Business ethics

This chapter sets out to discuss ethical issues and behaviour particularly within the human resource context. Organisational ethics determine an organisation’s and its individual employees’ behaviour. Business ethics might be examined at several levels. The first is at the individual level, i.e. the behaviour of individuals. The second is at the organisational level, i.e. the behaviour of companies and organisations. The third level is at the level of markets; how these are structured and regulated. This chapter looks at the business cycle and includes relationships with all stakeholders including suppliers and supplies, customers, employees, managers, sources of finance and the community. Specific ethical dilemmas for the hospitality industry are explored as is the link between this topic and the embedding of organisational culture within an HRM framework. The chapter concludes with a reflection on ethics in the current environment and developments moving forward.