The drive for profit is an admirable quality in an entrepreneur, but with no rules to regulate this lust, it can often lead to stronger drawbacks for workers, partners, customers, and the environment. For this reason, it is extremely important for a company to draw up a clear strategy for optimizing its income while upholding moral and ethical values. As an entrepreneur, you should treat each any every business opportunity not solely as a means to reap personal benefit, but also from the perspective of complying with moral standards and important aspects of business ethics. Here are a few of these key components:
Trustworthiness and Honesty
A company should be honest both internally and externally which involves transparency not just with the people working for you but also with the community in which your company operates. An ethical businessman should not purposely mislead others by means of half truths, over-generalization, selective omission, or any other method of deception. Always make honest commitments to clients rather than empty promises. Commit to what you can achieve and deliver, so your customers will be satisfied rather than disappointed.
Fairness
The execution of power from those higher up in the company should never be used arbitrarily. Power should be exercised to better the company rather than to gain undue advantage over other individuals. There should always be equal treatment of individuals within the company, which necessitates tolerance and acceptance of diversity.
Confidentiality
You have access to extensive details about your client’s businesses, as you work together closely on many projects. These details are essential for you to make informed decisions when it comes to the company, but it is imperative to keep those details entirely confidential. Confidentiality strengthens trust, accomplishing two key aspects of business ethics in one.
Concern and Respect For Others
Each company should strive to accomplish its business objectives in a manner that causes the least harm and greatest good. This requires demonstration of compassion and respect for human rights, autonomy, privacy, and interests. This applies to those within the company as well as those outside of it, and should be applied equally to all people without regard to sex, race, nationality, or social class.
Accountability
It is not enough simply to state your expectations; this would be meaningless if they are not enforced. Each member of a business must be prepared to accept personal responsibility for the consequences of their actions. Your business should foster an environment where any employee can feel entirely comfortable and safe coming forward to report any form of non adherence to ethics. In fact, employees should be encouraged to report any form of wrongdoing. Employees should never have to fear retaliation for following the code of conduct and expecting others to do the same.
These ethics should be maintained consistently at all levels, starting with the treatment of investors, shareholders, and partners, extending on to compliance with market competition and avoiding discrimination of any individuals in the labor market, all the way to the final level of relations with customers, suppliers, and personnel.
Best,
Lawrence Brown
Co-Founder and Managing Consultant