4.Ethics

Taking Stoner's Administration book as a reference, we have the following: it can be said that many of the decisions of organizations face problems because the interests of the organization affect the interests of third parties.

Likewise, companies and directors who ignore moral issues are telling those affected: "We don't want to invest in improving this relationship." Furthermore, while unethical behavior may sometimes work in the present, those who ignore ethical issues are likely to suffer long-term problems.

Given the above, the term ethics will now be defined as the study of how our decisions affect others. It is also the study of the rights and obligations of people, of the moral rules they apply when making decisions, and of the nature of relationships between people. It is said that it is not possible to avoid the ethical questions of business and neither of aspects of our existence.

In the case of companies, most ethical questions are related to one or more of the following four levels: that of society, that of interest groups, that of internal politics and that of the personal.

It should be noted that the basic terms of the language of ethics are values, rights, obligations, rules and relationships.

There are many versions referring to the so-called "Moral Relativism", but all of them maintain that it is impossible to rationally determine if something is right or wrong, good or bad. Moral relativism implies, it seems, that since good and bad are relative, since it depends on the person who determines them, moral questions only receive individual answers. Likewise, it suggests that it is impossible to formulate a moral argument, since each person will do what he considers good. Although we analyze a lot dealing with moral problems, there is no way to determine with certainty whether, in moral terms, one decision is better than another.

If we want to know more about the subject of ethics in business, we have the following book: "Ethics in business concepts and cases", by Manuel G. Velasquez.

Finally a question to reflect on: How do you understand, define and apply ethics in your life and work? .

2022, February