the importance of ethics in business

The Importance of Ethics in Business

It’s unlikely that anyone really sets out in hopes of doing business with a company that’s unethical.

The age-old phrase, “you get what you pay for” couldn’t be more spot on, especially when something sounds too good to be true. While we all trust that the companies we purchase goods and services from are inherently ethical, do you ever take the time to do some research and find out for sure?

Ethics are essential if you want to build a reputable business with staying power; unfortunately, it seems like many business owners are more focused on instant gratification, using any means possible to make money. While you may find success in business faster participating in unethical and unsavory behavior, you must be prepared to weather the consequences you will inevitably encounter.

What are Business Ethics?

Just to refresh, business ethics are essentially the morals and standards that you use to run your company.

Basic ethics in business include being truthful and trustworthy—they’re the standards by which your customers will judge your company, and the measurements they’ll use to determine whether or not to give you repeat business or even do business with you in the first place. While there is a standard laid across the board, it is ultimately up to you to determine what business practices you consider ethical and implement them in your company culture.

The Importance of Business Ethics

There are many reasons to abide by ethical practices in all areas of your business. Some of them include:

Maintaining Customers
As mentioned above, most customers will take the ethics by which you run your company into consideration when deciding to do business with you.

A company that establishes themselves as unethical will notice a decrease in their customer base, as people stop doing business with them, and turn to a company offering the same or similar service, but in an ethical way. Customers expect a return on their investment when they pay you for goods or services, and if you set a standard of unethical behavior, it’s likely they’ll lose confidence in your ability to deliver.

Employee Loyalty 
Just like customers, most employees don’t want to be associated with unethical business practices. 
Whether they have a say in the policies of the company or not, most employees want to work at a place where they can feel morally sound and sleep at night knowing they’re being honest and truthful with their fellow man. When implementing unethical practices in your business, you can expect to have a high employee turnover rate, which in turn will cost you more money as you have to continually pay to hire and train new staff.

Dignity and Self-Respect 
Can you look yourself in the mirror each day and feel good about what you see when you know you’re being dishonest with your customers or employees? Do you want to gain the reputation of being someone to watch out for in the business world? Or would you rather be slightly less successful, but respected and trusted? 

How to Establish Your Company as Ethical

So now you know what not to do, what are some things you can do to make sure you’re running your business in an ethical way?