¶ … Evolution of Business Ethics
I am certain that the practice of business ethics will involve a considerable amount over the next 10 years. One of the reasons that my conviction regarding this matter is so strong is because of the plethora of new technologies -- and their advances -- that are emerging every day. The preoccupation with data and driven processes provides an excellent example of the way that technologies are shaping businesses and the ethical concerns that are paramount to contemporary organizations. For instance, there is no shortage of Big Data and its applications, such as the Internet of Things, in which both public and private organizations will have access to immense amounts of data about people. This sort of data is not just static data, but real-time data with access to people's locations and activities. The issues of privacy that have emerged within the wake of these technologies will certainly call for a new form of ethics, perhaps even heightened ones, to secure privacy while gleaning whatever sort of business value these technologies are capable of producing.
Additional areas in which companies will likely have to evolve their business ethics, and which is not wholly unrelated to the aforementioned discussion of technology and Big Data in particular, include regulatory compliance. There are myriad compliance issues that are emerging just as frequently as new technologies in heavily regulated issues such as finance, health care, and others. Organizations are going...
Plus, a number of these regulations pertain to issues of ethics regarding various facets such as privacy and the storage of sensitive customer information, for example. Thus, issues of regulatory compliance are projected to continue to impact businesses and inevitably shape the way their principles of ethics are enacted.
Another factor that should greatly impact the evolution of business ethics over the next several years is the notion of corporate responsibility. Frankly, consumers are demanding much more from organizations in today's global marketplace. With the advent of social media technologies and the sort of instant connectivity the internet facilitates, customers are able to immediately voice their opinions regarding practically any facet of a company from its products and services to its degree of corporate responsibility. It is simply no longer enough for businesses to simply make money and detach themselves from the rest of society -- especially with the way that globalization is affecting various aspects of people's lives. Companies actually have a responsibility to give back to the customers and the overall communities that are supporting their growth and development. In this respect, it is vital for tenets of corporate responsibility to shape the system of ethics that are guiding these companies, and for the former to exert a considerable degree of influence on…
