Subtleties of business ethics

As psychology justifiably testifies, the causes of conflict situations in the production sphere lie mainly in three areas: costs in the organization of labor and issues of its stimulation; managerial shortcomings and omissions; nuances and shortcomings in the field of interpersonal relations in the group.

About a third of conflicts arise on the basis of just the last group of shortcomings. It is for this reason that priority in solving problematic aspects in business relations is not given to production topics, but to building correct and productive relationships in the group. In this context, the creation and maintenance of a healthy moral and psychological atmosphere both in a group and in the internal state of employees becomes an urgent topic.

In the general theoretical and its essential sense, ethics, as a theory of morality, is a special doctrine of a humanitarian orientation, where the object is a person and his relationships, and the subject is morality. Morality is understood as a way of regulating human activity.

As part of philosophy, classical ethics arose about 2500 years ago in ancient Greece, and in its development went through many historical stages, developing in various philosophical directions: ancient and medieval ethics, modern ethics, modern ethics. The beginning of the development of business ethics in Russia can be considered 1717, when, on the orders of Peter I, “Indications for everyday routine” (advice to young nobles) were published.

At the end of the XIX century. ethics budded and actively structured, maintaining a close relationship with philosophy. In the twentieth century, its individual components develop as:

• Professional ethics and its varieties are a set of moral attitudes in the attitude of workers to professional duty, to colleagues and society.
• Etiquette - a set of guidelines regarding the behavior of workers in a particular situation.
• Business ethics as a normative set of people’s behavior, affecting work styles, issues of communication between partners and their socio-psychological image.

Elements of business ethics are a series of categories that form its essential content:

1. Social moral standards.
2. Behavioral rules.
3. The set of principles of communication.

Features and rules of interpersonal relations, considered in the framework of:

• production and personal rights of employees;
• leadership styles;
• management culture principles;
• business philosophy;
• official relationship;
• conflict resolution.

The close connection of this science with the psychological aspects of communication and perception, conflict studies and other humanities is obvious.

Ethics, in its broadest sense - it is a system of moral principles of a general and private nature that regulate the life of society. The ethics of business relations focuses specifically on the business aspects of society. It incorporates the issues of etiquette, considering the norms that determine the working styles, the manner of company communication, image aspects, the order of negotiations and more.

The structural components of this subject are: established rituals, subordinate aspects, behavioral manners, writing styles and telephone conversations, as well as the degree of correctness in communication (politeness, tact, etc.).

The specificity of business ethics is reflected in its two leading tenets:

• Focus on a constructive and well-defined result.
• The absence of dependence of attitude to problems on the characteristics of relations with a partner.

A feature of the subject is that its norms and rules significantly facilitate communication in the group, as they form a peculiar, general context, and to some extent form the basis on which mutual trust arises. That is, the rules and regulations set the plot of a certain style of employee behavior, consistent with the current situation. The situation becomes predictable, which provides a quick, adequate and comfortable orientation of a person in it.

The principles of business relations developed by society as the basis of ethics are universal moral attitudes and reflect the essence of the subject. A broad understanding of these principles is interpreted by the American scientist L. Hosmer, who, based on theoretical and proven world philosophical principles, has derived 10 well-known universal principles-axioms.

Being present in various cultures, they are recognized to varying degrees as relevant and fair, with some amendments and clarifications, including in structure. However, their functions and essence, with somewhat different interpretations, are a universally recognized fact. It is clear that they can be historically situational in nature.

The Russian Business Culture Foundation has developed a version of a system of the following principles:

• Personal:

1. Honor is more important than profit.
2. Respect for partners is the basic concept of business relations. Respect and self-esteem are achieved by the fulfillment of obligations undertaken.
3. Violent and brutal methods are unacceptable to achieve goals.

• Professional:

1. Business plans must be commensurate with the available funds.
2. The basis of business and the key to success in it is trust.A worthy reputation is a prerequisite for success.
3. Fair competition. Business discrepancies are not a reason for judicial review.

• Citizen of the Russian Federation:

1. Respect laws and legitimate authority.
2. To participate in legislative activities, act with partners and colleagues, guided by these principles.
3. Doing good, do not wait for this mandatory public recognition.

• Earth Citizen:

1. Bergi nature from damage.
2. Do not condone crime and corruption. Contribute to countering these forces.
3. Be tolerant of people of other cultures and beliefs.

The generally accepted and closer to the psychology of interpersonal relationships in the workforce are the following principles:

• Courtesy and courtesy in communication with partners and clients.
• Advance trust to create a comfortable climate in the group and productive working conditions.
• Observe justice in the distribution of powers, degrees of responsibility, rights to dispose of resources, in setting deadlines for tasks, etc. Observe the principle of voluntariness in this context. Rough pressure in these cases is unacceptable.
• Maximum progress is achieved by ethically directed activity of the leader.
• The manager must be tolerant of moral principles and traditions observed in other countries.
• The ratio of individual and collective principles in the activities of the manager in making decisions should be reasonable.
• Using psychological management methods, observe the principle of constancy of polite managerial influence to achieve the desired result.

Concretizing through the appropriate normative units of a moral nature, moral principles (collectivism, individualism, humanism, altruism, tolerance) are implemented in behavioral rules. So, in the personal aspect, in the business sphere (and not only in the business), it is customary to be decent and punctual (accurate in everything), sociable, clearly state thoughts, have a culture of speech (be able to listen and hear), be emotionally stable (self-control) honest, modest, neat, elegant, have good manners.

As a complex education, business ethics contains the following types:

• State ethics. Determines the relationship of civil servants both within the company and beyond.
• Social ethics.
• Ethics in production.
• Ethics of management.
• Commercial ethics. Regulates activities in trade, commerce and other fields.
• Ethics of cultures (American, Asian, European, Russian and others).

World experience and history testify to the high importance of corporate culture as an enterprise resource. Today, this concept is an integral part of client-oriented and open business, as it is both a management tool and a marketing tool. The high level of corporate culture actually reflects the image of the company.

Historically, this concept was formed in Germany, among military personnel, as a set of unconditionally accepted institutions regulating behavior in a group or community. In modern society, this concept is considered as a strategic tool orienting employees towards mobilization and productive communication.

By its content, corporate culture is a system that is formed by the rules of behavior, various symbols and rituals, traditions and values ​​that exist in the organization.

According to its purpose, it is designed for a long time period and is designed to become a habit of workers. Its place and role in the organization’s activities is determined by the functional assistance to achieve the goals, effective and coordinated interaction in the activities of employees, managerial and production units.It is directly subordinate to the goals of the company and is its core asset, largely ensuring the success of the company as a whole. A special role in the construction and implementation of the system is performed by executive management links.

In practice, such a system, embodying an active psychological message, becomes effective when both its general and private elements are completely separated and supported by a significant number of employees.

The nature of corporate culture, the degree of its effectiveness is manifested through a set of interrelated relationships:

1. The nature of the attitude of employees to the type of work they perform.
2. The nature of employee attitudes towards the company.
3. The quality of relationships between employees in a group.

Corporate culture has its own basic, deep layers - internal, external and hidden. External is how customers, competitors and the public see the company. Internal - a system of values ​​expressed in the activities of workers. Hidden - basic settings, consciously learned in the team.

Image, as a socio-psychological phenomenon, involves in its creation the participation of at least two parties, two entities. Inductor (person, group, organization) - the subject whose image is being created; recipient - is the subject perceiving the inductor. The indicated scheme indicates that the essential core of the problem of the appearance of the image is in the field of psychology of human perception and contains a lot of subtleties and nuances.

In short, image - an actual part of the culture of business communication, which significantly characterizes the personality and its professional qualities. Essentially, this is an image created by man himself.

Without a positive image, today you can’t rely on any impressive commercial success and respect in business circles.

The main elements of the image of both men and women are:

• Appearance (clothing, accessories, grooming, neatness and fit).
• Good manners (politeness, tact, chivalry in relation to a woman, adequate behavior in accordance with the peculiarities of the situation, individuality).
• Business etiquette: competent speech and writing.
• Office interior. A comfortable and stylishly furnished office allows you to increase the level of social and business status of its owner.
• Physical conditions are inextricably linked with the image and are in this context far from its last indicator.

Any form of manifestation of the image is characterized by a lot of nuances and shades. A harmonious combination and skillful use of forms in combination allows you to get a significant competitive advantage over people who do not pay due attention to this.

You will learn more about the intricacies of business ethics from the next video.