JANE DIAZ

MR. PAJO

BS-IM

ITETHICS

 

 

BOOKREVIEW #1

WHAT’S RIGHT AND WRONG IN BUSINESS

by: Raphael Gomez

HF5387

 

The rapid growth of the Internet has opened dramatic new opportunities for

collecting and disseminating research information worldwide. At the same time it raises a

number of ethical and technical issues which must be addressed if the Internet is to be

used effectively and responsibly for opinion and marketing research purposes. The fact

that the Internet is inexpensive to use and difficult to regulate means that it can be open

to misuse by less experienced or less scrupulous organizations, often based outside the

research industry. Opinion and marketing researchers and their companies should avoid

intruding unnecessarily on the privacy of Internet respondents.

Survey respondents’ cooperation should at all times is voluntary. No personal

information unnecessary to the project, which is additional to that already available from

other sources, should be sought from or about respondents without their prior knowledge

and consent. The researcher must post a link to the privacy policy on the home page of

its Web site and in each area where opinion and marketing researchers collect personal

information from children.

 

The link to the privacy notice must be clear and prominent.

Business enterprises today are expected to meet standards of responsible

business conduct that go beyond what had been expected traditionally. Although people

more often than not still speak of business in terms of products, jobs, and profits, it is

understood and accepted across the globe that a business enterprise remains a member

of its community. The pursuit of profits and economic progress is not a license to ignore

community norms, values, and standards of respect, integrity, and quality.

As long as businesses concentrate their attention and efforts on dealing with

everyday challenges rather than striving to rise above them, they may be part of the

problem. For example, although paying a small bribe to get a permit or to evade taxes

may be “just the way things are done” or something that “everyone does,” businesses

that do so may perpetuate business practices and conduct that make the evolution to a

market economy more difficult.

 

Central planning and state-owned production characterized command

economies. Resources were allocated by plan instead of by markets. Employment was

generally full but effectively rationed through an internal passport system. Capital was

allocated centrally through a single institution. Enterprises were responsible for

production but not for marketing or pricing. Since planning was based on quantity, not

quality, enterprises had little incentive for innovation; indeed, innovation or quality

improvement was often punished with higher quotas or standards. The law restricted or

abolished human and property rights and the sanctity of contract. It limited individual

rights rather than state power. The legal system lacked procedural and institutional tools

to protect individual property and human rights and support the sanctity of contract. The

 

legislative framework was not oriented toward private enterprise, and regulators, judges,

and lawyers had little knowledge of, or experience in, free market concepts.

Enterprises of all sizes develop strategies to bring their resources together to

achieve their goals and objectives. A business ethics program helps owners and

managers improve their business performance, make profits, and contribute to the

economic progress of their communities by meeting the reasonable expectations of their

stakeholders. A business

ethics program also aims to achieve specific expected program outcomes, such as

increasing awareness of ethics issues, improving decision-making, and reducing

misconduct, which are discussed in more detail.

Busy managers need not fear that formal planning for a business ethics program

will overwhelm daily operations because, as discussed below, they already have many

elements in place. The planning process requires targeted stakeholder participation

more than a large staff. However, once an enterprise announces its intention to design

and implement a business ethics program, it needs to plan well and to base its plan on

its core beliefs.

A lack of program consistency will hurt employee morale and generate stakeholder

cynicism.