1. HONESTY

All personnel must be committed to telling the truth in all forms of communication and in all actions. This includes never purposely telling partial truths, selectively omitting information, making misrepresentations or overstatements. Honesty also means reliably sharing both good and bad news with equal candor.

2. FAIRNESS

All dealings and relationships must be founded on a conscious commitment to fairness, treating others as you would like to be treated. Fairness requires treating all individuals equally and courteously, never exercising power arbitrarily and never exploiting weaknesses or mistakes for personal or corporate benefit.

3. LEADERSHIP

Demonstrated by a conscious effort to set a positive example of ethical behavior, leadership is a commitment to excellence through ethical decision-making. Businesses and business executives maintain their leads by constantly improving operational efficiency, worker satisfaction and customer approval.

4. INTEGRITY

Organizations and personnel demonstrate integrity through a consistency between actions and words that inspires trust and credibility. Integrity also means keeping promises, honoring commitments, meeting deadlines and refusing to participate in unscrupulous activities or business dealings.

5. COMPASSION

Fostering a business environment of empathy and compassion requires a commitment to being kind and caring toward all personnel, business partners and customers. Business goals must be benevolent, ensured by spending enough time to understand the needs and sensitivities of others, including the local community.

6. RESPECT

Respect is demonstrated by a full commitment to the human rights, dignity, autonomy, interests and privacy of all personnel. It means recognizing that everyone deserves equal respect and support for sharing ideas and opinions, without fear of any penalty or form of discrimination.

7. RESPONSIBILITY

Employees exhibit responsibility by taking full ownership of their jobs, striving to be conscious of the emotional, financial and business consequences of their actions. Taking their responsibilities seriously also demonstrates employee maturity and ability to do a job without needing strict supervision.

8. LOYALTY

Loyalty is proven by never disclosing information learned in confidence and by remaining faithful to coworkers, clients, business partners and suppliers. Loyal employees avoid conflicts of interest, help build and protect the good reputation of their company and help boost the morale of their coworkers.

9. LAW-ABIDING

Organizations must fully comply with all applicable laws and codes from local, state and federal agencies. Law-abiding businesses and personnel also adhere to industry and trade regulations, marketplace standards and any additional mandatory organizational policies, practices and procedures.

10. ACCOUNTABILITY

Accountability requires a total commitment to the ethical quality of all decisions, actions and relationships. High expectations for ethical behavior drive business practices when an organization and its personnel are held accountable to fellow employees, consumers, the local community and the wider public in general.

11. TRANSPARENCY

Committing to transparency requires making business information and policies available to appropriate groups, such as financial investors, personnel and consumers. It includes, for example, sharing criteria for price hikes, wages, hiring, granting promotions, addressing workplace infringements and firing employees.

12. ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS

Organizations and personnel demonstrate a commitment to the environment by helping mitigate the effects of global climate change. Beneficial actions include reducing the negative environmental impact of doing business by improving energy efficiency to help lower carbon emissions, reducing water usage and reducing waste.

Ethical business practice examples

When you consider the 12 ethical principles for business, you might imagine that it can be hard to stick to the company morals while also seeing through basic business principles. But it is possible and can have waves of positive outcomes. Here are some real-world business ethics examples:

• Since 1970, Chick-fil-A has helped over 80,000 employees fund academics through a total investment of $136 million in scholarships.⁶
• Among other animal welfare and corporate responsibility projects, McDonalds is on course to use only cage-free eggs throughout their franchises worldwide.⁷
• In 2018 Nike made its company morals clear when it stood by Colin Kapernick as a brand ambassador when the former 49ers quarterback claimed NFL teams weren’t hiring him for standing with the political movement Black Lives Matter. Nike didn’t only make a political stance but also increased its brand reputation among the public. Critically, the move also likely helped its stock price remain higher than competitors.⁸

Learn to Promote Sustainable Business Success

Organizations are more focused than ever on recruiting and retaining personnel committed to moral integrity and ethical business practices.³

If you are interested in becoming a confident leader with a strong inner core of ethical principles, ready to face any business challenge, consider an affordable online MBA from the Marquette University Graduate School of Management.

With no on-campus or in-person requirements, the 100% online MBA from Marquette University offers you the leading-edge skill set needed to develop and implement ethical business principles that can immediately guide you and your organization to lasting success.