Professional ethics is an important part of any business, and every decent business leader is well aware of it. Accordingly, companies try to improve the ethical standards of their activities because good professional ethics promises a good reputation and increased trust of clients, partners, and investors, improved teamwork and profitability of the organization, and much more. However, it is important to remember that several factors influence various ethical decisions, and this article will explore these in more detail.
The main factors affecting business ethics
So, the main factors that influence the professional ethics of company employees are:
- Personal code of ethics
Each person decides what is moral and immoral, directly affecting their behavior. Unfortunately, sometimes his perceptions do not coincide with those norms accepted in society, which is why some employees may have problems with professional ethics.
- Legislation
As has already been established, the government can only interfere in the affairs of a company if the business people behave too unethically and selfishly, without any responsibility to the public. After all, society will not tolerate improper behavior. Thus, this will reach the government and put some pressure on it, in which case it will simply have to step in and prohibit the unhealthy behavior of business people.
- Government rules and regulations
Laws set behavior and work process standards in many aspects, such as working conditions, product safety, and warnings. They can also set guidelines for business leaders in their behavior and policy practices.
- Company Code of Ethics
If a company expands, its code of ethics also changes and becomes higher. This is because the larger the company, the higher the expectations from it, and therefore any behavior of the employees that are considered unethical will leave an unpleasant mark on the organization’s reputation and jeopardize the public image. That is why companies are very careful in this matter and issue special instructions to their employees regarding company affairs.
- Social Pressure
Frequent rejections from customers or potential partners put social pressure on companies, eventually pushing them to rethink their business ethics.
- Ethical climate in the industry
Modern companies are forced to operate in a highly competitive environment, which means that even the slightest factor of a company that is better than its competitor can play into the organization’s hands and attract more customers. That’s why companies try to comply with all standards of business ethics, so they don’t get left behind.
Factors that influence decision making
Three key factors that influence decision-making can be identified:
- Experience
Experience influences your decisions in the future. So, if a company’s expertise in an issue is positive, they will make a similar decision when a similar situation arises in front of them. But if the experience is negative, people will try to avoid past mistakes by any means. Nevertheless, companies tend to rely not on past experiences but on exploring all possible options.
- Time to think and make decisions
All the actions a manager takes should be considered when making business decisions. Experts claim that the most effective decisions are made in the morning, as serotonin levels are higher at this time. If you prioritize and decide on the more important things in the morning, the chance that the decision was the right one is much higher.
- Prioritizing
As mentioned above, prioritizing is a very important task when making decisions. It would help if you determined which issues should be addressed immediately and which can be put aside for later and delegated to another employee who will have the necessary knowledge and experience to solve the task at hand.