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    10 Myths: About Business Ethics

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    Md. Saiful Islam
    The document outlines 10 common myths about business ethics. Myth 1 claims that business ethics is more about religion than management, however the document argues that an ethics program focuses on managing conflicting values in an organization. Myth 2 asserts that staff are already ethical so no attention needs to be paid to business ethics, but the document explains that most people recognize a "gray area" when applying ethics to complex situations. Myth 3 suggests that business ethics should be led by philosophers, but the document states it is a practical management discipline.

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    10 Myths: About Business Ethics

    Uploaded by

    Md. Saiful Islam
    722 views2 pages
    The document outlines 10 common myths about business ethics. Myth 1 claims that business ethics is more about religion than management, however the document argues that an ethics program focuses on managing conflicting values in an organization. Myth 2 asserts that staff are already ethical so no attention needs to be paid to business ethics, but the document explains that most people recognize a "gray area" when applying ethics to complex situations. Myth 3 suggests that business ethics should be led by philosophers, but the document states it is a practical management discipline.

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    10 Myths

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    The document outlines 10 common myths about business ethics. Myth 1 claims that business ethics is more about religion than management, however the document argues that an ethics program focuses on managing conflicting values in an organization. Myth 2 asserts that staff are already ethical so no attention needs to be paid to business ethics, but the document explains that most people recognize a "gray area" when applying ethics to complex situations. Myth 3 suggests that business ethics should be led by philosophers, but the document states it is a practical management discipline.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    722 views2 pages

    10 Myths: About Business Ethics

    Uploaded by

    Md. Saiful Islam
    The document outlines 10 common myths about business ethics. Myth 1 claims that business ethics is more about religion than management, however the document argues that an ethics program focuses on managing conflicting values in an organization. Myth 2 asserts that staff are already ethical so no attention needs to be paid to business ethics, but the document explains that most people recognize a "gray area" when applying ethics to complex situations. Myth 3 suggests that business ethics should be led by philosophers, but the document states it is a practical management discipline.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    10 MYTHS

    about Business Ethics


    MYTH 1 BUSINESS ETHICS IS MORE A
    MATTER OF RELIGION THAN MANAGEMENT.
    “altering people’s values or souls isn’t the aim of an organi-
    zational ethics program — managing values and conflict
    among them is ...”

    MYTH 2 OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE ETHICAL


    SO WE DON’T NEED ATTENTION TO BUSINESS
    ETHICS. When the topic of business ethics comes up,
    people are quick to speak of the Golden Rule, honesty and
    courtesy. But when presented with complex ethical dilem-
    mas, most people realize there’s a wide “gray area” when
    trying to apply ethical principles.

    MYTH 3 BUSINESS ETHICS IS A DISCIPLINE


    BEST LED BY PHILOSOPHERS, ACADEMICS
    AND THEOLOGIANS. Business ethics is a management
    discipline with a programmatic approach that includes
    several practical tools.

    MYTH 4 BUSINESS ETHICS IS SUPERFLU-


    OUS — IT ONLY ASSERTS THE OBVIOUS: “DO
    GOOD!” The value of a code of ethics to an organization
    is its priority and focus regarding certain ethical values in
    that workplace. For example, it’s obvious that all people
    should be honest. However, if an organization is struggling
    around continuing occasions of deceit in the workplace, a
    priority on honesty is very timely.

    MYTH 5 BUSINESS ETHICS IS A MATTER OF


    THE GOOD GUYS PREACHING TO THE BAD
    GUYS. Good people can make bad actions, particularly
    when stressed or confused. Managing ethics in the work-
    place includes all of us working together to help each
    other remain ethical and to work through confusing and
    stressful ethical dilemmas.

    Ethics HelpLine
    1.800.261.7497
    [email protected]
    MYTH 6 BUSINESS ETHICS IS THE NEW
    POLICEPERSON ON THE BLOCK. Business ethics
    was written about as early as even 2,000 years ago in
    Cicero’s On Duties.

    MYTH 7 ETHICS CAN’T BE MANAGED.


    Actually, ethics is always “managed”. For example, laws,
    regulations and rules, strategic priorities, the behavior of
    the organization’s founder or current leader, even such
    “codes of ethics,” such as the “10 Commandments” in
    Christian religions or the U.S. Constitution are all forms
    of management.

    MYTH 8 BUSINESS ETHICS AND SOCIAL


    RESPONSIBILITY ARE THE SAME THING. The
    social responsibility movement is one aspect of the overall
    discipline of business ethics.Writings about social respon-
    sibility often do not address practical matters of managing
    ethics in the workplace, e.g., developing codes, updating
    policies and procedures, approaches to resolving ethical
    dilemmas, etc.

    MYTH 9 OUR ORGANIZATION IS NOT IN


    TROUBLE WITH THE LAW, SO WE’RE ETHICAL.
    One can often be unethical, yet operate within the limits
    of the law, e.g., withhold information from superiors, fudge
    on budgets, constantly complain about others, etc.
    However, breaking the law often starts with unethical
    behavior that has gone unnoticed.

    MYTH 10 MANAGING ETHICS IN THE WORK-


    PLACE HAS LITTLE PRACTICAL RELEVANCE.
    Managing ethics in the workplace involves identifying and
    prioritizing values to guide behaviors in the organization, and
    establishing associated policies and procedures to ensure
    those behaviors are practiced. This “values management” is
    also highly important in other management practices.

    (excerpt from Carter McNamara’s Complete Guide to Ethics


    Management: An Ethics Toolkit for Managers)

    Ethics HelpLine
    1.800.261.7497
    [email protected]

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