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Chapter 2. Business Ethics and Social Responsibility. Glossary!. Profit Profit is the reward for businesspeople who take the risk involved to offer goods and services to customers. Stakeholders Customers, investors, employees, and public affected by or with an interest in a company.
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Chapter 2 Business Ethics and Social Responsibility
Glossary! • Profit • Profit is the reward for businesspeople who take the risk involved to offer goods and services to customers. • Stakeholders • Customers, investors, employees, and public affected by or with an interest in a company
Walmart’s Ambitious Goals“Sustanability 360” Initiatives 1) to be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy; 2) to create zero waste; and, 3) to sell products that sustain our resources and the environment. • Are these goals attainable? How? • Choice: Profit or just benefits to employee, customers, Environment/Society? • Sustainable: long term, short term. Goodwill!
Concern for Ethical and Societal Issues • Business Ethics- The standards of conduct and moral values governing actions and decisions in the work environment. • Social responsibility. • Balance between what’s right and what’s profitable. • Often no clear-cut choices. Your career! • Often shaped by the organization’s ethical climate. • Sarbanes-Oxley Act- 2002 law that added oversight for the nation’s major companies and a special oversight board to regulate public accounting firms that audit the financial records of these corporations. Prius
The Contemporary Ethical EnvironmentCorporate social responsibility • High profile investigations and arrests in headlines. • Vast majority of businesses ethical. • New corporate officers charged with deterring wrongdoing and ensuring ethical standards. (Sarbanes-Oxley Act)- Table 2.1 • Johnson & Johnson Credo
Individuals Make A Difference • Individuals can make the difference in ethical expectations and behavior • Putting own interest ahead of the organization • Lying to employee • Misrepresenting hours • Safety violations • Internet Abuse • Technology is expanding unethical behavior Everybody is doing it!
Development of Individual Ethics
On-the-Job Ethical Dilemmas RMG from Bangladesh Diamonds from Myanmar Telling the truth and adhering to deeply felt ethical principles in business decisions. (Embellishing resume, take office resources!) Situation in which a business decision may be influenced for personal gain. (Doctors & Labs) Employee’s disclosure of illegal, immoral, or unethical practices in the organization. (Dumping tannery garbage at burigange) Businesspeople expect employees to be loyal and truthful, but ethical conflicts may arise.
How Organizations Shape Ethical Conduct
Ethical Awareness Statement of Values/ Code of ConductFormal statement that defines how the organization expects and requires employees to resolve ethical questions.
Ethical Education Codes of conduct cannot detail a solution for every ethical situation, so corporations provide training in ethical reasoning. Online assessment!
Ethical Action Helping employees recognize and reason through ethical problems and turning them into ethical actions.
Ethical Leadership Executives must demonstrate ethical behavior in their actions.
Acting Responsibly to Satisfy Society • Social Responsibility • Management’s consideration of profit, consumer satisfaction, and societal well-being of equal value in evaluating the firm’s performance. • Contributions to the overall economy, job opportunities, and charitable contributions and service. • Organizations measure through social audits. • Considering conservation, employment practices, environmental protection and philanthropy • Let outsiders measure- interest groups! Compare with profit & employment
Responsibilities to the General Public • Public Health Issues. What to do about inherently dangerous products such as alcohol, tobacco, vaccines, and steroids. • Protecting the Environment. Using resources efficiently, minimizing pollution. • Recycling.Reprocessing used materials for reuse. • Developing the Quality of the Workforce. Enhancing quality of the overall workforce through education and diversity initiatives. • Corporate Philanthropy. Cash contributions, donations of equipment and products, and supporting the volunteer efforts of company employees.
Responsibilities to Customers • The Right to Be Safe. Safe operation of products, avoiding product liability. • The Right to Be Informed.Avoiding false or misleading advertising and providing effective customer service. • The Right to Choose.Ability of consumers to choose the products and services they want. • The Right to Be Heard. Ability of consumers to express legitimate complaints to the appropriate parties.
Responsibilities to Employees • Workplace Safety. Monitored by Occupational Safety and Health Administration. • Quality-of-Life Issues. Balancing work and family through flexible work schedules, subsidized child care, and regulation such as the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. • Ensuring Equal Opportunity on the Job. Providing equal opportunities to all employees without discrimination; many aspects regulated by law. • Age Discrimination.Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1968 protects workers age 40 or older. • Sexual Harassment and Sexism. Avoiding unwelcome actions of a sexual nature; equal pay for equal work without regard to gender.
Responsibilities to Investors • Obligation to make profits for shareholders. • Expectation of ethical and moral behavior. • Investors protected by regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commissionand state regulations.
Reading assignment Summary of learning goalsBusiness terms
Group Work G-C2 Do the case 2.1 (Honda …)
Learning Goals Discuss how organizations shape ethical behavior. Describe how businesses’ social responsibility is measured. Summarize the responsibilities of business to the general public, customers, and employees. Explain why investors are concerned with business ethics and social responsibility. 1 5 Explain the concepts of business ethics and social responsibility. Describe the factors that influence business ethics. List the stages in the development of ethical standards. Identify common ethical dilemmas in the workplace. 2 6 3 7 4 8