Ethics of business communication: principles, varieties, norms

The basis of any successful team is compliance with the basic principles and rules of business communication. Relationships that are built on professional ethics and mutual respect create a comfortable working atmosphere and prevent conflicts from arising. Absolutely all business norms are important - from the ethics of business communication over the phone to speech culture in a conversation between a boss and a subordinate.

Both personal success and the results of the entire team depend on correct behavior in business communication.

Principles of Business Ethics

Basic generally accepted principles:

Responsibility for actions in the business sphere;
Respect for business participants.

An extended list of principles based on philosophy in conjunction with the practical experience of the business world was formulated by L. Hosmer, a sociologist from the USA. These principles are based on compliance with certain rules. In particular, it is necessary to exclude actions that:

Contradict the interests of the company or business;
It will not be possible to demonstrate or talk about them openly;
They do not contribute to the formation of a sense of comradeship, the feeling that everyone is working towards achieving 1 goal;
They violate the law, and it should be taken into account that the law always prescribes minimum social moral standards;
They do not benefit society, as well as the company or business;
Aimed at making recommendations to others, but I wouldn’t wish the same for myself if I found myself in a similar situation;
They would violate the rights of those with whom they come into contact in the course of conducting business;
They would be aimed at obtaining maximum profits in violation of the law and market requirements, without taking into account all kinds of costs. According to the axioms of economic theory, with the opposite approach one can claim a high degree of production efficiency;
May cause injustice to weaker participants in business relationships;
They are capable of preventing another person from realizing his right to self-development and self-realization.

Language of the body

Talking briefly about the ethics of business communication, one cannot fail to mention nonverbal signs. Body language plays an important role both in everyday life and in the business world. What do you need to know and what should you avoid? When communicating with your partners or colleagues, try not to take closed poses. Do not cross your arms or legs unless absolutely necessary. Don't put your hands in your pockets. If you can't find a use for your hands, use gestures.

Do not twirl pencils or pens. Small objects flying every now and then in the visibility zone greatly distract from the essence of the conversation. Don't make sudden movements. They are the ones who give out internal tension. Be relaxed. You should be comfortable sitting in a chair or standing opposite a person.

Don't think about your appearance. It is very unpleasant to watch the person sitting in front of you constantly adjusting his hair or tie. This shows the fact that your opponent is trying with all his might to please you.

Business communication culture – what is it?

You can often hear the opinion that business ethics is the same as the culture of business communication . In general, we can say that this opinion is correct. Culture cannot exist without ethics. Relationships can be cultural, which means they are ethical. However, culture is usually understood as a more capacious concept. It displays reality with seven positive and non-positive manifestations. In turn, ethics consists of norms and rules that are commonly applied in business circles.

A business person is obliged to adhere to the culture of business communication. The main aspects relate to being friendly towards the opponent, not being in a bad mood that could negatively affect the same conversation, as well as the need to show interest in the topic. Adhering to at least three important axioms, it can already be argued that a business person has an idea of the culture of business communication.

Afterword

As part of this review, you learned what business communication is, what ethical issues are associated with it, as well as types, features and principles.

It is not difficult to notice that business communication involves quite a few aspects and factors, and that it can significantly influence the success of a business.

The same applies to the qualities of the person himself. If you know how to maintain a formal style of communication, take into account the interests of different people, and try to look for options for mutually beneficial business relationships, then this makes you more attractive in terms of business.

For example, competent speech is important not because it is “stylish, fashionable, cool”, but because the client and the seller always understand the state of the project (and do not try to translate from slang into normal speech), there are no misunderstandings (no unnecessary unnecessary tasks), the number of unnecessary correspondence is reduced (in attempts by the client and the seller to understand what they want from him), if problems arise, they are resolved faster (negotiation time is reduced significantly), and the like. That is, significantly lower costs and more efficiency.

Summarizing the above, always remember about sound logic and the fact that you have your own head. Business communication may sound like something incredible, but it is very pragmatic, down-to-earth and requires a lot of effort, but the results can be significant.

Concepts of business ethics: etiquette, norms, code

The concept of business ethics is associated not only with the culture of business communication. Ethics has a direct connection with business etiquette. The latter is a set of norms and rules that are used to conduct work in a certain style, with a certain manner; they determine the features of business negotiations, as well as appearance, etc. Business etiquette in a particular country may have its own original differences, about which business foreigners need to know if they want to find profitable ways of cooperation.

There is also such a thing as business ethics standards. However, they are generally accepted. They are not influenced by national, cultural and other characteristics. These include:

Punctuality.

Predetermines the ability to do everything in a timely manner, to calculate your time. A punctual businessman is a person you can rely on. Professionals not only know how to take care of their time, but also that of others.

Ability to keep secrets.

Maintaining confidentiality is one of the main and undeniable rules of the business world. And we are not just talking about some business details. Discussing even the personal lives of work colleagues is considered bad form.

The ability to think about both yourself and others.

In the business sphere, it is not customary to show selfishness, disrespect, or intolerance. Arrogance is unacceptable and must be distinguished from self-confidence.

Compliance with business etiquette in terms of behavior and appearance.

Knowledge of business etiquette standards regarding appearance allows you to ensure compliance with business ethics standards.

Competence and professionalism.

The ability to correctly and competently structure one’s speech, to express oneself clearly through other forms of communication, as well as the presence of professional knowledge that relates to business are mandatory components that must be present in the life of a modern business person.

Another concept of business ethics should be considered a code of business ethics . No matter how loud this concept may sound, it has a rather narrow meaning in terms of application. The Code of Business Ethics is a local regulatory act. This is a set of rules and standards established in a particular company and mandatory for use by employees of this company.

Don't neglect your health and that of others

Bosses must take care of their subordinates. If a project is on deadline, you can ask employees to work overtime, but they should be given an extra day off for this overtime. If overtime happens too often, think about how correctly the work process is set up. Perhaps your trusted people who oversee this or that project are not coping with the task assigned to them.

In the ethics of professional and business communication, there are invisible boundaries that separate each person. This area is called personal space. It should not be violated. Each person should take care not to overstep the boundaries of a colleague’s personal space and not bring his delicate spiritual nature to tears. Such cases are not uncommon. In any team you can meet energy vampires who do nothing but spoil the mood of those around them.

Ethics of business conduct

Ethics of business behavior is a system of individual actions, which is associated with the implementation and achievement of the individual’s business interests. It includes features of interaction with business partners, managers, colleagues and subordinates. Business behavior is implemented through:

Business communication, which is built on the basis of business culture, business professional ethics;
Establishing mutual relationships, as well as making decisions that contribute to the success of the business;
Respect for those with whom you have to communicate in the course of doing business.

How a businessman behaves during business communication, how he establishes contacts, how he makes decisions - all this forms the concept of business behavior, which is also influenced by respect, which includes:

Politeness;
Maintaining hierarchy;
A competent combination of parity and priority.

Don't break verbal agreements

A person who keeps his word is worthy of respect. The ability to comply with oral agreements is one of the principles of business communication ethics. When you agree on something with someone, you should write down what you promised to do. And if the project has a deadline, you will need to meet the deadline, and ideally, do it in advance. Don't make promises if you know you can't fulfill the request. Don't you want to offend someone? You will offend him more if you disappoint him when you cannot fulfill your promise. It’s not so scary to refuse requests for help; it’s worse to be known as a person who doesn’t keep his promises.

Sometimes some unscrupulous people can promise something and forget. And when they are asked for the result, they will say that there was no agreement, since nothing was documented anywhere. There is no point in throwing off responsibility in this way. Once you have undermined your trust in yourself, it will be difficult to regain it, and sometimes impossible.

Business ethics in Russia

Russia has its own peculiarities of business ethics , taking into account the fact that domestic businessmen doing business at the international level still comply with generally accepted ethical standards in the world. These features include the following:

As practice shows, communication in the Russian business sphere begins with a sincere greeting and an obligatory handshake. It is customary for us to address the interlocutor by his first name and patronymic;
If all over the world the communication of business people is accompanied by a calm voice, then in Russia a slight increase in tone, gestures and even sharp intonations are acceptable;
Abroad, a sign of respect is considered to be the call: “How are you?” A Russian, even if he is a business person, for some reason decides when asked such a question that he needs to be told about everything that concerns the state of his affairs;
In Russia, business people practically do not smile, which is strange when compared with the behavior of business foreigners;
Russian businessmen often communicate at close range, which should not be done when communicating with foreign partners. Foreigners may consider this behavior familiar;
Only in recent years have business Russians begun to be more scrupulous about their appearance. But all over the world it has long been customary to follow certain standards of business etiquette, which determine what a businessman should look like;
Business people from Russia, when communicating with foreign partners, may speak incorrectly and incomprehensibly, which is absolutely forbidden to do if very important business issues are clarified during the same negotiations.

Listen to the other person

The concept of ethics in business communication is based on a unique characteristic of a person that very few people possess. Listening is the greatest gift you can develop. Everyone can hear the interlocutor, but not many can delve into the essence of his monologue. Most people are so used to playing with one goal that they don’t even try to understand the essence of the conversation. When a person does not speak, he forms in his brain the phrase that he will pronounce. He simply does not have free time to understand what, in general, we are talking about. This is the reason why most disputes occur. It is difficult to convey your thoughts to a person when he closes down and thinks completely not about the subject of conversation.

Developing the skill of an attentive listener is easy. Try not to have internal conversations with yourself while someone is talking to you. This may be difficult at first. To check how well you have understood the essence of the conversation, do a simple exercise after each conversation. Rewind the dialogue. Phrase by phrase, try to build your speech and the speech of your interlocutor. This simple exercise will show you how many percent of the conversation you managed to remember.

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Discussion: 4 comments

Pashka:
07.11.2019 at 18:01
Online communication is a multifaceted topic. Sometimes when communicating on social networks, you wonder if the one on the other side is really the one shown in the photo or a completely different person? I agree that the rules of ordinary communication also apply to online communication, nothing new in principle. Good article, thank you.
Answer
Vilkov Nikolay:
07.11.2019 at 18:02
Pashka, here he is, a cultured and educated person manifests himself in everything, both in live communication and in correspondence with partners and colleagues.
Answer
Valeria:
11/10/2019 at 23:00
I agree with the author of the article. The ethics of online communication should be identical to a person’s culture and his interactions with people in everyday life. Try to be polite and avoid emailing during times of strong emotion.