Introduction – What is Organizational Ethics?

Organizational Ethics are rules and principles which can be used to guide a business to act with integrity, honesty, and with the greater societal good in mind. They can help an organization make decisions which are in their best interest in regards to their shareholders, employees, and norms of their society. They are not absolute, but can help the organization make good decisions (Liataud, 2013).

Organizational Ethics are important because organizations are a part of society, so there are certain obligations that they have to the society in which they exist to not cause harm to the people who make up the society. Organizations should strive to act ethically in their business dealings to remain in good societal standing. Businesses that are viewed as having integrity and high ethical value have a greater opportunity for success because they will have more community support.

This blog will focus on some of the ethical issues that organizations have faced and will examine an example of a company's ethics policy and some resources for ethics research.

• RR Donnelley's Principles of Ethical Business Conduct
• Affirmative Action
• Ethics Resource Center (ethics.org)

References

Liautaud, S. (2013). Untangling the confusion over organizational ethics. Stanford Social Innovation Review. Retrieved from: http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/untangling_the_confusion_over_organizational_ethics