Ethical Integrity
Ethical integrity in Business
In the recent times we are experiencing a dramatic revolution in the business world with a focus on how people conduct themselves in respect to their partners and potential customers. This revolution is entirely responsible for influencing the ability of the business to succeed in selling its products and services. Since selling has been described as a naturally inherent factor in most organizations, there is need to apply it with great skill irrespective of the services andor goods that are on offer. Selling in general has reached great heights and has become a significant challenge to bigger and smaller organizations than ever before. In order to maintain an edge in the competitive market, it is not advisable to solely rely on professionalism amongst the organization s employees. It is vital that in addition to the traditional measures, there is need to form a bond between the business entity and the clients which should go above and beyond the ordinary. This bond can be referred to as Relationship Marketing and is very necessary if the company or organization is to remain competitive in the market. From the basic understanding, Relationship Marketing involves trust and has to be established early enough to ensure that confidence between the buyer and the seller has been established. The establishment of trust is not an easy task per se.
In the current business world especially for those who are engaged in the e-business, the fundamentals of Relationship Marketing are to be found in a single element known as integrity. Any business that harbors any hope of surviving in the 21st century has to recognize their essential role in the establishment of honor between all interested parties. Despite the size of a company or organization, incorporation of Relationship Marketing is needed in the business structure so as to guarantee the on-going professional connections. For the companies and organizations that appear to be falling a part, there appears to be a lack of Relationship Marketing concept in most of if not all these companies. The world has now opened up with the advent of the internet where competition has been lifted a notch higher and the participants are ready to provide what is lacking in their competitors. Whenever an organization demonstrates trustworthiness, it is perceived by the clients as having discovered another quality. Consequently, the clients feel more attached to working to continue working with a relationship that is founded and based on trust. The issue is that most clients are enthusiastic in their pursuit of relationships with individuals that are seen to maintain integrity and good will or else they move away.
In this regard it is crucial that we establish the quality and requirements for the building of trust and how one can cultivate trust with potential clients. This begins with the comprehensive understanding of trust. Trust in this case can be defined as the belief that the seller conducts himself or herself from a level of honesty and integrity that leaves no room for suspicions following his or her actions andor motives. As a result, turning a business organization into a trustworthy organization involves having the capability to hold on a level of confidence with every individual client. Through the careful elimination of any fear that clients may be holding against the organization, the clients are left assured that the company or organization that they are partnering with have their interests at heart.
Integrity and competition should not be viewed as conflicting values but instead they should be harmonized to work towards the advantage of a given organization. Ethics is about what the organization actually does which may in turn form the heart of integrity in the organization. Integrity therefore is an elementary measure of character in an organization. Integrity is demonstrated in putting the interests of the clients in priority to the organizational goals. This was clearly demonstrated by James Burke who was then the CEO of Johnson Johnson in 1982 when it was discovered that seven individuals died in Chicago after an ingestion of cyanide-laced Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules. The CEO pulled all forms of Tylenol from the stores of the company all around the country despite the exercise costing the company an estimated 100 million. The CEO had recognized the importance of the trust that the public had invested in the company. Nowadays, the company is said to reap from the reputation that has been established following the ethical practice that earned and cemented the public trust.
It has been established that business ethics is one of the most vital attributes that defines success of a business. Business ethics are practiced at the core layers of the organization and become part and parcel of the organization culture. Most individuals agree that arriving at a decision in business has never been challenging as it is having recognized the treasure of trust. Business decisions in the current world would demand a delicate balance between intuition and logic. Due to the complex environment that organizations are operating in, decision making requires a level of attunement and belief in the intuitions which demands for a high level of self-awareness. Self-awareness is very important when it comes to ethics and decision making as it aids in conceptualizing the context fully. Breaches in ethical matters are usually committed in order to conceal the uncomfortable truths. In the Five Temptations of a CEO Patrick Lencioni identifies five notions that lead a CEO to breach the company s ethics. The five temptations include the desire to have the status of the career protected, the desire for popularity, the desire to achieve certainty-make correct decisions, the desire for harmony, and the desire for invulnerability. These were described as the pit traps for the CEO s success. At the same time the five can be seen as a breach on the ethical values of the organization.
Business Ethical standards
A research conducted by Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) on the observation of business ethics observed that organizations that held ethical standards in high esteem had good performance in comparison to those that were not observant of the ethical standards. According to the Director of IBE ethical behavior in business is not just the rightful thing to do but also was found to be paying off in financial terms. The Director hailed the findings of the survey as crucial insight for those organizations that strived for long term success and growth. The research identified the various principles that were considered as admirable for business ethics.
Robert Moment identifies what he refers to as the seven principles of admirable business ethics which includes being trustful, having an open mind, meeting obligations, having clear documents, becoming involved with the community, maintaining an accounting control, and being respectful. In being trustful, Moment observes that clients wish to participate in business with an organization that can be trusted. He defines trust as an assured reliability on the character, ability, strength and truthfulness of an organization. When trust is entrenched in an organization, such organizations are easily recognizable as they stand out unique from the others. Having an open mind is also crucial for improvement of a business. The leadership of an organization has to be open to fresh and new ideas. They should be ready to incorporate the opinions from the clients and team members and this will enable the organization to achieve greater heights. The organization has also to ensure that it does anything within its reach to regain the trust of past clients especially if something went wrong somewhere. Regaining any lost business has to begin with honoring of all the commitments and obligations that have been pledged to the customers.
Having clear documents involves re-evaluating all the print materials that includes business adverts, brochures, and any other business documents. The documents have to be clear, professional and with precision. It is important to ensure that the documents are not misinterpreted or misconceived. Winning of the public trust may involve the indulgence of the organization in community affairs as part of the corporate social responsibility. Involvement in community related issues demonstrates that the organization is a responsible community contributor. The organization has also to maintain an accounting control of its finances. A good financial control enables the organization to avoid any dubious activities that could derail public trust. Last but not least, the other principle involves treating others with respect. Professional respect and courtesy are very crucial in attaining business ethics. Business ethics are very important for an organization when it has to remain on course in achieving the desired outcome. An organization that observes good business ethics that are incorporated in its strategies and policies is easily identified by the clients and there is no doubt that such organizations becomes successful and more profitable.
Ethical integrity in Business management
Management can be defined as the process of reaching organizational goals by working with and through both human and non-human resources in an effort to continuously improve on the value addition to the world. To realize the organizational goals and objectives is a clear indication of effectiveness minimizing on resource wastage is a show of efficiency continuous improvement of output and the general process indicates innovativeness whereas stakeholder responsibility is reflected through value addition to the world. According to Petrick Quinn, word class management reaches goals without wasting resources and generates competitive innovation while sustaining responsible commitments in the private, public, andor nonprofit sectors domestically and globally . A well executed managerial process has positive returns to the organization which makes the organization have a competitive advantage over the poorly managed organizations. The manager who acts unprofessionally by ignoring objective clients needs usually becomes vulnerable to public censure, loss of business, and ultimate dismissal.
The success of an organization has something to do with the integrity of the employees and the organization as a whole. When integrity has been shelved, severe problems are certain to occur in any given organization. When the reputation of an organization has been dented, there is a high likelihood that the organization will undergo a great loss in terms of the best employees and clients. It is therefore imperative for organizations to engage in a proactive measure in an effort to prevent problems that are associated with ethical issues. Most organizations have thus engaged in providing training to employees that emphasize on the ethics and integrity of the business . It is the small things that if neglected will bring down the whole organization. The code of conduct of an organization in the eyes of the society will therefore be reflected in the success or in the fall of organization. It is therefore important that organizations incorporate good ethic values that will ensure integrity so as to remain competitive enough to successfully realize its objectives.
Conclusion
Ethical integrity has become a very crucial element in the business world of today. Business ethics has played a determining role to the success of the respective organizations with clients appreciating the organizations that are seen as maintaining high integrity as opposed to those seen as unethical. None of the organization is established to fail and therefore any business success is of essence to any given organization. The relationship between the clients and the organization becomes an asset when high moral standards are being observed by the organization. Moral values should therefore be entrenched in the corporate culture of the organization for it to successfully achieve the set objectives. Public trust becomes central to the realization of success since it is only through winning the public trust that organizations are able to be rewarded in terms of client or customer base. Ethical integrity shall therefore remain an essential component towards the realization of organizational or business success in the increasingly competitive world.
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