Before we can establish the importance of ethics and values in business sustainability, it is necessary to define ethical values and sustainability to fully understand the concepts and how these ideas apply in a business context. According to the Oxford dictionary, ethics are “Moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conduct of an activity”. Applied to a business context, according to Investopedia, they are “The study of appropriate business policies and practices addressing potentially controversial issues, such as corporate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, corporate social responsibility, and fiduciary responsibilities. Business ethics are often guided by law, while other times provide a basic framework that companies can choose to follow to gain public acceptance.” The definition of ethics also includes the idea of written and unwritten codes of principles that govern how business is conducted in an organization. Values on the other hand are "Principles or standards of behavior" according to the Oxford dictionary. In a business context they are “Important and enduring beliefs or ideals shared by members of a culture about what is good or bad, desirable or undesirable. Values have a great influence on a person's behavior and attitude and serve as general guidelines in all situations. Some common company values are equity, innovation and community involvement.” Finally, sustainability can be defined as the ability to maintain oneself at a certain pace or level. The definition of sustainability in business according to dowelldogood.com is “a business strategy that drives long-term business growth and profitability by mandating the inclusion of environmental and social issues in the business… midway…”. ..management. Environmental projects such as recycling and energy conservation improve internal performance and reduce expenses. Presenting an organizational social responsibility plan gives managers the ability to analyze and make improvements to spending. The best organizational social responsibility programs depend on a two-way relationship with managers and stakeholders. This fact allows all participants to be pushed and develop together. The organization's social responsibility should be consistent with its values, ethics, customers and workers. Above all, they must be created based on true concern for individuals, communities, the environment and the economy. A poorly conceived concept of social responsibility will cause the public and investors to become doubtful about the organization. Good social responsibility leads to a sustainable future for the organization.
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