Observation of Four Major Religions on Business Ethics free essay sample

Business ethics are guidelines or behaviors that businesses and individuals use daily to deal with the world, and even smaller situations they might find themselves in. Race, gender, age and religion all play a role in a person’s ethics. The most important factor in a person’s perspective of business ethics is religion, because there are so many different religious views Buddhists do not believe in one particular economic system. The main issue in Buddhist ethics is not how poor or wealthy a person is, but how they respond to the situation they are given. One goal of Buddhism is not to become attached to material things. They believe that material things should not control a person. Another goal of Buddhism is to end dukkah, which means ill-being, or unhappiness. The way that a Buddhist end ill-being is with dana, giving or generosity. Dana is the most important idea dealing with Buddhist ethics in society and business. We will write a custom essay sample on Observation of Four Major Religions on Business Ethics or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page â€Å"A person should have only minimal needs such as: enough food to stop hunger and keep up good health, enough clothing to be socially decent and to protect their body, enough shelter for cultivating the mind, and enough health care to provide sufficient care and prevent illness†. Buddhists do not believe that a person should be poor, but what matters is how a person gets wealthy, and how they respond to being wealthy or poor. Buddhists believe that the economy is not usual or predictable, but that it is always changing. From a Buddhists viewpoint, â€Å"economic growth and consumerism are unsatisfactory alternatives because they evade the basic problems of life by distracting us with symbolic substitutes such as money, status, and power†. The economy tries to cover up the problems of the world by giving people material things. People can become wealthy, but they should not become attached to material possessions and let them control their lives. In a Buddhist’s eyes, if a person has money or is wealthy then they should be using Dana. A Buddhist’s view of business ethics differs a little from that of a Christian. Christianity’s main concern is for the well-being of others. This concern is brought on by one of the Ten Commandments: Honor your neighbor and his goods. Christians believe that the government is an organization that was given by God to look after people. They also believe that any person who has made a mistake should own up to it and apologize. People following Christian business ethics should want to help others more than themselves. They also want to do what is needed to work with God in making a fair and continuing world economy. Anything that happens in the world, Christians believe God was responsible. They believe that he lets people make their own choices, but sometimes emerges and makes some decisions for them. If a Christian has a problem or finds that they are in a situation, they do what they believe is right according to the Ten Commandments and Christ’s teachings. Freedom, responsibility, and honesty are the three main ideas of Islamic ethics. To be a Muslim, a person has to have these characteristics plus has to be fair and productive. Muslims believe that there is no room for a person to be selfish. They also believe that the economy should not have absolute freedom. The economy will slowly get worse if it has absolute freedom. A person’s wants would then be controlled by the economy, which would lead to unlimited advertising and the economy would be wasteful in making that happen. Muslims have a strict belief that gambling is restricted. This restriction will impinge on the operation of the short-term and speculative activities of fund managers, financiers, and their respective institutions†. Muslims are not allowed to invest on the Stock Market, because they consider that gambling with money. Islamic faith is not against wanting to make a profit. They are just unwilling to let that want decide how a person lives and grows. If one follows the Islam religion than their customers will be treated with respect, honesty and cooperation and thus having a direct impact on their business ethics. The Islamic tenants also dictates that followers must surrender to God’s will. By surrendering to God’s will an employee would place their religious duties as a higher priority then that of their employment duties resulting in a under motivated employee who may not meet deadlines or goals as instructed. The tenants also encourage â€Å"†¦liberalization where all economic decisions are passed through the filter of moral values and ethics before being subjected to the market. Each of these examples will have an affect on business ethics by playing a direct role in the interaction with customers, making decisions, and in general the motivation of the workforce. The Hindu religion has a strong belief in Karma. To clarify, the belief is in Karma itself and not the rewards one may receive by doing good deeds. If one is striving to perform good deeds on a daily basis it would govern their actions significantly and would increase their level of ethics. If someone chooses to do good in all instances this will have an impact on business negotiations in the fact that one would be compelled to be honest and forthright which could be a disadvantage to the company they own or work for. The â€Å"Arthashastra indicates that records should be audited for all government employees on a weekly basis. By placing government employees under such scrutiny it will raise the level of work ethics for government employees to a much higher level. The Vedas scripture emphasis the â€Å"need of unity both in thoughts and actions† and encourages individuals to work in unity with one another, this could be a conflict if working directly with a Western company as the idea of group work is not quite the same in Western countries as it is in India. The conduct of one can have an affect on another person and therefore should be reverend in nature to be in accordance with the Hindu religion. If a person is constantly monitoring their own behavior then it will greatly affect those around them by creating an environment that leads to open communication and the ability to work well with one another. In all these religions, the basis for their business ethics is wealth and knowing how to deal with that wealth while staying in the boundaries of their rules or laws. The difference in their ethics is how they deal with the situations that occur in everyday life. Each religion follows a different set of guidelines, which separates them from one another. There are pros and cons of each religious view, but if a person keeps an open mind towards all of them, they will be able to deal with most any situation that would occur in the daily life of the world. Understanding how the worlds religions approach business ethics encourages tolerance and understanding. A deeper knowledge of religious business ethics might bring about a better understanding of people worldwide. It can also facilitate a more intense dialogue between different religions and between religious and philosophical approaches.