Business Ethics: Google

 Unethical practice in business manifests in many different ways. It may be in terms of false advertising, failure to adhere to legal standards of production, discrimination at the workplace and overcharging clients among other kinds of unfair practice. Business ethics is important in ensuring that the longevity of the business is assured. Google as a company is a good company to observe when looking at how to treat issues that may be considered unethical and get back into the good books of the society and the law. Google was involved in a lawsuit citing gender pay discrimination, which the company confirmed and corrected, making it rank highly in the ethical adherence index according to the law. 

Google was entangled in a lawsuit about the gender pay gap. Former female google employees filed a suit claiming that they were discriminated on the basis of payment due to their gender. It is a situation that may have demotivated them so much that they quit working for Google despite being talented and resourceful (Levin, 2018). These employees may have gotten help had they raised their concerns while still at the company. The company may have equalized their pay and may be disclosed why the salaries were different. Google should have taken their time to develop a better relationship with their employees in order to get these issues from the employees themselves rather than waiting for a suit to be filed. However, Google reported that it paid men less than women in some areas, which is also wrong. Google clearly needs to standardize its payment systems to include everybody fairly.  Google is supposed to ensure everybody gets paid the right salary for the work that they do.

The ethical practices at Google are above the minimum requirements. This is the reason why the gender pay gap is the only scandal to rock the company in the recent past. The company is able to maintain ethical practice by ensuring that the employees are working in an environment that is fun and productive (Boss Digital, 2014).  When employees feel comfortable in their working station, they are likely to be more productive and ethical in their practice. Employees in a good working environment can always seek for clarity and direction from their bosses. Google is setting a good example given that it is positioned at a place where it can easily be unethical and go uncaught. Therefore, the ethical rate at Google is excellent by legal standards. 

To conclude, being unethical in business has negative effects on profits. However, when a company is unaware of issues going on in their systems like Google was seemingly unaware of the gender pay gap, quick action is a sign of responsibility. Google took the matter seriously and compensated the employees, harmonizing the salaries of the employees. It was a funny twist of events because it is the men who were being paid less than women. However, the issue came to light when women claimed that they were being paid less than men. Google sets an example of a company that responds to issues fairly and ethically. The fact that Google admitted to having the disparities is reason enough to believe that the company is committed to being ethical and straight in their dealings. Google also has a good working environment that makes it easy for employees to remain ethical in their activities.

References

Boss Digital. (2014, April 2). Google: The World’s Most Ethical Company? Retrieved from Boss Digital: https://boss-digital.co.uk/blog/google-worlds-ethical-company/

Levin, S. (2018, October 26). Google gender pay gap: women advance suit that could affect 8,300 workers. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/oct/26/google-gender-pay-gap-women-class-action-lawsuit