To help corporate employees judge their actions, The George S. May International

Question

To help corporate employees judge their actions, The George S. May International Company provides 6 basic guidelines to consider when making a legal/ethical decision in business: the law, rules & procedures, values, conscience, promises, & heroes.

MAKING EHTICAL BUSINESS DECISIONS- The George S. May International Company has provided six basic guidelines to help corporate employees judge their actions. o 1. The laws: Is the action you are considering legal? If you do not know the laws governing the action, then find out. Ignorance of the law is no excuse o 2. Rules and Procedures: Are you following the internal rules and procedures that have already been laid out by your company? They have been developed to avoid problems. Is what you are planning to do consistent with you company’s policies and procedures? It not, stop. o 3. Values: Laws and internal company policies reinforce society’s values. You might wish to ask yourself whether you are attempting to find a loophole in the law or in your company’s policies. Next, you have to ask yourself whether you are following the “spirit” of the law as well as the letter of the law of the internal policy. o 4. Conscience: If you feel any guilt, let your conscience be your guide o 5. Promises: Every business organization is based on trust. Your customers believe that your company will do what it is supposed to do. The same is true for your suppliers and employees. Will your actions live up to the commitments you have made to others, both inside and outside the business o 6. Heroes: We all have heroes who are role models for us. Is what you are planning on doing an action your “hero” would take? It not, how would your hero act?

Out of these 6 guidelines which do you think is the most important? (Provide an example of a time you have wrestled with one or more of these guidelines)

Explanation / Answer

The most important point for making ethical business decisions is Promises. It is true that every business organization is based on trust and understanding. As customer’s believe in a company or its product same are the suppliers and employees of the company. It’s upon an individual how he/she is responsible towards the duty and commitments made by them. Another option with which I have wrestled is the inner conscience of the employee. An employee can disregard the policy of the company or the legal framework, but cannot ignore his heart and what his/her conscience says for a long time. If someone is doing something which is unethical by ignoring the rules and laws but it cannot ignore the conscience (Inner voice) which reminds him of the promises which he/she has made for his contribution to the organization or services to the customers,etc. Thus, the most important are the promises and his conscience which reminds him to take ethical and legal decisions in business..

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