Decisions and Dilemmas

A study from Columbia University estimates managers make 70 decisions a day, equaling a little over 16,000 business decisions a year. That’s no small feat.   

Making that many high-level decisions comes with a significant amount of responsibility. There’s a lot of pressure that comes with making the “right” decisions. So, let’s talk business ethics.  

What is Business Ethics and Why Does It Matter?  

Business Ethics is the moral and guiding principles for decision making. But like everything else in the world, business is not without gray areas. Some decisions (like embezzlement) are easy to sort, but others (such as laying off an employee) don’t fit nicely into the “right” and “wrong” boxes.   

Besides the general “make the world a better place” and “do no harm philosophies,” it’s important to think of business ethics for a few reasons:   

• 66% of Americans felt it was important to support socially responsible brands (Conscious Consumer Spending Index).  

• People don’t want to work at places where they feel unsupported.  

• People don’t want to work with companies that don’t operate with integrity.  

Implementing Business Ethics 

The key to ethical decision-making lies in establishing clear principles before a crisis arises. What values are non-negotiable? How do we balance competing interests fairly? Who gets a voice in these decisions? Companies with strong ethical frameworks don't avoid difficult choices – they navigate them with integrity intact.  

Harvard Business School Professor Vikram Gandhi suggests looking at and weighing the positive and negative impact your company has. Positive impacts can often be easier to identify, but two possible frameworks for looking at negative impacts could be environmental and social. Then take the additional step of, instead of justifying your negative impacts, coming up with solutions to increase your positive impacts and decrease the negative ones.   

It’s all about long-term focus and reflective leadership. With set ethical standards, consistently looking ahead to having a sustainable organization, and looking back on how you can be a more ethical leader, you’ll have peace of mind that you’re making the best decisions possible. 

Want more guidance on ethical leadership? Book a discovery call!