In the business world, everyone is morally obligated to follow the rules. The rationale for following business laws is not to be subject to penalties and fines. Still, the most significant importance for companies is strengthening social relations between work members and each other and between work members and the surrounding community.
The Moral Obligations of Business:
According to (Schwartz, 2005), the Moral Obligations of Business can be defined as ethical behavior that cannot be evaded in the business world, such as a company commitment to the implementation of quality standards and non-commercial fraFraudhen these standards are not adhered to, a company exposes itself to solid and direct damages, this damage comes from the force of the laws that are implemented against violations, it also comes from the reluctance of society to the products and services of the violating companies (Zimmerli & Assländer, 2007).
Rules to Not Entail Moral Obligations:
According to (Stark, 1993), specific rules do not meet the criteria for moral obligations, like unconditional promises, whether to employees or to society; for example, in the case of employees, thecompany'ss management promises them a bonus when sales increase and do not implement this promise, or when a company promises a customer certain benefits in a product or service. The customer doesn't finds it; both examples are unethical and weaken the company's position and growth.
Exceptional Circumstances for Non-compliance with the Rules:
According to (Marian, 2020), three circumstances in the business world make them not ethically abide by the rules, and they are as follows:
- Charitable Fraud is lying to the patient in the medical profession to make him/her accept life and not despair.
- Unfair Context: such as the laziness of an employee who gets a salary less than another employee who does the same job.
- Unethical Rules include not complying with unethical labor laws in some countries, such as child labor.
Therefore, each company has unique circumstances that lead it to follow different general ethical standards.
Conclusion
Adhering to ethical standards is an obligation of all companies, although there are circumstances that cause companies to take a lesser approach to adhering to moral standards or proclaimed rules in a country; however, this is considered an adventure with undesirable consequences, as the company that adopts this approach puts itself under the law, in addition to the loss of trust from customers and the collapse of its reputation, yes, there is always flexibility, but there is a line between what is wholly moral and what is not entirely moral and unwelcome.
References
Marian, E. (2020). Cheating in business: A metaethical perspective: JBE. Journal of Business Ethics, 162(3), 519-532. Retrieved from ProQuest One Academic in the TUW Library.
Stark, A. (1993).What'ss the matter with business ethics?. Harvard Business Review, 71(3), 38-40.
Schwartz, M. S. (2005). Universal moral values for corporate codes of ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 59(1), 27-44.
Zimmerli, W. C., & Assländer, M. S. (2007). Business ethics. In Corporate ethics and corporate governance (pp. 37-54). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.