If you don't have integrity, you have nothing. You can't buy it.

You can have all the money in the world, but if you are not a moral and ethical person, you really have nothing. Henry Karvis.

Ethics refers to a code of conduct that guides an individual in dealing with others. Ethics is concerned with distinguishing between good and evil in the world, between right and wrong human actions, and between virtuous and nonvirtuous characteristics of people. Ethics is important not only in business but in all aspects of life because it is the vital part and the foundation on which the society is build. A business/society that lacks ethical principles is bound to fail sooner or later.

A Definition for Business Ethics Business ethics can be defined as written and unwritten codes of principles and values that govern decisions and actions within a company.It deals with issues regarding the moral and ethical rights, duties and corporate governance between a company and its shareholders, employees, customers, media, government, suppliers and dealers. Henry Ford said, "Business that makes noting but money is a poor kind of business". Business ethics can be thought of in many different lights, and part of the reason that business ethics has become such a contemporary issue is because it cannot be defined precisely. Most people believe that in order to meet the minimum ethical standards, a business must be honest,

obey the law, and not directly infringe on the rights that our society holds as inalienable human rights. This, however, does not exhaust the definition of business ethics that many believe in. Some other ethical issues involve compensation of employees, job security for employees, hiring practices, waste management issues, pollution, and conflicts of interest. Sometimes companies face situations where ethical choices are in opposition to their interests. An example of this could be a logging company doing business in forests around the world. One ethical consideration must be protecting the rain forest from destruction. Environmentalists may propose that the company stop logging completely; however, this may bring up another ethical issue such as the preservation of jobs for loggers Business ethics (also known as Corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and business organizations as a whole. Applied ethics is a field of ethics that deals with ethical questions in many fields such as medical, technical, legal and business ethics. Business ethics can be both a normative and a descriptive discipline. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. In academia descriptive approaches are also taken. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the degree to which business is perceived to be at odds with non-economic social values. Historically, interest in business ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within academia. For example, today most major corporate websites lay emphasis on commitment to promoting non-economic social values under a variety of headings (e.g. ethics codes, social responsibility charters). In some cases, corporations have redefined their core values in the light of business ethical considerations (e.g. BP's "beyond petroleum" environmental tilt).

Management and Business Ethics A companys managers play an important role in establishing its ethical tone. A companys leaders are responsible for setting standards for what is and is not acceptable employee behavior. Its vital for managers to play an active role in creating a working environment where employees are encouraged and rewarded for acting in an ethical manner. Managers who want employees to behave ethically must exhibit ethical decision making practices themselves. They have to remember that leading by example is the first step in fostering a culture of ethical behavior in their companies. No matter what the formal policies say or what they are told to do, if employees see managers behaving unethically, they will believe that the company wants them to act in a like manner. Ethics is related to all disciplines of management like accounting information, human resource management, sales and marketing, production, intellectual property knowledge and skill, international business and economic system. As said by Joe Paterno once that success without honor is an unseasoned dish. It will satisfy your hunger, but won't taste good. In business world the organization's culture sets standards for determining the difference between good or bad, right or wrong, fair or unfair. "It is perfectly possible to make a decent living without compromising the integrity of the company or the individual, wrote business executive R. Holland, "Quite apart from the issues of rightness and wrongness, the fact is that ethical

behavior in business serves the individual and the enterprise much better in long run.", he added. The ethical issues in business have become more complicated because of the global and diversified nature of many large corporation and because of the complexity of economic, social, global, natural, political, legal and government regulations and environment, hence the company must decide whether to adhere to constant ethical principles or to adjust to domestic standards and culture. as rightly said by Robert Noyce, "If ethics are poor at the top, that behavior is copied down through the organization", however the other methods can be creating a common interest by favorable corporate culture, setting high standards, norms, framing attitudes for acceptable behavior, making written code of ethics implicable at all levels from top to bottom, deciding the policies for recruiting, selecting, training, induction, promotion, monetary / non-monetary motivation, remuneration and retention of employees. "Price is what you pay. Value is what you get" - Warren Buffet Thus, a manager should treat his employees, customers, shareholders, government, media and society in an honest and fair way by knowing the difference between right or wrong and choosing what is right, this is the foundation of ethical decision making.

ARE BUSINESS ETHICS IMPORTANT? Running a business requires adequate consideration to a number of issues outside the traditional scope of making money, of which ethics is most certainly one. As our business grows and becomes more significant, we impact on the lives

and circumstances of people in ways we can only imagine through bringing jobs, creating wealth and inspiring others to grow their businesses. An important part of engaging in this process is understanding your business ethics, which if not up to scratch can leave you with a bad reputation and can even ruin your business, not to mention alienating employees, suppliers and the local community. According to International Ethical Business Registry, "there has been a dramatic increase in the ethical expectation of businesses and professionals over the past 10 years. Increasingly, customers, clients and employees are deliberately seeking out those who define the basic ground, rules of their operations on a day today...." Ethics is something of a subjective topic, but it is nevertheless of immense importance across all areas of business. From the way in which sales and marketing is handled through to product development and customer service, and even to some extent finance, ethics has a significant role to play in ensuring business success and ultimately living up to the corporate social responsibility. Thus adopting a ethics-specific approach to doing business is critical towards ensuring a legitimate business model with long term potential. Business ethics is especially important in dealing with customers. Maintaining integrity in the customer facing side of your business is crucial to building client relationships, to assisting the overall branding efforts. Likewise, it's an important step in minimising returns and protecting business goodwill, which will have a tangible effect on the success or otherwise of your business. Ethics wise, it's also important to consider how you deal with customer issues and customer service. While some businesses are prepared to sacrifice customer service for pound signs, there is not only a sensible business reason for

providing adequate support but also strong ethics and moral reasons for providing help and assistance to your customer base. On the administrative and strategic side of your business, it's also important to adopt an ethical approach which takes account of your various responsibilities as a business - to shareholders, employees and the community at large. Embracing these concepts of ethics as part of the way you do business is vital to ensuring your run an honest, successful business with the potential to grow and develop over time, and is one way of ensuring that you develop relationships across all aspects of your business that are conducive to success and profitability over the long term. Ethics is no doubt an important business subject for any entrepreneur to study, but it also has a wider application throughout organisations. One man's concept of what is ethical and for the best may be completely different from another man's concept, and so it's important to establish a collective set of ethics that represent the entire organisation rather than just adopting a piecemeal approach. This can be installed through training, through creating business policies and even through careful selection at the HR stage, although it's important that there are also enforcement mechanisms within the business concerned, and that ethics remain a forefront consideration in day-to-day trade to ensure a unified, morally sound approach to doing business.

There is empirical evidence that illustrates that of the 500 largest corporations in the U.S., two-thirds of them have committed some form of illegal behavior (Gellerman, 1986). This fact, combined with the many publicized accounts of illegal business operations including fraud, insider trading, and unfair hiring practices, has caused government,

colleges, and businesses to increasingly focus on the role of ethics in business

Why are ethics important? Recent events in corporate America have demonstrated the destructive effects that occur when the leadership of a company does not behave ethically. One might wonder why highly educated, successful, and business savvy corporate professionals at Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, and Adelphia got themselves into such a big mess. The answer lies in a profound lack of ethics. Running a business ethically is good for business. However, "business ethics" if properly interpreted means the standards of conduct of individual business people, not necessarily the standards of business as a whole.

Applying ethics in business makes good sense. A business that behaves ethically induces other business associates to behave ethically as well. If a company (or a manager) exercises particular care in meeting all responsibilities to employees, customers and suppliers it usually is awarded with a high degree of loyalty, honesty, quality and productivity. For examples, employees who are treated ethically will more likely behave ethically themselves in dealing with customers and business associates. A supplier who refuses to exploit its advantage during a seller's market retains the loyalty and continued business of its customers when conditions change to those of a buyer's market. A company that refuses to discriminate against older or handicapped employees often discovers that they are fiercely loyal, hard working and productive.

It is my firm belief that a good man or woman who steadfastly tries to be ethical (i.e. to do the right thing", to make appropriate ethical decisions, etc.) somehow always overtakes his immoral or amoral counterpart in the long run. A plausible explanation of this view on ethical behavior is that when individuals operate with a sense of confidence regarding the ethical soundness of their position, their mind and energies are freed for maximum productivity and creativity. On the other hand, when practicing unethical behavior, the individual finds it necessary to engage in exhausting subterfuge, resulting in diminished effectiveness and reduced success. "Non-corporation with the evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good" - Mahatma Gandhi. REMEMBER: GOOD ETHICS IS GOOD BUSINESS