The principles of business ethics are related to social groups that comprise of consumers, employees, investors, and the local community. The important rules or principles of business ethics are as follows −
● Avoid Exploitation of Consumers − Do not cheat and exploit consumer with measures such as artificial price rise and adulteration.
● Avoid Profiteering − Unscrupulous business activities such as hoarding, black-marketing, selling banned or harmful goods to earn exorbitant profits must be avoided.
● Encourage Healthy Competition − A healthy competitive atmosphere that offers certain benefits to the consumers must be encouraged.
● Ensure Accuracy − Accuracy in weighing, packaging and quality of supplying goods to the consumers has to be followed.
● Pay Taxes Regularly − Taxes and other duties to the government must be honestly and regularly paid.
● Get the Accounts Audited − Proper business records, accounts must be managed. All authorized persons and authorities should have access to these details.
● Fair Treatment to Employees − Fair wages or salaries, facilities and incentives must be provided to the employees.
● Keep the Investors Informed − The shareholders and investors must know about the financial and other important decisions of the company.
● Avoid Injustice and Discrimination − Avoid all types of injustice and partiality to employees. Discrimination based on gender, race, religion, language, nationality, etc. should be avoided.
● No Bribe and Corruption − Do not give expensive gifts, commissions and payoffs to people having influence.
● Discourage Secret Agreement − Making secret agreements with other business people to influence production, distribution, pricing etc. are unethical.
● Service before Profit − Accept the principle of "service first and profit next."
● Practice Fair Business − Businesses should be fair, humane, efficient and dynamic to offer certain benefits to consumers.
● Avoid Monopoly − No private monopolies and concentration of economic power should be practiced.
● Fulfil Customers’ Expectations − Adjust your business activities as per the demands, needs and expectations of the customers.
● Respect Consumers Rights − Honor the basic rights of the consumers.
● Accept Social Responsibilities − Honor responsibilities towards the society.
● Satisfy Consumers’ Wants − Satisfy the wants of the consumers as the main objective of the business is to satisfy the consumer’s wants. All business operations must have this aim.
● Service Motive − Service and consumer's satisfaction should get more attention than profit-maximization.
● Optimum Utilization of Resources − Ensure optimum utilization of resources to remove poverty and to increase the standard of living of people.
● Intentions of Business − Use permitted legal and sacred means to do business. Avoid Illegal, unscrupulous and evil means.
Follow Woodrow Wilson's rules − There are four important principles of business ethics. These four rules are as follows −
● Rule of publicity − According to this principle, the business must tell the people clearly, what it tends to do.
● Rule of equivalent price − The customer should get proper value for their money. Below standard, outdated and inferior goods should not be sold at high prices.
● Rule of conscience in business − The businesspersons must have conscience while doing business, i.e. a morale sense of judging what is right and what is wrong.
● Rule of spirit of service − The business must give importance to the service motive.