Ethics is concerned with “doing the right thing” in terms
of morals, fairness, respect, caring, sharing, no false promises, no lying, cheating,
stealing, or unreasonable demands on employees and others, etc. In addition, business
ethics calls for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and addressing social problems
such as poverty, crime, environmental protection, equal rights, public health and
improving education. We need a practical approach rather than a philosophical one, with
“leadership by example.”
Business decisions often concern complicated
situations which are neither totally ethical nor totally unethical. Therefore, it is
often difficult to “do the right thing,” contrary to what many case studies will have
you believe!
Leaders have to deal with potential conflicts
of interest, wrongful use of resources, mismanagement of contracts, false promises and
exaggerated demands on resources, which include personnel. Is it the seller’s duty to
disclose all material facts regarding the product/ service in question or is it the
buyer’s responsibility to find out the pros and cons of what he or she is getting into?
Should the seller answer each question exactly as it was asked, and ignore some
pertinent information? Or should he or she merely address the spirit of the question? Is
the buyer responsible for due diligence? This is a gray area.
For
free abridged books on leadership, ethics, teamwork, women in the workforce, sexual
harassment and bullying, trade unions, etc. send an e-mail request to
Maxwell
Pinto, Business Consultant and
Author.
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MaxPinto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p34hB50lv-8
http://www.lulu.com/product/item/leadership-flirting-with-disaster/6555485
No comments:
Post a Comment