Business islamica magazineISlamIC FInanCE EVOluTIOn

By Joy Abdullah

ethiCs: towards aChieVing A CoMPETITIvE AdvAnTAgE.

48 www.islamica-me.com www.islamica-me.com 49

Strategically ethical

We often hear of businesses resorting to immoral conduct vis-à-vis their customers on the liability side or the state when organizations look for loopholes to avert fulfilling their obligations to society. These actions may in the short-term translate into companies’ balance sheets being on the plus side, but ultimately, such shenanigans will eat up at the profits and cause great harm to the general public. Proper implementation of Islamic ethics shows it to be not only a strategic weapon benefitting mankind towards a prosperous community as a whole but also an effective way to create affinity and loyalty to these companies’ brands.

Ethics set the tone, man-ner, and the platform upon which an organization’s cul-ture is developed, resulting

in the way the establishment does its business. This in turn shapes the way a company’s employees interact and deliver the brand promise, internally and externally, resulting ultimately in the positive brand relationship that all marketers strive for in order to have increasing trust and transactions (re-peat business). Islamic ethics is de-fined as “good character”. The foun-dational source towards the gradual codification of Islamic ethics was the Muslim understanding and interpre-tations of the Qur’an and practices of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Its meaning has always been within the context of active submission to God, an act performed by the community in unison.

The fundamental force in Islamic ethics is the notion that every hu-man being is called to “command the good and forbid the evil” in all spheres of life. Islam, as a comprehensive way of life, encompasses a complete moral system that is an important aspect of the way it views the world. We live in an era where good and evil are often looked at as relative concepts. Islam, however, holds that moral po-sitions are not relative, and instead, defines a universal standard by which actions may be deemed moral or immoral. Islam’s moral system is striking in that it not only defines mo-rality but also guides the human race in the way to achieve it, at both an in-dividual as well as a collective level. When we, as an Ummah, carry such ethics into our work sphere or com-mercial dealings we create an envi-ronment or an organization whose corporate culture is future-proof and automatically has a sustainable

‘competitive advantage’. By basing its work culture on Islamic ethics an organization is automatically under-taking a particular code. A code that has a positive tone and manner and provides a socially interactive plat-form in order to deliver value to its ecosystem, i.e stakeholders which include consumers and employees.

The basics of Islamic ethics compel an organization to willingly under-take all activities which are moral and good, both at the individual lev-

el and at the group or col-lective level. By virtue of these ethics, the organization is bound to develop a culture wherein employees learn and develop indi-vidually and thereby benefit through this self-improvement. This creates a strong positive disposition and attitude, which is then reflected in the brand advocacy that these em-ployees deliver. The work culture approaches delivering the brand ex-perience as one of the benefits that the recipient gets through his/her re-lationship with the brand (as a

manifestation of the organization and its service).

This single minded focus of provid-ing or highlighting the benefits the recipient gets is the competitive ad-vantage for the organization. This gets identified much more closely (by the stakeholder) with regards to the values the individual upholds; the overall brand experience is a positive and preferred one. In turn this results in the organization hav-ing a profitable brand.

Joy Abdullah is a brand en-

abler who has dual expertise in strategic

business planning and brand marketing. Such synthesis of

strategic planning enables Joy to aid brands in having a strong repu-

tation, clear image, and efficient deliv-ery. By using ethics, values, governance requirements and desired brand objec-tives in corporate planning, Joy minimiz-es potential risks a brand may face, in developing the brand’s experience (to its stakeholders). He has strong knowledge of Asian & Indian markets. His articles on the importance of ethical brand mar-keting encompassing brand reputation management, employee-brand relation-ship and CSR. These can be viewed at www.dailybaraka.eu and at http://www.opalesque.com/index.php/archiveOIFI

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