Definition:Business ethics is the study of proper business policies and practices regarding potentially controversial issues, such as corporate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, corporate social responsibility and fiduciary responsibilities. – Investopedia
In training values and ethics, many “what if” scenarios should be developed so that employees can learn to react to possibilities.
Once you have defined what’s acceptable and what is not, plan how the organisation will respond to employees who do the right thing. For example, if someone makes a business decision that is consistent with organisational ethics, but causes the company to lose business, show that person as a positive example.
Next, examine negative situations. Most lying in organisations isn’t for personal gain but to avoid embarrassing consequences.
If you frequently take success for granted and consistently punish failure, you can count on people changing the numbers to look better than they should, blaming others for their mistakes or hiding errors.
In summary, you should:
- Specifically define values and ethics as they relate to suppliers, customers and employees.
- Train employees using realistic examples relating to your own business.
- Examine how you respond to success and failure. within your organisation.
- Reinforce all who make an improvement, not just a select few.
