Ethics_Paper

Ethics Paper University of Phoenix Facilitator: Joyce Cusack MGT/498 Katrece Wade January 4, 2011 In this paper, I will have researched the role of ethics and social responsibility in businesses today, give at least 3 expert opinions on the topic, explain the role of ethics and social responsibility in developing a strategic plan while considering stakeholder needs and agendas, identify one example of a company role model for social responsible business practices that provide specifics to support my opinion, identify one example of a company overstepping boundaries for stakeholder agendas and I will develop an opinion on what types of preventative measures could be taken to avoid ensure ethical business behavior. The role of ethics and social responsibility in business today are very important. Ethics in business helps the organization to grow. Ethics are a set of moral principles which are recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, for instance the medical ethics, legal ethics, teaching ethics, business ethics that brings together people of the same profession. These principles deal with values relating to human conduct with respect to concepts such as being good or bad, decent or shameful, right or wrong. These values direct members of a group to act in a manner that is consistent with the values and standards as established. Business ethics are those qualities that business people apply when making business decisions. They are the standards expected within the business world, even if they are not written down and which business people ought to adopt. For instance business people are expected to make miserable least suffering to their customers, being fair in their dealings and nurturing an enduring virtuous corporate character in totality. Business ethics are important because they keep business people to operate within a moral and legal base which not only leaves them satisfied internally but also increases sales because most people like dealing or doing business with honest businessmen. Social responsibility and business ethics are often regarding as the same concepts. However, the social responsibility movement is but one aspect of the overall discipline of business ethics. The social responsibility movement arose particularly during the 1960s with increased public consciousness about the role of business in helping to cultivate and maintain highly ethical practices in society and particularly in the natural environment. It is all about caring enough to make a difference. Even if you are part of a company, each of the employees has their own part in contributing to the company social responsibility. It does not work if only one half contributes and the other half does not. It does not work that way. This is the reason why orientations are held at the start of the employee's career to a company. The company already instills its vision, mission and what the company works for. It becomes their way of life. It is impossible to find a company that does not have any company social responsibility. It is their way of giving back to the community. It is also a good way to promote the company. The people hear about what the company does to the people who are in need and they get inquisitive enough and probably even buy the products or cater to the services of the company. In addition, it is their way of making a difference and up till now the difference also affects them in a positive way. It is a great advertising tool that does not cost much. There are several principles of social responsibility, which include community, diversity, environment, ethics, financial responsibility, human rights and safety. If a company is only interested in profits, it may decrease the quality of working conditions of its employees in order to economize, to eliminate all social programs, which are not mandatory according to the law, but desirable according to the principles of social responsibility. In this case a company will fail to address cultural diversity; it will pollute the environment unless it is not prohibited according to the law; or neglect safety regulations. Management of the company will only concentrate on increasing the performance of the employees, offering the latter very little benefits. In order to make businesses be more socially responsible, government may issue new laws and regulations. It won’t be as effective as when a company itself understands the importance of developing certain social programs, creating better working conditions for the employees, and taking care about the environment. They are responsible for producing safe products, because they can be purchased by any member of the society. Three Expert Opinions According to Gael O’Brien (2011), who is an expert in ethics, leadership and life talks about social responsibility at McDonald Happy Meal Challenge in the Weeks in Ethics press McDonald’s was sued this week by a mother in California and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) for using deceptive advertising to lure young children into its restaurants to buy Happy Meals to get free toys; Happy Meals are generally high in sodium, fat and calories, exceeding recommended levels for children under eight. Patricia J. Harned, Ph.D., Acting President states “Our Ethics Today issue this month reports on the effort by a group of leading professionals and academicians to consider the role of ethics and compliance in business, among other ethics topics that confront organizations on a regular basis”. According to ethics today newsletter, (2011), Patricia and The Fellows engaged in discussions of how new regulations affect the ethics or values aspects of corporate ethics programs and what they need from regulators to advance the ethics/values dimension of these ethics programs. Additionally, they discussed how recent regulatory developments can be leveraged within businesses to improve the ethics/values aspects of corporate ethics programs. The last expert opinion on ethics and social responsibility is References: Griffin, Ricky W. "The Ethical & Social Environment." Management. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008. 86-108. Print. The Ethics Resource Center, 1747 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20006 Telephone: 202-737-2258 Copyright (c) 2004 Ethics Resource Center. All rights reserved.