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Mechanisms for the implementation of ethical standards in the business sphere. Basic ethical theories and their implementation in management activities

Topic 20
MECHANISMS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND NORMS

IN PRACTICE BUSINESS relations, in order for ethical principles, norms, rules and standards to become the realities of business life, they must be included in the decision-making process at all levels of management, as well as in the work practices of all employees, i.e. be part of a real personnel policy.

There are seven main mechanisms in the global economy through which ethical norms can be put into practice. These include:

1) ethical codes;

ethics committees;
training;
social audits;
legal committees;
services that consider citizens' claims on ethical issues;
changes in the corporate structure.

The most commonly used mechanism is ethical code. About 90% of foreign companies implemented ethical principles through such codes. They can be developed for the company as a whole and contain ethical rules common to all.

A code may also be created for certain functional departments, such as the purchasing department, and address only ethical issues specific to that department.

The code of ethics, as a rule, is developed by a specially created body - a committee, commission, etc.

In order to make the code effective, certain disciplinary measures are usually taken to punish those who break the code and to reward actions done in accordance with the rules of the code of ethics.

Committee Ethics of the Corporation has a specific set of functions, which include the following:

pronouncement ethical issues for discussion by the board or top managers;
bringing the main requirements of the code of ethics to the attention of managers at all levels and ordinary employees;
development of measures supporting the code;
analysis and revision of the code on the basis of annual internal corporate reports and depending on changes in the external environment of the organization, especially the system of spiritual values and public opinion;
drawing up reports on the activities of the committee for the board of directors;
providing the highest level of management with expert advice on ethical issues.

managerial ethical training is another opportunity to introduce ethical principles into the activities of corporations. These are sets ethical standards, a kind of ethical modules that are included in general program training of low and middle managers.

Thus, if the ethics committee serves highest level corporate management, helping to find non-trivial individual solutions to ethical problems, ethical training provides both the middle and lower levels of management with a set of ready-made solutions that fit within the framework of ethical requirements.

The training contributes to the practical implementation of ethical principles in the structure of corporate decision-making.

social audit, like other forms of introducing ethical requirements into corporate practice, it has a relatively short history - about two to three decades. A social audit is an attempt to evaluate the social behavior of a corporation in a public environment. The adoption of the charter gives it certain rights and even privileges. For this, society requires certain behavior from the corporation that does not violate the general ethical background and certain actions that contribute to the development and prosperity of society.

Social audit is designed to check and provide information on the extent to which the actions of the corporation meet the expectations of society. It can be used in a corporation for internal control for the degree of ethical actions of the corps of managers, for the implementation of the ethical code, for the rational use of resources, for reporting to shareholders, etc. However, social audit, despite its value for the development of business, management and the public good in general, has not received much development and is mainly used only on a corporate scale. Apparently, the point is the difficulty and high cost of carrying out audits on the scale of not only the entire country, but at least one industry. Of those companies that conduct social auditing for internal purposes, only a few make the results of the audit public or shareholder knowledge.

Basically, social audit is now reduced to determining how the activities of a given corporation comply with state standards for health, safety or environmental pollution control.

Legal Committee is engaged in control over the observance by the corporation of all laws and by-laws in all areas of activity; part of the work of such a committee concerns monitoring the compliance of the actions of the corporation with laws and by-laws of an ethical nature: on environmental protection, protection of human rights, etc.

Only a few enterprises have special services for the settlement of ethical claims. Typically, employees of such services consider complaints and claims on ethical issues received both from outside and from employees of this corporation.

Filed characterizing world economy, only a small number of corporations undertake internal structural changes in order to meet ethical requirements.

So, is it possible to make the behavior of a corporation ethical with the help of certain mechanisms and levers of management?

Yes, you can.

Government regulations in many countries have forced corporations to respond more flexibly to changing societal values, spend money on pollution control environment, provide equal opportunity to work for national minorities and women, etc. Codes of ethics developed on the basis of these regulations have repeatedly helped corporate managers find a way out of difficult ethical situations, as well as create a corporate culture.

There is no doubt that a corporation can be encouraged to comply with ethical principles both through internal control mechanisms (self-regulation) and through external restrictions.

However, no corporation can become a completely self-regulating system. Too many subjective and institutional barriers stand in the way of the emergence of such a system. Therefore, a system of self-regulation is unlikely to replace state regulation in the near future.

Since codes of ethics are more common than other tools for introducing ethics into the life of corporations, we will consider them in more detail.

Many large corporations, in an effort to maintain their image in the eyes of the general public and find a line of their behavior, they develop ethical codes.

The existence of such codes is another confirmation of the existence of an important and unresolved problem of creating an ethical business climate in general, which condemns immoral behavior in the system of work relations.

Most of ethical codes companies was developed and implemented in the 70s. They vary widely in scope, from Exxon Corporation's one-page Code of Business Ethics to the Citicorp Standard of Ethics, over 60 pages long.

In terms of their content, these codes are diverse, which is an illustration of the existence of significant disagreements between representatives of top management regarding the subject matter of the code of ethics. The diversity of codes may also be the result of management's attempts to adapt them to the particular needs of the company in the conditions of national economies and the global economy that have become more complex in recent decades.

characteristic feature modern codes of ethics is that the sections containing recommendations for dealing with ethical problems arising from conflicts of interest are developed in more detail and thoroughness than other sections. In this case, the emphasis is on the clash of interests of the corporation: a) with government bodies; b) with employees or shareholders of the corporation; c) with foreign governments

Most codes are based on internal corporate control over their observance. Public (external) - from the side public organizations- And state control for compliance with the code requires the creation of an appropriate state structure, which is quite expensive, which is burdensome for the budget of any country.

In addition, the idea of organizing external control is not supported by all governments, as well as management theorists and practitioners. It is believed that there are too many obstacles to the implementation of such an idea. Such obstacles include the difficulty in identifying the person in the corporation who has the authority and power to apply coercion, the difficulty (or even the impossibility) of obtaining information about possible ethical violations, the problems of developing unified system motivation of employees to comply with the code of ethics and many other difficulties.

Obviously, it is not possible to characterize and address in a code any ethical problem that employees may face. At the same time, written instructions can help resolve ethical issues that are most common.

You can point out a number of advantages that the creation of a code of ethics gives the corporation as a whole and its employees:

Codes are more substantiated, collected together "guides" to correct behavior than the advice and recommendations of individuals. When individual employees have to determine the level of ethical behavior in their daily practice, their judgments often turn out to be too subjective, depending not only on the level of ethical education this employee but also on the level of his education, culture, awareness of the state of affairs in the corporation, the degree of social responsibility, patriotism and many, many other factors.

Ethical codes, having absorbed all of the above, offer managers to focus their attention on the main, paramount and suggest the most logical decisions.

The very existence of a corporate code of ethics as a collective ethical standard helps corporate managers become aware of the ethical nature of their business decisions. And the written form gives the codes even more significance.
The Code provides a general guideline in situations where it is difficult to unequivocally determine what is ethical and what is unethical in the actions of the management of a corporation, i.e. when universal ethics and professional ethics come into conflict.
Codes of ethics can help control the power of those managers who sometimes ask, even order their subordinates to do not only unethical, but even illegal acts. Codes can provide a certain level legal protection both the company as a whole and each employee individually.

However, ethical codes have a number of disadvantages:

A. They require a significant investment of time and money.

B. They require high qualifications of those who compose them.

D. By their very existence, codes imply the need to impose penalties on offenders.

E. At the same time, everything that is not mentioned in the code can be assessed as acceptable actions.

E. Codes of ethics do not guarantee managers any control over external (in relation to corporations) influences on business ethics nor ways to solve global ethical problems.

The shortcomings of ethical codes listed above do not detract from their importance. They are especially useful in corporations, where managers are aware of the unacceptability of unethical practices.

An analysis of the codes of ethics (based on publications) of American companies shows that they focus on the following issues:

relationship with the government
relationships with buyers
conflict of interest,
honesty in reports.

The following questions are central to most of all analyzed codes:

personal qualities of managers;

safety of products and goods sold;
environmental protection;
the quality of products and goods sold;
civil action.

Research and polls by the American sociological service News-CNN have shown that a significant part of Americans is sure that unethical and dishonest official behavior is widespread.

In the global economy, many companies are now creating divisions or hiring individual employees to develop codes of ethics.

At the same time, measures are being taken to familiarize managers with the provisions of these codes; a system of incentives for managers is also being created, provided that they take into account ethical issues when making decisions and that their official behavior complies with the ethical standards recorded in the codes.

When monitoring the official actions of company employees, lie detector tests, drug tests, etc. are used.

A lot of effort goes into developing the tests that are used when hiring new managers and front line employees.

However, some managers and company owners rightly believe that attempts to ethically correct the official behavior of a person who has sufficient life experience, as well as experience in this company (or any other), are far from always successful. The manner of acting and making decisions that has developed in a mature person, if it runs counter to ethical standards, is difficult to break and rebuild. An adult with experience behind him, with his own formed system of values and views, is difficult to retrain, and companies take this into account in their personnel policy.

More productive, in the opinion of managers of many firms and their owners, is the way of hiring graduates educational institutions, where there was an extensive and extensive program of training in the basics of ethics. In this case, ethical standards are laid down in the consciousness (and subconsciousness) of the future employee as part of the worldview complex and, one might even say, as immutable axioms that cannot be disputed. Then the cumbersome and expensive system of developing company codes, training employees in ethical standards for monitoring compliance with ethical requirements turns out to be largely unnecessary. Therefore, large and wealthy firms that have their own business schools, business schools, introduce in them such programs for teaching students as management ethics, business ethics, ethics business relations, ethics of speech impact. Sometimes it is a set of ethical principles that represent ethical standards in theory, sometimes specific examples and situations, the study and analysis of which enables students to formulate theoretical postulates themselves that determine the ethical boundaries of actions and behavior in their future business practice.

Discussion Questions for Topic 20

What mechanisms for the implementation of ethical principles and norms of business relations can you offer in addition to the existing ones?
Which of the mechanisms seem to you the most effective. Do you have experience with codes of ethics, social audits, etc.?
Develop a draft code of ethics for the organization (or division) you currently work for.
What is the difference between internal and external control for observance of the ethical code of the organization (or other document regulating morality)?
What are your forecasts for the development of documentation (codes, internal regulations, etc.) of ethical requirements in organizations?
Give an assessment of the effectiveness of the application of ethics programs in educational institutions of the Russian Federation for the formation of a set of ethical norms and standards used in the field of service relations.

- 66.50 Kb

Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

State educational institution

higher professional education

"RUSSIAN CORRESPONDENCE INSTITUTE OF TEXTILE AND LIGHT INDUSTRY"

Department: "Philosophy"

discipline: "Business ethics"

on the topic: "Mechanisms for the implementation of ethical standards in the business sphere"

Completed by a student:

Speciality……

Cipher………

Voronezh 2012

Introduction……………………………………………………………………..3

1. Mechanisms for implementing ethical standards in business relations………..4

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………10

References………………………………………………………...12

Introduction

Ethics (Greek ethika, from ethos - custom) is a philosophical science, the object of study of which is morality, its development, norms and role in society. Ethics is one of the most ancient theoretical disciplines that emerged as part of philosophy. To refer to the philosophical doctrine of morality and morality, Aristotle proposed the term "ethics".

In the process of developing ethical theories, philosophers encountered significant difficulties in unifying terminology, since different theories declared different concepts to be basic, often vague, subjective or contradictory (good and evil, the meaning of life, etc.).

Moreover, due to the fact that ethics considers individual morality related to protected subconscious mechanisms, a deep analysis is hampered by the operation of psychological protection that blocks the critical analysis of subconscious attitudes. is an object of morality, and norms imperatively declared by religion as divine become basic, ethics public relations how the system of moral obligations in relation to society is supplemented (or replaced) by divine ethics - a system of moral obligations in relation to God, to the extent that it can come into conflict (sometimes social or even mass) with public morality.

It should be borne in mind that studies of ethics are carried out mainly speculatively, by the researcher on his own example, and therefore often abound in generalization of personal principles and restrictions on ethics in general.

One of the main shortcomings of the modern position of ethics as a science is the almost complete absence of methodologically correct objective studies of the ethical worldview.

At the end of the twentieth century, the development of ethics went in the direction of specialization and detail: professional ethics began to develop - the ethics of a doctor, the ethics of a social worker, the ethics of a journalist, the ethics of a businessman, etc. In connection with the menacing trends in the development of technology, the ethics of science and technology, environmental ethics, bioethics, etc. have appeared. Mankind has faced problems caused by fundamentally new relationships that develop between man, society and nature. A paradoxical situation has arisen: human activity threatens the very existence of man. Hence the need to comprehend and develop a moral position in relation to these phenomena.

Mechanisms for the implementation of ethical standards in the business sphere

In order for ethical principles, norms, rules and standards to become the realities of business life, they must be included in the decision-making process at all levels of management, as well as in the work practices of all employees, i.e. be part of a real personnel policy.

There are seven main mechanisms in the global economy through which ethical norms can be put into practice. These include:

ethical codes;
ethics committees;
training;
social audits;
legal committees;
services that consider citizens' claims on ethical issues;
changes in the corporate structure.

The most commonly used mechanism is the code of ethics. About 90% of foreign companies implemented ethical principles through such codes. They can be developed for the company as a whole and contain ethical rules common to all.

A code may also be created for certain functional departments, such as the purchasing department, and address only ethical issues specific to that department.

The code of ethics, as a rule, is developed by a specially created body - a committee, commission, etc.

In order to make the code effective, certain disciplinary measures are usually taken to punish those who break the code and to reward actions done in accordance with the rules of the code of ethics. Government regulations in many countries have forced corporations to respond more flexibly to changing social values, to spend money on pollution control, to provide equal employment opportunities for national minorities and women, and so on. Codes of ethics developed on the basis of these regulations have repeatedly helped corporate managers find a way out of difficult ethical situations, as well as create a corporate culture.

Most of the ethical codes of companies were developed and implemented in the 70s. They vary widely in scope, from Exxon Corporation's one-page Code of Business Ethics to the Citicorp Code of Ethics, over 60 pages long.

Most codes are based on internal corporate control over their observance. Public (external) - on the part of public organizations - and state control over compliance with the code requires the creation of an appropriate state structure, which is quite expensive, which is burdensome for the budget of any country.

In addition, the idea of organizing external control is not supported by all governments, as well as management theorists and practitioners. It is believed that there are too many obstacles to the implementation of such an idea. Such obstacles include the difficulty in identifying the person in the corporation who has the authority and power to apply coercion, the difficulty (or even the impossibility) of obtaining information about possible ethical violations, the problems of developing a unified system of motivating employees to comply with the ethical code, and many other difficulties.

Obviously, it is not possible to characterize and address in a code any ethical issue that employees may face.

When monitoring the official actions of company employees, lie detector tests, drug tests, etc. are used.

A lot of effort goes into developing the tests that are used when hiring new managers and front line employees.

The Corporate Ethics Committee has a specific set of functions, which include the following:

bringing ethical issues for discussion by the board or top managers;
bringing the main requirements of the code of ethics to the attention of managers at all levels and ordinary employees;
development of measures supporting the code;
analysis and revision of the code based on annual internal corporate reports and depending on changes external environment organizations, especially value systems and public opinion;
drawing up reports on the activities of the committee for the board of directors;
providing the highest level of management with expert advice on ethical issues.

Management ethical training is another opportunity to introduce ethical principles into the activities of corporations. These are sets of ethical norms, a kind of ethical modules that are included in the general training program for managers at the grassroots and middle levels.

The training contributes to the practical implementation of ethical principles in the structure of corporate decision-making.

Social audit, like other forms of introducing ethical requirements into corporate practice, has a relatively short history - about two to three decades. Social audit is an attempt to evaluate social behavior corporations in the public environment. The adoption of the charter gives it certain rights and even privileges. For this, society requires certain behavior from the corporation that does not violate the general ethical background and certain actions that contribute to the development and prosperity of society.

Basically, social audit is now reduced to determining how the activities of a given corporation comply with state standards for health, safety or environmental pollution control.

The Legal Committee is responsible for monitoring the corporation's compliance with all laws and by-laws in all areas of activity; part of the work of such a committee concerns monitoring the compliance of the actions of the corporation with laws and by-laws of an ethical nature: on environmental protection, protection of human rights, etc.

Few businesses have dedicated ethical claims handling services. Typically, employees of such services consider complaints and claims on ethical issues received both from outside and from employees of this corporation.

According to the world economy data, only a small number of corporations undertake internal structural changes in order to adapt to ethical requirements.

Conclusion

The ethics of social work is based on moral norms (lat. norma - a rule, a model; one of the simplest forms of moral requirement, acting as an element of moral relations and a form of moral consciousness), accepted by society as one of the most important regulators of joint activity and existence, and on the professional values that make up the essence social work. An ethical approach to the professional activities of a social worker allows us to return to ethical standards the imperative meaning that is inherent in them, but which has been ignored for a long time, and to increase the individual and collective responsibility of specialists for their actions, to raise the significance and authority of the professional activities of each social worker, the entire system social protection population.

The professional ethics of social work is not an exclusive, contradictory to other mechanisms, regulator of the behavior of specialists. Its norms and principles serve the same purposes as the requirements of a regulatory framework or technological process in social work. On the contrary, the ethics of social work requires professionals and their teams to serve the interests of society and the profession, clients and their groups. The professional ethics of a social worker prescribes the search for reserves, the use of all possible types of resources - from social to personal resources of both the social worker himself and his client; however, this is permissible only for socially and professionally approved purposes, and in no case for narrow corporate or personal selfish interests.

Short description

Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

State educational institution

higher professional education

"RUSSIAN CORRESPONDENCE INSTITUTE OF TEXTILE AND LIGHT INDUSTRY"

Department: "Philosophy"

Test

by discipline: " Business ethics »

on the topic: "Mechanisms for the implementation of ethical standards in the business sphere"

Completed by a student

Speciality……

Cipher………

CITY 2011

Introduction……………………………………………………………………..3

1. Professional ethics……………………………………………………5

2. Ethical standards in social work…………………………………… 8

3. Mechanisms for the implementation of ethical standards in the business sphere……………15

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………24

References………………………………………………………...26

Introduction

Ethics(Greek ethika, from ethos - custom) - philosophical science, the object of study of which is morality , its development, norms and role in society. Ethics is one of the most ancient theoretical disciplines that emerged as part of philosophy. To refer to the philosophical doctrine of morality and morality, Aristotle proposed the term "ethics".

Moreover, due to the fact that ethics considers individual morality related to protected subconscious mechanisms, a deep analysis is hampered by the operation of psychological protection that blocks the critical analysis of subconscious attitudes. is an object of morality, and norms imperatively declared by religion as divine become basic, the ethics of social relations as a system of moral obligations in relation to society is supplemented (or replaced) by divine ethics - a system of moral obligations in relation to God, up to the point that it can enter into conflict (sometimes social or even mass) with public morality.

One of the main shortcomings of the modern position of ethics as a science is the almost complete absence of methodologically correct objective studies of the ethical worldview.

Professional ethics

Professional ethics as a set of stable norms and rules that an employee should be guided by in their activities arose in ancient times when it could not be a separate, isolated branch of knowledge. The first ethical requirements for the actions of a specialist can be found in the ancient Egyptian manuscript "Instructions of the head of the city and the vizier Ptahhettep", dating back to the III millennium BC. Among other requirements for the employee, the need for conscientious and high-quality performance of their duties is indicated, since such an attitude to work is a guarantee of a future high position and wealth. However, experts attribute the emergence of the first integral professional ethical complexes to the period of the handicraft division of labor, i.e. to the period of the emergence of craft workshops in the XI-XII centuries. It was during this period that historians state that ethical requirements appeared in the shop charters, regulating the attitude to the profession, work, workmates, etc.

However, representatives of a number of professions that were of vital importance for all members of society, earlier than others, realized the need for ethical regulation of their activities, and therefore such professional ethical codes as the “Hippocratic Oath” and some others developed somewhat earlier. Basically, these are professions directly related to a person or to the conditions of his life, professions with a high degree of individualization of labor, for example, teaching, medical activities.

The emergence of professional ethics precedes the creation scientific theories about it, since professional ethics, which initially arises as a phenomenon of everyday consciousness, later develops on the basis of comprehension and generalization of the practice of representatives of a professional group. These generalizations are systematized in the form of codes (written and unwritten), containing not only ethical requirements for the content and results of activities, but also for relations that arise in the course of activities, as well as conclusions drawn from generalizations. Thus, professional ethics is not only the science of professional morality, but also the moral self-awareness of the total professional group, its ideology and psychology.

In the practice of everyday activities, professional ethics is a set of norms of behavior of specialists. The norms of professional ethics are subject to change under the influence of both external and internal factors in relation to the profession. They directly, at every moment of time, influence the behavior of specialists, prompting them to act in a certain way. The main objectives of professional ethics are to influence the mind of a specialist in order to improve him as a person and as a professional and to promote the most complete and effective solution of professional problems. In general, professional ethics is the application of general, theoretical ethics to certain types of professional activity.

Social work, as a special kind of professional activity, has a specific, unique set of ideals and values that have developed in the process of establishing the principles and norms of behavior of specialists. Being a specialized activity, social work contains unique situations, contradictions that need to be resolved in the very process of activity and which are often the subject of this activity. This circumstance makes it necessary to adhere to special, more stringent moral principles and norms in the activities.

In their practical activities, specialists need not only moral guidelines that determine the general, main direction of their activities, but also the rules of daily activities, without which it is impossible to implement moral norms and principles. Therefore, the ethical norms of social work reflect the basic requirements and criteria for the behavior and actions of a social worker, which, for all their diversity, are dictated by the specific conditions and content of his work.

Ethics in social work is not an end product, but one of the integral components of everyday activities, along with the theoretical justification for the need for action, the legislatively provided opportunity to act, the definition of the most effective way solution of the problem, its economic support and organization of the implementation of the decision. A deep knowledge of the norms and principles of professional ethics, their rigorous, creative application in everyday activities helps the social worker to cooperate with clients, their relatives, colleagues, representatives of public, state and non-state organizations and institutions.

Ethics in social work

Respect for the reasonable interests of the client . A social worker, starting to work, regardless of the level of his activity, must take care to bring benefit to his client (clientele) and society. Fulfilling his professional duty, he speaks on behalf of the society that has entrusted him with the responsibility to solve certain problems - in the general case, this task can be expressed by the wording "stabilization and harmonization of relations in society." Stability in society, in turn, comes when there are no centers of social tension in it, which are strata, groups of the population and individuals that are infringed in their legitimate interests.

Personal responsibility of a social worker for undesirable consequences of his actions for the client and society . Developing a joint action plan together with the client, the social worker, armed with knowledge not only of the essence of the client's problem and his needs, but also of the possibilities of the social protection system to solve it, the quantity and quality of the means needed to solve the problem, is responsible for the consequences of the decision.

His responsibility is more serious than the responsibility of the client: the client, as a rule, is only concerned with achieving his own good, while the social worker must take into account the consequences of the decision not only for the client, but for the whole society and, if possible, smooth out conflicts of their interests, if those arise. He is a professional, and therefore he acts from the standpoint of a possible, expedient, proper and desired result, while the client can afford to speak from the standpoint of the desired, because he does not have the knowledge that a specialist has and does not always have a good idea of what opportunities of the institute of social work. However, one cannot make a social worker “responsible for everything”. So, for example, it is difficult to demand from a social worker full personal responsibility for the long-term results of joint actions with the client and their consequences. When the task is solved, communication with the client may be lost; the client has the right to use the results of joint social worker activities to solve their current problems. Depending on the nature of these problems, the moral character of the client, the result can be anything - in this case, the responsibility of the social worker becomes very relative.

Respect for the client's right to make an independent decision at any stage of joint actions. Respect for this right of the client is a manifestation of respect for human rights. The client of the social service as a person has all human rights, including the right to independently determine their own destiny, way of life and style of life, to have their own beliefs, judgments, views, their own concepts of good and evil. Getting to work, the social worker finds out not only the problems and needs of his client, but also his vision of solving the problem, including the end result of joint actions. However, in any case, the last word remains with the client, since he has the right to independently decide his fate based on his own life experience, needs and opinions.

Acceptance of the client for who he is . IN social assistance need people who find themselves in a difficult life situation, and the reasons for this circumstance can be different - both objective and subjective, independent of the client himself and rooted in his personality and his chosen lifestyle. The client may be shy or, on the contrary, rude, but both prevent him from establishing normal relationships with people; he may suffer from a lack of willpower or perseverance in achieving his goal; finally, he may be a person who is not completely healthy physically or mentally, or his behavior can be characterized as deviant - he is what he is, and you need to work with him, even if his own shortcomings made him a client of the social service. However, accepting the client as he is does not mean the approval of all his actions.

business communication

Any professional communication should proceed in accordance with professional ethical norms and standards, the mastery of which depends on a number of factors. They can be grouped into two groups:

First group- a complex of ethical ideas, norms, assessments that a person has from birth, an idea of what is good and what is evil - i.e. own ethical code, with which a person lives and works, no matter what position he holds, no matter what work he performs;

Second group- norms and standards introduced from the outside: the internal regulations of the organization, the code of ethics of the company, oral instructions from the management, the professional code of ethics.

It is good if one's own ideas about what is ethical and what is unethical coincide with professional ethical standards introduced from outside, because if such a coincidence is absent (in whole or in part), then problems of greater or lesser degree of difficulty in understanding, mastering and practical application may arise. ethical rules not included in the complex of personal moral ideas.

Business ethics is professional ethics regulating the system of relations between people in the field of business and in the field of any business communication and it is characterized by all the principles of management ethics in general (see section 1.5.1.). These principles serve as the basis for the development by each employee of any company of his own personal ethical system.

Personal ethical standards should be based on the ethical principles inherent in a given level of social development.

In order for ethical principles, norms, rules, and standards to become the realities of business life, they must be included in the decision-making process at all levels of management, as well as in the work practices of all employees, that is, be part of a real personnel policy.

In the global economy, there are seven main mechanisms through which ethical standards can be introduced into business practice. These include:

1) Codes of ethics;

2) Ethics committees;

3) Ethical trainings;

4) Social audits;

5) Legal committees;

6) Services considering citizens' claims on ethical issues;

7) Changes in the corporate structure.

The most commonly used mechanism is code of ethics. About 90% of foreign companies implemented ethical principles through such codes, developed for the company as a whole and contain ethical rules common to all. A code may also be created for certain functional departments, such as the purchasing department, and address only ethical issues specific to that department. The code of ethics, as a rule, is developed by a specially created body, committee, commission, etc.

In order to make the code effective, certain disciplinary measures are usually taken to punish offenders and reward actions committed in accordance with the rules of the code of ethics.

ethics committee Corporation has a specific set of functions:

– bringing ethical issues for discussion by the board or top managers;

– bringing the main requirements of the code of ethics to the attention of all managers and ordinary employees and developing measures to support it;

– analysis and revision of the code based on annual internal corporate reports and depending on changes in external and internal environment organizations, systems of spiritual values, as well as public opinion;

– drawing up reports on the activities of the committee for the board of directors;

– providing the highest level of management with expert advice on ethical issues.

managerial ethical training is another opportunity to introduce ethical principles into the activities of corporations. These are sets of ethical standards, a kind of ethical modules that are included in the general training program for low-level and middle managers.

Thus, if the ethics committee serves the highest level of corporate management, helping to find non-trivial individual solutions to ethical problems, ethical training provides both the middle and lower levels of management with a set of ready-made solutions that fit within the framework of ethical requirements. The training contributes to the practical implementation of ethical principles in the structure of corporate decision-making.

Social audit, as well as other forms of introducing ethical requirements into corporate practice, has a relatively short history - about three to four decades. A social audit is an attempt to evaluate the social behavior of a corporation in a public environment. The adoption of the charter gives it certain rights and even privileges. For this, society requires certain behavior from the corporation that does not violate the general ethical background and certain actions that contribute to the development and prosperity of society.

Social audit is designed to check and provide information on the extent to which the actions of the corporation meet the expectations of society. It can be used in a corporation for internal control over the degree of ethical actions of the managerial corps, over the implementation of the ethical code, over the rational use of resources, for reporting to shareholders, etc. However, social audit has not received much development and is mainly used only on a scale corporations. Apparently, the point is the difficulty and high cost of carrying out audits on the scale of not only the entire country, but at least one industry. Of those companies that conduct social auditing for internal purposes, only a few make the audit result available to the public or shareholders. Basically, social audit is currently reduced to determining how the activities of a given corporation comply with state health standards; safety or pollution control.

Only a few enterprises have dedicated ethics claims handling services. Typically, employees of such services consider complaints and claims on ethical issues received both from outside and from employees of this corporation.

According to data characterizing the world economy, only a small number of corporations undertake internal structural changes in order to adapt to ethical requirements.

Government regulations in many countries have forced corporations to respond more flexibly to changing social values, to spend money on environmental pollution control, to provide equal opportunities for national minorities and women to work. Codes of ethics developed on the basis of these regulations have repeatedly helped corporate managers find a way out of difficult ethical situations, as well as create an ethical corporate culture.

Since codes of ethics are more common than other tools for introducing ethics into the life of corporations, we will consider them in more detail.

Many large corporations, in an effort to maintain their image in the eyes of the general public and find a line of conduct, develop codes of ethics. The existence of such codes is another confirmation of the existence of an important and unresolved problem of creating an ethical business climate in general, which condemns immoral behavior in the system of work relations.

Most of the ethical codes of companies were developed and implemented in the 70s of the last century. They range in length from the one-page Exxon Corporation Code of Business Ethics Statement to the Citicorp Code of Ethics, which is over 60 pages long. In terms of their content, these codes are diverse, which is an illustration of the existence of significant disagreements between representatives of top management regarding the subject matter of the code of ethics.

A characteristic feature of modern codes of ethics is that the sections containing recommendations for dealing with ethical problems arising from conflicts of interest are developed in more detail and thoroughness than other sections. At the same time, the emphasis is on the clash of interests of the corporation with government bodies, with employees or shareholders of the corporation, with the governments of foreign states.

Most codes are based on internal corporate control over their observance. Public (external - on the part of public organizations and the state) control over compliance with the code requires the creation of an appropriate state structure, which is quite expensive, which is burdensome for the budget of any country,

In addition, the idea of organizing external control is not supported by all governments, as well as management theorists and practitioners.

You can point out a number of advantages that the creation of a code of ethics gives the corporation as a whole and its employees:

1) Codes are more reasoned, put together "guides" to correct behavior than the advice and recommendations of individuals. Codes of ethics offer managers to focus their attention on the main, paramount and suggest the most logical decisions.

2) The very existence of a corporate code of ethics as a collective ethical standard helps corporate managers become aware of the ethical nature of their business decisions. The written form gives the codes even more significance.

3) The Code provides a general guideline in situations where it is difficult to unequivocally determine what is ethical and what is unethical in the actions of corporate management, i.e. when universal and professional ethics come into conflict.

4) Ethical codes can help control the power of those managers who sometimes ask, even order their subordinates to do not only unethical, but even illegal actions. Codes can provide a certain level of legal protection both to the company as a whole and to each employee individually.

Codes of ethics have a number of disadvantages:

1) The creation of a code requires a significant investment of time and money, as well as the high qualifications of those who compose it;

2) Sometimes the recommendations of the code are too vague, and it is difficult to solve a specific ethical problem with its help. At the same time, the code implies the need to apply penalties for violators, and everything that is not mentioned in it can be assessed as acceptable actions;

3) Codes of ethics do not guarantee managers any control over external

(in relation to corporations) influences on business ethics, nor ways to solve global ethical problems.

Analysis of codes of ethics (by publications American companies) shows that they focus on the following issues: relations with the government, relations with buyers, conflicts of interest, honesty in reports. Central to most of all the analyzed codes are the personal qualities of managers, the safety and quality of manufactured products and goods sold, environmental protection, and civil actions.

Some managers and company owners rightly believe that attempts to ethically correct the official behavior of a person who has sufficient life experience, as well as work experience in this company (or any other), are far from always successful. The manner of acting and making decisions that has developed in a mature person, if it runs counter to ethical standards, is difficult to break and rebuild. An adult with experience behind him, with his own formed system of values and views, is difficult to retrain, and companies take this into account in their personnel policy. More productive, in the opinion of the managers of many firms and their owners, is the way of hiring graduates of educational institutions, where there was an extensive and extensive program of training in the basics of ethics. In this case, ethical standards are laid down in the consciousness (and subconsciousness) of the future employee as part of the worldview complex and, one might even say, as immutable axioms that cannot be disputed. Then the cumbersome and expensive system of developing company codes, training employees in ethical standards for monitoring compliance with ethical requirements turns out to be largely unnecessary. Therefore, large and wealthy firms that have their own business schools, business schools, introduce business ethics training programs into them. Sometimes it is a set of ethical principles that represent ethical standards in theory, sometimes - specific examples and situations, the study and analysis of which allows students to formulate theoretical postulates themselves that determine the ethical boundaries of actions and behavior in their future business practice.

1.7.3. Criticism and its ethical aspects

In business practice, quite often one has to face criticism - either to criticize oneself, or to be the object of criticism from colleagues.

A leader of any rank should know the rules of criticism and the ethical requirements for it, because. he has from time to time to make critical remarks about his subordinates, evaluating their work, deeds and official behavior. Ordinary employees also find themselves in similar situations (most often they are specialists in their field, highly qualified professionals), when, in order to better perform their functions, they are forced to make a critical analysis of the quality of work of other employees.

In the position of both the criticizing and the criticized, unfortunately, there are many aspects that can lead to complications in relationships and even to conflicts. Criticism can damage the psychological climate in the team and reduce the level of ethics if critical remarks are made incorrectly. Criticism is always painfully perceived, even if it is quite fair, therefore, it may not achieve the desired goal - changing the official behavior of the criticized or improving the quality of his work.

In order to, if possible, remove these complications in the process of making critical remarks, both the criticizer and the criticized should adhere to certain rules, mainly related to the ethical side of the process.

1) Decide if there are organizational, legal, status grounds for criticism. Determine for yourself whether you know the essence of the matter well enough? Are you a professional (or at least a knowledgeable specialist) in this field? Does your unit have a direct bearing on the area of work, whose employee you are going to criticize? Do you have enough complete and reliable information about the object of criticism? Only after asking yourself all these questions and having reason to answer them in the affirmative, make a decision to express critical remarks.

2) If you have grounds for criticism. However, the turn has not yet come for public criticism: talk without witnesses, especially if you are a leader, manager, with an employee who, in your opinion, deserves criticism. If it is criticized for the first time, ie. the mistakes made in his activities or official behavior were not previously committed, then the first conversation of a critical nature takes place one on one. Moreover, the leader (and ordinary colleague) must warn the criticized that if such mistakes are repeated, the scope of criticism will be expanded, i.e. misconduct will be brought to the attention of the entire team or higher management. As a rule, such a warning (not to say a threat) results in the correction of errors, changes in official behavior, etc., since no one wants all the surrounding employees or the whole team.

3) Criticism should always begin with praise, i.e. the first words of the critic should be something like this: “How could you, with your competence (options: conscientiousness, professionalism, discipline, etc.), allow such rude (unforgivable, blatant etc.) mistakes!” Further, you can give the employee a complete “dressing down”, which, nevertheless, will be perceived by him without loss of self-confidence, since at the very beginning of the conversation the criticizing showed a high appreciation of the past work of the criticized. The criticized retains self-respect, seeing that his past merits were assessed correctly, and on this basis he will take criticism more calmly and without offense, considering it also fair. As a result, criticism does not "knock you out of the saddle", a person retains his efficiency and desire to correct mistakes in order to hear words of approval again.

4) You should criticize the work (behavior, actions), and not the person. You can say: “Your work is done very badly, your attitude towards official duties outrageous and unacceptable,” etc., but one cannot say: “You are a bad person and a bad employee!”

5) When criticizing, you should monitor your intonations, the pace of speech; it is impossible to break into a cry, unnecessarily emotional statements are unacceptable. Even, calm tone, reference to facts, possession of information on the subject - necessary qualities critical statements, and this should be an ethical norm.

6) You should not make hasty decisions, you should give the criticized the opportunity to speak out - after all, it is likely that he has information that allows him to justify his actions or, at least, to see them in a slightly different light

7) In order for criticism not to be a “reprimand”, so that it awakens in the employee who is being criticized the desire to correct their mistakes and the confidence that this is possible, it makes sense for the critic to say that everyone is wrong, that there is nothing special in this, - bad when a person does not want to work better. It is helpful for the one who criticizes to remember his own mistakes and to refer in conversation to his experience in correcting them. This will place the criticized employee towards the criticizing one, allow the criticized one to avoid great self-doubt, awaken in him the desire to overcome obstacles, to achieve a positive result, despite the mistakes made.

8) A manager (or an ordinary employee) who decides to make a critical remark about someone should not be limited to criticism. Since he is dissatisfied with someone's work or official deeds, it is logical to assume that he (due to experience, greater competence or professionalism) knows how to get out of a difficult situation, how to fix things. You should not dwell only on criticism, it is advisable to suggest to the criticized the solution of difficult issues, for example, in such expressions: “If I were in your place, I would do the following ...” or “Based on own experience fight against similar mistakes I can advise you ... ”However, such recommendations should not be in the nature of lordly condescending advice.

9) The last phrase of the critic, like the first, should contain a thought that instills in the criticized faith in his own strength, in the ability to cope with mistakes and shortcomings, for example: “I am sure that you understood everything and such a conversation will not be needed in the future” ; “I have known you for a long time as a conscientious and experienced employee and I am sure that you will cope with shortcomings and mistakes in your work”

Each of us in our business life is both the subject and the object of criticism.

1) In order to lower the “pain threshold” of criticism, the one who is being criticized should remember that criticism is a sign that you are taken seriously. They notice you, because they are dissatisfied with you, because they expected more from you. In other words, the assessment of your professional abilities and competence was (was!) quite high. You deceived expectations, but they thought well of you! In this situation, logic requires that you be able to, be able to make you think well of yourself again. Don't get too upset - if you were able to do it in the past, you can do it now!

2) Try to take a fair look at yourself, at your work, at your official behavior and actions? Is this the ultimate dream? Can't you work better? You certainly can! And say thank you to fate, which wants to “improve” you through criticism, “improve” you as a professional, specialist, etc.!

3) Start your response to practical remarks with words! “I fully agree with the criticism, no doubt I could have done a better job (faster, more error-free, etc.).” “I thank you for the high appreciation of my abilities” - this phrase can end your answer to criticism. The nearby employees, who listen to these words, get the impression that everything is fine: after all, the criticized does not snap, does not become embittered, he agrees with the criticism; in addition, the words “I could do this job better”, “high appreciation of my capabilities” remain in the minds of those present. If it is a department meeting or general meeting, then after all, not everyone and not always closely follows the course of the discussion and listens intently to every uttered word. For example, a critical remark could well “fly past the ears” of any of those present, and the words “high appreciation of my potential” and “make it better” were heard and kept in mind and memory. Therefore, some participants will get the impression that someone was not scolded, not criticized, but praised, otherwise why would he begin to thank for the high assessment of his abilities?! “Let me express my deep gratitude to those who commented on my work, thus demonstrating confidence in me as a person who is able to accept, correctly understand, evaluate and reasonably take into account the expressed wishes. There is no doubt that I can work better, especially in such a qualified team of Professionals with capital letter!" Here, the expressions “criticism” or “critical remark” are replaced by “expressed wishes” and the whole text is structured in such a way that one of those present, who was happily reading the magazine (imperceptibly) during the entire meeting, later asked: “I did not understand why you did you praise or did you praise someone?

4) Speaking of criticism, it should be remembered - if the one who makes a critical remark in the presence of other employees, at least once did it without witnesses. then he really cares that the work is done as well as possible. If criticism sounds like a bolt from the blue for the criticized, it means that the criticizer is not worried about the very quality of the work, it is more important for him to “show off” in front of his colleagues and management in the role of an “indignant accuser”. Thus, the one whose work is the object of criticism, and all those present, have a chance to clarify for themselves the true attitude of the critic to the quality of the work that he criticizes,

So: the form in which critical remarks are made must be correct, and the criticism itself must be fair.

Gratitude for the work, praise, unlike the first censure, should be expressed publicly, with other employees or managers. This has a positive psychological impact not only on the one who is being praised (he is pleased that others know about his achievements), but also on the colleagues around him, as it makes them want to earn praise and gratitude as well. The most painful impression on colleagues and others present is always made by the violation of ethical rules and norms, both on the part of the criticizing and on the part of the criticized. This is anger, the desire to "finally settle scores", a shift in emphasis, distortion of facts, outright lies, ignoring (not mentioning) individual facts. All this, although it is not considered a lie, can, however, interfere with drawing the right conclusions.

Honesty, sincerity, exact adherence to facts, reliable, complete information, courtesy, goodwill, the desire by comments, as well as answers to them, to help improve things, achieve common goals - these are the ethical properties of the criticism process that you can wish for the implementation of any team and any employee.

Similar information.

There are seven main mechanisms in the global economy through which ethical norms can be put into practice. These include:

1) ethical codes;

2) ethics committees;

3) training;

4) social audits;

5) legal committees;

6) services considering citizens' claims on ethical issues;

7) changes in the corporate structure.

A code may also be created for certain functional departments, such as the purchasing department, and address only ethical issues specific to that department.

The code of ethics, as a rule, is developed by a specially created body - a committee, commission, etc.

In order to make the code effective, certain disciplinary measures are usually taken to punish those who break the code and to reward actions done in accordance with the rules of the code of ethics.

The Corporate Ethics Committee has a specific set of functions, which include the following:

Raising ethical issues for discussion by the board or top managers;

Bringing the main requirements of the code of ethics to the attention of managers at all levels and ordinary employees;

Development of measures supporting the code;

Analysis and revision of the code on the basis of annual internal corporate reports and depending on changes in the external environment of the organization, especially the system of spiritual values and public opinion;

Preparation of reports on the activities of the committee for the board of directors;

Providing the highest level of management with expert advice on ethical issues.

The training contributes to the practical implementation of ethical principles in the structure of corporate decision-making.

Social audit, like other forms of introducing ethical requirements into corporate practice, has a relatively short history - about two to three decades. Social audit is an attempt to evaluate the social behavior of a corporation in a public environment. The adoption of the charter gives it certain rights and even privileges. For this, society requires certain behavior from the corporation that does not violate the general ethical background and certain actions that contribute to the development and prosperity of society.

Social audit is designed to check and provide information on the extent to which the actions of the corporation meet the expectations of society. It can be used in a corporation for internal control over the degree of ethics in the actions of the corps of managers, over the implementation of the ethical code, over the rational use of resources, for reporting to shareholders, etc. However, social audit, despite its value for the development of business, management and the public good in general, has not received much development and is mainly used only on a corporate scale. Apparently, the point is the difficulty and high cost of carrying out audits on the scale of not only the entire country, but at least one industry. Of those companies that conduct social auditing for internal purposes, only a few make the results of the audit public or shareholder knowledge.

Basically, social audit is now reduced to determining how the activities of a given corporation comply with state standards for health, safety or environmental pollution control.

According to the world economy data, only a small number of corporations undertake internal structural changes in order to adapt to ethical requirements.

So, is it possible to make the behavior of a corporation ethical with the help of certain mechanisms and levers of management?

Yes, you can.

Government regulations in many countries have forced corporations to respond more flexibly to changing social values, to spend money on pollution control, to provide equal employment opportunities for national minorities and women, and so on. Codes of ethics developed on the basis of these regulations have repeatedly helped corporate managers find a way out of difficult ethical situations, as well as create a corporate culture.

There is no doubt that a corporation can be encouraged to comply with ethical principles both through internal mechanisms control (self-regulation), and through external restrictions.

Since codes of ethics are more common than other tools for introducing ethics into the life of corporations, we will consider them in more detail.

Many large corporations, in an effort to maintain their image in the eyes of the general public and find a line of conduct, develop codes of ethics.

A characteristic feature of modern codes of ethics is that the sections containing recommendations for dealing with ethical problems arising from conflicts of interest are developed in more detail and thoroughness than other sections. In this case, the emphasis is on the clash of interests of the corporation: a) with government bodies; b) with employees or shareholders of the corporation; c) with foreign governments.

In addition, the idea of organizing external control is not supported by all governments, as well as management theorists and practitioners. It is believed that there are too many obstacles to the implementation of such an idea. Such obstacles include the difficulty in identifying the person in the corporation who has the authority and power to apply coercion, the difficulty (or even the impossibility) of obtaining information about possible ethical violations, the problems of developing a unified system of motivating employees to comply with the ethical code, and many other difficulties.

Obviously, it is not possible to characterize and address in a code any ethical issue that employees may face. At the same time, written instructions can help resolve ethical issues that are most common.

You can point to a number of benefits that the creation of a code of ethics gives the corporation as a whole and its employees:

1. Codes are more solid, put together "guides" to correct behavior than the advice and recommendations of individuals. When individual employees have to determine the level of ethical behavior in their daily practice, their judgments often turn out to be too subjective, depending not only on the level of ethical education of this employee, but also on the level of his education, culture, awareness of the state of affairs in the corporation, the degree of social responsibility, patriotism and many, many other factors.

Ethical codes, having absorbed all of the above, offer managers to focus their attention on the main, paramount and suggest the most logical decisions.

2. The very existence of a corporate code of ethics as a collective ethical standard helps corporate managers become aware of the ethical nature of their business decisions. And the written form gives the codes even more significance.

3. The Code provides a general guideline in situations where it is difficult to unequivocally determine what is ethical and what is unethical in the actions of the corporation's management, i.e. when universal ethics and professional ethics come into conflict.

4. Codes of ethics can help control the power of those managers who sometimes ask, even order their subordinates to do not only unethical, but even illegal actions. Codes can provide a certain level of legal protection both to the company as a whole and to each employee individually.

However, ethical codes have a number of disadvantages:

A. They require a significant investment of time and money.

B. They require high qualifications of those who compose them.

D. By their very existence, codes imply the need to impose penalties on offenders.

E. At the same time, everything that is not mentioned in the code can be assessed as acceptable actions.

E. Codes of ethics do not guarantee managers any control over external (in relation to corporations) influences on business ethics, nor ways to solve global ethical problems.

An analysis of the codes of ethics (based on publications) of American companies shows that they focus on the following issues:

relationship with the government,

relationship with buyers,

Conflict of interest,

Honesty in reporting.

The following questions are central to most of all analyzed codes:

Personal qualities of managers;

Safety of products and goods sold;

environmental protection;

The quality of products and goods sold;

civil action.

Research and polls by the American sociological service News-CNN have shown that a significant part of Americans is sure that unethical and dishonest official behavior is widespread.

In the global economy, many companies are now creating divisions or hiring individual employees to develop codes of ethics.

When monitoring the official actions of company employees, lie detector tests, drug tests, etc. are used.

A lot of effort goes into developing the tests that are used when hiring new managers and front line employees.

However, some managers and company owners rightly believe that attempts to ethically correct the official behavior of a person who has sufficient life experience, as well as work experience in this company (or any other), are far from always successful. The manner of acting and making decisions that has developed in a mature person, if it runs counter to ethical standards, is difficult to break and rebuild. An adult with experience behind him, with his own formed system of values and views, is difficult to retrain, and companies take this into account in their personnel policy.

More productive, in the opinion of the managers of many firms and their owners, is the way of hiring graduates of educational institutions, where there was an extensive and extensive program of training in the basics of ethics. In this case, ethical standards are laid down in the consciousness (and subconsciousness) of the future employee as part of the worldview complex and, one might even say, as immutable axioms that cannot be disputed. Then the cumbersome and expensive system of developing company codes, training employees in ethical standards for monitoring compliance with ethical requirements turns out to be largely unnecessary. Therefore, large and wealthy firms that have their own business schools, business schools, introduce in them such programs for teaching students as programs of management ethics, business ethics, ethics of business relations, ethics of speech impact. Sometimes it is a set of ethical principles that represent ethical standards in theory, sometimes specific examples and situations, the study and analysis of which enables students to formulate theoretical postulates themselves that determine the ethical boundaries of actions and behavior in their future business practice.

Mechanisms for the implementation of ethical standards in the business sphere. Basic ethical theories and their implementation in management activities

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