A Fresh Perspective on Developing an Ethical Foundation for Sustainable Business Success

Abstract

In order to achieve excellence in the contemporary business scenario it is imperative that companies should have basic positive values and attitudes. Ethics deals with what is wrong and what is right in various disciplines of the organization. Unethical practices may yield short term gains but the organization may have to compromise its success in the long run. In the increasingly conscience-focused marketplaces of the 21st century, the demand for more ethical business processes and actions is growing. Simultaneously, the increasing globalization has put organizations under immense pressure to not only maintain but improve profitability. Added to this is the moral dilemma that an action may be acceptable as per the law of the country but stakeholders, importantly here- the customers, may view it as an unethical practice. There are numerous such examples some of which have been highlighted in the paper. India too has its own stories of unethical practices, the least of which being the tendency of most local companies ignoring intellectual property rights and passing off local developments as their innovations or as is popularly stated as 'jugaad'. There are, however, equally compelling examples of ethical corporate behaviour resulting in business success. It would therefore, be safe to presume that in the long run, customers tend to prefer companies with evident ethical practices and that hopefully, sooner or later, unethical organizations are bound to face the contempt of customers in the form of dwindling revenues. This paper is our attempt to present our perspective on the core idea of maintaining ethical standards as a fundamental to the prosperity and reputation of an organization as well as the development of its human resources. It focuses on the various ethical dilemmas that may be faced in the organization and analyses the ways in which an organization may promote ethical conduct.