BUSN412 Business Policy
Personal Statement on Ethical Issue
Introduction
Ethics is a branch of knowledge, which deals with the morality and obligations. As it is
deals with morality and righteousness, it gives rise to a set of principles or values, which govern
the conduct or behavior adjudged as appropriate (Cory @ 2005 p 18–36). The principles
governing behavior or conduct are presented as broad guiding principles in the form of ideals or
inspirations. They can also be called as rules implied in legal or in essential terms to be more
enforcing. Responsible jobs or professions are self-regulating and opt to espouse the principles as
codes of conduct or ethics in their profession, on which they base their professionalism or
professional practice (Koehn, D. @2002 pp. 225–243).
The codes of ethics are sometimes misinterpreted as a set of rules, which are just meant
for passive celebration or observance meant to be just written down in books. But
the most
suitable use of these codes of ethics is when they are made use of in the daily task of decision
making in their professional environment in a very dynamic way in response to the requirement
of the situation (Cory @ 2005 p 18–36). Due to its applicability and the need for its application
in all walks of life, a code of conduct or personal ethics is not just a standard, but is a guide in the
daily life/work. The code of ethics set by the EZ’s Bank all over the world along with the
principles provide a frame work for the conduct of the business affairs of the bank. The code of
ethics outlines the duties of an employee with respect what he is supposed to do when he comes
across any kind of breach of the code and accountability (Good Governance Program. @2009
pp. 93–128).
The employees of EZ’s Bank are guided by the code of ethics on the application of the
general principles of business, covering the core values of honesty, integrity and respect to his
job and profession, he is advised on the way to obey the laws and regulations as well as his guide
him in the maintenance of healthy relationship with the customers, communities and co-workers
(Koehn, D. @2002 pp. 225–243). the regulations set by the code of ethics do not demand too
much from the employees and they tend to clarify the standards excepted from the employees
with respect to their behavior (Cory @ 2005 p 18–36). Areas such as Fighting Corruptive
Practices, National and International Trade, and the Environment, Safeguarding Information and
Communications are covered by the EZ's bank Settings Code of ethics (Good Governance
Program. @2009 pp. 93–128).
Professional Code of Ethics
As a professional all my activities are guided by a deep sense of responsibility, as I
believe that the present civilization is at a critical stage in history, the causes of which lie in the
behavior of human beings, which is far behind the human knowledge. The human behavior has
not developed on par with the human knowledge and technology in particular, which has
developed by leaps and bounds compared to culture and behavior.
I am of the opinion that the problem so created is very grave particularly when the gap
between the knowledge held by specialists and the broad understanding of the public is
considered. As people are still unaware of the basic relationship between humanity and the
natural world, which is begotten by technology, result in most of the people being unprepared to
face the challenges to our survival. More so with the policy makers, who are caught unaware as
they do not abide by their mission if at all they have one? But I intend to carry out my career,
with a mission of contributing to the goals set by the EZ’s bank, emphasizing on the promotion
of an understanding the relationship between humanity and the natural world. Education to me
can provide a chain reaction with a small effort gets multiplied as it moves from one person to
another, making more and more people understand the world and the people living in it. The
tools enabling us to secure a stable and prosperous future for centuries to come will be developed
as we tend to learn more and more and I personally feel that I would develop approaches and
programs which I need to implement in my professional career.
Requirements
The original definition of “a system of moral principles” forms the basis of the key
requirements which are stated by the EZ’s bank in its code of ethics, which says, that all
employees must act well within the frame work of the high standards of honesty, integrity and
fairness with an expectation of a similar attitude and behavior in their relationship with others
while maintaining a business atmosphere which fosters such high standards (Cory @ 2005 p 18–
36). The code of ethics at the bank also states that the employees should not seek or accept from
a third party anything/favor for his own benefit except nominal gifts, working lunches, dinners
and entertainment, frequency and duration, appropriate under the circumstances (Good
Governance Program. @ 2009 pp. 93–128).
Modification of code of ethics
Undermining of the accuracy, fairness or independence, or to influence the nature of the
coverage by advertisements and commercial considerations by the staff is not allowed to the
extent that whenever advertisement have a chance of getting confused should be marked as
"special promotion." the demarcation between the right to information and the right to privacy
should be strictly taken care of, as the right to privacy is more important than the right to
information (Cory @ 2005 p 18–36). The staff is not expected to exploit the vulnerable or those
ignorant of media practices instead, they have to go deep into the real source of information
before leaking it out and attribute it to the source carefully. They will always declare the use of
pseudonyms in their work and avoid any kind of compromise with the source and to use multiple
sources wherever possible (Good Governance Program. @2009 pp. 93–128). The journalist shall
first consider the source's motives and seek alternative attributable sources when ever it seeks
anonymity. Quotes not attributed to a named source will be used only with a section editor's
approval (Good Governance Program. @2009 pp. 93–128). The journalist will respect and
protect those cases where confidences are accepted in all appropriate circumstances and the staff
shall avoid any prominent activity in partisan public causes that compromises, or appears to
compromise, the journalist or the newspaper. Membership of organizations or activity that may
compromise the journalist's or the paper's reputation shall be declared to their section editor.
Those responsible for coverage of news, current issues and opinion shall not be members of a
political party nor stand as a candidate in an election for public office (Koehn, D. @2002 pp.
225–243).
Conclusion
The Code of ethics of EZ's bank is based on broad principles of truth, honesty and
trustworthiness, respect for human life and welfare, fairness, openness, competence and
accountability and expresses the expectations of employee and society in discriminating
professional responsibilities. Some of these broader ethical principles or issues deemed more
universally applicable are not specifically defined in the Code although their applicability is
taken for granted and understood as applicable here also. The tenets which are considered to be
particularly applicable to the practice of professional engineering only are specified in the code
of ethics at the EZ’s. Nevertheless, certain ethical principles or issues not commonly considered
to be part of professional ethics should be implicitly accepted to judge the engineer's professional
performance.
References:
Cory @ 2005 " What is personal ethics?" The Public Interest Spring(63): 18–36. Cory 2005, p. 9
Activist Business Ethics
Koehn, D. (2002). Ethical Issues in Human Resources. In N. E. Bowie (Ed.), The Blackwell
guide to personal ethics (pp. 225–243). Oxford: Blackwell ISBN 0-631-22123-9.
Good Governance Program. (2009). Personal Ethics: A manual for managing a responsible
business enterprise in emerging market economies. (pp.93–128) Washington DC: Good
Governance Program, US Department of Commerce.