...9/6/2013 The Idea of Ethics and Social Responsibility in Business For the purpose of this essay I’ve elected to discuss the responsibility of the employee in the work place, and their place in the corporate system. All four chapters we’ve read in the text so far have been filled to the brim with the three author’s ideas of what makes a business and its workforce ethically responsible, but the particular section in the first chapter regarding employee ethics caught my attention. When a business begins to grow, if it turns a profit and remains successful, it will most likely need to take on employees so that it can cope with the growth its products demand (Nickels, et al). Everyone hired has a specific job that is necessary in order for the business to run like a well-oiled machine. The authors of our elected text bring up the fact that the number of employees calling in sick to work has reached the highest percentage it has been at in the last five years, and the majority of these employees were not truly ill to begin with. Also a much larger percentage of people are conducting personal business at work, and this causes a large drop in employee productivity (Nickels et al 14). This in turn causes problems for the business as a whole. However, on page fifteen of our text the authors state that your basic American employee is, on average, one of the world’s most productive workers. This contradiction is confusing to me, but I also believe I know where it may come from...
Words: 965 - Pages: 4
...Business Ethics and Social Responsibility Sexual orientation discrimination includes being treated differently or harassed because of your real or apparent sexual orientation -- whether gay, lesbian, bisexual, or heterosexual. This type of discrimination may be illegal in your workplace, depending on where you work. This is not a personal problem that should be handled among themselves. As an Equal Employment Opportunity company, the company should ensure that guidelines are given and followed to prevent this type of sexual harassment and discrimination. If the company permits the posting of these types of pictures then the problem will never be solved. Robinson should not have to argue with her peers because she feels she has been harassed. Instead, the company is expected to maintain an atmosphere comfortable and fair to all of its employees. Companies have a legal obligation to protect their employees from sexual harassment. As a duty of care, a company should implement a sexual harassment policy that is taken seriously, acknowledged by all workers, supervisors, and, managers of the company and those actions will be carried out if manifested and not tolerated. In JSI’s case, they did not communicate the policy effectively to the supervisors of the shipyard (sexual harassment). In addition, they did not follow through on the procedures for reporting violations. The behavior of Lois Robinson’s co-workers is not acceptable. The behavior is not acceptable...
Words: 657 - Pages: 3
...Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility The Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) article focuses on the dilemma between business ethics and social responsibility in business organizations. Issues related to social responsibility and sustainability are becoming more important in today’s economic and social environments, especially in the business sector. The article makes the case that ethics and the corporate responsibilities are inter-related. “Business goals are inseparable from the societies and environments with in which they operate.” The author states three reasons why social responsibility and business ethics are important: 1) People want to buy from ethical businesses. Companies have to satisfy their customers and achieve their main goal of earning a profit. 2) People want to work for ethical businesses. Employees in ethical businesses are more likely to work harder for the same or sometimes less pay than their “cut-throat counterparts. 3) People want to partner with ethical businesses. Businesses partner with socially responsible and ethical businesses more frequently than other less socially responsible organizations. The article concludes that many organizations are aware of the critical need for ethics in their business culture; however, there is still room for improvement. “Progress is limited by the reality that CSR remains a purely voluntary, self-regulated...
Words: 255 - Pages: 2
...|BUSINESS ETHICAL BEHAVIOR & CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | | | |Student’s Name:Renee Giordani | | | |Course Title:Sales Management | | | |Professor:Gene Dichiara | | | |SUNY EMPIRE STATE COLLEGE | | | |Date: December 09, 2014 | Business Ethical Behavior & Corporate Social Responsibility: Why Organizations Must Have IT Corporate Social Responsibility has gradually developed into one of the greatest ethical aspects that have to be adhered...
Words: 2434 - Pages: 10
...renamed it to Microsoft Disk-Operating System, and modified for IBM’s purpose. Before doing the job for IBM, they made an agreement that they can sell MS-DOS to other companies also. After a while, MS-DOS became the industry’s leading OS. After the successful of DOS, they continued to work on DOS to convert it to graphical user interface and it would work on top of DOS, making it user-friendly by working with icons rather than commands. They named their new operating system Windows, which was a huge success and it still being used around the Globe even today. By 2010, with more than 90,000 employees and anticipated year-end revenues of up to $38 billion, Microsoft continued to hold a strong lead in the computer software industry. Social Responsibility a. Since 1999, Microsoft has worked closely with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to provide people in dozens of countries with access to technology tools, skills training and other essential services. Microsoft attorneys have also helped dozens of refugees make a fresh start by providing pro bono legal counsel in hearings before U.S. immigration courts. In 2007, Microsoft launched Unlimited Potential, which brings together the company’s corporate citizenship efforts and many of...
Words: 2243 - Pages: 9
...BUSA 101-005W 9/6/2013 The Idea of Ethics and Social Responsibility in Business For the purpose of this essay I’ve elected to discuss the responsibility of the employee in the work place, and their place in the corporate system. All four chapters we’ve read in the text so far have been filled to the brim with the three author’s ideas of what makes a business and its workforce ethically responsible, but the particular section in the first chapter regarding employee ethics caught my attention. When a business begins to grow, if it turns a profit and remains successful, it will most likely need to take on employees so that it can cope with the growth its products demand (Nickels, et al). Everyone hired has a specific job that is necessary in order for the business to run like a well-oiled machine. The authors of our elected text bring up the fact that the number of employees calling in sick to work has reached the highest percentage it has been at in the last five years, and the majority of these employees were not truly ill to begin with. Also a much larger percentage of people are conducting personal business at work, and this causes a large drop in employee productivity (Nickels et al 14). This in turn causes problems for the business as a whole. However, on page fifteen of our text the authors state that your basic American employee is, on average, one of the world’s most productive workers. This contradiction is confusing to me, but I also believe I know where...
Words: 968 - Pages: 4
...Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility April Duhon DeVry University The United States has several laws that are intended to further fair, balanced, and competitive business practices. Do you think that such laws are effective? If so, why? If not, why not? The effectiveness of the laws that the United States have that are intended to further fair, balanced, and competitive business practices depends on how ethical a business is. Below I will explain why I do not believe these laws are effective due to the way ethical businesses follow the law and unethical businesses do not follow the law. In response to the growth of monopolies that threatened to destroy competition in the marketplace Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890. According to the Encyclopedia of White-Collar & Corporate Crime, “The Sherman Act was officially enacted because companies in various industry groups were attempting to eliminate their competition in the marketplace, thus hurting the economy.” (Encyclopedia of White-Collar & Corporate Crime, 2004, p. Introduction) The Sherman Act has two provisions in place to prevent this. The first stops the restraints of trading between states or foreign nations and the second makes monopolies illegal. The penalties for violating the Sherman Act are severe and include prison time of up to 10 years and a $1 million dollar fine for Individuals and $100 million dollar fines for businesses. The Clayton Act was passed by congress in 1914 to...
Words: 756 - Pages: 4
...Ethics and Social Responsibility in Business Strategic Planning MGT/498 June 20, 2014 Company stakeholders may not only be investors in a company they may also have voting power that can influence the social and financial impact of a company. With this voting power comes a social responsibility to the employees, customers and anyone associated with the company. The company's bottom line is not the only thing that must be considered when using their influence to shape company goals. Ethics, social responsibility and planning Strategic planning is the process of creating a mission statement, vision statement, policies, and functional decisions to ensure a company’s success. Since, the company’s success is the vital interest of the stakeholder, certain considerations must be taken into account in the planning process. Ethics are usually seen as “doing the right thing”. In business it can be much more than that. Companies could do all the write things but the outcome could be on that does not benefit everyone; it only benefits a certain group within the organization. For example, stakeholders may have the opportunity to increase their own wealth if they push to merge the company's subsidiaries into the parent company. This merger, however, could limit the company's ability to serve multiple markets, hinder its product diversification or create other problems. This clearly shows that the interest was not in...
Words: 850 - Pages: 4
...Supplementary material for all AOU courses AOU Learning Management System Copyright © 2004 Arab Open University User’s Manual Tutors and students Contents Preface........................................................................................2 User accounts and logging in.....................................................2 Browsing through your course ...................................................4 Administering your group ..........................................................8 The weekly outline ......................................................................9 TMA grading ............................................................................12 Grade reports ...........................................................................14 Quiz management .....................................................................15 Teacher Forum.........................................................................17 Forum Moderation ...................................................................17 Changing password ..................................................................18 Updating your profile ...............................................................18 Using Wikis...............................................................................19 Managing dialogues .................................................................21 The Search block ......................................................................22 Additional...
Words: 5742 - Pages: 23
...Ethics is mainly concerned with what is good versus bad, what is right versus bad, what is fair versus unfair, and what is praise versus blame. Deontology is an ethical theory that holds that actions are right or wrong independent of their consequences (Jennings, 2010, p. 27). Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that holds that actions are right if they produce the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people. Justice based on giving each individual his or her due, treating equals equally and unequal unequally. Fairness focus on individuals, and giving them what they deserve based on merit that can be distributive, procedural, compensatory, and retributive. Business ethics is the moral principles and standards that guide behavior in the world of business (Jennings, 2010). Corporate social responsibility is the obligation toward society assumed by business. The business maximizes it positive effects on society and minimizes it negative effects. An illustration of an ethical and social responsibility issue related to the textile manufacturing business. In today’s global business, where large multinational corporations like the textile industry face charges of violating human rights in third world countries. Using child labor questions the human rights, ethics, and social responsibility of the textile manufacturing industry. An analysis of how the textile manufacturing illustration applies to decision-making and operations in an ethical and social responsible business...
Words: 304 - Pages: 2
...CHAPTER 2 Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility CHAPTER OBJECTIVES 1 Explain the purpose of paying for whistleblowers. 2 Define ethics and describe sources of ethical guidance. 3 Discuss attempts at legislating ethics. 4 Explain the importance of creating an ethical culture, describe a code of ethics, and support the importance of linking pay to ethical behavior. 5 Explain human resource ethics and describe ethics training. 6 Describe the concept of corporate social responsibility. 7 Explain why everyone is not on board with regard to corporate social responsibility. 8 Explain corporate sustainability. 9 Describe a social audit. 10 Describe possible difficulties for corporate social responsibility to succeed in the global environment. KEY TERMS Ethics: Discipline dealing with what is good and bad, or right and wrong, or with moral duty and obligation. Human resource ethics: Application of ethical principles to human resource relationships and activities. Profession: Vocation characterized by the existence of a common body of knowledge and a procedure for certifying members. Corporate social responsibility (CSR): Implied, enforced, or felt obligation of managers, acting in their official capacity, to serve or protect the interests of groups other than themselves. Social audit: Systematic assessment of a company’s...
Words: 3911 - Pages: 16
...Should Social Responsibility and Business Ethics serve a role in Corporations? NorthCentral University Abstract When you turn on the television, surf the internet or browse the Wall Street Journal the terms – business ethics and social responsibility are discussed. Recently, the Gulf coast oil spill has questioned the social responsibility of British Petroleum. However, can the terms business ethics and social responsibility apply to corporations? A review of two articles - “What is business ethics?” by P. Drucker and “The social responsibility of business to increase its profits written” by M. Friedman evaluates the two ethical terms. These articles suggest both business ethics and social responsibility should not apply to corporations. The focus of this paper will compare and contrast two approaches to business ethics. The conflicting objectives between the two parties will be analyzed. Lastly, my view and definition of business ethics and social responsibility will be conversed. Research for this paper consists primarily of peer reviewed articles and published articles. Should Social Responsibility and Business Ethics serve a role in Corporations? During the twenty- first century, businesses are confronted with many different responsibilities. Each responsibility must be address while ensuring obligations to stakeholders, special interest groups, employees and the environment. Businesses are expected to have very strong ethics, but often this is not the...
Words: 1274 - Pages: 6
...GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Project 1: role of ethics and social responsibility in business decision making Tobias Endjala 200414518 Business Law & Ethics Project 1 Dr Jacqui Meyer 14 January 2015 Part A Roles of Ethics 1. Definition of business ethics: Business ethics (also corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations. Or Business Ethics: can be defined as the critical, structured examination of how people and institutions should behave in the world of commerce. In particular, it involves examining appropriate constraints on the pursuit of self-interest, or (for firms) profits, when the actions of individuals or firms affect others. Why it is important to understand ethics’ role in business? * To attract customers to the firm's products, thereby boosting sales and profits * Make employees want to stay with the business, reduce labor turnover and therefore increase productivity * Attract more employees wanting to work for the business, reduce recruitment costs and enable the company to get the most talented employees * Attract investors and keep the company's share price high, thereby protecting the business from takeover. Unethical behavior or a lack of corporate social responsibility, by comparison...
Words: 1805 - Pages: 8
...Business Ethics: Case Study 2: Starbucks’ Mission: Social Responsibility and Brand Strength 1. Why do you think Starbucks has been so concerned with social responsibility in its overall corporate strategy? Starbucks has been so concerned with social responsibility because of the reduce its Eco-friendly mark and as became tangled with the community. Also it is important to the corporate because of its ethical corporate should improve in the stretched period of time. Consumers’ feels worthy about conveying business to social responsible companies and the organisation’ impression are good about working there and makes organisation provide much better consumer service. 2. Is Starbucks unique in being able to provide a high level of benefits to its employees? Starbucks is irreplaceable in actually able to offer a high level of benefits to its organisation. Many businesses do not deliver organisation with many profits. Starbucks understands how important its organisation is and that they are the face of the corporate. Happy organisation creates good consumer service understandings and repeat business. It seems like a lot of businesses oversee their internal consumer too often. 3. Do you think that Starbucks has grown rapidly because of its ethical and socially responsible activities or because it provides products and an environment that consumer want? Starbucks express growth is exceptional to both its ethical and socially accountable activities and it providing products...
Words: 297 - Pages: 2
...Errol A Lane Business Class ethics Describe at least two reasons for studying business ethics * Improve the Reputation of Your Business (One significant practical effect from studying business ethics and applying then to your business is an improvement in the reputation of your business. These things take time, but word of mouth is a powerful force in society, and having friends and neighbors talking about how you treated them right is the best advertising a business can have). In studying business ethics we find a lack of good business ethics what ar you saying when using that word * (Ethics or moral philosophy is the branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. The term ethics derives from the Ancient Greek word ἠθικός ethikos, which is derived from the word ἦθος ethos (habit, "custom").) a goof reputation derives form a good business acumen which make for better business ability and reputation. When you learn you do better, you think better and you will be better Become a Better Businessman and Human Being Being (Studying business ethics changes outlooks and influences behavior. Ethics provides a set of terminology and a conceptual framework with which you can think and talk about ethical issues. Studying business ethics will help you weigh the potential consequences of your business decisions, and it will teach you to make moral distinctions and avoid common fallacies...
Words: 340 - Pages: 2
