GOVERNANCE, BUSINESS ETHICS, RISK MANAGEMENT & INTERNAL CONTROLS

ETHICS: CONCLUSION Ethics, in general, is the rational reflection of human behaviors which
embody various dilemmas on what is right or wrong, just or unjust, and good or bad. Different
characteristics make up ethical principles – these principles serve as the foundation for
distinguishing whether something done, said, or portrayed is ethical or not. Some ethical
principles are truthfulness, fairness, respect, loyalty, honesty, and integrity; one may be referred
to interchangeably with the other but underlies specific differences. The world is one place, and
so is the corporate world governed by businessmen and women, managers, entrepreneurs, etc.
– the common ground is both worlds are structured in harmony when ethical standards are
identified and followed. Business ethics is a set of written and unwritten principles and actions
that constitute how the decision-making power of a company is governed. It is based on the
culture and nature of a company established by the Managers which could change the course of
action of the employees and other parties. Without the sole existence of business ethics,
businessmen will then have their own set of moral principles and beliefs that may not go well
with the company operations leading to consequential matters. Business ethics creates a
common ground for all business units within the company in understanding what course among
a set of choices, good or bad, to take. There exists Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct to
assist the company in choosing the ethical path among many others. A Code of Ethics is a
written standard of moral principles and values that help workers conduct their actions
accordingly, whereas a Code of Conduct is a set of written rules and regulations on the
expected behaviors from the employees and other workers in different company situations.
There are three types of management ethics: moral, immoral, and amoral management. Moral
management conforms to the high standard of ethical behaviors, immoral management is
opposite of the moral management, one devoid of any ethical principles, whereas amoral
management is categorized as intentional (fairly aware but did not consider ethical factors), and
unintentional (careless of the ethical standards of the company). As people of society, we must
abide by ethical standards that contribute to the greater good. And as members of the business
world, dilemmas may shake our established convictions, but may our personal ethics reign still.