly, it is rather tough to define as to what actually are harm, fair business practices and human rights infringement! Critics of this particular notion forcefully convey that the definitions of harm, fair business practice and violation of human rights, etc, do change from one situation to the other. There is simply no way in which businesses can be made to follow just one rigid definition, in all circumstances. (1) Corporate code of ethics It is a fact that in the modern era, there are several businesses having their own corporate code of ethics, and it is based on this very code that all their activities are conducted. It has been seen that companies abiding by these codes are functioning in a more ethical manner than those that do not have any specific set of guidelines. The second- mentioned kind of entities just go by some general principles that are abstract. As a matter of fact, there is a highly valid reason for stating that the corporate code indeed helps the company in approaching things in an ethical way. In most of the cases, the code of ethics clearly defines not just each and every relevant action, but also vividly enumerates about the related moral implications. In fact, it is not at all an overstatement in maintaining that, incorporation of the corporate code of ethics is one of the best means in which the company can get recognition in the markets as a one that lays special emphasis on ethical norms. (1) But even this concept of corporate code is not without some criticisms, with some of them (criticisms) being highly logical. Perhaps, the major criticism is that, most of the actions that have been described in this code as being highly unethical are already defined by law as illegal. Hence, even if the code is not there, there is no way in which one can indulge in these actions without running the risk of legal repercussions. The best example for this is bribery, which is against the law. So, even if a corporate code speaks about refraining from bribery, there is nothing new in it; the company is already necessitated to avoid it (bribery) by the law. Another drawback of the “Corporate Code of Ethics Model” is that it is extremely difficult to explain the moral angle of each and every action of the company. (1) Deception in business- Is it right or wrong? There are some writers who argue in an almost convincing manner that deception in business, for the purpose of selling products or services and if it is not against any law, can never be wrong though it (deception) is a deviation from the known moral standards. To strengthen their argument, they use the example of game of poker. In this game each player attempts to deceive the others involved in the game, and still the same cannot be classified as being some serious ethical issue. The general business practices are just similar to poker, and hence, as long as it is within the limits stipulated by law, no one can object to some deceptions carried out by the companies. (1) Although the arguments put forward by these writers appear to be very sound, still, they are devoid of logical basis. The writers have ignored a highly vital point while comparing poker and business. In this game (poker), all players are fully aware about the rules and they also know that the other players would be trying to deceive them. On the other hand, the same is not the case with businesses. When consumers approach companies for products or services, they do so with full trust. Notwithstanding the knowledge they might be having, they are still unaware of the precise business operations being conducted by the company. Hence, any attempt by the seller in deceiving the customers can be termed as being a serious moral flaw, even if the law does not penalize the company for this. (1) Conclusion This essay can be concluded with the comments that, beyond a point, it would be highly unreasonable to expect companies to stick to ethical standards. A business is a commercial entity that has come into existence with the primary motive of making profits, and not to establish itself as an epitome of morality. Of course, when there are any serious deviations in the business operations, the law will take care of the aspect of bringing the company to book. As a matter of fact, even in the general situations of life, there are several things that are in no way illegal, but are still viewed as unethical by the society. For instance, extra marital and pre marital sexual activities are not viewed as crimes, but the same are treated as being highly immoral by the society. Similarly, morality dictates that one should not speak lies, but the fact is that one cannot be legally punished for lying. The same applies even to business organizations. They can be made liable only for those actions that go against the concerned laws and not for small deviations from the path of ethics. There is only one way in which all the companies can be made to function in a totally ethical way where each and every action is based solely on morality: if all aspects of morality are brought under the purview of law! It is but a fact that this is just impossible! (1) The topic of this essay is an exhaustive one, and it is just not possible to cover all the related aspects in a brief paper such as this one. Yet, a sincere attempt has been made to encompass the most salient of all the points. Source 1) “DO BUSINESSES HAVE MORAL OBLIGATIONS BEYONG WHAT THE LAW REQUIRES”, utm.edu/staff/jfieser/vita/research/business.htm, Internet, Journal of Business Ethics, 1996. Read More