BUSINESS ETHICS FALL 2014

7/26/2019 BUSINESS ETHICS FALL 2014

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BUSINESS ETHICS / FALL 2014

Assignment

ANSWER ALL THE ESSAY QUESTIONES (EACH ONE OF THE

QUESTIONS OUT OF 150 WORDS

Student name

Student id


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1-Set out the main criticism that has been leveled at McDonald's. Are these

criticisms specific to the corporation, or are there more general issues at

stake? If so, what are they? .

However MacDonald did not just freeze their hands, but they responded to the

cases and trials when they lost vast amount of customers. It was not too late

when MacDonald regained their market with the huge turnover of its strategy in

the food and marketing. They gave the London based Prt A Manager sandwich

chain a twist with adding a range of fresh, homemade natural food as an

alternative to mass produced junk food.

There are four main areas of critique that have been leveled at Mc Donalds in

Europe. First, the products are said to be fat and unhealthy, which fosters health

problems, especially obesity and diabetes. Secondly, the labor conditions are

heavily criticized. Mc Donalds has been accused of paying too little wages and

being strongly antipathetic to unions. Harsh criticism also arose concerning the

companies advertising. These accusations are based on the belief that Mc Donalds

exploits children and uses false advertisement of its food as nutritious. The last

point of criticism is the firms culpable responsibility for animal cruelty.

Additionally, in France a whole wave of an antiAmerican sentiment aggravates

the negative image of Mc Donalds. In Asia the main point of criticism that is

replicated is health issues. The fat foods and emerging fast food culture is


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especially dangerous to childrens health. In Europe traditions of protests and

rebellions may help people change and the freedom of speech. Moreover,

governments have a great interest in a healthy population because offering an

expensive welfare and health care system. From our point of view these factors

have led to a strong resistance against Mc Donalds which would never emerge in

Asia in such an extent.

Criticisms also included the risk of its loosing workers due to the low wages

meanwhile the continuous demand from animal protectors to stop cruelty to

animals. But the major risk was the pattern which MacDonald used to reach its

young people which some describes as exploit children.

It all started back in Europe. MacDonald lost humiliatingly a vast amount of its

customers and sales due to different cases in different years in Europe. Among

these the MacLibel trial went out of Macs hand while French managed to

achieve their goal in the demonstration.

According to this case the main criticisms that the MacDonalds has faced are

mostly related to the problems of the obesity and unhealthy food which

MacDonald used to sell those days meanwhile for adopting a growing criticism


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from the nutritionist and healthy food campaigners for promoting these through

young people. Apparently these criticisms were not definite to the corporation or

business of MacDonalds it self but it was more general issues of its pattern of

marketing and the minor concern it has given in the past for producing healthy and

nutritious food.

2-Discuss the difference between primary and secondary stakeholders in

the stakeholder model and give examples for each type..

Primary Stakeholders

Primary stakeholders are the people and groups most affected by the outcome of

the project and the outcome may be positive or negative. In research analysis, they

are often divided into groups based upon certain demographic factors such as

gender, socioeconomic status, age and ethnicity.

Secondary Stakeholders

Secondary stakeholders are individuals or groups not directly affected by the

outcome of the projec, but still having an interest in it. They often help provide aid


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to the primary stakeholders. These groups may include government agencies,

money-lending institutions or monitoring agencies.

3-What are the main ethical issues of Americans companies ?

The number one reason for running an ethical business, today and in the

future, is protecting a companys reputation.

_ Maintaining an ethical business environment has become more important

and more challenging in todays fast-changing global marketplace.

_ The pressure to meet unrealistic business deadlines or objectives is the factor

most likely to cause people to compromise ethical standards in companies.

_ Business scandals have had a major impact on business ethics issues in recent

years but, in the future, globalization and competition will be the top business

drivers of ethics.

_ Laws and regulations are, and will remain, the most influential external drivers

of corporate ethics, but issues related to the environment are expected to

become considerably more important in the next 10 years.

_ As technologies grow ever more powerful and pervasive, they will raise difficult

ethical questions with which companies will have to deal.

_ Globalization brings many ethical challenges, especially in developing nations

where issues related to forced labor, child labor, and working conditions are


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top concerns.

_ Corporate culture is crucial to creating and maintaining an ethical environment,

but culture is notoriously difficult to shape and change. Doing so

requires a systems framework approach.

_ Leaders who support and model ethical behavior and communicate such

values are critical to a companys ethics.

_ Establishing codes of conduct and training programs are seen as the most

important corporate practices for contributing toward an ethical culture. Also

important are ombudsmen to provide confidential and informal guidance

and help lines to officially report malfeasance.

_ Having the right measurements and indicators is necessary to gauge the

corporate ethics environment.

_ The companies with best-in-class ethics practices will increasingly gear their

strategies toward external stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers, business

partners, investors, and communities.

_ In terms of serving customers and investors, ensuring transparency is key.

_ The best way of encouraging ethical conduct among suppliers is through

codes of conduct and audits.

_ In the near future, companies will seek ways to become more proactive

in terms of dealing with problems that pose, or may


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Laws and regulations are, and will remain, the most influential external

drivers of corporate behavior, but legislation is no substitute for the presence of

leaders who support and model ethical behavior. Corporate leaders need to

communicate ethical values throughout the organization and must do more than

issue a series of instructions in order to establish and sustain an ethical culture.

We have believed for some time, and our survey confirms, that ensuring

ethical behavior of individuals and an organization as a whole, requires the

management tools we use every day: creativity, quality, efficiency, etc. Goals and

expectations need to be installed in a Code of Conduct, and results need to be

evaluated, measured and constantly re-examined.

Business ethics is a hot topic these days. From insider trading to responsible

treatment of the environment, businesses need to focus on the impact of their

behavior. It isnt easy. In some instances, managers are forced to decide on

issues where there are arguments on both sides, making decision-making a

difficult task.

Building a truly ethical enterprise demands that executives work together to

formulate a strategy and then build a foundation of systems to make it happen.

This is where AMA can help with its range of seminars and custom onsite

workshops. To find out how AMA can help you, please visit amanet.org. You


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can also watch our special Webcast on ethics which covers our findings in

greater detail.

BUSINESS ETHICS FALL 2014

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