Business Ethics

Good Business vs. Bad Business

If you’ve ever been the subject of a rumor then you understand the following saying, “Your reputation precedes you.” This same saying can be applied to the business world as well. The reputation of a business depends largely on how it conducts itself when dealing with the world around it. This code of conduct is known as business ethics. Whether your company implements good or bad business ethics can be the difference between whether or not your company will succeed in the long run.

Although ethics are tailored to each business differently they are founded on many of the same principles such as: honesty, respect and trust. When a company is met with an obstacle it is easy to ignore or deny the problem. However, practicing good business ethics by accepting and resolving the problem will allow your company to move forward from the issue. Establishing this honesty in any company will help to obtain the respect and trust it needs to maintain good business relations with its clients. Formally implementing values like these through policies and practices in a business is known as an ethics program.

In addition to implementing new rules there are also some things to avoid. Vicki Gerson, author of Avoiding Ethical Business Practices, says the following practices may not only cause problems in the future, it could potentially ruin the business.

1. Hiding information that might damage your company’s reputation.

2. Denying charges with relevance or factual evidence.

3. Combating honest complaints with an increase in advertising or public relations spending.

4. Ignoring problems with your products.

5. Refusing to accept the blame.

These practices may provide a quick solution for the time being, but history has shown us that the problem will present itself again if not handled correctly. The saying is true; Honesty is the best policy.

Good business ethics at its root is nothing more than making sure that business is conducted with integrity. Implementing and enforcing simple values through business ethics within your company is the best way to avoid the reputation that precedes you from being anything less than what you want it to be. Learn more about how to make your business more successful with the help of the Academy and visit www.pmacademy.net for more details.