In today’s competitive business environment, it appears there is an increasing talent for deception when it comes to the negotiations. Deception can be seen in numerous forms from omitting vital information to flat out lying. When it comes to answering the million dollar question, “What is your bottom line?” I believe few parties will tell the whole truth. Whether this is due to an individual’s lack of morals or and a company’s unethical approach in order to win the contract, one may never know the whole truth. While reading the assigned article, “Ethics and Acquisition Professionalism: It is All About Trust” I found myself asking what is Ethics? According to Aristotle, “Ethics is the branch of Philosophy that defines what is good for the individual and for society and establishes the nature of the obligations or duties that people owe themselves and one another.” So how do ethics …show more content…
However, I believe there are two primary influences to unethical negotiations which are, profit and competition. Profit is fundamental to all business and its success, whether it is a door-to-door salesman working for a commission or a company president who is trying to maximize profit for its shareholders. We must always remember that negotiating is a forum which each parties make every effort, either ethical or unethical, to maximize their profit. This is evident in the Department of Defense (DOD) and its contracts. From the DOD aspect, we want the best product for the lowest cost. From the supplier’s aspect, they want to produce a product which will meet the minimum requirements while maintaining maximum profit. This influence can easily lead to unethical negations to ensure a company is awarded the
Ethics are the basic concepts and principles of human conduct that relate to morals. Ethical decisions, or unethical decisions, play a highly influence the culture of a society or organisation. In a business environment, ethical behaviour is highly important because not following ethics can lead to negative effects on businesses overall and its stakeholders. The importance of ethics can be observed through an incident that occurred regarding HealthSouth, a healthcare provider in the United States. From 1992-2003, HealthSouth was involved in the embezzlement of financial reports to portray their financial position as better than it was. The founder, Richard M. Scrushy, the executive team, and many employees were involved in this process, all
The problems surrounding the level of power and deregulation of executives, the unethical nature of the company culture, and the availability of complicit partners were manifested throughout every level of the company in the form of unethical behaviour and can be described as symptoms of these greater issues.
The Truth in Negotiations Act was passed on December 1, 1962 requiring government contractors to submit cost or pricing data if the procurement met specific requirements in order to establish that the offer is fair and reasonable. The history of The Truth in Negotiations Act will set the stage for its significance in the twenty-first century. Prior to World War II, the United States government conducted its bidding process for procurement in an open bid environment. What was required for a bid was a complete description of the requirement, two or more suppliers capable and willing to complete the requirement, a selection based on price competition and sufficient time to prepare a complete statement of the government’s needs and terms. (Graetz, 1968). If any of these were missing then a negotiated contract would have to take place. This was a time consuming process.
Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2011). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. New York: John Wiley.
Macbeth uses deception and lies to become king from killing Duncan to killing his “friend” Banquo. Lady Macbeth is not much better. She also deceives Duncan when he comes to stay in their castle. She later tries self-deception to rid her of some of the heavy guilt she is feeling. The witches use deception with Macbeth, toying with his life. Their false prophecies eventually leave Macbeth unprepared and lead to his downfall. While many different strategies are used in this play by Shakespeare to get Macbeth the kingship, deceit is the most prominent and important in the entire play.
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
Trevino, L., & Nelson, K. (2011). Managing business ethics - straight talk about how to
The question of what constitutes morality is often asked by philosophers. One might wonder why morality is so important, or why many of us trouble ourselves over determining which actions are moral actions. Mill has given an account of the driving force behind our questionings of morality. He calls this driving force “Conscience,” and from this “mass of feeling which must be broken through in order to do what violates our standard of right,” we have derived our concept of morality (Mill 496). Some people may practice moral thought more often than others, and some people may give no thought to morality at all. However, morality is nevertheless a possibility of human nature, and a very important one. We each have our standards of right and wrong, and through the reasoning of individuals, these standards have helped to govern and shape human interactions to what it is today. No other beings except “rational beings,” as Kant calls us, are able to support this higher capability of reason; therefore, it is important for us to consider cases in which this capability is threatened. Such a case is lying. At first, it seems that lying should not be morally permissible, but the moral theories of Kant and Mill have answered both yes and no on this issue. Furthermore, it is difficult to decide which moral theory provides a better approach to this issue. In this paper, we will first walk through the principles of each moral theory, and then we will consider an example that will explore the strengths and weaknesses of each theory.
Works Cited "Argumentum Ad Ignorantiam" Argumentum Ad Ignorantiam - "Ad. Lander, a.k.a. The X-Men. Web. The Web.
Norman, W., & MacDonald, C. (2004). Getting to the bottom of the "triple bottom line". Business Ethics Quarterly, 14(2), 243-262. http://dx.doi.org/10.5840/beq200414211
Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2007). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right Fourth ed., Retrieved on July 30, 2010 from www.ecampus.phoenix.edu
Ethics are the driving force behind good business. Every ethical choice made by a professional can and will have a much different outcome than any unethical choice. Bad ethics can ruin many aspects of a business and as (Gaye-Anderson, 2007) states how quite easily the lives and professional reputation of the employees can even be severally damaged (para. 3). Everything from morale to motivation can be severely affected by poor ethical choices. Customers will take their business elsewhere. Employees will abandon ship. Other, competing businesses reap the benefits of the bad moral choices. Ultimately, the entire business can be brought down by one poor ethical choice.
Negotiations always occur between parties who believe that some benefit may come of purposeful discussion. The parties to a negotiation usually share an intention to reach an agreement. This is the touchstone to which any thinking of negotiations must refer. While there may be some reason to view negotiations as attempts by each party to get the better of the other, this particular type of adversarial negotiation is really just one of the options available. Among the beginning principles of a negotiation must be an acknowledgment that the parties to a negotiation have both individual and group interests that are partially shared and partially in conflict, though the parameters and proportions of these agreements and disagreements will never be thoroughly known; this acknowledgment identifies both the reason and the essential subject matter for reflection on a wide range of issues relevant to a negotiation. (Gregory Tropea, November 1996)
According to Treviño & Nelson, ethics are “the principles, norms, and standards of conduct governing an individual or organization” (as cited by University of Phoenix, 2012). Ethics are essential in the determination of what is right and wrong in a given situation (University of Phoenix, 2012). When we are born, we do not have any values, morals, or ethical systems in place, as these are learned and developed over time. Today, we are going to take a closer look at my personal ethics and the underlying ethical system that most closely applies to my life. We will also examine the effects that my ethics have on my performance within the organization. Finally, we will discuss why it is important to have ethics that are integrated within an organization.
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.