Business Ethics in Different Countries, and Its Importance

Business ethics or corporate ethics is a form of professional applied ethics that discuss every ethical principle and moral or ethical problems that can appear in a business environment. It also means basics concept that human might find attractive to follow. However, these ethics help to maintain a strong relationship with the stakeholders. Some firms hire specific people who teach their workers the art of influence and talking to get more consumers and give them the best service, as well to help the employees to decide what they think is the right course of an action.

The world can be notified and being affected by a lack of business ethics. For example, a business without caring of its own image, would have a low-quality product and a bad reputation or fails to have a long-term relationship with consumers and also damaging the future prospect of the company. These ethics are different from country to country since the culture is not the same. For instance 'in Morocco, the Moroccans prefer to do business with who know and respect, therefore expect to spend time building a strong personal relationship before starting any business, the most remarkable thing in the society is that who you know is more important than what you know, is it important to have more contact that would help in the business field, moreover arrive at meetings on time and be prepared to wait. business people in Morocco have to deal with international companies often and they have to keep in the mind the importance of time. French is generally the first language of a business in Morocco , although some companies are open now to use English. Checking in which language the meeting will be conducted it would be helpful for the candidates.' In Morocco, not only the ethics what have the big importance but also the dress etiquette because 'the Business attire is formal and conservative, usually men should wear dark coloured conservative business suits to the initial meeting, women should wear elegant business suits, dresses or pantsuits, and they must be careful to cover themselves appropriately, skirts and dresses should cover the knee and sleeves should cover most of the arm with avoiding wearing expensive accessories'. 

Moreover for the business negotiations, in Morocco ‘the companies are hierarchical’. The highest ranking person makes decisions such as directors, but only after obtaining a group consensus. Decisions are reached after great deliberation. If the government is involved, discussions will take even longer since the ministers of several departments must often give approval. Moroccans are looking for long-term business relationships and they find it abusive if someone criticize anyone publicly. It is important that you do not cause your Moroccan business associates to lose face. Moroccans are not confrontational, they may agree in meetings rather than cause you to lose face, expect a fair amount of haggling. Moroccans seldom see an offer as final'. 

However in 'the UK things may be different since the culture is unlike the Moroccan one. Anywise, the vast majority of British companies and organisations are still characterised by a distinct hierarchy. Although their instructions might be formulated as a polite request or even a mere suggestion, British managers are known to be firm, effective and resolute. Their authority as a decision maker is not to be questioned. Being in control and leading a team efficiently are among the most important management skills. This particularly includes having a good relationship with the staff'. In addition,' British generally prefer working with a group of people they know, they can relate to and with whom they can identify. also, meetings are time-consuming and set well in advance. the discussion at a meeting can be rather informal. But because of the British task-oriented nature, each participant of a meeting will usually leave the table commissioned with a specific task'. 'The UK rules on business dress code have changed in the last decade and some professions are less formal and more free but conservative businesses still expect men to wear a suit and tie and women to dress smartly. This may involve a smart, unfussy dress and shoes but it is also acceptable for women to wear trousers, a smart blouse and jacket.' 

The Asian countries also have ethics that are completely different than the UK and the Moroccan ethics but they have the same role that is to keep a healthy and strong relationship with companies and firms. For example Japan is an Asian country, that his citizens are known because of their hard-working and intelligence, but even though the business ethics are important to them in their daily life, for instance as we said in Morocco 'connections are very helpful in Japan as well but pick someone of the same rank as the person with whom he or she will have dealings. Japanese business people will want to learn as much as possible about the professional background and qualifications. Negotiations generally have an atmosphere of deep seriousness. In order to succeed, it must describe how the product can enhance the prosperity and reputation of Japanese counterparts. Japanese prefer verbal agreements to written ones, and shouldn’t be pressured into signing documents. Remaining co-operative is essential.' Appointments are required and, whenever possible, should be made several weeks in advance. It is best to telephone for an appointment rather than send a letter, fax or email. Punctuality is important. Arrive on time for meetings and expect that the other Japanese colleagues will do the same. Since this is a group society, even if they are meeting one person. The most senior Japanese person will be seated furthest from the door, with the rest of the people in descending rank until the most junior person is seated closest to the door. For the dress code, the Japanese are more concerned about it and they must have a really formal dress, and be careful for the seasons they are in, for men they have to wear a black formal suits and have a regular haircut, for women they should be careful with their skirt it should be close to the knees or longer, and have a short hair or tied . 

The countries' business ethics are different but they all have one purpose that is to face every problem that the countries companies may come through That governs actions and decisions in a company. In the business world, standards are set for determining good and bad behaviours and decision making. Business ethics is a famous topic, that cover everything from corporate governance to corporate social responsibility. it is a subjective term. However, it is easy to identify unethical business practices in an organization, such as employing child labour, taking bribes, or illegally using copyrighted materials. When ethical guidelines are followed, trust is developed between the employees and management, as well as the public and the corporation. Thus, business ethics leads to a more productive workplace'. 'These ethical behaviours will bring a lot of benefits to the companies for example attract customers to the firm’s products, which means boosting sales and profits, make employees want to stay with the business, reduce labour turnover and therefore increase productivity, attract more employees wanting to work for the business, reduce recruitment costs and enable the company to get the most talented employees, attract investors and keep the company’s share price high, thereby protecting the business from takeover.' 

Every company has its own ethics policy to follow, for example Halliburton is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the energy industry have its own policy that 'requires directors, employees and agents to observe high standards of business and personal ethics in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities. Directors and employees must practice fair dealing, honesty and integrity in every aspect of dealing with other Companies employees, the public, the business community, shareholders, customers, suppliers, competitors and government authorities. When acting on behalf of the Company, Directors and employees shall not take unfair advantage through manipulation, concealment, abuse of privileged information, misrepresentation of material facts, or other unfair-dealing practices. Company policy prohibits unlawful discrimination against employees, shareholders, Directors, officers, customers or suppliers on account of race, colour, age, sex, religion or national origin. All persons shall be treated with dignity and respect and they shall not be unreasonably interfered with in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities. No Director or employee should be misguided by any sense of loyalty to the Company or a desire for profitability that might cause him or her to disobey any applicable law or Company policy. Violation of Company policy will constitute grounds for disciplinary action, including, when appropriate, termination of employment.' The company have been working with the same policy and it kept growing for the past years without facing any trouble among their workers or their clients. Even though it is a positive thing for the company to have ethics but still it has some obstacles to go through, 'Many companies mistakenly consider ethics and compliance intertwined. They are not. Combining ethics with compliance removes checks and balances, making objectivity of any kind virtually impossible. Ethics refers to the manner and principles in which do businesses or companies use , its management and staff conduct business in a manner that conforms to certain business standards and principles. Compliance, on the other hand, has to do with oversight regarding certain rules and regulations, written laws or common law. If unethical business practices underlie your company's operations and the executives responsible for evaluating compliance are the same ones who engage in unethical business practices, that arrangement itself could be determined an unethical practice. For example, your chief financial officer who oversees the company's revenue, assets and liabilities should not also be the officer responsible for auditing financial operations.'

In conclusion, its very important to every company to have business ethics that would help them to avoid misunderstands of their consumers and also with their stakeholders, whoever in my vision I think its a good thing to create a company policy regarding the country values, moreover it will help my company to have a reputation in the market and increase the sales by providing a better experience for the clients and also the workers. However, I think that the firms should always give their workers a good moral and psychological training so that they would have more skills and may also have a quick sense of solving problems.