Ethics and social responsibility are hot topics for managers. Ethical behavior pertains
to values of right and wrong. Ethical decisions and behavior are typically guided by
a value system. For an individual manager, the ability to make correct ethical choices
will depend on both individual and organizational characteristics. An important individual
characteristic is one’s level of moral development. Corporate culture is an organizational
characteristic that influences ethical behavior. Corporate social responsibility concerns a company's values toward society. How
can organizations be good corporate citizens? The model for evaluating social performance
uses four criteria: economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary. Social responsibility in business means profitably serving employees and customers
in an ethical and lawful manner. Extra costs can accrue because a firm takes
socially responsible action, but this is a part of doing business in today’s society, and
it pays in the long run. What should an individual base her or his values upon? Could the Golden Rule
serve as a universal, practical, helpful standard for salespeople's conduct? What
about your ethical and moral conduct? Salespeople and managers realize that their business should be conducted in an ethical
manner. They must be ethical in dealing with their salespeople, their employers,
and their customers. Ethical standards and guidelines for sales personnel must be developed,
supported, and policed. In the future, ethical selling practices will be even
more important to conducting business profitably. Techniques for improving social responsiveness include leadership, codes of ethics, ethical structures, whistle-blowing,
and establishing control systems. Finally, research suggests that socially responsible
organizations perform as well as--and often better than--organizations that are not
socially responsible. |