Entrepreneurial ethics is an important element of business conduct. The field of activity of any entrepreneur is a market which in turn is not limited to the place of gathering of sellers and buyers of any products or services.
A market is a complex system of relationships that operates according to its own rules and principles. Of course, market relations between sellers and buyers are regulated by a set of relevant legal acts.
However, along with the laws of people-to-people communication in business, including intra-company relationships, they are subject to the traditions of the market, and more precisely to the ethics of the market.
How ethics and business are interrelated
Economic entrepreneurial ethics is not an easy direction in the education of modern business culture. After all, ethics is a combination of science and practice of people’s behavior corresponding to generally recognized norms, moral principles, ideals and rules of behavior. It is a concept about the meaning of life and the purpose of a person. It is a set of moral foundations and habitual norms of behavior in society.
Entrepreneurial activity, like economic, economic and professional activity of able-bodied citizens, is based on legal and ethical principles and rules of conduct, the violation of which may have unpleasant consequences for the subjects of this type of activity.
Official rules of conduct of commercial organizations and entrepreneurs are approved at the legislative level, so their failure to comply with them entails harsh punitive measures, including bankruptcy proceedings and even imprisonment. Therefore, the main criterion for the development of modern business is not only the legal framework for its clear regulation, but also the formation of a legal culture.
Business ethics (business ethics) provides a set of behavioral principles of citizens engaged in business in any industry and seeking to meet market needs, the needs of target consumers, the aspirations of society and the expectations of the state.
Commercial ethics is based on the general moral norms and principles of behavior accepted in the country (world), on professional morality, typical for a certain branch of economy.
The habitual moral standards of a society closely connect ethics of the businessman with a number of positive and negative key principles of behaviour (conscience, honesty, politeness, authority, nobleness, egoism, hypocrisy, shamelessness, ambition, malice, cunning, rudeness, revenge, etc.). As we can see, the general concept of commercial relations in the world market is both positive and negative traits.
Only a partial listing of typical signs of behavior of some entrepreneurs indicates a comprehensive approach to the norms of business ethics, mainly based on the principles of humanity and humanity, on conducting innovative and risky, honest, competent and legitimate activities in spite of criminal, routine and incompetent business.
The development of commercial ethics is also influenced by the mentality of society (as a form of civic consciousness) and public relations, which are aimed at increasing the self-esteem of its representatives as entrepreneurs, the upbringing of their positive personal qualities, a sense of economic freedom and full responsibility to society (consumers).
Moral principles of business ethics are based on the nature, morals and requests of business representatives, which explains their close connection with the motives and motivations of the latter.
Ethical difficulties of entrepreneurs arise and are solved continuously, which, above all, applies to consumers whose interests are to be protected by the state. Often, the moral relations of employers who develop their business are related to their employees.
These relationships have a significant impact on the degree of commercial success. A special place in modern business is given to cooperation with partners, competitors and society as a whole.
In addition, business ethics is expressed in such important categories as responsibility for one’s promises and guarantees, reliability and binding compliance with moral standards.
In order to learn to behave correctly, rules must be adhered to:
- Recommendations, perceptions and acquaintances;
- Etiquette in negotiations;
- Conducting business meetings;
- Records management and drafting of business documents;
- Business etiquette as an integral part of business ethics;
and also comply with the requirements:
- To speech literacy;
- To appearance, business style and manners.
It turns out that business ethics unites the rules of conduct of business people, regulating its external manifestations in their close environment, in contacts with partners, competitors, staff, with a lot of other people with whom they communicate not only at work, but also in everyday life.
Mainly the culture of entrepreneurship is influenced by the culture of commercial organizations, the civilization of businessmen themselves, their professional ethics, business etiquette and many other components related to the concept of “culture”.
As a rule, the following internal factors testify to the level of culture of any organization:
- The subject of commercial activity (developing business);
- Organization of commercial activity;
- Motivation of the business owner and his staff;
- Level of management culture, system of relations between management and employees;
- Special management style to achieve a leading position in the market;
- Employees’ awareness of their personal involvement in the prosperity of the firm and their personal contribution to the results of its activities;
- A clear set of concepts about the goals and values of the firm;
- High professionalism of administration, managers and staff with the prospect of further training;
- High quality and productivity of work of workers in a combination to worthy monetary compensation;
- Course of firm on improvement of quality of the goods (services);
- The debugged service of production for consumers;
- High level of production, use of modern technologies to improve the quality of products (services);
- High level of labour safety and compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards;
- Favorable moral climate in the team, business ethics, etc.
Only the creation of such a corporate culture together with other prerequisites guarantees entrepreneurial success.
In order to determine the level of culture of any firm, it is necessary to analyze its activity on a number of indicators, having received positive answers to such questions:
- Is the organisation prepared for risk and innovation?
- Is the firm(s) committed to achieving its main objectives?
- Is the focus on external challenges (good customer service, customer relationships, etc.)?
- Is the fight against opportunism and individualism being fought?
- Are employees motivated to achieve individual results?
- Is there any decentralization of managerial decision-making?
- Is there a choice of group forms of decision-making?
- Does the firm use long-term planning?
- Is its activity connected with innovations?
- Is the interaction of groups and individual employees established?
- Is the staff of the company committed and attentive to its interests?
- Are employees aware of their role in achieving the overall result?
- Are there informal relations in the team?
- Is the company open to a higher system?
What is business ethics and etiquette
Morality, as an object of ethics study, forms a person’s personality and worldview. It shapes the behavior and consciousness of people in everything – in family and home, in work and community, in politics and international relations, in relation to nature.