ETHICS SSP4

ETHICAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS AND CORPORATE ENVIRONMENT

What are Ethical Issues in Business and Corporate Environment?
- Ethical issues in business affect a variety of aspects related to a
business’s general operating standards

1. Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace

- Harassment and discrimination are arguably the largest ethical issues
that impact business owners today. Should harassment or discrimination
take place in the workplace, the result could be catastrophic for your
organization both financial and reputational.
2. Health and Safety in the Workplace
- According to the International Labor Organization, more than 2.3 million
people die annually from workplace accidents or diseases related to their
occupation. The lack of fall protection, regulations around weight and
resistance, safety equipment, and uncontrolled hazards are all leading
contributors to health and safety problems.
3. Whistleblowing or Social Media Rants
- The widespread nature of social media has made employees conduct
online factor in their employment status. The question of the ethics of
firing or punishing employees for their online posts is complicated.
However, the line is usually drawn when an employee’s online behavior is
considered to be disloyal to their employer.
4. Data Privacy and Technology Abuse
- Using your company’s internet connection to browse the web may seem
harmless. The fact is most companies monitor their internet connections
and track their workers browsing activity. Typically, this is indicated on
your employment contract and can impact performance reviews.
5. Favoritism or Nepotism
- Sometimes, business owners decide to employ someone they know or
are related to due to the personal connection. While, for the most part,
this doesn’t become a problem as long as rules are being followed, some
employees can see this as nepotism or favoritism.
6. Nondisclosure and Corporate Espionage
- Many employers are at risk of current and former employees stealing
information, including client data used by organizations in direct
competition with the company. When intellectual property is stolen, or
private client information is illegally distributed, this constitutes corporate
espionage. Companies may put in place mandatory nondisclosure
agreements, stipulating strict financial penalties in case of violation, in
order to discourage these types of ethics violations.
 ETHICS SSP4

7. Accounting Practices
- This is one of the more ‘classic’ ethical issues in business and comes
along with some very serious legal implications as well. Manipulating a
business’s financial data to make the company look more successful also
known as “cooking the books” is the most well-known form of accounting
misconduct and is a federal crime. Beyond the legal boundaries that it
crosses, the ethical dilemmas in business related to bad accounting
practices can put innocent people in harm’s way.
8. Theft
- It is a dilemma because there is a conflict between the choices. Usually
one action, though morally right, violates another ethical standard.

Take Note: Take these ethical problems in business seriously.