How unethical practices ruin Businesses

Mainstream media channels are rich with news of businesses closing, governments going broke, and individuals declared bankrupt by courts of law. It paints a picture of how we manage ourselves, societies, businesses, and public offices. Although in many cases we blame some dynamics and other issues in our environments, that is simply running away from reality. Nothing could be further from the truth; unethical practices are at play in all sectors of our economy.

What are the damages from unethical practices?

The damages caused by these bad practices are enormous. They range from domestic to international, small and big, and in all areas of human lives.

The way a business conducts itself is a question of cultural framework. How are staff trained to handle their duties? What is the approach to the day-to-day activities of the business? These practices I’m talking about are different for every business. However, no matter the industry, nature of the business, or size, doing good is the denominator that we can’t hide from. Ironically, every profession has a prescribed code of conduct that every professional must observe while discharging duties. But how many losses, lives lost, and other undesirable activities and outcomes have been reported in our dailies in the face of these codes of conduct?

Unethical practices are what is widely believed to be wrong. This involves a misuse of resources, mistreatment of people, and animals, and engaging in acts that endanger humanity and the environment. It’s rare to hear an entity publicly declaring to have engaged in unethical practices but the reality is they are there.

Unethical practices vary in scope and consequences. Small acts may have a far-reaching effect on the life of the business depending on how sensitive it is. For instance, how often do you bribe a procurement officer in a government or large entity to have a business with them?

Brand distortion and bad public image.

Imagine seeing a company you toiled to make successful being blacklisted on the World Bank’s website for engaging in malpractices and fraudulent activities that are contrary to policies and regulations laid down. It is painful, but this is the reality of 20 Kenyan firms. According to the Business Daily, World Bank had listed these firms and two individuals for allegedly being corrupt, having a conflict of interest, being fraudulent, and offering low-quality services which the global lender was funding.

These, among other unethical companies, exhibit the kind of practices that are nothing but recipes for failure. Although they look good at first in the eyes of those engaging, it doesn’t take too long before it becomes sour. Things start to change, and it may lead to business closure, arrests, or bankruptcy. These are not sweet stories people would want to hear, they are scary. With such, customers run away, friends disappear, and other stakeholders find their hiding zones. What can you do when such situations other than closing doors?

Loss of talent can have a long-term effect on the business

Reduces productivity.

When used to the “everyone does it” culture, it immeasurably endangers the productivity of the business. I happen to work in a marketing agency where the CEO believed in bribery. He did this to local governments, parastatals, or big brands to win some work for marketing. This happened for quite a long time before the truth came to the surface. He introduced performance measurement and launched a desperate search for clients. In an attempt to entice, every employee was given a commission for every client. This was not a bad thing though, it was good, but it happened at the wrong time with the wrong approach. The end result? resignation and firing for redundancy.

The above example demonstrates an entity that built on a network of bribery instead of building the productivity of employees to handle future tasks with ease and cope with changes. Unethical practices shadow productivity by blinding individuals and short-sighted businesses with quick earnings. Instead of investing in employee development by training that could work long-term, such kind of firms engage in bribery, kickbacks, and other unhealthy yet resource-consuming initiatives that do not have a future.

Legal issues.

There have been several published litigations affecting businesses that have a lot to do with unethical practices. Employee unfair dismissal, dubious products, bribery, and unfairness among other unhealthy business practices have filled corridors of justice. Consequently, many have succumbed to this, others have gone to their knees and many leaders have lost their professional careers.

Many businesses have been in the spotlight over various scandals. Ranging from share price, customer perception, product consumption, stakeholders, and society at large. Building a good and long-lasting entity requires a strong foundation that can wither all storms of unethical culture and practices. Remember, trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair. The good network you established need to move a step further. This happens by embedding pillars such as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.