The Essence of Ethics
Ethics deals with morality and there is a need to come up with a consensus how to determine moral values that fit different situations, although having a universal ethics and moral value is also important. There might also be a need to develop moral agencies whose responsibility is to develop moral values in the comminutes they are in according to what would be applicable and then interact with a universal body that is doing the same thing, unifying the various agencies so that all of them could learn from each other.
In our country, one of the reasons why the nation is where it is might be because of lack of ethics. However, it is very difficult to say this is applicable everywhere, because there are agencies, whether they are in the private sector or not such as banks, airlines, and other businesses that have very high ethical standard in place that is woven into the fabric of what they are doing. It is the same at the government level, although it might not be at the same level since there are deviations such as heavy dependence on bribe in order to execute one’s responsibility, or there could be nepotism in the hiring practice or in how employees are promoted to higher positions. Yet, there is some ethics that is at work in the various ministries albeit it might not be at the same level when compared with the handful of shinning examples in the nation such as banks and few other businesses such as the airlines that are owned by the government but operate independently.
The problem is evident in the rest of the private sector that had always been considered as a jungle where what works is the survival of the fittest. In a situation like that there is no place for ethics. The elements that are governing such a jungle are the usual basic demand and supply. Those who spot what the buyers need and bring it to the market will get away making a killing. Luckily, the number of such people that will cater to the need of the buyers would be high. Because of that there will be competition, which is the monitor or regulator here that prevents those who are catering for the needs from getting away by charging a high price since the next caterer wants to sell his or her product at a lower price to do a brisk business. This normally will trigger competition where sellers would be forced to sell at the very lowest price above the cost they would be incurring creating advantage to the buyers.
The problem is in some situations it is possible that there could be a concealed agreement among the sellers not to go below a certain price even if it will be difficult to prevent someone from breaking such an agreement when there is a dire need to do business. Other than that it used to be that there is no any other moral value the sellers are applying on their part in order to do business other than bringing into the market what they think buyers would need. As we know it from what is taking place in the advanced economies, these business people can come up with products and apply sophisticated marketing techniques in order to make people buy what they are producing. Some have patents similar to what is applicable in the western countries so that they will be in a position to control the market for a considerable number of years. They are allowed to do so as a reward for coming up with new products that are useful, since it is the government that issues patents and trademarks.
The problem in the advanced world is the number of sources that are coming up with similar products is very high, with few exceptions where products that require high level of technological input are the only ones that have long staying power and control over the markets. For the rest of services and products there could be many sources doing the same thing. This has led to the market being flooded with products that are similar in almost everything that include price, where the only exception might be the packaging that should display the particular logo of the manufacturers and the law prohibits copying others who could have patent or trademark for their packaging design. If we take bakers as example they can have patent or trademark for certain things that have to do with their packaging style but not to the bread itself even if there is some difference, as what is happening everywhere is breads could be very similar, the only exception being the different packagings. There could be many products of this kind.
In a situation like this, consumers would find it difficult which one to pick because the price is more or less similar and the value they get from the products could also be the same. That is where ethics had come in, because at least, in advanced countries people feel good buying items from sources that are known for their high moral and ethical values. Such companies are doing a lot to their communities, which means they are not only milking the communities they are serving, but they have inputs too, they give back to their communities in ways that are visible, and everyone knows about them. In a estuation like this people will find it easy to choose their products. Businesses that take good care of the environment while doing what they are doing are good examples, in addition to those that are involved in their communities by engaging in humanitarian activities. Since the nature of the competition dictates that one way of beating the competition other than coming up with similar or better products and charging similar or lower price is by doing the same thing as the competitor or even outdoing them if possible. It is obvious that such contending to outdo each other would become added blessings to the communities because the market is no longer going to be the jungle where it is only the fittest that can survive and can get their way by doing whatever they want. The only way businesses can sell their products would be if they do things ethically, otherwise they have no choice other than closing shop.
There is no better example than the auto industry here in America that is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. It was the most powerful manufacturer for many years and everyone was at its mercy because automobiles are very important for the day to day living and are indispensable for a big number of people. Whatever kinds of cars these manufacturers come up with and whatever price they charge, the consumers had no choice other than paying. Even if there were European carmakers they are similar in the first place as far as their muscle flexing is concerned and they had to satisfy their own market first that is not small in number and there is the rest of the world too. Because of that they were never in a position to satisfy the need of the Americans whose products could also be made expensive by slapping a high tariff on it. But the Japanese had changed all that and have taken the market share of the three powerful car manufacturers in the USA not only around the world, but in their own home market. The main reason for that is the ethics they are using is different from the Americans, although the ethics the Japanese are using has its origin in the USA, but they made it fit their purpose.
One of the Japanese winning ethics is their products have to be of very high quality and to achieve that they start from the bottom of things where the small things have to be done right from the beginning, in addition to other business ethics they apply that embrace other aspects by making the consumer the focus, and when the finished product leaves the assembly line, what consumers are getting is a very carefully done product that does not only last long, but it does not cost the buyers too much money to maintain. There is no need to go to the shop three or four times a month. Instead, one good overhaul every six month if it is not every year would suffice to take the car another six month or a year without any problem. Whereas the ethics the American manufacturers were using were wrong if it is possible to say that because they might have seen things differently. They might want buyers to change their cars frequently because after certain years the American built cars will be full of problems people choose to replace them with new ones even if they will face economic hardship. They might believe that they could be creating economic activity by making their products easily breakable because there is going to be a lot of repair work that will create jobs for many people, where they themselves could also sell parts by the drove since the parts in the cars they are making break easily. That is a different ethics or way of seeing things that had backfired on these three giants where some of them might have to go into bankruptcy. Their case might be more complicated than this, but what was stated above might also be part of it.
What this means in our case is the business world in our country is still at the jungle stage where the survival of the fittest is still at work, because buyers or consumers do not have any kind of control over what the business community is doing unless they themselves introduce some kind of ethics similar to what is happening in the handful of organizations. That might be one of the reasons why the nation is suffering because what counts at the end of the day for the business community is survival and getting away with as much killing as possible. It might be good for them, but at one point they might suffer similar fate the American car industry is suffering, because of the bad ethics they were applying their protégé had stolen their market to the point of driving them out of business. At the end it might be better for the American car consumers to be served by outsiders such as the Japanese that manufacture tanks that do not only last many years and are not a drain on their pocketbook, but they are also becoming technologically advanced than cars made by the USA carmakers.
In our country, the people had managed to get rid of the fudal system no matter how painful it was and the ramification is still felt to the point where the majority of the people are finding it difficult to live similar standard they were enjoying then, but the fudal system is gone for good. What will come permanently in its place is democracy and it has a far reaching promise to the nation that is better than any system could offer, although it will take time until it is fully workable. The business community need also to go through a similar change where it will have to be forced to change its ways of doing things. It is flexing its muscle and deprive people the basics as some smart people are manipulating the market using tactics such as hoarding the necessities, whereas some outside organizations such as the UN are availing similar basic items for free and that does not make sense.
Since there is something that does not click here what this group deserves is condemnation and the government and other bodies have to do all they can to make them adhere to a certain ethics that goes parallel to what the reality in the nation is even if everyone knows business is carried out to make profit. At times that strongly held belief has to be modified to serve a certain purpose, in this case to help alleviate the problems that are strapping the nation. Coffee is an exception because it is a cash crop and has a global market and is not among the necessities. It also has a readily available substitute such as tea. The coffee exporters might be right when they claimed that they were speculating on the price fluctuation, but the foreign currency strapped government showed that sometimes it will be forced to be unethical. What took place is unethical, as the government should have other sources for the nation’s foreign currency need such as the various aids it is getting unfortunately and should avoid intervening in what business people are doing when it is not appropriate. When the aid money it is getting is not enough it had to confiscate coffee from the exporters and dump it on the market at the going price since it is not going to lose anything. But would it do the same if it had bought the coffee from the growers with the going price? It would not because it would incur a loss and would have done the same thing the traders did, wait until the price picks up, unless it forces the farmers to sell for the government at a very low price that would lead to more complications. This shows that the government itself is unable to assume the responsibility of the nation effectively, although it might be doing a much better job than the Derg. Nevertheless, being ethical is applicable to everyone including governmental offices or agencies that do not have a strict ethics in place. The measures governments strapped with national problems take could be different than everyday business that is driven by a profit motive and if the government is doing it to benefit itself in anyway it deserves to be condemned too.
In our country, one of the reasons why the nation is where it is might be because of lack of ethics. However, it is very difficult to say this is applicable everywhere, because there are agencies, whether they are in the private sector or not such as banks, airlines, and other businesses that have very high ethical standard in place that is woven into the fabric of what they are doing. It is the same at the government level, although it might not be at the same level since there are deviations such as heavy dependence on bribe in order to execute one’s responsibility, or there could be nepotism in the hiring practice or in how employees are promoted to higher positions. Yet, there is some ethics that is at work in the various ministries albeit it might not be at the same level when compared with the handful of shinning examples in the nation such as banks and few other businesses such as the airlines that are owned by the government but operate independently.
The problem is evident in the rest of the private sector that had always been considered as a jungle where what works is the survival of the fittest. In a situation like that there is no place for ethics. The elements that are governing such a jungle are the usual basic demand and supply. Those who spot what the buyers need and bring it to the market will get away making a killing. Luckily, the number of such people that will cater to the need of the buyers would be high. Because of that there will be competition, which is the monitor or regulator here that prevents those who are catering for the needs from getting away by charging a high price since the next caterer wants to sell his or her product at a lower price to do a brisk business. This normally will trigger competition where sellers would be forced to sell at the very lowest price above the cost they would be incurring creating advantage to the buyers.
The problem is in some situations it is possible that there could be a concealed agreement among the sellers not to go below a certain price even if it will be difficult to prevent someone from breaking such an agreement when there is a dire need to do business. Other than that it used to be that there is no any other moral value the sellers are applying on their part in order to do business other than bringing into the market what they think buyers would need. As we know it from what is taking place in the advanced economies, these business people can come up with products and apply sophisticated marketing techniques in order to make people buy what they are producing. Some have patents similar to what is applicable in the western countries so that they will be in a position to control the market for a considerable number of years. They are allowed to do so as a reward for coming up with new products that are useful, since it is the government that issues patents and trademarks.
The problem in the advanced world is the number of sources that are coming up with similar products is very high, with few exceptions where products that require high level of technological input are the only ones that have long staying power and control over the markets. For the rest of services and products there could be many sources doing the same thing. This has led to the market being flooded with products that are similar in almost everything that include price, where the only exception might be the packaging that should display the particular logo of the manufacturers and the law prohibits copying others who could have patent or trademark for their packaging design. If we take bakers as example they can have patent or trademark for certain things that have to do with their packaging style but not to the bread itself even if there is some difference, as what is happening everywhere is breads could be very similar, the only exception being the different packagings. There could be many products of this kind.
In a situation like this, consumers would find it difficult which one to pick because the price is more or less similar and the value they get from the products could also be the same. That is where ethics had come in, because at least, in advanced countries people feel good buying items from sources that are known for their high moral and ethical values. Such companies are doing a lot to their communities, which means they are not only milking the communities they are serving, but they have inputs too, they give back to their communities in ways that are visible, and everyone knows about them. In a estuation like this people will find it easy to choose their products. Businesses that take good care of the environment while doing what they are doing are good examples, in addition to those that are involved in their communities by engaging in humanitarian activities. Since the nature of the competition dictates that one way of beating the competition other than coming up with similar or better products and charging similar or lower price is by doing the same thing as the competitor or even outdoing them if possible. It is obvious that such contending to outdo each other would become added blessings to the communities because the market is no longer going to be the jungle where it is only the fittest that can survive and can get their way by doing whatever they want. The only way businesses can sell their products would be if they do things ethically, otherwise they have no choice other than closing shop.
There is no better example than the auto industry here in America that is teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. It was the most powerful manufacturer for many years and everyone was at its mercy because automobiles are very important for the day to day living and are indispensable for a big number of people. Whatever kinds of cars these manufacturers come up with and whatever price they charge, the consumers had no choice other than paying. Even if there were European carmakers they are similar in the first place as far as their muscle flexing is concerned and they had to satisfy their own market first that is not small in number and there is the rest of the world too. Because of that they were never in a position to satisfy the need of the Americans whose products could also be made expensive by slapping a high tariff on it. But the Japanese had changed all that and have taken the market share of the three powerful car manufacturers in the USA not only around the world, but in their own home market. The main reason for that is the ethics they are using is different from the Americans, although the ethics the Japanese are using has its origin in the USA, but they made it fit their purpose.
One of the Japanese winning ethics is their products have to be of very high quality and to achieve that they start from the bottom of things where the small things have to be done right from the beginning, in addition to other business ethics they apply that embrace other aspects by making the consumer the focus, and when the finished product leaves the assembly line, what consumers are getting is a very carefully done product that does not only last long, but it does not cost the buyers too much money to maintain. There is no need to go to the shop three or four times a month. Instead, one good overhaul every six month if it is not every year would suffice to take the car another six month or a year without any problem. Whereas the ethics the American manufacturers were using were wrong if it is possible to say that because they might have seen things differently. They might want buyers to change their cars frequently because after certain years the American built cars will be full of problems people choose to replace them with new ones even if they will face economic hardship. They might believe that they could be creating economic activity by making their products easily breakable because there is going to be a lot of repair work that will create jobs for many people, where they themselves could also sell parts by the drove since the parts in the cars they are making break easily. That is a different ethics or way of seeing things that had backfired on these three giants where some of them might have to go into bankruptcy. Their case might be more complicated than this, but what was stated above might also be part of it.
What this means in our case is the business world in our country is still at the jungle stage where the survival of the fittest is still at work, because buyers or consumers do not have any kind of control over what the business community is doing unless they themselves introduce some kind of ethics similar to what is happening in the handful of organizations. That might be one of the reasons why the nation is suffering because what counts at the end of the day for the business community is survival and getting away with as much killing as possible. It might be good for them, but at one point they might suffer similar fate the American car industry is suffering, because of the bad ethics they were applying their protégé had stolen their market to the point of driving them out of business. At the end it might be better for the American car consumers to be served by outsiders such as the Japanese that manufacture tanks that do not only last many years and are not a drain on their pocketbook, but they are also becoming technologically advanced than cars made by the USA carmakers.
In our country, the people had managed to get rid of the fudal system no matter how painful it was and the ramification is still felt to the point where the majority of the people are finding it difficult to live similar standard they were enjoying then, but the fudal system is gone for good. What will come permanently in its place is democracy and it has a far reaching promise to the nation that is better than any system could offer, although it will take time until it is fully workable. The business community need also to go through a similar change where it will have to be forced to change its ways of doing things. It is flexing its muscle and deprive people the basics as some smart people are manipulating the market using tactics such as hoarding the necessities, whereas some outside organizations such as the UN are availing similar basic items for free and that does not make sense.
Since there is something that does not click here what this group deserves is condemnation and the government and other bodies have to do all they can to make them adhere to a certain ethics that goes parallel to what the reality in the nation is even if everyone knows business is carried out to make profit. At times that strongly held belief has to be modified to serve a certain purpose, in this case to help alleviate the problems that are strapping the nation. Coffee is an exception because it is a cash crop and has a global market and is not among the necessities. It also has a readily available substitute such as tea. The coffee exporters might be right when they claimed that they were speculating on the price fluctuation, but the foreign currency strapped government showed that sometimes it will be forced to be unethical. What took place is unethical, as the government should have other sources for the nation’s foreign currency need such as the various aids it is getting unfortunately and should avoid intervening in what business people are doing when it is not appropriate. When the aid money it is getting is not enough it had to confiscate coffee from the exporters and dump it on the market at the going price since it is not going to lose anything. But would it do the same if it had bought the coffee from the growers with the going price? It would not because it would incur a loss and would have done the same thing the traders did, wait until the price picks up, unless it forces the farmers to sell for the government at a very low price that would lead to more complications. This shows that the government itself is unable to assume the responsibility of the nation effectively, although it might be doing a much better job than the Derg. Nevertheless, being ethical is applicable to everyone including governmental offices or agencies that do not have a strict ethics in place. The measures governments strapped with national problems take could be different than everyday business that is driven by a profit motive and if the government is doing it to benefit itself in anyway it deserves to be condemned too.
posted by Ethio-Probe @ 8:05 AM
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