How would you improve ethics in business?

If there's one thing the business world is seriously devoid of right now, it is a sense of business ethics. That is not to say that every single business man out there is corrupt, but the vast majority of people in the business world would admit that there seems to be a problem. With that in mind, a change has to come about at some point if the business world is going to move forward at all. In order to improve ethics in business, there are a few steps that have to be taken and there are a few more suggestions that should probably be heeded by any executives who want to positively effect the industry.

Corporate accountability scores
The entire business world is driven by performance right now. Numbers produce raises and those executives who produce these numbers are often times above the law and above ethics. They have free reign to do whatever they please and this can really become a problem if it's unchecked. With that in mind, there needs to be some sort of corporate accountability score attached to each and every business person. If companies had independent consultants hired to monitor the ethics of their executives, things wouldn't be nearly as bad as they are right now. This is something that would have to be demanded by stockholders within a company, because it's unlikely that executives would add to their monitoring on their own.

Doing away with the old boy protection system
As mentioned before, cleaning up ethics in business requires an outside approach. People have to be brought in so that they can operate without bias. With the current system, the only accountability comes from fellow business people. Though this might have been a good idea in theory and it might have worked if business people would truly hold themselves accountable, it is not realistic. Each and every corporate executive wants to have protection, so it becomes a scenario where different influential people within a business look out for one another. All too often, this means turning an eye to the unethical behavior of a fellow exec.

Stiffer penalties for the slightest indiscretion
The only way to truly bring about this type of change is to start at the bottom and create a culture where executives understand ethics from the very beginning. At the current time, they are only in danger of getting in trouble if they do something outrageously egregious. If the penalties were made worse for even the slightest illegal or unethical action, CEOs and CFOs would have to figure things out early in their career. By the time they reached the top, these people would understand just how important it is to maintain an ethical standard in their position. This must not only be preached in seminars like it is right now, but it has to be applied across the board.

The creation of a sanctioning body
One of the reasons why attorneys and doctors have higher ethical standards than typical executives has everything to do with the sanctioning body that looks over them. Lawyers have to pass an ethical and character fitness examination before they are ever admitted to sit for the bar. Likewise, doctors are always under scrutiny for their decisions and they have to face a sanctioning board if they ever scurry from the path. If this sort of executive sanctioning body was set up for big business, we might see a better handle on the ethical situation. If business men knew that their ability to run companies could be taken away, they might be more likely to act in a responsible manner.

Ultimately, bringing back a culture of ethical responsibility to the business world is no small task. The only way this is going to happen is if the entire business world has a shift in culture, where executives go through a strong ethical building process from the very beginning. A mixture of performance-based ethical incentives and harsh deterrents from unethical behavior is a great way to make sure new business leaders understand the dire need for change in this area. It has to start from the ground up and work its way into the firm culture.