...HAROLD PUPKEWITZ 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...
Words: 1805 - Pages: 8
...Several businesses such as Primark, Lidl and Gap have been accused of being unethical in recent years. Do you think it is essential to take ethics into consideration when making business decisions nowadays? (40 marks) Ethics are moral principles that govern a person or a group’s behaviour. When applied to business this involves the examination of how people and institutions should behave in the world of commerce. For example, when the actions of a firm may affect others. One reason why it is essential to take ethics into consideration when making a business decision nowadays is because there is more awareness and interest in how ethically a company conducts its business. This may mean that it is a lot easier for people to find out about whether a business is behaving ethically or not. If discovered this could have a harmful effect on the business. As seen in April 2013, when an eight storey building, in Bangladesh collapsed on itself. This building was making garments for several Western retailers. Primark so far is the only retailer that has taken responsibility for this and decided to pay compensation. This horrific accident gave Primark lots of bad publicity, including protesters campaigning outside the stores doors. It is not just the conditions of the buildings that affect the workers, but also their overall treatment. Retailers like Gap, H&M and Lidl have been found subcontracting work to factories who force employees to work 13 hour days, some workers have been known...
Words: 1168 - Pages: 5
...Chapter 5 – Business Ethics and Ethical Decision Making – Summary Business ethics comprises principles and standards that guide individual and work group behavior in the world of business. Stakeholders determine these conventions, and they may change over time. The most basic of these standards have been codified as laws and regulations. Business ethics goes beyond legal issues. Because individuals and groups within a company may not have embraced the same set of values, ethical conflict may occur. Questionable decisions and actions may result in disputes that must be resolved through some type of negotiation or even litigation. Codifying ethical standards into meaningful policies that spell out what is and is not acceptable gives businesspeople an opportunity to reduce the possibility of behavior that could create legal problems. Business decisions involve complex and detailed discussions in which correctness may not be clear-cut. It is important that a shared vision of acceptable behavior develop from an organizational perspective to create consistent and reliable relationships with all concerned stakeholders. Understanding the ethical decision-making process can help individuals and businesses design strategies to prevent misconduct. Three of the important components of ethical decision making are individual factors, organizational relationships, and opportunity. Significant individual factors that affect the ethical decision-making process include personal moral...
Words: 581 - Pages: 3
...Ethical Decision Making Ethics are principles that define behavior as fair and proper and they are concerned with how a moral person should behave when it comes to making an ethical decision (Josephson Institute of Ethics, 2002). Evaluating and deciding among competing options is often key in making a fair choice since principles do not always dictate a single "moral" course of action. The decision of whether to lay off workers to enhance profits or to cut corners on quality to meet a deadline are examples of some choices regarding ethics business owners may face (Poznak Law Firm, 2003). The use of extremely low-wage foreign workers, like in the Nike organization case, is a current concern and the subject is a complex one. There are many valid differences of opinion regarding what constitutes ethical behavior and how ethical decisions should be made and the subject is a complex one (Poznak Law Firm, 2003). There are always pros and cons involved with any choice and the decision itself can be quite time consuming. When it comes to deciding whether or not to use cheap labor to cut costs, businesses must examine the ethics behind their decision-making processes. Four approaches that business owners commonly use to analyze ethical dilemmas are the utilitarian approach, which focuses on taking the action that will result in the greatest good for the greatest number of people; the moral rights approach, which is concerned with moral principles, regardless of the consequences;...
Words: 1178 - Pages: 5
...and the Impact on Ethics in the Workplace: How Personal Can Ethics Get? Abstract This paper addresses the case study “How Personal Can Ethics Get?” and the effects of ethics within the workplace. In the case study, Valerie is facing ethical dilemmas within her workplace after coming across some controversial information. Valerie must consider her options carefully because she has many things that she could lose. This paper discusses the impact of personal differences and the preference on organizational ethics. It also discusses the impact of organizational policies and procedures on ethics. In the paper, the dilemmas Valerie is facing will be identified and recommendations are given to address the dilemmas. Employees’ Personal Differences and Preferences and the Impact on Ethics in the Workplace: How Personal Can Ethics Get? Personal differences and preferences can impact organizational ethics. People are taught ethics within the home while growing up. However, some individuals believe that there is a separate set or type of ethics just for the workplace. Ethics allows the individual to choose between right and wrong, but not all people have that ability or the same ability to do so. The ethics competency of the individual determines the level in which decisions are made to distinguish between right and wrong. The level of ethics competency is determined by the individual’s ability to identify elements of ethics, assess issues with ethics that arise, apply...
Words: 1709 - Pages: 7
...justified to the right. Keep a Photocopy or Electronic Copy of Your Assignments: You may need to re-submit assignments if your mentor has indicated that you may or must do so. Academic Integrity: All work submitted in each course must be the Learner’s own. This includes all assignments, exams, term papers, and other projects required by the faculty mentor. The known submission of another person’s work represented as that of the Learner’s without properly citing the source of the work will be considered plagiarism and will result in an unsatisfactory grade for the work submitted or for the entire course, and may result in academic dismissal. | | MGT7019-8 | Dr. Chad McAllister | | | Foundations for Doctoral Study in Business | SIMMONSMGT7019-8-ASSGN#1 | | | All work submitted is original and my own intellectual property. I am open to guidance and instruction that enable me to achieve my educational goal of excellence. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Faculty Use Only ------------------------------------------------- <Faculty comments here> ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- <Faculty Name> <Grade Earned> <Writing Score> <Date...
Words: 3283 - Pages: 14
...Ethics and business An ethic is a moral philosophy by which one should abide. My belief is that ethics are a code of integrity and because of this an individual should undermine all rationality in order to influence one's "ethics" and determine what is right and what is wrong. Ethics relates the study of morality and human action. The concept comes from the Greek word ethikos, which means "character". An ethical sentence is a moral statement that made statements and what defines is good, bad, required, permitted, etc. in relation to an action or a decision. According to dictionary in the website, ethics relates the study of morality and human action. The concept comes from the Greek word ethikos, which means "character". An ethical sentence is a moral statement that made statements and what defines is good, bad, required, permitted, etc. in relation to an action or a decision. Business ethics is the accepted set of moral values and corporate standards of conduct in a business organization. The specifics of what this actually means can vary from one organization to another. (Merchant, 2014). What are the different types of business ethics research? There are many different types of business ethics research, and there are many different ethical systems in the world. Ethics does not necessarily help a business make more money, but it can promote company pride and maintain a sense of personal morality. . Almost all researchers understand to some extent that what behavior qualifies...
Words: 551 - Pages: 3
...TOPIC: identify a situation that may be objectionable on ethical grounds in an organizational perspective 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. Business ethics has both normative and descriptive dimensions. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. Academics attempting to understand business behavior employ descriptive methods. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the interaction of profit-maximizing behavior with non-economic concerns. Interest in business ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within academia. For example, today most major corporations promote their commitment to non-economic values under headings such as ethics codes and social responsibility charters. Adam Smith said, "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices." Governments use laws and regulations to point business behavior in what they perceive to be beneficial directions. Ethics implicitly regulates areas and details of behavior that lie beyond governmental control. The emergence...
Words: 643 - Pages: 3
...“Title Rhenzl” Business is an economic activity whereas its concern is continuously and constantly producing and distributing goods and services to market in order to provide and satisfy human needs, wants and demand (Henry, 2015). Meanwhile, ethics had been studied by the philosophers for about 2500 years, since the time of Plato and Socrates. As of today, ethics is considered as the moral standards that an individual is relying upon when making a judgment and decision. This statement is supported by Bennett wherein ethics clearly defines what is the right and wrong things and shapes what kind of behavior the business should act on (2014). For the sense of business according to Joseph, ethics are constructed and decided by each business...
Words: 1812 - Pages: 8
...Behavioral Aspect of Accounting: The Need to Emphasize on Ethics ------------------------------------------------- Ahmad Zubair Chedi ------------------------------------------------- Abstract Accounting plays a vital role in providing information that permit economic decision, therefore the information has influence on its users. The financial statements that serve the basis for the economic decision are drawn up, not by the users, but by the enterprise’s accountants under the authority and control of the enterprise’s management. Ideally the preparers should take as their objective the fulfillment, (to the best of their ability) of the users’ needs. However the preparers have their own objectives, which often are quite different from those of the users. The financial statements can play a very important role in helping the enterprise’s management to achieve its objective. If the accounts show that the enterprise is doing well, the shareholders will be happy also the market price of the company’s shares will remain high. Since the accounts are prepared under the direction of the management there is a temptation for the management not to present the full truth about the enterprise in the financial statements, particularly when the company is doing badly. The paper examines the behavioral aspect of accounting with emphasis on the need of ethics; the methodology used is purely content analysis, using secondary data. The study reveals that unethical behavior is less...
Words: 7209 - Pages: 29
...What is business ethics? There are many different definitions of business ethics. In general, the term is used to mean a form of applied ethics in which a system of ethics and morality is applied in the business world. The exact application of business ethics will differ from organization to organization, and place to place. Different organizations deal with different stakeholders, different clients and customers, and different dimensions of the work world, industry, and market. The way business ethics must be applied is determined by the nature, mission, purpose and goals of a given company. The universal purpose of business ethics is to ensure that companies treat their workers, partners, clients, and any other involved shareholders or stakeholders with ethical and moral integrity. Business ethics used to be taken for granted and assumed, almost as an extension of the personal ethics of those involved in the business. In more recent years, however, following different issues including the 2001 Enron scandal, individuals and businesses have focused more on analyzing and formalizing business ethics (cf WiseGeek, retrieved 2010). A Model Organization: Integral business ethics in terms of social issues, legal issues, and profit. Taking a fictitious restaurant food supply organization called The Ultimate Deal, as an organization that serves as a model of business ethics, the practical implications of business ethics can be explained. The Ultimate Deal, as a restaurant...
Words: 1565 - Pages: 7
...Ethical and Moral Issues in Business MGT-216 10-23-2010 Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Businesses and individuals face ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. We all have to have some level of concern for the decisions that we make in life because our decisions affect others in many ways. Businesses definitely have to care about ethics because their employees depend on them to help define the boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behavior (Managing Business Ethics, 2007). Individuals face moral issues as well as ethical issues. People are motivated by economic and moral concerns. We, as individuals, have to care enough about each other to make ethical and moral decisions throughout our lives. Most times, the decisions that individuals make will affect others in one way or another, so it would be wise to think things through before making any unethical or immoral choices. Some individuals believe that there is no huge difference between morals and ethics, but there is. Morals define personal character, while ethics stress a social system in which those morals are applied. This means, ethics point to standards or codes of behavior expected by the group to which the individual belongs (www.wisegeek.com, 2010). An example of an ethics would be if the CFO of an organization allowed the accounting clerk to record payments received from clients, write checks and perform bank reconciliations every month. In the accounting world, this would be deemed unethical because...
Words: 825 - Pages: 4
...The Importance of Business Ethics Business ethics has been described as a social science; it is a vast field and can often be problematic as it tends to mean different things to different people. It generally addresses the entire scope of responsibilities and obligations that a company has to each of its stakeholders. The term ethics can have many different definitions in a broad context and it can be difficult to find common understanding of the term which will be later discussed. Business ethics poses many different advantages and opportunities for businesses once correctly done. Business ethics refers to “managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization” (Crane, A., Dirk, M. 2004). Ethics is broadly concerned with the values underpinning action or behaviour’s for the individuals, organisations or societies. Being ethical is an aim of corporate governance and should be supported by the framework of controls within an organisation, however it is often a very complex problem which requires an in-depth understanding of the many factors which contribute to employees’ decisions to behave ethically or unethically (Stead and Worrell, 1990). Ethics within a business are often the moral standards which are relied upon in order to reach a conclusion and make decisions; they are implemented in order to ensure that a certain required level of trust exists between consumers and various forms of market participants within a business. Public interest has...
Words: 1637 - Pages: 7
...Applying Ethics in Business Judy Blair-Jackson Kaplan University Ethics in Business Since the past decade more companies are focusing on incorporating ethical principles in business transactions and decision-making. One of the factors that have caused this shift on ethical focus is the financial crisis in the corporate world. Many reputable companies, CEO’s, CFO’s, and auditors have been implicated for fraudulent business activities. It is hoped that if businesses focus on building an ethical culture in the organization this may act as a deterrent to management and employees engaging in unethical business transactions and decision-making. Schein (1985) posits that the “organization’s culture is a cognitive framework, consisting of attitudes, values, behavioral norms, and expectations shared by organization members” (as cited in Brooks & Dunn, 2012, p. 254). Organizational culture can positively or negatively affect employees’ behavior. Where there is no focus of management on ethical behavior, employees may get the wrong message about the company’s stance on ethical principles. On the other hand where management displays and discusses ethics with employees, this shows a commitment from them that the company’s values ethical principles and behaviors. Management’s commitment and support to ethical standards must be evident through their actions. Brooks & Dunn (2012) stated that “it is vital that organizations create an environment culture where appropriate shared...
Words: 1664 - Pages: 7
...Introduction The history of business ethics is as old as the religious books like the Bible and the holy Quran. These religious books have talked about truthfulness, transparency and honesty among people. The prohibition of theft, self-interest at the cost of others, and malice in these religious sources have a direct application the world of business. The history of business ethics has evolved during the long course of time and is still in this phase of development. The application of business ethics varies in different context. There have been radical changes in the world of business which has evolved the business ethics to its current form. And with continuously changing business world we can presume that in the future business ethics will undergo more changes. It will evolve continuously. The business ethics has an immense scope touching every human living in the society. The affects the daily decision making in the society, irrespective of whether it is a big decision affecting large masses or small decision affecting just one person. Business ethics can be looked at by different perspectives. One perspective is that of organization point of view which concerns about the things that an organization should do. While the other perspective is the things that must really be done irrespective of an organization. The latter one gauges the different aspects of an organization. The literary evidence for the history and development of modern era business ethics can be traced back to 1930s...
Words: 2074 - Pages: 9
