Factors Influencing Business Ethics

What are
the factors that influence business ethics?

 A
number of them come to mind.

One is current ethical and moral trends in
society.  After all, people who behave one way at home are not likely to be of a different
stripe at work.   Theyre wont be walking into the office one day a miraculously changed person. 
Their behavior at home will most likely be replicated on the job.  Thats why best recruiting
practices call for a thorough background check on all potential employees and chatting will
their personal references.

Two is the personal morals and integrity of your
organizations staff and management team.  For sure there will be a segment of managers and staff
who tend one way or the other but the wildcard lies in the dominant office personalities and the
sway that they hold over their peers.  And dont forget the other stressors such as the level of
customer conflict and how that can influence staff and managers to cover up unpleasant exchanges
or hide other ethical lapses.

Three is the management style of the
organizations leaders.  Is it a mild-mannered group of managers who operate on group consensus
or do they have an authoritarian style of leadership that demands rigorous adherence to company
rules and ethical standards?  If the latter, then theres a greater chance of a stronger ethical
environment up and down the organizational ladder.

Four is the type of
industry youre talking about and the clout that ethics violations have over the actions of staff
and managers.  If its a law firm, youll probably have more stringent ethical behavior because of
the potential for disciplinary action against attorneys and staff for violating boundaries.  If
its a government lobbying firm, there will be most likely be more wiggle room given the nature
of the beast.  Ethical lapses are not only common in that environment, theyre almost
expected.

In short, there can be many factors that influence business ethics
but so much depends on the people, the industry and the social norms.  Without knowledge of
those facts, there are few easy answers to this question.   Nevertheless, those are
a few.

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