Analyzing the Impact of Financial Ethics on Business

¶ … Financial Ethics on Business

The reason of our frequent acquaintance about the fact of bouncing checks as a result of inadequate funds is worth noting so also the reason of sanction of unsuitable loans by banks, the acceptance of fraudulent claims by the insurers and so on. The issue is associated with the lack of business ethics in the financial sector. (Teferi, 2002) The facilities for mismanagement and fraud in the financial securities industry has taken the public attention and would remain a public focus for quite some time. We can witness several frauds taking place and ending up as court cases. One such case was with regard to the SEC v. Zandford, wherein the question focused was whether a stockbroker had the right to sell his customers securities without the customer knowing it and providing his consent and for using it for his own advantage. Further to add to the misappropriation of the cash which resulted from selling the securities, part of the plan had also allegedly "involved the stockbroker writing checks from an account that caused the redemption of shares of a mutual fund." (Botticelli; Lawson, 2002) The debate was in relation to whether such an act was "in connection with the purchase or sale of any security" within the scope of Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5.5 (Botticelli; Lawson, 2002)

These issues of fraud occurring within the financial sector need to be rectified upon which enable us to have an understanding of the impact of business ethics in the financial sector by means of an article 'Business Ethics in the financial sector' by Lulseged Teferi. The author indicates that ethics is associated with the fact of doing things at the right moment, performing what one can validate, fair treatment, discarding the immoral and accomplishing the liability with undisputed integrity. Valuing what is immoral is the precondition to discard it. The capability to differentiate the fact of morally good and the reverse gives rise to deal with the things ethically. (Teferi, 2002)

Taking into consideration the institutions in our financial sector, we cannot get rid of the frequently asked questions, as to the importance of leadership of the institution in promoting ethics. For ethics to have significance in any given institution, the leaders are required to be principle focused. What do we signify when we reveal a leader is ethically inclined? Stephen Covey has this to reveal, that principles are only a portion of the human circumstances, awareness and conscience. To evaluate the way easy or problematic to have principle concentrated leadership in all institutions, it is significant to think of the following list of attributes of such leaders as set out by Stephen is significant. They are persistently learning; they are service inclined; they propagate positive energy; they have faith in other people; they have balanced lives; they visualize life as an adventure; they are synergetic.

Irrespective that the leadership of a given institution is at least very near to have all the above characteristics, it is not fully safeguarded that business ethics in that organization is at perfection as a result of the personal level disparities among people. The extent to which people acknowledge and live in accord with such basic principles as fairness, equity, justice, integrity, honesty and trust, they lean towards either survival and stability on the one hand or dissolution and decay on the other. One of the objectives of leadership in the financial sector is to entail appreciation of customer service by the entire staff by means of knowledge, skill, courtesy, pride, smile and extra effort. The demonstration of such attributes in our handling of task in the right orientation has been the representation of ethics. (Teferi, 2002)

Now since the CEO has presently taken the duty of leading the company and paving it towards enduring accomplishment, to successfully release this duty, delegation of authorities, focused assignment of functions and building strong management team, all members concentrating to promote company mission, in search of shared vision is essential. In such a situation if members of the management team travel in different directions, then the damage is to the entire machinery in the drive towards accomplishment, hence the need for singleness of objective. Presently, in respect of the employees they are a creative asset of the company and have to be dealt in as such. Employees have to be directed, trained, and developed. In the absence of the sufficient orientation on company vision, goals, targets, disciplines, processes and policies, it is problematic to anticipate the way employees can resist the challenge in their employment.

Lulseged Teferi discusses about the culture of orientation, training, career development and relations with customers and employees in our financial institutions. As human resources they are required to be trained, taken care of, motivated and made to acquire the feeling that they are employed to bring about a difference. Employee at any level is required to think that he can positively assist to quality service. However, it is to be found out whether all the employees have fully understood their duties. While the cleaner cleans the office habitually, only to discard the complaint of the Supervisor or at times penalty, then there is some mistake. Unless people are reoriented for and committed to work qualitatively, culture of ethics cannot improve in that given institution. (Teferi, 2002)

Customers have no less considerable role. They are required to be capable of distinguishing between their rights for service and their duties to be allowed to that service. They must understand that demanding beyond their right is polluting the society. By analyzing the aggregate of the customers we can have the opinion that the financial sector addresses the people asking for smooth operation and in comparatively better physical and mental state. The rectifications required in this regard in the financial sector are worth considering. We should all confess that policies and procedure manuals should be reviewed frequently so as to assure that they are reacting to the progressing business complexity, varying customer requirements, new technology and varying employee anticipations to accord just, equal, standardized and ethical treatment to the customers.