Subtleties of ethics of business relations

As psychology reasonably testifies, the causes of conflict situations in the production sphere lie mainly in three areas: costs in the organization of labor and issues of its stimulation; managerial deficiencies and omissions; nuances and shortcomings in the field of interpersonal relations in the group.

About a third of the conflicts arise on the basis of the latter group of flaws. It is for this reason that priority in solving problematic aspects in business relations is not given to production topics about production, but to building correct and productive relationships in a group. In this context, the creation and preservation of a healthy moral and psychological atmosphere, both in the group and in the internal state of the staff, becomes an urgent topic.

In the general theoretical and its essential sense, ethics, as the theory of morality, is a special teaching of a humanitarian orientation, where the object is the person and his relationship, and the subject is morality. Morality is understood as a way to regulate human activity.

Being a part of philosophy, classical ethics originated about 2500 years ago in ancient Greece, and in its development went through many historical stages, developing in various philosophical directions: ancient and medieval ethics, ethics of the New time, modern ethics. The beginning of the development of business ethics in Russia can be considered in 1717, when, by order of Peter I, were issued "Indications for everyday life" (advice to young noblemen).

At the end of the XIX century. ethics split off and were actively structured, while maintaining a close relationship with philosophy. In the twentieth century, its individual components develop as:

• Professional ethics and its varieties are a complex of moral attitudes in the attitude of workers to professional duty, to colleagues and society.
• Etiquette - a set of regulations relating to the behavior of workers in a particular situation.
• Business ethics as a normative complex of people's behavior, affecting work styles, issues of communication between partners and their social and psychological image.

Elements of business ethics are a series of categories that form its essential content:

1. Social moral norms.
2. Behavioral rules.
3. The set of principles of communication.

Features and rules of interpersonal relationships, considered in the framework of:

• production and personal rights of employees;
• leadership styles;
• principles of management culture;
• business philosophy;
• service relationships;
• conflict resolution.

The close connection of this science with the psychological aspects of communication and features of perception, conflictology and other humanities is obvious.

Ethics, in its broad sense - it is a system of moral installations of a general and private nature governing the life of a society. The ethics of business relations focuses precisely on the business aspects of social life. She incorporates etiquette issues, examining the norms defining work styles, corporate communication manners, image aspects, negotiation procedures, and more.

The structural components of this subject are: established rituals, subordinate aspects, behavioral manners, styles of writing and conducting telephone conversations, as well as the degree of correctness in communication (politeness, tact, etc.).

The specificity of business ethics is reflected in its two leading postulates:

• Focus on a constructive and well-defined result.
• The lack of dependence of the relationship to the problems of the peculiarities of relations with a partner.

A feature of the subject is the fact that its rules and regulations greatly facilitate communication in the group, since they form a peculiar, general context, and to a certain extent form the basis on which mutual trust arises. That is, the norms and rules set the plot of a certain style of behavior of an employee, according to the situation. The situation becomes predictable, which ensures a quick, adequate and comfortable orientation of the person in it.

The principles of business relations developed by society, as the basis of ethics, are in the nature of universal moral principles and reflect the essence of the subject. In a broad understanding, the American scientist L. Hosmer interprets these principles, who, basing himself on theoretical and world-proven philosophical principles, derived 10 well-known universal principles-axioms.

Being present in different cultures, they are to varying degrees recognized as relevant and fair, with some amendments and clarifications, including in structure. However, their functions and essence, with somewhat different interpretations, are a fact generally recognized. It is clear that they may be historically situational.

The Russian Business Culture Foundation has developed a version of the system of such principles:

• Personality:

1. Honor is more important than profit.
2. Respect for partners is a basic concept of business relations. Respect and self-respect are achieved by the fulfillment of the obligations assumed.
3. Violent and brutal methods are unacceptable for achieving goals.

• Professional:

1. Business plans must match the funds available.
2. The foundation of business and the key to success in it is trust. Reputable - an indispensable condition leading to success.
3. Fair competition. Business discrepancies are not a reason for judicial review.

• Citizen of the Russian Federation:

1. Respect laws and legitimate authority.
2. To participate in lawmaking, act with partners and colleagues, guided by these principles.
3. Doing good, do not wait for this mandatory public recognition.

• Earth Citizen:

1. Bergi nature from damage.
2. Do not condone crime and corruption. Contribute to counteract these forces.
3. Be tolerant of people of different cultures and beliefs.

The following principles are generally accepted and more close to the psychology of interpersonal relationships in a work collective:

• Politeness and courtesy in communicating with partners and clientele.
• Advance confidence to create a comfortable group climate and productive working environment.
• Observe justice in the distribution of powers, degrees of responsibility, rights to manage resources, in setting deadlines for the execution of tasks, etc. Observe the principle of voluntariness in this context. Coarse pressure in these cases is unacceptable.
• Maximum progress is achieved ethically directed activity of the leader.
• The manager must be tolerant of the moral standards and traditions observed in other countries.
• The ratio of individual and collective beginnings in the activities of a manager when making decisions should be reasonable.
• Using psychological methods of management, observe the principle of consistency of polite managerial influence to achieve the desired result.

Concretizing through the relevant normative units of a moral nature, moral principles (collectivism, individualism, humanism, altruism, tolerance) are implemented in behavioral rules. So, in the personal aspect, in the business sphere (and not only in the business), it is customary to be decent and punctual (accurate in everything), sociable, clearly express thoughts, have a culture of speech (be able to listen and hear), be emotionally stable (self-control) , honest, modest, tidy, elegant, have good manners.

As a complex entity, business ethics contains the following types:

• State ethics. Defines the relationship of civil servants both within the company and beyond.
• Social ethics.
• Ethics in the workplace.
• Ethics of management.
• Commercial ethics. Regulates activities in trade, commerce and other fields.
• Ethics of cultures (American, Asian, European, Russian and others).

World experience and history testify to the high importance of corporate culture as an enterprise resource. Today this concept is an integral part of a client-oriented and open business, since it is both a management tool and a marketing tool. The high level of corporate culture actually reflects the image of the company.

Historically, this concept was formed in Germany, among military personnel as a set of unconditionally accepted institutions governing behavior in a group, community. In modern society, this concept is seen as a strategic, orienting staff towards mobilization and productive communication, a tool.

According to its content, corporate culture is a system that is formed by the rules of behavior, various symbols and rituals, traditions and values ​​that exist in an organization.

According to its purpose, it is designed for a long time period and is intended to become a habit of workers. Its place and role in the organization’s activities is determined by the functional assistance to the achievement of goals, effective and coordinated interaction in the activities of employees, management and production levels. It is directly subordinated to the target aspirations of the company and is its core asset, largely ensuring the success of the company as a whole. A special role in the construction and implementation of the system is performed by the managerial units.

In practice, such a system, enclosing an active psychological message, becomes effective in the case when both its common and private elements are completely separated and supported by a significant number of employees of the enterprise.

The nature of corporate culture, the degree of its effectiveness is manifested through a set of interrelated relationships:

1. The nature of the attitude of employees to the type of work they perform.
2. The nature of the attitude of employees to the company.
3. The quality of relationships between employees in the group.

Corporate culture has its basic, deep layers - internal, external and hidden. External is how customers, competitors and the public see the company. Internal - the system of values, expressed in the activities of workers. Hidden - the basic installation, consciously learned in the team.

Image, as a socio-psychological phenomenon, involves in its creation the participation of at least two parties, two subjects. An inductor (personality, group, organization) is a subject whose image is being created; recipient - is the subject of the inducer.This scheme suggests that the essential core of the problem of the emergence of the image is in the field of the psychology of human perception and contains a lot of subtleties and nuances.

In short, Image is the actual part of the culture of business communication, which significantly characterizes the personality and its professional qualities.. In essence, this is an image created by man himself.

Without a positive image today, you can not count on any impressive commercial success and respect in business circles.

The main elements of the image of both men and women are:

• Appearance (clothing, accessories, degree of grooming, accuracy and smartness).
• Good manners (politeness, tact, gallantry towards a woman, the adequacy of behavior in accordance with the characteristics of the situation, individuality).
• Business etiquette: competent speech and writing.
• Office interior. Comfortable and stylishly equipped office allows to increase the level of social and business status of its owner.
• Physical conditions are inextricably linked with the image and are in this context not the last indicator.

Any forms of manifestation of the image peculiar mass of nuances and shades. Harmonious combination and skillful use of forms in the complex allows you to get a significant competitive advantage over people who do not pay enough attention to this.

You will learn more about the intricacies of business ethics in the following video.