Elements/Principles of Business Ethics

Although business ethics cannot be reduced to a single rigid checklist, a number of widely recognised elements or principles are generally used to judge whether a particular business practice is ethical:

1. Honesty: Being truthful in all business dealings — accurate advertising, honest financial reporting, and truthful representations to customers, investors and regulators.

2. Integrity: Acting consistently according to one's stated values, even under pressure or when no one is watching, rather than adjusting ethical standards to suit convenience.

3. Fairness: Treating all stakeholders — employees, customers, suppliers, competitors — justly and equitably, without exploiting a position of relative power or informational advantage.

4. Transparency: Being open about business practices, financial performance and decision-making, so stakeholders can make informed judgments rather than being deliberately kept in the dark.

**5. Accountability:</b> Being answerable for the consequences of business decisions, and willing to correct mistakes and compensate those genuinely harmed by them.

6. Respect for law: Complying fully with the law, treating it as a floor (a minimum standard), not a ceiling, of acceptable conduct. …