Ethics and Professionlism 💙🤍 Flashcards
What is the meaning of ethical behavior ?
- Ethical behavior is when the business has the responsibility to use moral codes that guide them to make a choice betw right or wrong.
- Ethics form apart of the code of conduct of business.
Examples of ethical behavior and unethical behavior?
Examples of ethical behavior ?
- Business keep promises to their employees, partners and customers
- Business operates within the law and other restrictions
- Bussiness do not engage in illegal business practices such as pricing-fixing.
- Bussinesses do not make use of child labour
Examples of unethical behavior?
- Dumping pollutants into the water supply rather than using environmentally friendly solutions for cleaning up the pollutants
- Deliberately falsifying information on tax
- Engaging in price-fixing to force smaller competitors out of business.
The meaning of the unprofessional behavior ?
- Broader concept of ethics
- Include issues linked to appearances, communication, skills, responsibilities etc
Examples of professional and unprofessional behavior ?
Examples of Proffesional behavior
- Using polite language with colleagues and clients
- Treating all colleagues the same
- Respecting yourself and others . EG : Being on time for work and appointments
- Exercising reasonable work morale and self-motivation
Examples of Unprofessional behavior
- Being unprepared for assignments or tasks
- Unauthorized use of business resources
- Discussing clients information and using it for personal gain.
- Overt-stating the number of hours worked
Elaborate the difference between ethical and professional behavior ?
Ethical behavior
- Refers to the principles of right and wrong in society
- Conforms to a set of values that are morally acceptable
Professional behavior:
- Refers to what is right and wrong in the business
- Focuses on upholding the reputation of the business
Application of the King Code Principles
The King Code aims to set a code for ethical and effective leaderships by the board of directors
Identify the applications of the King Code ?
Transparency
Meaning : the business must hide nothing from employees, shareholders, investors and public
- Decisions/ Actions must be clear to all shareholders.
- Staffing and other processes should be open and transparent
- Auditing must be accurate and available to shareholders/employees
- The board should ensure that the company ethics are implemented
Accountability
Means : that management must be willing to be accountable for all their actions.
- There must be regular communication betw manage and stakeholders
- Businesses should be accountable/responsible for their decisions/actions
- Business present accurate annual reports to shareholders at the annual general meeting (AGM)
- The board should ensure that the company’s ethics are effectively implemented
Responsibility
- The board/bussiness should aim to develop and implement programmes that protect the communities they operate in.
- The board/bussiness should develop remedial programmes to protect the environment, for example reduce water pollution.
Ways in the which professional, responsible, ethical and effective bussiness practice should be conducted ?
- Bussiness decisions and actions must be clear/transparent to all stakeholders
- The business should draw up a code of ethics/conduct.
- This document just state acceptable behavior in the business
- There must be ongoing development and training for all employees of the business.
Challenges posed by unethical and unprofessional business practices !!
What does unethical bussiness practice mean ?
- Unethical business practice includes actions of the business that cause employees to feel ashamed or embrassed if their doing something wrong in the association.
What are the types of unethical bussiness practices ?
Unfair advertising
- Also known as false deceptive advertising
- refers to the use of false or misleading statements in advertising, leading to the misrepresentation of the concerned product.
(Like product is different colour. )
Pricing of goods in rural areas
- Business often charge high/ exorbitant prices for goods in rural areas
- They are forced to buy from one local store, placing them at the mercy of greedy shopkeeper who inflate prices
Taxation/Tax evasion
- Tax evasion is an illegal activity in which a person or entity deliberately avoids paying a true tax liability.
What are the challenges of unethical bussiness practices ?
Challenges posed by unfair advertising
- unfair advertisement could negatively affect consumers
- Some advertisements may be regarded as discriminatory because they exclude/target some sections of the population
- Deceptive advertising can violate the trust of consumers and destroy business relationships.
Challenges posed by pricing of goods in rural areas
- Business may experience decile in sales due to high cost added into the price of the final product
- Business may form monopolies in rural areas and increase their prices unilaterally which may result in heavy fines
- Bussiness may form monopolies in rural areas and increase their prices unilaterally by high may result in heavy fines.
Challenges posed by taxtation/tax evasion
-For evading tax bussiness maybe heavily fined.
-Tax evasion may negatively impact the business image.
-Bussiness may lose key stakeholders if the act of tax evasion is reported.
Ways to DEAL with UNETHICAL bussiness practices ?
How to deal with unfair advertising ?
- Bussiness must report unfair advertising to ASA (Advertising Standards Authority)
- Advertisements should be honest/legal and abuse consumers trust/lack of knowledge.
How to deal with pricing in rural areas ?
- They must work together with suppliers to share delivery costs to remote rural areas.
-Bussiness must charge fair/market-related prices for goods and services
How to deal with taxation /tax evasion
- Submit the correct tax returns to SARS on time.
- All product should be correctly invoiced and recorded
-Make sure that all financial records are checked and audited
Types of UNPROFESSIONAL bussiness practices ?
- Sexual harassment (unwanted sexual nature from someone)
- Unauthorized use of workplace funds and resources (using business resources w/o permission)
- Abuse of work time (making like personal work calls during work hours)
Outline the CHALLENGES of UNPROFESSIONAL bussiness practices in the workplace.
Sexual harassment challenages
- Sometimes the victim of prefers to stay away from work, and the business loses productivity.
- Sexual-harassment causes emotional trauma.
- Victims attitude will become negative in the work place.
Challenges of unauthorized use of funds and resources
- Fraud increases the cost of doing business
- It may affect the competitiveness of the business
- It could discourage customers and the prices up so increased to absorb the losses
Challenges of abuse of work time
- Abuse of work time decreases productivity and causes them to lose profits
- Business may lose customers and not meet work deadlines
Ways in which the business could DEAL with UNPROFESSIONAL bussiness practices :
Dealing with sexual harassment
- Business must implement internal complaints and disciplinary procedures
- They must educate employees on sexual harassment matters
- Formulate a policy regarding sexual harassment.
- They must comply with the law and business code of conduct.
Dealing with unauthorized use of workplace funds and resources
- The business must conduct regular audits
- They must limit the number of employees having access to business funds and asset
- They must educate employees about the impact of fraud
Dealing with abuse of work time
- Speak directly to those employees who abuse worktime
- Businesses should conduct training on the contents of the code of conduct.
- Business should monitor employees to ensure that tasks are completed
