Course: BUSINESS ETHICS

Course code: BUS-331

Section: A

Assignment
On
Ten Myths About Business Ethics

Prepared for:
AFROZA SHIRIN
Lecturer
Department of Business Administration,
IBAIS University

PREPARED BY

Andromeda group
NAME ID
MD.ATIQUR RAHMAN 3817
KAZI ABU SAYEM 3818
ABDUL AZIZ 3811
TASLIM SHARIAR 3843
JAKIA JANNAT 3855
JESMIN NAHAR TRISA 3837

Department Of Business Administration

Date of submission: 22/10/2014

Ten Myths About Business Ethics

1. Myth: Business ethics is more a matter of religion than management:
Behind this myth lies the confused belief that ethics are a means of altering people's values. The reality
is different. An ethical culture deals with managing values between the individual and the company, to
best handle the inevitable conflicts that crop up in every business. Ethics are not put in place to alter
employee’s outlooks, but to help them make the best decision when faced with a problem.  People do
not to change their values, but uses a conceptual framework to help them identify threats to compliance
with ethical principles, and put safeguards in place to protect themselves. 

2. Myth: Our employees are ethical so we don't need attention to business Ethics:
 No matter how ‘ethical’ someone is, they may still face ethical dilemmas and problems, and businesses
should provide them with guidance and support. When the topic of business ethics comes up, people
are quick to speak of the golden rule of honesty and courtesy. But when presented with complex ethical
dilemmas, most people realize there’s a wide grey are to deal with when trying to apply ethical
principles.

3. Myth: Business ethics is a discipline best led by philosophers, academics

And theologians:
As anyone can be faced with an ethical dilemma, everyone should be able to understand ethics. There
are now many tools available to make ethics accessible and help everyone apply ethics to their working
lives. Deal with this myth by sharing with colleagues some of the highly practical tools for making sense
of the issue - such as ethics audits, behavior codes, risk strategies, targeted training and leadership
guidance. Business ethics is a discipline that 

4. Myth: Business ethics is superfluous:

Many people react that codes of ethics, or lists of ethical values to which the organization aspires, are
rather superfluous because they represent values to which everyone should naturally aspire. However,
the value of a code of ethics to an organization is its priority and focus regarding certain ethical values in
that workplace. For example, it's obvious that all people should be honest. However, if an organization is
struggling around continuing occasions of deceit in the workplace, apriority on honesty is very timely --
and honesty should be listed in that organization’s code of ethics. Note that a code of ethics is an
organic instrument that changes with the needs of society and the organization.

5. Myth: Business ethics is a matter of the good guys preaching to the bad guy:
In reality, most unethical behavior in business happens because the environment tolerates it, usually
through benign neglect. When it comes to ethics, even good people tend to be followers, and if told to
do something, they will do it, without considering the ethical implications .

6. Myth: Business ethics in the new policeperson on the block:

Many people believe business ethics is recent phenomenon because of increased attention to the topic
in popular and management literature. However, business ethics was written about by Cicero 2 000
years ago. Business ethics has given more attention recently because of the social responsibility
movement that started in the 1960s.

7. Myth: Ethics can't be managed:

Actually, ethics is always managed, but, too often, it is management indirectly. For example, the
behavior of the organization’s founder or current leader is a strong moral influence on the behavior of
employees in the workplace; Strategic priorities (profit maximization, expanding market share, cutting
cost and so on) can be very strong influences on morality. Laws, regulations and rules directly influence
behaviors to be more ethical, usually in a manner that improves the general good and/or minimizes
harm to the community.

8. Myth: Business ethics and social responsibility is the same thing:

The social responsibility movement is only one aspect of the overall discipline of business ethics.
Corporations also need to consider how business ethics can be managed. Writings about social
responsibility often do not address practical matters of managing ethics in the workplace, for example,
developing codes, updating policies and procedures, approaches to resolving ethical
dilemmas and so on.

9. Myth: Our organization is not in trouble with the law, so we're ethical:
Some things that are legal are still unethical. Take for example the recent tax avoidance scandals. The
companies accused of tax avoidance have not broken the law, however, most people agree that taking
advantage of loopholes in legislation in order to pursue aggressive tax avoidance is unethical and lacks
integrity. On an individual level, things such as bullying in the workplace, letting slip details about a client
in a social setting, and allowing personal judgments to influence business decisions are all examples of
legal activities which are unethical. 

10. Myth: Managing ethics in the workplace has little practical relevance:  
Managing ethics in the workplace involves identifying and prioritizing values to guide behaviors in the
organization, and establishing associated policies and procedures to ensure those behaviors are
conducted. This could be called “values management”. Values management practices, for example,
managing diversity, Total Quality Management and strategic planning.