“In such a competitive world, how ethical can a company really be?” Essay
Introduction
Management acts as an intellectual asset that allows organizations to overcome different barriers to success and achieves a competitive advantage. Organizational managers need to understand different factors influencing business success in the contemporary business environment. Factors like globalization, advancements in technology and continuous innovations bring new changes in business management every day that are essential to achieving a competitive advantage in the competitive world. Traditional business management methods have no room in the modern business environment. On the other hand, business ethics play a pivotal role in the success of an organization in the contemporary business world. An increase in the number of challenges affecting business management in the contemporary business environment influences that adherence to business ethics. The following paper discusses organizational ethics about the forces of the present competitive world by analyzing challenges to business management today.
Challenges facing organizations in the contemporary business environment
Organizations today must deal with dynamics and uncertainties in the business environment influencing their productivity. The unfolding nature of the changes in the competitive environment introduced different opportunities to business success but needs high levels of attentiveness to understand their operations. Organizations encounter many challenges that influence their competitiveness in both local and international markets. Overcoming global challenges become a problem for many organizations that are unable to keep pace with changes happening in the modern business environment. Additionally, the type of management and organizational structure used in an organization influences its ability to overcome these challenges.
The changing nature of businesses, work, and workplace introduces significant challenges that affect the running of the organization in the contemporary business environment. Organization managers must keep pace with different changes happening each day. The structure of the workforce has changed into a cognitive complex, team-based, and dependent on social skills. Competitive pressures make management difficult today, and only those managers with adequate skills and knowledge to control and lead the current workforce can overcome these challenges (Heerwagen 2010). Additionally, the changing nature of the business environment leads to changes in customer expectations. Organizations compete to attract and retain customers because of rising levels of customer experiences in the competitive business environment. However, the gap between an effective customer experience and the actual performance of the firm does not allow many organizations to achieve these expectations. A survey by Forrester Consulting in 2013 revealed more than 30 percent of companies surveyed claimed customer experience was their top priority, but frequent changes like business environment influence their strategic plans. Moreover, only 39 percent of companies earned a good customer experience (Forrester Consulting 2013).
Moreover, frequent changes in economies that affect the running of businesses characterize the present contemporary business environment. The presence of financial crises and other economic changes that influence the stability of currencies affects normal business operations. Maintaining productivity has become a great problem because the workforce needs to operate in a business environment where they face challenges. Poor management of resources such as finances within the organization leads to employees migrating to other companies capable of fulfilling their financial needs. According to Brooks, Weatherston & Wilkinson (2011), economic forces such as increasing incomes, global trade, world financial markets, and global competition influence the competitiveness of an organization in the global market.
Another challenge facing organizations in the contemporary business environment is the high rate of globalization, increasing innovations, and frequent in technology. These factors go hand in hand and have a lot of influence on the performance of organizations in the modern business world. The modern global village connected by technology through the internet makes it easier for business people to interact with customers, supplier, and manufacturers from all corners of the world. Technology drives today’s business world by making it efficient and competitive, but it also adds challenges related to changed in industries and the creation of a global economy (Wylie 2013). Organizations find it easier to utilize international strategies to win the competitive advantage but the high frequency of innovations and changes in technology makes it impossible for these strategies to prevail. Lack of preparedness on upcoming changes affects the organization’s readiness to overcome challenges of globalization and changes in production technologies.
Third, businesses face challenges of practicing and maintaining organization ethics that has a lot of weight in overcoming barriers present in the contemporary business environment. Organizations must demonstrate good behaviors and high levels of social responsibilities in order to succeed in the contemporary business environment. A good business ethical behavior characterizes an acceptable business practice. Organizations, especially multinational corporations, do not adhere to business ethics of the foreign market leading to failure. Additionally, ethics helps in building the company reputation. According to Jalil, Azan, and Rahman (2010), establishment and proper implementation of ethical practices improves the goodwill of the organization and plays a critical role in increasing the organization’s competitive advantage. Consumers in the contemporary business environment where technology and internet are major marketing tools search for organization with good reputations. An organization whose reputation is questionable always encounters challenges in the modern business environment.
Using business ethics to overcome these challenge
Overcoming challenges in the contemporary business environment requires the organization to develop effective strategies. Understanding different aspects of management such as effective leadership, business ethics, and corporate social responsibility plays a significant role in succeeding in the competitive world. The business community continues to focus on ethics and ethical behaviors. The high rate of globalization brings people from different cultures into a global business society. Attracting and retaining customers in such a global society requires total practice of business ethics directed to different communities. Jalil, Azan, and Rahman argues that business ethics help in guiding managers and other executives in the organization on how to do the right thing and follow the right direction towards achieving a high competitive advantage (2010).
Management acts as the key factor to success in the contemporary business environment. Managers must be flexible enough to accommodate changes in the business environment introduced by new workforces and the emergence of new business opportunities both locally and internationally. Success in global management operations require intelligent leaders capable of foreseeing any change that will have an impact on the productivity of the organization. Operating in a solid base of ethical values plays a significant role in maintaining the firm competitive in the global market. Additionally, ignoring the value of ethics risks the business reputation. The advancements in technology and high number of innovations that create challenges in the contemporary business environment require business sustainability to overcome. Customers from different locations worldwide make their buying decisions based on how the organization presents itself in the global world. An organization with a bad reputation does not attract any client; hence, fails in the global competition.
On the other hand, firms must maintain high ethical values for them to win the global competition. The discussion on challenges faced by organizations in the contemporary business environment revealed the importance of business ethics in increasing the competitive advantage of the organization. The constantly changing business environment requires organizations to come up with unique and effective methods of meeting the competition and not relying on traditional strategies. Achieving a high competitive advantage in the contemporary business makes the organization more profitable. However, experts claim that ethics and profits are inversely proportional. A firm cannot achieve high levels of profit through good ethical values because doing the right thing in business reduces profits (McMurrian and Matulich 2006).
In the modern business world, firms are looking for opportunities in new markets. Barriers to entry in these markets are many forcing many organizations to use unethical practices to gain entry into these markets. On the other hand, the firm needs to build good customer values in the new market environment that are only possible through following good ethical values. Such dilemmas affect the operations of organizational managements. The best alternative is for the firm to practice good ethical practices because they have high benefits in the long-term. Trust of customers, employees, and the public determines the success of a business organization in the contemporary business environment (Lotich 2011).
Conclusion
Organization wishing to experience a life-long competitiveness in the contemporary business environment must practice high ethical values. The many challenges to success of the organization in the contemporary business environment tempt the organization to follow unethical practices to overcome barriers and make more profits. The discussion shows that despite many dilemmas facing management today concerning the right path to follow, being ethical plays a critical role in maintaining a good company reputation and helps the organization remain competitive in years to come.
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