The intricacies of business ethics

As psychology justifiably testifies, the causes of conflict situations in the production sphere lie mainly in three areas: costs in the organization of labor and issues of its stimulation; management flaws and omissions; nuances and shortcomings in the field of interpersonal relationships in the group.

About a third of conflicts arise on the basis of the latter group of shortcomings. It is for this reason that priority in solving problematic aspects in business relationships is given not to production topics about product release, but to building correct and productive relationships in the group. In this context, the creation and maintenance of a healthy moral and psychological atmosphere both in the group and in the internal state of employees becomes an urgent topic.

In the general theoretical and its essential sense, ethics, as a theory of morality, is a special teaching of a humanitarian orientation, where the object is a person and his relationships, and the subject is morality. Morality is understood as a way of regulating human activity.

As a part of philosophy, classical ethics arose about 2500 years ago in Ancient Greece, and in its development it went through many historical stages, developing in various philosophical directions: ancient and medieval ethics, ethics of modern times, modern ethics. The beginning of the development of business ethics in Russia can be considered 1717, when, by order of Peter I, "Indications for everyday life" (advice to young nobles) were published.

At the end of the XIX century. ethics branched off and actively structured, maintaining a close relationship with philosophy. In the twentieth century, its individual components develop as:

• Professional ethics and its varieties - a complex of moral attitudes in the attitude of employees to professional duty, to colleagues and society.
• Etiquette is a set of regulations regarding the behavior of employees in a particular situation.
• Business ethics, as a normative complex of people's behavior, affecting work styles, issues of communication between partners and their socio-psychological image.

Elements of business ethics are a number of categories that form its essential content:

1. Public moral standards.
2. Behavioral rules.
3. A set of principles of communication.

Features and rules of interpersonal relations, considered in the framework of:

• production and personal rights of employees;
• leadership styles;
• principles of management culture;
• business philosophy;
• service relationships;
• conflict resolution.

The close connection of this science with the psychological aspects of communication and peculiarities of perception, conflict management and other humanitarian sciences is obvious.

Ethics, in its broadest sense - it is a system of moral attitudes of a general and particular nature that regulate the life of society... Ethics of business relations focuses on the business aspects of the life of society. She absorbs the issues of etiquette, considering the norms that determine the styles of work, corporate communication manners, image aspects, the procedure for negotiations and more.

The structural components of this subject are: established rituals, subordinate aspects, behavioral manners, writing styles and telephone conversations, as well as the degree of correctness in communication (politeness, tact, etc.).

The specificity of business ethics is reflected in its two leading tenets:

• Focus on a constructive and well-defined result.
• The lack of dependence of the attitude to problems on the characteristics of relations with a partner.

A feature of the subject is the fact that its norms and rules greatly facilitate communication in a group, since they form a unique, general context, and to a certain extent form the basis on which mutual trust arises. That is, the norms and rules set the storyline for a certain style of employee behavior, in accordance with the current situation. The situation becomes predictable, which provides a quick, adequate and comfortable orientation of a person in it.

The principles of business relations, developed by society, as the foundations of ethics, are in the nature of universal moral attitudes and reflect the essence of the subject. In a broad sense, these principles are interpreted by the American scientist L. Hosmer, who, relying on theoretical and proven world philosophical positions, deduced 10 well-known universal principles-axioms.

Present in different cultures, they are recognized to varying degrees as relevant and fair, with some amendments and clarifications, including in terms of structure. However, their functions and essence, with slightly different interpretations, are generally accepted facts. It is clear that they can be historically situational.

The Russian Business Culture Foundation has developed a version of the system of the following principles:

• Personal:

1. Honor is more important than profit.
2. Respect for partners is a basic concept in business relationships. Respect and self-esteem are achieved by fulfilling the obligations assumed.
3. Violent and rude methods are not acceptable for achieving goals.

• Professional:

1. Business plans must match the funds available.
2. The foundation of business and the key to success in it is trust.A good reputation is a prerequisite for success.
3. Fair competition. Business discrepancies are not subject to judicial review.

• Citizen of the Russian Federation:

1. Respect the laws and legal authority.
2. To participate in lawmaking, act with partners and colleagues in accordance with these principles.
3. Doing good, do not expect obligatory public recognition for this.

• Citizen of the Earth:

1. Bergi nature from damage.
2. Do not condone crime and corruption. Help counteract these forces.
3. Be tolerant of people of other cultures and beliefs.

The following principles are generally accepted and closer to the psychology of interpersonal relationships in a work collective:

• Courtesy and courtesy in dealing with partners and clientele.
• Advance trust to create a comfortable group climate and productive working environment.
• Observe fairness in the distribution of powers, degrees of responsibility, rights to dispose of resources, in the appointment of deadlines for the execution of tasks, etc. Observe the principle of voluntariness in this context. Rough pressure in these cases is unacceptable.
• The maximum progress is achieved by the ethically directed activity of the leader.
• The manager must be tolerant of moral and ethical foundations and traditions observed in other countries.
• The ratio of individual and collective principles in the activities of a manager when making decisions should be reasonable.
• Using psychological methods of management, observe the principle of constancy of polite managerial influence to achieve the desired result.

Concretized through the appropriate normative units of a moral nature, moral principles (collectivism, individualism, humanism, altruism, tolerance) are implemented in behavioral rules. So, in the personal aspect, in the business sphere (and not only in the business), it is customary to be decent and punctual (accurate in everything), communicative, clearly express thoughts, have a culture of speech (be able to listen and hear), be emotionally stable (self-control) , honest, modest, neat, elegant, have good manners.

As a complex education, business ethics contains the following types:

• State ethics. Determines the relationship of civil servants both within the firm and outside it.
• Social ethics.
• Ethics in production.
• Management ethics.
• Commercial ethics. Regulates activities in trade, commerce and other areas.
• Ethics of cultures (American, Asian, European, Russian and others).

World experience and history testify to the high importance of corporate culture as an enterprise resource. Today this concept is an integral part of a client-oriented and open business, as it is both a management tool and a marketing tool. The high level of corporate culture actually reflects the image of the company.

Historically, this concept was formed in Germany, among the military as a set of unconditionally accepted regulations governing behavior in a group or community. In modern society, this concept is seen as a strategic tool that guides employees towards mobilization and productive communication.

By its content, corporate culture is a system that is formed by the rules of conduct, various symbols and rituals, traditions and values ​​that exist in the organization.

By its purpose, it is designed for a long time period and is designed to become a habit of workers.Its place and role in the activities of the organization is determined by functional assistance in achieving goals, effective and coordinated interaction in the activities of employees, management and production links. It is directly subordinated to the target aspirations of the company and is its core asset, which largely ensures the success of the company as a whole. A special role in the construction and implementation of the system is played by leading management links.

In practice, such a system, containing an active psychological message, becomes effective when both its general and particular elements are completely separated and supported by a significant number of employees of the enterprise.

The nature of corporate culture, the degree of its effectiveness is manifested through a complex of interrelated relationships:

1. The nature of the attitude of employees to the type of work they perform.
2. The nature of the attitude of employees to the firm.
3. The quality of the relationship between employees in the group.

Corporate culture has its basic, deep layers - internal, external and hidden. External is how customers, competitors and the public see the firm. Internal - a system of values ​​expressed in the activities of employees. Hidden - basic attitudes, consciously assimilated in the team.

Image, as a socio-psychological phenomenon, presupposes the participation of at least two parties, two subjects in its creation. An inductor (personality, group, organization) is a subject whose image is being created; recipient - is the subject who perceives the inductor. This scheme indicates that the essential core of the problematic of the emergence of the image is in the field of the psychology of human perception and contains a lot of subtleties and nuances.

In short, image is an actual part of the culture of business communication, which significantly characterizes a person and his professional qualities... In essence, this is an image created by the person himself.

Without a positive image, today one can not count on any impressive commercial success and respect in business circles.

The main elements of the image of both men and women are:

• Appearance (clothes, accessories, degree of grooming, neatness and fit).
• Good manners (politeness, tact, gallantry towards a woman, appropriateness of behavior in accordance with the specifics of the environment, individuality).
• Business etiquette: competent speech and writing.
• Office interior. A comfortable and stylishly furnished office allows you to raise the level of the social and business status of its owner.
• Physical condition is inextricably linked with the image and in this context are not the last indicator of it.

Any form of image manifestation is characterized by a mass of nuances and shades. The harmonious combination and skillful use of forms in the complex allows you to get a significant competitive advantage over people who do not pay due attention to this.

You will learn more about the intricacies of business ethics in the following video.