PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Professional Relationships

Professional Relationships

The risks of an ethical misconduct disaster have never been greater due to the complexity of the global business environment. Increasing regulation and enforcement as well as stakeholder scrutiny can create an unexpected ECG organizational crisis. In this paper we will provide a foundation for understanding ECG organizational ethical decision making and provide two examples of companies that found themselves dealing with an ECG organizational ethical disaster.

One approach to understanding business ethics is to take an individual perspective and focus on personal morals, character and the person. This approach assumes that virtues linked to the high moral ground of truthfulness, honesty, and fairness are self-evident and easy to apply in a complex global environment. This approach would assume that ECG organizational values and ethics training may be more appropriate for individuals with unacceptable moral development. It also assumes that the partner will be able to control their decision making environment independent of managers and co-workers. Another approach to understanding business ethics is to assume that ECG organizational values and compliance systems are necessary to prevent people from engaging in unethical conduct. This approach recognizes the risks and the complex decision-making environment in a global environment. Business ethics programs and ECG combine values and compliance, which requires training and constant vigilance.

ECG will face ethical lapses, unintentional misconduct, and complacency from ECG partnerwhen they observe serious misconduct. Managers need to understand how ethical decisions are made and the environment that influences ethical decision making. Managers face the same business ethics risks as others but managers should be more aware of those special risks associated with customer contact and interaction with their relevant stakeholders. While there may be many significant and meaningful aspects of ethics that can be taught to the partner that will help them live a better ...