Business Ethics and Ethical Purchasing Research Paper

d.).

When a company deals with its purchasing in unethical ways, it cannot suppose its suppliers to be trustable associates and guarantee business continuity. If one doesn't align with something, they shouldn't expect others to do it either. This weakens the entire value chain making it less aggressive in the market. Hence it is important for both buyer and supplier to connect in ethical dealings in their transactions (Ethical Buying or Ethics in Purchasing, 2011).

Ethical issues arise largely in three areas of procurement practice and all three should be considered when doing business:

Procurement conduct: this refers to the way that staff does business. The way that procurement is carried out.

Selection of Suppliers: does ones institution seek to promote its corporate responsibility objectives through its purchasing activity and supplier relationships? Will ethical criteria be used to exclude or positively discriminate in favor of certain suppliers?

Supplier's practice: is one clear about the extent of their institution's responsibility down and across the supply chain? What do they expect of their suppliers? Does the company impose social and environmental standards on their suppliers (Procurement and business ethics, 2008).

There are compelling arguments for treating your suppliers fairly and for being concerned about the source of your supplies. First is the need for sustainable supplier relationships. Mutually beneficial terms, fair practice and trust should improve the reliability of your supplies. Second is reputation risk. Good ethical practice can enhance the institution's integrity and reputation (Procurement and business ethics, 2008).

Procurement is a hotbed of ethical challenges because the decisions and choices made in procurement affect the entire corporation. What it all comes down to is that a procurement team should have strong ethical leadership, starting at the CPO, to insure that it never waivers in its mission to be the most ethical part of the organization. Furthermore, a procurement team needs to have processes in place that ensure fair and objective decisions are made with respect to every buy. It needs to protect itself from rogue spending, reciprocal awards, conflicts of interest, and pressure from on-high to extract short-term savings. It needs to follow best practices of full disclosure before, during, and after every major award, and force its suppliers to do the same. It needs to be the model organization (Procurement ethics, 2006).

References

Ethical Buying or Ethics in Purchasing. (2011). Retrieved from http://procurense.com/?p=105

Procurement and business ethics. (2008). Retrieved from www.purco.co.za/.../PROCUREMENT%20ETHICS%201-1107.doc

Procurement ethics. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.purco.co.za/uploads/documents/news/Procurement_ethics_2.pdf

Procurement ethics. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.esourcingforum.com/archives/2006/06/28/procurement-ethics/

White, M. (2012). A definition for business ethics. Retrieved from http://business.lovetoknow.com/wiki/A_Definition_for_Business_Ethics