Ethical Business Practices :: Business Ethics

Ethical business practices include assuring that the highest legal and moral standards are observed in your relationships with the people in your business community. This includes the most important person in your business, your customer. Short term profit at the cost of losing a customer is long term death for your business. A reputation for ethical decisions builds trust in your business among business associates and suppliers. Strong supplier relationships are critical to a successful business. Consider the problems you might have if you could not supply what the customer needs...at the time that they need it. The entrepreneur is the role model for employees. If your behavior includes lying to customers, taking money out of the cash register, or taking home some of the inventory or supplies, you cannot be surprised if your employees follow your lead. Your family members may see the business as their own and take things that really belong to the business. Employees may see this as being dishonest, or as a conflict with their needs for a raise in pay. The community expects your business to operate in an ethical manner that enhances the image of the community as a whole. If you are located in a mall, for example, your code of ethics will help or hinder customer traffic for the other businesses too. A reputation for telling customers anything they want to hear, regardless of the truth, eventually hurts your business and other businesses around you. It usually isn't illegal to lie to customers, but it isn't good business. Ethical behavior is merely making good business decisions based on an established "code of ethics". Entrepreneurs should establish a written code of ethics that can serve as a framework for decisions to be made by the entrepreneur as well as the employees. In developing this code of ethics you should consider the following items: 1. Identify your general principles that would lead to fair business practices. 2. Check with your industry association for basic standards to review 3. Allow for the fact that ethical questions do not always have a unique, faultless answer. 4. Write out specific statements that will assist you and others in making day-to-day ethical decisions. 5. Apply your code of ethics to a written policy and procedure manual identifying the major rules for operating your business. 6. Train your employees (and family members) to make ethical decisions about the business.