Introduction
In a continuance of the differences between B2B vs. B2C web sites, this week's paper will cover how the sites manage ethical, legal and regulatory issues.
Ethical Issues facing B2B and B2C sites
There are several definitions of the work ethics. One definition of ethics is the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation. It can also be defined as a set of moral principles or values, a theory or system of moral values and the principles of conduct governing an individual or group, such as professional ethics. (www.m-w.com, 2005).
B2B (Business to Business) web sites share mutual information with each other, so ethics in this situation are important. Privacy is important and should be protected through whatever technical and legal means possible. In the business environment, there are codes of ethics that are developed by the organizations, such as trade unions, which have developed them. For example the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct were created by the Association for Computing Machinery. It is stated in the Preamble that Commitment to ethical professional conduct is expected of every member (voting members, associate members, and student members) of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). (P. Mateti).
The ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct also includes information covering B2C web sites. The information that would cover ethical actions that would relate directly to the public is covered in Section 1.2 Avoid harm to others, paragraph 1:
"Harm" means injury or negative consequences, such as undesirable loss of information, loss of property, property damage, or unwanted environmental inmates. This principle prohibits use of computing technology in ways to result in harm to any of the following: users, the general public, employees, employers. Harmful actions include intentional destruction or modifications of files and programs leading to serious loss of resources or unnecessary expenditure of human resources such as the time and effort required to purge systems of "computer viruses." (P. Mateti).
The ACM Code of ethics is a good guideline for all businesses to follow. After reading it over, the importance of trust and honesty as a definition of ethical behavior stands out the most. If all web sites follow this guideline, there would be less of a chance of harm coming to anyone.
Legal Issues facing B2B and B2C sites
Ethics is defined by as the “branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions
... is not easy to develop and in the development of the AACC Code of Ethics, the AACC Law and Ethics Committee had the additional task of encompassing specific Christian concerns. The ACA and AACC codes provide a comprehensive look at areas and concerns in the counseling environment that requires specific guidelines. Although the documents differ in certain areas and in depth of content, the overall focus of both documents is the well being and of clients and dedication to professionalism.
The codes typically are broad in definition, seldom providing detailed, acceptable behavior. Essentially, the code of conduct expands on the right behavior definition of ethics, which is the study of right or wrong behavior (Miller). The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) has adopted an ethical code called the Statement of Ethical Professional Practice that describes, in some detail, the ethical responsibilities of management accountants. All employees must follow ethical business practices to maintain a healthy economy built on trust in the reliability and fairness of everyday transactions (Noreen). Accordingly, management accountants must adhere to the standards established in the IMA’s Statement of Ethical Professional Practice, or they will lose the trust of their peers and customers and could risk prosecution.
"Code of Business Conduct and Ethics." Priceline.com. priceline.com incorporated, 12 April 2007. Web. 26 Mar 2014. Pdf.
Ethics or rather morals entail mechanisms that defend, systematize as well as recommend conceptions of right or wrong. Many organizations develop ethical codes to ensure employees and employers understand the difference in doing good or bad. In that respect, ethics are an essential aspect of successfully running of any organization or government. Ethics ensure employee’s productivity levels are up to the required standards. It also assists them to know their rights and responsibilities. Additionally, employers, as well as any persons in management, are guided by them to ensure they provide transparent leadership. Ethics also defines how customers should be handled. Ethical codes govern the relationship between customers and an
Importance of ethics in the business world is superlative and global. New trends and issues arise on a daily basis which may create an important burden to organizations and end consumers. Nowadays, the need for proper ethical behavior within
Most organisations begin the method of establishing organisational ethical projects by introducing codes of conducts. It helps to generate public trust and improve
Mallor, J. P., Barnes, A., Bowers, T., & Langvardt, A. W. (2010). Business Law: The Ethical, Global, and E-Commerce Environment (14th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Code of ethics is to be utilized by AIHMA members, agencies, consumers, and others who choose to embrace it as a frame of reference. (AHIMA, 2014)
Some of the guidelines in AACC code of ethics are similar to those in the ACA code of ethics. The AACC code of ethics also addresses the issues of confidentiality, consent, and compassion (American Association of Christian Counselors, 2014, pp. 13-25). Each of these are important in the counseling relationship.
The work emphasizes that having business ethics and a code of conduct can be a preventive medicine. The intended audience is the general public, management team, large businesses that have yet to create and develop a code of conduct, and businesses who are searching for a solution towards resolving ethical dilemmas in their workplace. The relevance of this work to our topic is it’s unique outlook on how the code should not only be developed with HR and the legal departments with the only intention of keeping policies legal but to see it being navigated by top management. It will also help us establish the usefulness of the code of conduct in relationships with stakeholders. A special feature of this work is the large-scale of sections it has on the topic of code of ethics. It contains a content section at the very top of the article that helps navigating toward sections easier. It also includes quotes from CEO’s, ethics professor Stephen Brenner form the Journal of Business Ethics, Twin Cities-based consultant Doug Wallace, etc. The writer of this article is Carter McNamara who has a MBA and PhD who specializes in organizational development and
Ethic, how we define them? We can describe ethics as a set of moral principles or values. Laws and set of legal regulations, religious guidelines also the ethical codes for professional and industry groups are the examples of the values and moral principles that are implemented into our lives.
Cheeseman, H., (2013). Business law: legal environment, online commerce, business ethics, and international issues. (8th ed.), (pp. 168-205). New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Ethics is simply doing the right thing. In the business situation ethics are the moral concept of a firm getting through it organizational duties ethically.
Stead, B. A., & Gilbert, J. (2001). Ethical issues in electronic commerce. Journal of Business Ethics, 34, 75-85.