Topic 8: Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

Vortran CalimlimZola Dela Calzada

Current Issues in

Management

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Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

• Business Ethics:

– The principles and standards that define acceptable conduct in business

• Social Responsibility:

– A business’s obligation to maximize its positive impact and minimize its negative impact on society

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Recognizing an Ethical Issue

• An ethical issue is an identifiable problem, situation, or opportunity that requires a person to choose from among several actions that may be evaluated as right or wrong, ethical or unethical.

Did You Know?The most common types of observed misconduct are lying, withholding information, and abusive/ intimidating behavior.

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Reasons For Not Reporting Observed Misconduct

1. Didn’t believe corrective action would be taken

2. Feared retribution or retaliation from supervisor or management

3. Feared they wouldn’t remain anonymous4. Thought someone else would report the

misconduct5. Didn’t know who to contact

Source: 2005 Ethics Resource Center- National Business Ethics Survey Report, p. 29.

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Misconduct Observed in the Workplace

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Ethical Issue Categories

• Conflict of interest

• Fairness and honesty

• Communications

• Business relationships

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Conflict of Interest

• Occurs when a person must choose whether to advance their own personal interest or those of others

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Fairness and Honesty

• The heart of business ethics– General values of

decision makers

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Communications

• False and misleading advertising and deceptive personal-selling tactics anger customers and may cause a business to fail.

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Business Relationships

• Businesspeople must be ethical toward their customers, suppliers, and others in their workplace.

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Questions to Consider in Determining Whether an Action is Ethical

• Are there any potential legal restrictions or violations that could result from the action?

– Question: If I do this will it break any laws?

• Does your company have a specific code of ethics or a policy on the action?

– Question: If I do this will I go against the employee handbook?

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Questions to Consider in Determining Whether an Action is Ethical

• Is this activity customary in your industry?

• Are there any industry trade groups that provide guidelines or codes of conduct that address this issue?

– Question: If I do this will I violate any trade practices?

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Questions to Consider in Determining Whether an Action is Ethical

• Would this activity be accepted by your coworkers?

• Will your decision or action withstand open discussion with coworkers and managers and survive untarnished?

– Question: Will my action cause peer acceptance or rejection, or any peer pressure?

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Questions to Consider in Determining Whether an Action is Ethical

• How does this activity fit with your own beliefs and values?

– Question: Will my action violate any of my personal ethics, religious beliefs, or social values?

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Three Factors that Influence Business Ethics

IndividualStandardsandValues

IndividualStandardsandValues

Managers’andCoworkers’Influence

Managers’andCoworkers’Influence

Opportunity:Codes andComplianceRequirements

Opportunity:Codes andComplianceRequirements

Ethical/UnethicalChoicesin Business

Ethical/UnethicalChoicesin Business

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Codes of Ethics

• Formalized rules and standards that describe what a company expects of its employees

Did You Know?Written ethics standards are more often found in larger companies than smaller ones.

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Whistleblowing

• The act of an employee exposing the employer’s wrongdoing to outsiders– The media– Government regulatory agencies

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Facts on Business Ethics

• Of employees surveyed:

– 86% reported that their organizations have written standards of conduct

– 69% reported that their organizations offer mandatory ethics training

– 65% reported that their organizations have a place where they can seek ethics advice

Source: 2005 Ethics Resource Center- National Business Ethics Survey: How Employees Perceive Ethics at Work.p.12-14.

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The Nature of Social Responsibility

• Four Dimensions:– Economic – earn profits

– Legal – comply with the law

– Ethical• Not just “for profit” only

– Voluntary & Philanthropic• Promote human welfare and goodwill

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The Pyramid of Social Responsibility

Ethical Responsibilitiesbeing ethical; doing what is right, just,

and fair; avoiding harm

VoluntaryResponsibilities

being a “good corporate citizen;”

contributing to thecommunity and quality of life

Source: Adapted from Archie B. Carroll, “The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the Moral Management of Organizational Stakeholders.” Business Horizons 34 (July/August 1991): 42.

Legal Responsibilitiesobeying the law (society’s codification

of right and wrong)

Economic Responsibilitiesbeing profitable

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Best Corporate Citizens

1. Green Mountain Coffee2. Hewlett-Packard3. Advanced Micro Devices4. Motorola5. Agilent Technologies6. Timberland7. Salesforce.com8. Cisco Systems 9. Dell10. Texas Instruments

11. Intel12. Johnson and Johnson13. NIKE14. General Mills15. Pitney Bowes16. Wells Fargo17. Starbucks18. Wainright Bank & Trust19. St. Paul Travelers20. Ecolab

Source: Philip Johansson, “The Best 100 Corporate Citizens,” Business Ethics, March/April 2006, p. 22.

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Arguments for Social Responsibility

1. Business helped to create many of the social problems that exist today, so it should play a significant role in solving them

2. Businesses should be more responsible because they have the financial and technical resources to help solve social problems

3. As members of society, businesses should do their fair share to help others

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Arguments for Social Responsibility

4. Socially responsible decision making by businesses can prevent increased government regulation

5. Social responsibility is necessary to ensure economic survival

– Businesses must take steps to help solve the social and environmental problems that exist today

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Arguments Against Social Responsibility

1. Managers are sidetracked from the primary goal of business– Earning profits

2. Participation in social programs gives businesses greater power, perhaps at the expense of particular segments of society

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Arguments Against Social Responsibility

3. Some people question whether business has the expertise needed to assess and make decisions about social problems

4. Many people believe that social problems are the responsibility of government agencies and officials

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Social Responsibility Issues

• Organizational relationships with owners and stockholders:– Profit and ROI

• Employee relations:– Providing a safe workplace, adequate pay,

information about the company, listening to grievances, and treating employees fairly

• Consumer relations:– Respecting the rights of customers and providing

them with safe and satisfying products

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Social Responsibility Issues

• Environmental issues:– Animal rights– Pollution– Global warming

• Community relations:– Responsibility to the general welfare of

the community

Did You Know?In one year, Americans generated 230 million tons of trash and recycled 23.5 percent of it.

Sustainability Reporting

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Wanna be an Ethics Officer?

• Provide advice about ethics to employees and management

• Distribute the company’s code of ethics

• Create and maintain an anonymous, confidential service to answer questions about ethical issues

• Take action on ethics violations

• Review and modify the code of ethics as needed

What is Corporate Social Responsibility?

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Discussion Questions

1. What makes ethical decisions so difficult?

2. Many organizations are primarily concerned with earning a profit or a return on their investment.

– Does this concern for owners and investors present an ethical dilemma for companies when weighing business decisions that favor employees and/or the general public?

4. Find examples of environmental issues in newspapers or business journals.

– Do these issues influence businesses?

5. Imagine you are a salesperson. When does offering a gift, such as basketball tickets, become a bribe rather than just a sales practice?

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Quiz

1. Which of the following has the greatest effect on ethical behavior in organizations?a. authority of an employee’s superiorsb. an employee’s perception of the ethics of coworkers and

managersc. an employee’s personal beliefs about what is right or wrongd. investors perceptions of ethics

2. Copying someone else’s work and presenting it as your own is:a. ethicsb. bribec. plagiarismd. greenmail

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Quiz

3. A code of ethics is:a. a set of formalized rules and standards describing what the

company expects of its employees.b. a government legislation enforced by government agencies.c. a set of principles that describe what a person believes is

the right way to behave.d. the impact of a business’s activities on society.

END.