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Introduction

Discuss the relevance of management ethics in a modern business context George Demain The subject of management ethics is one that has become increasingly important over the last decade or so. All managers want their company to succeed and grow, and if they do not manage in a way that creates a good ethical image for their company, then this won't happen. It is the managers who create the image of a business being ethical by the decisions they make. Business ethics, and the implementation of good ethical practises by managers, is more important now that at any time in corporate history. Collins (1990) says that companies should be strongly urged to behave in an ethical manner. He says that this is not only because it will help a company succeed, but that it will prevent the company from becoming worse off i.e. the negative side effects of unethical behaviour are massive, bigger even than the positives associated with ethical behaviour. ...read more.

Middle

Because E improves people lives, or is simply a 'fairer' option, it is likely that the media would pick up on this. This would increase public awareness of the company. As time goes by, implementing E becomes the norm, and a company without E is perceived by consumers as being unethical. The business without E loses sales as customer choice switches to companies with E. So, for a business to maintain P, E must be added. This, suggests Cartwright, puts the company in a difficult position. To add E will hurt profits, but, the same effect will be suffered if E is not added. However, this is not a case for managers to simply 'sit on the fence' on the case of ethical issues. In the case of Nike, (Schwartz and Gibb, 1999), behaviour by its managers was perceived to be unethical, and had a strong negative effect on the company. ...read more.

Conclusion

Sternberg (1994) supports this, saying that a culture of trust in the company will make it more efficient. Management ethics today is extremely important. Carmichael (1995) actually said that managers behaving ethically, hence creating the image of good business ethics for their company is an integral factor to the success of the company. Carmichael said that a business needs what was called 'the ethics edge' to survive. To conclude, the evidence presented shows that managers must behave ethically for a company to succeed. The perception of a business being ethical by its customers is very important, as it will affect the success of the company. This fact alone makes ethics strongly relevant to today's managers. There is a cost to ethics, but that cost is one that managers must accept if they wish their company to be successful. The negatives associated with unethical behaviour are immense, and the positives provide an edge that will enable managers to make their company succeed. This proves that management ethics are highly relevant in today's business environment. ...read more.

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