Noah Rolland, Catholic Central High School

Business Ethics: What Are They? What is Their Importance?

            Business ethics are the moral principles that companies employ in their relations with their employees, other companies, and the public that buys their products or services. The standards that are ‘ethical’ are not necessarily enshrined in legal law, but explain the behaviours that businesses take outside governmental control. Their importance in our daily life and in the world around us manifests in manifold ways. Ethics in business can be applied to employee-business relations, investing, and stances on social justice issues. However, they are also subjective in nature since every business has a different ethical code. That said, it is still paramount that a base level of ethics is applied in all businesses for long-term success in our society.

            Business ethics in employee-business relations should be of primary concern to all businesses because that can help increase the overall well-being of their workers. This allows them to exert the business’s goals. While there are many actions to increase well-being that are ruled by government, like paid vacation, a fair minimum wage, and the right to unionize, these are not the only factors to a healthy business. Otherwise, employee dissatisfaction would not be so prevalent in our society. There are personal factors an employee can take to increase their happiness, like building meaningful personal relationships, but their employer has a role to play as well. Most importantly, the business and its management–no matter the size–should foster a healthy work culture that allows them to compartmentalize their work as separate from their life. This ethical decision to not overload their employees can help increase loyalty and consumer business if a good employee reputation is created. In society’s daily life, it is important that we try to support businesses that follow these principles, however difficult it is. Many monopolies, like grocery chains, do not follow these practices. Yet, a good reputation would be a wise business decision because it might earn them more money, which is the ultimate goal of a business.

            Ethical choices in investing are also very important for a business. The companies they decide to invest in, or the way they invest can be scrutinized for their ethical implications. For example, many hedge funds and vehicle manufacturers are investing in climate neutral factories or businesses because that is currently the ethical decision everyone should be taking for our planet. Hedge funds and high-profile individual investors can help ensure that these ethical decisions for our planet are taken by investing in pro-climate ventures such as lithium-ion battery plants like the one recently announced in St. Thomas, Ontario, for electric vehicles. This is beneficial for our society to practice because it uplifts the economy while still being socially responsible. As capitalists, investors are also able to grow their assets, which is their objective. The ethical social responsibility also provides them with good optics which may in turn positively impact their business.

However, investors sometimes push the boundaries of business ethics particularly on the stock market. For example, militant activist short sellers, such as Carson Black, have been called the saviours and villains of the stock market simultaneously. Investors like him have exposed large fraudulent schemes on the markets by writing exposés which then causes the stock share price to plummet. Thus, allowing him to make a profit by returning his shares to the company. However, when one amasses such power, it begs the question if he himself is fraudulent because he could singlehandedly manipulate the market. Moreover, online communities have banded together to raise a stock price based purely on hype (Gamestop). Therefore, ethics for investors is very nuanced. Nevertheless, as a society we must try our best to implement a certain ethical code to disincentivize predatory dealings on the market such as short selling to build wealth. Destroying one creation to further strengthen your own is not ethical and monopolies are never beneficial to the consumer. Therefore, society should reward good business behaviour by purchasing their products and pressuring government to safeguard competition to protect consumers and investors alike.

Recently in our current social climate, an integral part of business ethics has been to take a stance on social justice issues (or climate as mentioned above). This is mainly due to online social media campaigns that provides good optics to a company to say they are ‘morally right’ or ‘inclusive’. However, with whatever stance is taken in our increasingly polarized social climate, there will always be critics and detractors. For example, Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light campaign for inclusivity by adding a transgender woman’s advertisement on their beer. While many people from the LGBTQ+ community may have seen this as progress, many detractors have started a boycott of the beer over the decision. The business ethical code of today argues that it is of utmost importance that the company uphold values that accept everyone. However, from a business standpoint, would not commenting on the issue be more effective since you would keep all previous customers? Most likely. These conversations of hatred are mostly concentrated online, so they can be glanced over as they will pass. As a society, this is why it is important that we hold businesses accountable to their social views because their ethical codes should not discriminate a section of the population. Therefore, society should push for morally right business decisions because the public and consumers are paramount to success. However, they should also respect neutrality as business ethics in this realm is still new and developing.

In conclusion, business ethics can manifest in many ways, but they are all important to ensure a successful business for employees, investors, and the public who consume. These three groups can push for the proper application of business ethics in our society to make the business more fulfilling for everyone involved in the long-term.