The Moral Being

``A MAN'S ethical behaviour should be based effectively on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death." - Albert Einstein.

ETHICAL values provide the foundation on which a civilised society exists. Without this foundation, civilisation collapses. On a personal level, everyone must answer the following question: What is my highest aspiration? The answer could be wealth, fame, knowledge, popularity, or integrity. However, if integrity becomes secondary to any of the alternatives, it will be sacrificed in situations in which a choice must be made. Such situations will invariably occur in every person's life. Managing ethics in the work place holds tremendous benefits for leaders and managers and benefits all. This is particularly true in the modern scenario when it is critical to understand and manage highly diverse values in the workplace.

Real business ethics is a natural and important component of any serious business strategy. Ethics involves treating people - employees, suppliers, shareholders, customers-with fairness, consideration and respect while providing goods and services that meet customer's needs and expectations. Quite simply, ethical practices are people-oriented ways of doing business. The businesses that thrive will be those that hold fast to this thread by keeping people at the top of their agenda. After all, ethics is one topic that begins and ends with people.

The spectrum of business ethics is vast and the primary focus can be consolidated into the acronym TAR.

`T' for trust

The basic building blocks to establish trust are honesty, fairness, keeping up promises and integrity. Trust is the lubricant that makes it possible for organisations to work. Once you lose it in business, it is difficult to regain.

`A' for action

Ethics requires a pro-active attitude rather than a reactive one. To accomplish this, one must be diligent, responsible, driven to excel, and accountable for his actions.

Finally, `R' for respect

Showing regard and appreciation for someone or something that's worth. It is a two-way street, the hardest of which is gaining the respect of others. To achieve this, one must be caring and focused on serving others (your employees, your customers, your suppliers etc.,). One must be a law-abiding citizen and be diligently faithful to the group he serves.

Ethical behaviour is contagious, though not inborn. It must be taught. One should strive to set standards for others to meet through an ethical business culture. An ethical environment improves employee interaction and builds a workplace atmosphere based on candour, fairness, integrity and trust. It strips away the filters and lowers the barriers to open the channels of communication. People can then react openly and freely with one another.

The bottom line is "what goes around, comes around." If you treat your employees with disrespect and distrust, chances are they will do the same with you. When you are developing your ethics policy, you must decide what it is you want your company to stand for, put it in writing, and enforce it. You can base your policy on five fundamental principles:

*Purpose

A purpose combines both your vision as well as the values you would like to see upheld in your business. It comes from the top and outlines specifically what is considered acceptable as well as unacceptable in terms of conduct in your business.

*Pride

Pride builds dignity and self-respect. If employees are proud of where they work and what they are doing, they are much more apt to act in an ethical manner.

*Patience

Since you must focus on long-term versus short-term results, you must develop a certain degree of patience. Without it, you will become too frustrated and will be more tempted to choose unethical alternatives.

*Persistence

Persistence means standing by your word. It means being committed. If you are not committed to the ethics you have outlined, then they become worthless. Stand by your word.

* Perspective

In a world where there is never enough time to do everything we need or want to do, it is often difficult to maintain perspective.

However, stopping and reflecting on where your business is headed, why you are headed that way, and how you are going to get there allows you to make the best decisions both in the short- term as well as the long-term. A company policy is a reflection of the values deemed important for its business.

As you develop your ethics policy, focus on what you would like the world to be like, not on what others tell you it is. Ethics are free-a company only has to put forth the effort to communicate, educate and train its employee base. An effective program costs very little. The rewards for exemplary business ethics are great: maximised profits, less stress at work, more productive employees, and customers and suppliers who will stick with you during difficult times.

PRATAP REDDY

pratap.hyd@careercommunity.co.in