What exactly is the relevance of ethics to BusinessAssociations? Well to Doctors, Dentists, Physiotherapists, Lawyers and Accountants etc. they are fundamental to the daily practice of their business and failure to apply them thoroughly and correctly can and often does lead to censure and even withdrawal of their licenses to practice. We have all heard of members who have been suspended due to malpractice. The doctor who operates on the wrong patient,, the incorrect treatment being given, failure to apply sufficient attention to the accuracy of the figures during an audit, overcharging clients for hours not actually worked.
All of these things are a breach of the professional ethics, so what things do ethics cover and how can you be sure to apply them to avoid censure and possible suspension of your business and/or license to practice? First make sure you are familiar with the codes of ethics for your particular business these are usually issued by the trade association for your profession. Next study the intention of the association in writing the code of ethics. An example would be the Canadian Barristers Association Code of ethics, this is particularly well written and includes concise descriptions and examples of how they see barristers putting this into practice in their practices. They have also laid down an appeals procedure for the public to follow whenever they feel that their lawyer has not been treating them fairly. This is fairly typical of the better professions and is also emulated by those businesses that perceive the clients rights and expectations to be an integral part of their business and something they need to take good care of, if they are to receive repeat business.
Why? then you might ask are there many businesses and law practices that ignore these rules in their normal business practices? That is a good question and one that I am struggling to answer, there are several that I can think of.
– The cost of educating staff and implementing the necessary controls.
– The need for good management control to ensure all staff comply.
– The fact that costs and prices can no longer be inflated to cover heavy business expenses.
– The perceived extra work that would be needed to ensure ethical practices are always applied.
– Bullying firms would have to explain all the rights and procedures that they have to all clients to ensure they were held responsible for their actions.
– The time clients might need to understand the implications of the firms poor actions might lead to increased costs for firms with poor ethical standards and controls.
The up side is better clarity to the public of what these specialists are truly responsible for, that the public could hold them responsible and liable for their actions, and that we would all be me aware of which were the “good” firms. In short the relevance of ethics to business is more accountability and better public awareness let’s hope that more and more internet marketers establish good ethical practices and make the public aware of these and the fact that ethical standards are being followed.
I run a website on Setting Up an Internet Marketing Business. Visit my site to find out more information on building a successful business from scratch. I offer much more in terms of in depth detail and suggestions there! I will also answer any questions and comments left for me, as long as they are not considered to be spam
