Paper 3.

1
Business Ethics and Corporate Governance.(ESBM)
Unit-1
Values and Value systems:- Values describe what
individuals consider to be important. ... Value
systems are a set of individual values which exist in
a scale or a hierarchy that reveals their degree of
relative importance. Individuals may all possess the
same values but they may attach different priorities
or degrees of importance to these values.
Sources of Value Systems:-
Generally, value has been taken to mean moral
ideas, general conceptions or orientations towards
the world or sometimes simply interests, attitudes,
preferences, needs, sentiments and dispositions.
According to M. Haralambos, “A value is a belief
that something is good and desirable”
Sources of Values: Sources of values are;
Family: Family is a great source of values. A child
leams his first value from his family.
Friends & peers: Friends and peers play a vital role
in achieving values.
Community or society: As a part of society, a person
leams values from society or different groups of
society.
School: As a learner, school and teachers also play a
very important role in introducing values.
Media: Media such as – Print media, Electronic
media also play the role of increasing values in the
mind of people.
Relatives: Relative also helps to create values in the
minds of people.
Organization: Different organizations and
institutions also play a vital role in creating value.
Religion.
History.
Books.
Others.
Value Across Culture:- There appears to be a
decline in business ethics. Recent corporate
scandals involving accounting manipulation, cover-
ups, and conflicts of interest certainly suggest such
a decline. This is not a recent phenomenon.
Although the issue is debatable, a lot of people
think ethical standards began to erode in the late
1970s. After all, managers consistently report that
the action of their bosses is the most important
factor influencing ethical and unethical behavior in
their organizations. Given this fact, the values of
those in middle and upper management should
have a significant bearing on the entire ethical
climate within an organization.
There are two types of value across of Culture:- 1.
Tengible culture:- Tangible Cultural Heritage’ refers
to physical artefacts produced, maintained and
transmitted intergenerationally in a society. It
includes artistic creations, built heritage such as
buildings and monuments, and other physical or
tangible products of human creativity that are
invested with cultural significance in a society.
‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ indicates ‘the
practices, representations, expressions, knowledge,
skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts
and cultural spaces associated therewith – that
communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals
recognize as part of their Cultural Heritage’
(UNESCO, 2003). Examples of intangible heritage
are oral traditions, performing arts, local
knowledge, and traditional skills.
2. Intangible culture: intangible heritage require
different approaches for preservation and
safeguarding, which has been one of the main
motivations driving the conception and ratification
of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the
Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The Convention stipulates the interdependence
between intangible Cultural Heritage, and tangible
cultural and natural heritage, and acknowledges the
role of intangible Cultural Heritage as a source of
cultural diversity and a driver of sustainable
development. Recognizing the value of people for
the expression and transmission of intangible
Cultural Heritage, UNESCO spearheaded the
recognition and promotion of living human
treasures, ‘persons who possess to a very high
degree the knowledge and skills required for
performing or recreating specific elements of the
intangible Cultural Heritage.
Business Ethics:- 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 can arise in a
business environment. It applies to all aspects of
business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of
individuals and entire organizations.[1] These ethics
originate from individuals, organizational
statements or the legal system. These norms,
values, ethical, and unethical practices are the
principles that guide a business. Business ethics
refers to contemporary organizational standards,
principles, sets of values and norms that govern the
actions and behavior of an individual in the business
organization. Business ethics have two dimensions,
normative business ethics or descriptive business
ethics. As a corporate practice and a career
specialization, the field is primarily normative.
Academics attempting to understand business
behavior employ descriptive methods. The range
and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the
interaction of profit-maximizing behavior with non-
economic concerns.
Ethical Practices in Management-
Ethics play a major role in modern business and can
impact everything from brand reputation and public
perception to employee productivity and overall
profitability.
1. Develop Ethical Standards
An integral first step is to formalize your
expectations and make it clear about which
behaviors are and aren’t acceptable.
2. Ensure Leaders Exhibit Proper Behavior
Behavior often trickles down from top to bottom
within an organization. It’s therefore crucial that
your leaders act virtuously and serve as examples
for the rest of your staff.
3. Be Diligent About Enforcing Policies
Let’s be realistic. Not everyone is going to uphold
every single ethical expectation 100 percent of the
time, and rules will inevitably be broken.
4. Praise Positive Behavior
Just as it’s important to stomp out unethical
practices, it’s equally important to praise your
employees for following best practices.
5. Promote Community Involvement
What’s a common thread among some of the
world’s most ethical companies? Most tend to place
an emphasis on community involvement and are
genuinely interested in having a positive impact on
the world.
Ethical Value system:
Ethical values may be thought of as those values
which serve to distinguish between good and bad,
right and wrong, and moral and immoral. At a
societal level, these values frequently form a basis
for what is permitted and what is prohibited.
Ethical Corporate Behaviour:- Examples of ethical
behaviors in the workplace includes; obeying the
company's rules, effective communication, taking
responsibility, accountability, professionalism, trust
and mutual respect for your colleagues at work.
These examples of ethical behaviors ensures
maximum productivity output at work.