Business Ethics

CONTENT:

1- Ethics Definition - Business Ethics - Historical Background - Take responsibility of your actions - Social Responsibility * Brainstorm and Discussion

2- Elements that defines ethics - Religion - Culture - Policies and regulations * Brainstorm and Discussion

3- Implementing Ethics - The Ethical Program * Definition * Elements of an Ethical Program - Benefits of applying ethics (Ethical Program benefits) * Brainstorm and Discussion

CONTENT (Continued):

4- Unethical Practices - Unethical Conduct Examples *Plagiarism Definition *Examples on Plagiarism *Other unethical Practices * Brainstorm and Discussion

6- Extra Discussion Topics 7- Resources.

Ethics Definition

What are ethics?

المجتمع : قبل من عليها متفق عريضه خطوط هيضوابطو االخالق. خاطئ ام كانتصحيحه سواء االنسان سلوك تحدد

Business Ethics definition:A set of standards, rules, morals and behaviors  that any respectful organization should adhere to solve problems that arise in the business environment  while performing their daily business activities whether their dealing with large business organizations or with a single customer.It applies to all aspects of business in the business environment.

Historical Background

Ethics is the area of philosophy concerned with the evaluation of humanconduct. Business ethics has only existed as an academic field since the 1970s. During the 1960s, corporations found themselves increasingly under attack overunethical conduct. As a response to this, corporations - most notably in the US -developed social responsibility programmers which usually involved charitabledonations and funding local community projects. This practice was mostly adhoc and unorganized varying from industry to industry and company tocompany. in 1970s when philosophers began to write on the subject of business ethics. Previous to thisdevelopment, only management professionals, theologians and journalists hadbeen highlighting problems of this nature on a regular basis. When philosophers became involved they brought ethical theory to bearon the relevant ethical issues and business ethics became a moreinstitutionalized, organized and integral part of education in business. Thereafterannual conferences, case books, journals and text books were more regular andestablished.

• From the website of “Markkula Center for Applied Ethics”.

If a company does not adhere to business ethics and breaks the laws, they usually end up being fined. Many companies have broken ethical and environmental laws and received fines worth millions. The problem is that the amount of money these companies are making outweighs the fines applied. Billion dollar profits blind the companies to their lack of business ethics, and the dollar sign wins.

Every action causes a reaction. When you're using the Internet, computers on campus, or your employer's computer, you should be aware of the following:

Responsibility: Accepting potential costs, duties, and obligations for your decisions.Accountability: Determining who should take responsibility for decisions and actions.Liability: Legally placing responsibility with a person or group.

That’s why organizations that are considered as “Entities” should feel the sense of responsibility towards the public and the society around them.And they can show this by following and adhering:1- Ethics Laws2- Environmental LawsAnd also participate in causes important and beneficial to the society.

Brainstorm & Revision:-What are ethics and how can we relate them to business?

-Why does some companies break and violate ethical laws?

-What is the relationship between Responsibility ,Accountability and Liability?

Elements That Defines Ethics

Business Ethics In Islam

اتمام في ويخلص ربه يتقي وان عمله يتقن ان العامل وامر والعمال العمل بأمر االسالم اهتمما : ) ( واوضح يتقنه ان عمال احدكم عمل اذا يحب الله ان وسلم عليه الله صلى قال عمله

ذلك ومن بها االهتمام يجب واجبات من العمل وصاحب العامل على : العامل من مطلوبة اخالق1 : -على منه المطلوب ألداء العامل بها يستعين عقلية قوة او بدنية قوة كانت سواء القوة

وجه . اكمل2 )" اهم- : )" من فهي له أمانه ال لمن دين وال أمانة اإليمان وسلم عليه الله صلى قال االمانة

الصحيحة , . بالطريقة واليتم العمل يتقن ال االمانة فبدون العامل في توافرها الواجب االمور ) (: األمين القوى استأجرت من خير إن استأجره أبت يا إحداهما قالت تعالى قال : العمل صاحب من مطلوبة اخالق1. -واالجر الوقت بيان مع للعامل واضحا انجازه المراد العمل يكون ان2) ( -وسعها اال نفسا الله يكلف ال تعالى قال طاقته فوق يكلفه ال ان3 ( -يجف ان قبل اجره االجير اعطو وسلم عليه الله صلى قال مماطلة بال حقه يعطيه ان

عرقه (

Where does these ethics come from? And who creates them?

There are a collection of elements, organizations and governmental institutions that participate and affect the creation and standardization of these ethics.For example organizational culture has a huge effect on these ethics and how will they are established thus said we conclude that what may be right in an organization can be considered wrong in another meaning that these ethics will be different in different business environments.

Some of the groups that take part in the process of setting such rules:1- Business Associations.2- Stakeholder groups.3- International and governmental institutions.

Brainstorm and Revision-Who creates these ethics?

-How does the organization’s culture or society culture effect these ethics?

-Is setting regulations or laws considered always effective while applying ethics? Why?

Implementing Ethics

Implementing these ethics in the organization:

Business Ethical Program:

) اإلمتثال) برنامج

Also referred to as “The Compliance Program” is a systematic approach to raise ethical awareness among employees, provide guidelines and education about ethics and provide resources to identify and solve ethical issues that arise in the business environment.

Elements of a Business Ethical Program

• The Above Illustration was originaly posted at the website of “Institute of Business Ethics” (ibe).• http://www.ibe.org.uk/index.asp?upid=58&msid=11

1- Written policies and procedures.2- Designated compliance officer and compliance committee .3- Effective training and education for employees.4- Effective lines of communication 5- Internal monitoring and auditing 6- Enforcement of standards through well-publicized disciplinary guidelines.7- Prompt response to detected problems through corrective actions.

It can also include other elements which vary from one organization to another.

•“Elements of an Effective Compliance Program” from Amgen Website.•http://www.amgen.com/about/effective_compliance_program.html

Benefits of an effective Ethics program:

1- Establish a code of conduct that reduces risk of criminal behavior.2- Detect wrongdoing and foster quick investigations, minimize consequences.3- Demonstrate company’s ethical/legal philosophy during an investigation4- Reduce fines if company is found guilty of wrongdoing.5- Enhance company reputation and stature.

• Information was originally posted in an article entitled “How to Build a Business Ethics Program”.•http://www.bizmanualz.com/information/2005/01/03/how-to-build-a-business-ethics-program.html

Brainstorm and Revision-How can we implement ethics in an organization?

-Define and describe the “Compliance Program”?

-What are the elements of an ethical program and does they vary from one organization to another?

-How do we benefit from applying these programs?

Unethical Practices:AKA “Unethical Conduct”.Unethical behavior in the organization could extend to every aspect of the business environment whether in a, faculty or while achieving daily activities even the way you park your car in the employee parking lot could be considered unethical if you are taking someone’s spot or blocking them.

Some examples of unethical behavior: 1- Plagiarism ( لنفسك نسبها و اإلنجازات أو األفكار :(سرقة

is the act of taking another person's writing, conversation, song, or even idea and passing it off as your own.

Some Examples of Plagiarism: a-Taking credits for an idea b- Stealing Blog content c- Failing to list a Source d- Using Other’s Images

•An article by Miranda Brookins.•http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-plagiarism-workplace-11971.html

Other unethical Practices include: 2- Selective misquoting3- Misinterpreting numbers4- Distorting visuals

And many other acts that are considered unaccepted in an organization.

•An article by Miranda Brookins.•http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-plagiarism-workplace-11971.html

Brainstorm and Revision-Based on your understanding of the definition of ethics define and describe “Unethical Practices”?

-What is plagiarism? Mention some examples?

-List and discuss some other “Unethical Behaviors” ?

Additional Discussion:•"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should“[DISCUSS]

•“Many businesses have gained a bad reputation just by being in business. To some people, businesses are interested in making money, and that is the bottom line. It could be called capitalism in its purest form. Making money is not wrong in itself. It is the manner in which some businesses conduct themselves that brings up the question of ethical behavior.”[1]

•Should we bring “unethical problems” to the awareness by punishing people responsible or by taking corrective actions? [DISCUSS]

• [1] An Article entitled “What is Business Ethics?” by Garry Crystal.• http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-business-ethics.htm

Other Resources:The Business Ethics Manual:-“Business Ethics – A Manual For Managing A Responsible Business Enterprise In Emerging Market Economies”

WikipediaBusiness Ethicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_ethics