Business ethics are the moral principles you adopt in how you do business. Though many unscrupulous businesses have earned big bucks in a short time, in the long run, they have suffered from the bad reputation their unscrupulous behaviour has caused. So, how can business ethics create a better business? Before we dive into this question let’s define business ethics.
Business ethics are moral principles that guide a company’s conduct. Some ethics are governed by laws, especially how the environment and people are treated. Other principles are governed by the interactions between the public, customers, suppliers and other people who are involved in the company’s dealings. When controversies or ethical dilemmas arise, the company will look to the foundational principles of the business on how they will react to these occurrences. When discussing business ethics we are looking at trustworthiness, loyalty, respect, fairness, and the responsibility of the individuals and the business to the community and environment where the business is positioned.
How can business ethics create a better business?
1. Better sales
The key to sales is that a person knows, trusts and likes the business they are buying from. By behaving in a manner which is consistent with your brand values, you are able to build trust with your leads and customers. By nurturing and growing the trust, you will get more repeat sales, and your customers could become raving fans of your brand. This will lead to new better qualified leads entering your sales funnel.
2. Better reputation
When companies behave in an ethical way, then they can get more positive press which increases their reputation in the public. But should companies behave unethically, like underpaying their staff, they could come under scrutiny and be ridiculed for their behaviour.
3. Better talent
People who have high ethical standards look to businesses that share their views when looking for jobs. By practising moral principles in your business, you will attract some of the top talent who respects being trustworthy, responsible and taking responsibility for their actions.
4. Better risk management
As was mentioned earlier, some ethics are enforced by governmental laws. This means that by being ethical, you are less likely to receive fines or other penalties because you have broken a law.
In conclusion, by adopting ethical business practices in your business, you will be able to run a successful business with a good reputation. This reputation in turn will increase your sales and help you to recruit top talent and you will be able to minimise the risks which your business may encounter. All in all, being honest, trustworthy, loyal, responsible, fair, and respectful can pay off greatly in the long run.
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