SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Ethical Supply Chain Management

Ethical Supply Chain Management

Introduction

In today's rapid and dynamically changing world, ensuring regular supplies to meet consistent fluctuations in consumer demands has been defined as one of the most crucial aspects of any business if it wants to be successful enough to compete in terms of quality, price and competitors. For companies involved in the manufacturing sector SCM is the most important business department and in fact has been termed as a necessity to regulate the supply chain aspects of the business smoothly and efficiently (Panapanaan, 2009, 133). Nowadays business need not only lower costs in order to stay ahead in the ocean of cut throat competition, they also need to develop uniquely devised built-in competitive edges in order to be successful. When managing a supply chain, ethics has prime and key importance towards the functioning, mission and vision of the organization.

Today only those businesses are successful that makes competitive policies in timely manner in accordance with the highly volatile consumer market. Supply chain management or simply known as supply chain is an important & very crucial department of business. It can be called the bloodline of any firm or organization especially the ones involved in manufacturing of products like textile, mobile phones, fast food or anything that has to do with manufacturing. In plain business terms it is management of successfully converting raw material also known as the input of any business into finished goods also known as the output. The management should utilize a complete set of various ethical procedures to ensure efficient utilization of business's resources (Davis, 2001, 379).

Ethical Supply Chain Management

As we have been stressing throughout this text, ethical decisions are critical to the long-term success of any organization. However, the supply chain is particularly prone to slippage, as the opportunities to behave unethically are enormous (Carterm 2002, 37). With a sales staff eager to sell, and purchasing agents who spend huge amounts, the temptation to unethical behavior is considerable. Many sellers end up making friends with their customers, making favors, taking them to lunch or giving them small (or big) gifts. Define when a gift of friendship becomes a bribe is a challenge. Many companies have rules and strict codes of conduct that limit what is considered acceptable. Being aware of these problems, the Institute for Supply Management has developed principles and standards that can be used as guidelines for ethical behavior (Halldorsson, 2007, 284).

Ethical supply chain is viable because ethical supply chain sets the basic global principles to condition the behavior of the broader public sector, their suppliers, their advisors and others involved in activities related to chain supply (Oliver, 2009, 246).

Purpose of the Code of Ethics for managing the supply chain

Ethics in supply chain management is viable because this is a type of activity that is need to been handled with care and efficiently because if these principles would not be followed it could have drastic impact on the organizations and their ...