Ethical Conduct of Businesses

Ethical and Sustainable Business

In basic terms, ethics may be described as moral standards and what differentiates right from wrong. Most of the time, ethics has always been aligned with religious beliefs, the law, feelings and the standard in the society. However, ethics are objective foundations that help distinguish what is right from what is wrong. A business that needs to operate in the long-term may need to have ethical standards. In essence, ethical standards in a business are noble and enable a business to operate in the long run (Hamington and Sander-Staudt, 2011).

A business may be recognized as ethical depending on how it treats its stakeholders. The major stakeholders of a business include employees, customers and suppliers. For instance, a firm may be recognized to operate ethically if it does not harm its consumers’ interests in any manner or form, i.e. by offering high quality goods or services. Further, in as far as the general public is concerned, a business should not partake in activities that pollute the environment. Also, given that employees are also a crucial stakeholder, a business is required to pay the said employees on time and as per the industry standards. An enterprise that behaves in an ethical manner is also expected to pay suppliers in good time and adhere to the contractual standards in place between it and its business partners.

The concept of ethics is intertwined with sustainability. Sustainability means that a business is able to operate efficiently and in the long-term. Ethical business standards result to sustainability. For instance, when a business secures the interests of its employees, there are likely to be more motivated and perform better. Customers are also likely to purchase goods and services from an ethically-conscious enterprise.