Ethics is a system that defines what is right and what is wrong, this concept can be applied to a business environment. An ethical business abides by laws and tries to maintain the best interest of all its stakeholders before any decision is taken into consideration.

Five decades ago, only a handful of businesses were concerned about being ethical. As the times are evolving, external stakeholders are unconsciously expecting businesses to be ethical; ethical buying, no discrimination, zero tolerance to sexual harassment at work, diversity, integrity, honesty, respect etc.

Businesses have tagged themselves as an ethical business but in reality what they are doing is completely opposite. Let’s take a drug company – Turing Pharmaceuticals as an example. On its website, one of their slogan is that “the ability to pay should never be a barrier”. This advertised corporate value was completely false when it came to fulfilling the company’s strategical objectives like maximising profit and market share.

In 2015, Turing raised the price of a drug called Daraprim that is used to treat parasitic infection in patients who have diseases like HIV/AIDS, from $13.50 per tablet to a whopping $750.

Business can also have unethical practices in its internal environment. 7/11, a franchise which has more than 600 stores in Australia was caught in a scandal of underpaying and exploiting its workers. The whole business culture of 7/11 was at fault.

From the two cases above, we see that profit is one of the biggest motive that led these companies have an unethical approach. At times like these, it is important for the government to intervene. Important and rare drugs like the Daraprim should only be supplied by the government. Through this, the companies cannot increase the prices of the drugs just so it could take advantage of the state of the market it is currently in.

Can’t a business be both ethical and successful?

It is very important for business to adopt an ethical approach and have ethical objectives. Being ethical leads a business to be Socially responsible. Consumers would be more attracted towards brands that are socially responsible like ‘the body shop’ and ‘Lush’ and thus have an ethical approach. This will allow the business to build more consumer loyalty and will also create a positive image of itself in the market. These brands will also reduce the risk of legal redress. At first being unethical may seem the easy way out, but when everything gets discolsed, it’s hard for the company to step back up and recreate its image. Companies should be able to balance all the interest of its stakeholder, be in internal or external stakeholders. Good ethical behaviour will always be able to generate better results.

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Bibliography:

• @globeandmail. “Turing, Volkswagen Scandals Show Firms Are Willing to Roll Ethical Dice.” The Globe and Mail. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
• @ProfCarlRhodes. “7-Eleven, Volkswagen Cases Show Why We Should Push Back on ‘corporate Ethics'” The Conversation. N.p., 11 Oct. 2015. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
• Clicking, By. “Treating Serious &neglected Diseases.” Turing Pharmaceuticals. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2016