The Benefits of Business Ethics - Ethical Behavior of Decision Makers: the Empirical Findings from Croatia

More than ever before, the ability of managers to recognize and deal with complex business ethical issues has become a significant priority. Ethical behavior has always been a concern for managers because they are the ones that have major responsibility in company when it is about business ethics. Managers’ work is manly the work of making decisions. On a daily basis they are making decisions - big and small ones - on which company future depends. Interest in business ethics and ethical behavior is on the rise, especially in recent years when widespread moral corporate scandals have brought this topic to the fore. Therefore, the organizational environment demands effective managers - decision makers -with the ability to behave ethically and the ability to make right choices. There is no doubt that the ethical behavior of decision makers is of strategic importance for successful business. It could be acknowledged that among the numerous different factors that can determine a company’s progress, the key elements that contribute to a more successful achievement of company competitive advantage is the ethical behavior of managers. This paper aims at analyzing the benefits of business ethics and at identifying the ethical behavior of managers in a big company in Croatia. Qualitative research was conducted and interesting and somewhat puzzling results were found. Based on the overall findings, this research offers the foundation for future research in this area. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of value for managers and their companies due to the improvement and development of business ethics and their ethical behavior.