The Cheesecake Factory’s Business Ethics

Introduction

Today, more than ever before, it is becoming increasingly impossible to overstate the assertion that there exists a business case for business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) owing to their immense contribution to firm competitiveness (Vogel, 2005). Indeed, as suggested by Vitell and Hidalgo (2006), many business executives have begun to pay serious attention to ethics and CSR by conducting their businesses in ways that are more socially, ethically and environmentally sustainable. This paper uses The Cheesecake Factory’s code of ethical conduct to illuminate some underlying issues relating to ethics and CSR in business.

Code of Conduct and Significance to Business

After analyzing the company’s code of ethics for executives as well as code of ethics and code of business conduct as presented in the firm’s official website, it is evidently clear that some key components of these codes are of immense importance to the success of the business. In the code of ethics for executives (Cheesecake Factory, 2015), the standard on engaging in honest and ethical conduct is of particular importance as failure to comply may engineer the collapse of the business through bad public reputation.

The standard on dealing fairly with the company’s customers, suppliers, competitors and employees is also important as failure to comply may lead to loss of business through customer protests, loss of business opportunities through bad publicity, as well as loss of key talent to competitors. As the CEO of the company, it would be prudent to ensure compliance with these standards as available literature demonstrates that companies can lose key employees and customers to competitors due to dishonest dealings and unfair treatment (Stucke, 2014).

In the company’s code of ethics and code of business conduct, some of the key areas that are of substantial importance to the business include

  1. compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulatory orders,
  2. prohibition against insider trading,
  3. protection of the company’s confidential information (Cheesecake Factory, 2015).

Failure to comply with all applicable rules and regulations may lead to loss of public confidence and hefty penalties, which in turn destroy the company’s competitive advantage (Stucke, 2014). As the company’s CEO, it is important to prioritize prohibition against insider trading to avoid corruption and bankruptcy, as the two unethical behaviors were to blame for the collapse of Enron some years ago (Vogel, 2005). Lastly, it is important for employees and all stakeholders to protect the company’s confidential information to avoid providing undue advantage to competitors.

Steps to ensure Compliance

The first step should be to undertake an orientation of the code of ethical conduct to ensure that all new employees and stakeholders are aware of the rules and standards. It is also important to provide employees and other relevant stakeholders with a copy of the code of ethical conduct (in hard or soft copy format) to facilitate reinforcement and internalization of the rules and standards. Additionally, employees should be provided with information on where to report incidences of non-compliance or raise any queries, not mentioning that a fully-fledged office should be established to help prevent, detect and punish non-compliant behavior. Lastly, training programs should be developed to help heighten awareness of ethical issues as contained in the code of ethics (Vitell & Hidalgo, 2006).

Engaging in Socially Responsive Activities

Corporate social responsibility is a concept whereby organizations “fulfill accountability to their stakeholders by integrating social and environmental concerns in their business concerns” (Rishi & Moghe, 2013, p. 18). Drawing from this description, the restaurant can be involved in (1) organizing and funding health clinics to fight against lifestyle diseases, (2) organizing and leading community cleanups to sustain the environment, and (2) organizing and sponsoring football tournaments within the community to help the youth keep fit.

Conclusion

Overall, it is becoming increasingly difficult to separate business from ethics and CSR in contemporary times. The task therefore is for business executives to continue embracing ethical business practices even as they engage in CSR for enhanced competitive advantage and increased firm performance.

References

Cheesecake Factory. (2015). Code of ethics and code of business conduct. Web.

Rishi, P., & Moghe, S. (2013). Integrating corporate social responsibility and culture as a strategy for holistic corporate success in India. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 51(1), 17-37. Web.

Stucke, M.E. (2014). In search of effective ethics & compliance programs. Journal of Corporation Law, 39(4), 769-832. Web.

Vitell, S., & Hidalgo, E.R. (2006). The impact of corporate ethical values and enforcement of ethical values and enforcement of ethical codes on the perceived importance of ethics in business: A comparison of U.S. and Spanish managers. Journal of Business Ethics, 64(1), 31-43. Web.

Vogel, D.J. (2005). Is there a market for virtues? The business case for corporate social responsibility. California Management Review, 47(4), 19-45. Web.

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Coca-Cola Company: Corporate Social Responsibility

Many companies have used corporate social responsibility (CSR) for different reasons. CSR has been used to address cultural, ethnical, and political issues all around the globe. Companies usually develop a CSR policy that acts as a guide to the type of CSR the company engages in to keep tabs on the importance of CSR. As a human resources (HR) manager, it would be my duty to understand and analyse the pros and cons of a CSR policy in the company I am working in. This essay will use the corporate social responsibility policy of Coca-Cola to discuss the benefits and disadvantages of implementing a CSR policy.

The Coca-Cola Company is international soft drinks and beverage company. It has been involved in numerous CSR activities, including a long-term sustainable growth project in Africa, supporting people affected by typhoons. It also supports the delivery of clean water in Ethiopia and other African countries, in addition to supporting women empowerment (Kotler & Keller 2009). Coca-Cola’s CSR policy states that the company will do whatever it can to ensure global sustainability. Drawing from the activities and a policy statement of Coca-Cola, one can note the relationship between CSR and politics and culture and ethnicity. Many CSR activities usually target developing countries.

In regard to human resources managers, Gond et al. (2011) explain that the link between CSR and HR is leadership. CSR allows the company to be perceived as one with excellent leadership that values the society (Cooke 2011). The work of HR is to ensure that there is outstanding leadership in the company (Gond et al. 2011). This is a benefit of implementing a CSR policy in an organisation.

Drawing from the Coca-Cola Company, it is clear that CSR helps the company learn and appreciate the culture of the target market. As mentioned, Coca Cola is a global company; thus, it is located across various cultures. It is the work of the human resources manager to ensure that the people picked to head and work in the company in any society know the culture of the target population well. Therefore, HR can use the culture to come up with beneficial hiring and firing strategy (Grimshaw, Rubery & Almond 2011).

Shen (2011) argues that HR and CSR can be joined to form the social responsible international human resource management. The scholar argues that CSR is only beneficial because of globalisation. Thus, combining it with HR will only be helpful on a global scale. Yang, Wong, and Colvin (2013) agree with this argument and explain that in this day and age, business and society are intertwined. Thus, there are several aspects of both business and society that are borrowed from each other.

As mentioned, both HR and CSR can be used to advance the goals of an organisation. However, as Caldwell et al. (2011) explain, there are ethical implications for this, which serve as the disadvantages of mixing HR and CSR. One such implication is the misalignment of the HR principles to the CSR guidelines. For example, CSR guidelines acknowledge the importance of developing relationships with the public and doing activities that show that the company puts the society before itself. However, HR principles require that the HR manager puts the company first before anything else, which can cause confusion. Guest and Woodrow (2012) explain that the boundaries of HR limit HR’s power to be involved in making critical decisions about the organisation’s success strategy.

Reference List

Caldwell, C, Truong, DX, Linh, PT, & Tuan, A 2011, ‘Strategic human resource management as ethical stewardship,’ Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 98 pp. 171–182. Web.

Cooke, FL 2011, ‘Social responsibility, sustainability and diversity of human resources’, In AW Harzing, & AH Pinnington, (Eds.), International human resources management 3rd ed., Sage, London, pp. 583-624. Web.

Gond, J, Igalens, J, Swaen, V, & El Akremi, A 2011, ‘The human resources contribution to responsible leadership: An exploration of the CSR–HR interface’, J Bus Ethics, vol. 98, pp. 115–132. Web.

Grimshaw, D, Rubery, J, & Almond, P, 2011, ‘Multinational companies and the host country environment’, In AW Harzing & AH Pinnington (Eds.), International human resources management, 3rd ed., Sage, London, pp. 227-266. Web.

Guest, DE & Woodrow, C 2012, ‘Exploring the boundaries of human resource managers’ responsibilities’, J Bus Ethics, vol. 111, pp. 109–119. Web.

Kotler, P & Keller, KL 2009, A framework for marketing management, 4th ed., Prentice Hall, New York, NY. Web.

Shen, J 2011, ‘Developing the concept of socially responsible international human resource management’, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 22, no. 6 pp. 1351–1363. Web.

Yang, N, Colvin, C, & Wong, Y 2013, ‘Navigating corporate social responsibility components and strategic options: the IHR perspective,’ Academy of Strategic Management Journal, vol. 12, no 1, pp. 39–56. Web.

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ADNOC Corporation Corporate Social Responsibility

Introduction

Reports on corporate social responsibility usually contain recent publications on an organization’s sustainability initiatives as well as non-monetary corporate accountabilities. In fact, the pages on corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports of any corporation normally file the entire media bulletins that are linked to various publications (Boubaker & Nguyen, 2012). For instance, the report on CSR activities undertaken by a given corporation may include the issuing of corporate social responsibility initiatives to business affiliates. Besides, most organizations and corporations prefer reporting their CSR activities at the end of each financial period. In their CSR reports, corporations highlight their accomplishments, challenges, and developments attained through implementing CRS activities (Schwartz, 2010). The activities include integrated development strategy in each market and across various areas where business and non-business activities are conducted.

Companies CSR reports outline the environmental initiatives and measures implemented by corporations, and efficient resource utilization strategies. Furthermore, the reports include assistance accorded to the neighboring societies such as job creation, advice on proper waste disposals, the provision and funding of the development programs, as well as the utilization of the modern technologies for corporate advancement (Cuvilceva, 2012). When an organization issues a report covering all the assumed CSR activities, such a company might be able to prolong its affiliations with the stakeholders. Furthermore, CSR reports are important given they show the challenges a company encounters in the course of discharging duties to the community, clients, as well as the positive steps achieved by the corporation through such corporate commitments (Schwartz, 2010). Thus, to enhance the level of market competitiveness, maintain dominant market share, attract, and retain various stakeholders, an organization must issue the corporate social responsibility report.

Contributions to CSR and Sustainability

ADNOC environmental responsibility and sustainability

ADNOC Corporation and other business groups work towards accomplishing various Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) measures. The performance of such measures in the African region as well as in the Middle East is excellent. Indeed, ADNOC and the co-companies have in the recent years worked towards improving the performance of HSE initiatives. Moreover, the corporation and its business associates have encouraged the implementation of the preeminent HSE practices. A number of environmental and social corporate factors assumed by ADNOC tend to elaborate on how this company promotes and commits itself towards the implementation of HSE initiatives (ADNOC, 2011). The policies and commitments of ADNOC towards sustainability enable the corporation to have pride in its HSE performance. Such commitment strategies also make ADNOC to win the confidence of the entire society, the integrated venture partners, and consumers. The corporation promotes the extended growth strategies and it is currently known as the first-class business assisting neighbors across the globe.

ADNOC Corporation is committed to transparency when delivering the HSE reports to the community. The corporation has great expectation from corporate employees and encourages them to share commitments in promoting environmental protection and business sustainability culture. Besides, ADNOC aims at leading other companies in promoting the finest industrial practices by adopting the latest technologies. Reports indicate that ADNOC is committed towards diligent management of HSE issues based on business dealings and activities. The efficiency as well as the developed utilization of water and energy resources is of great concern to ADNOC and related companies (ADNOC, 2011). Generally, ADNOC reports matters on sustainability and promotes social responsibility initiatives of the corporation.

On the other hand, the company aims at shielding biodiversity and the adjacent business locale. The group and its affiliate companies in their businesses thrive to uphold the usage of renewable sources of energy. The oil company in its bid to sustain climatic fluctuations tries to trim down the emission of green house gases. Besides, to maintain the enduring relationship with the entire community and business populace, ADNOC together with the affiliated companies practice the “no harm goal.” Thus, ADNOC seeks to realize better performance compared to the intercontinental cohorts in joint endeavors pursuing the same business transactions. The above CRS and sustainability initiatives augment ADNOC’s aspiration towards achieving consistent and exemplary HSE measures in the corporate world (ADNOC, 2011).

Concerning its policies, ADNOC Corporation requires contractors who can administer the HSE measures within the policy framework. These policies help the company to empower the workforce to desist from activities that may jeopardize the standards of HSE initiatives. In addition, the organization sustains and develops the business maintenance plans besides incorporating the performances and competencies of HSE initiatives in gratifying and evaluating the entire staff. ADNOC Corp holds responsible the team that implements HSE measures after quantifying, appraising, and reporting their performance. For the enhancement of HSE performance, ADNOC lays benchmarks to curtail the dangers in HSE initiatives (ADNOC, 2011).

The above risks are hence declining significantly to the ALARP level (As Low as Reasonably Practicable) given that the company carries out business transactions in appropriate manner. The company complies with the germane international principles, rules, and regulations of the U.A.E and Abu Dhabi, as well as ADNOC codes of practice. Therefore, ADNOC and co- companies embrace methodical approaches when administering the HSE initiatives for enhanced performance. In general, the implementation of all these policies is realized through periodical auditing and documented HSEMS for corroboration of compliance.

The social responsibility of ADNOC Corporation

The UAE community develops in educational, economic, and social segments due to the fundamental commitment and responsibility of ADNOC. In fact, all the communal factions in the UAE benefits every year from the sponsorship program provided by ADNOC. Through preparation towards becoming highly experienced individuals, the UAE natives pass through several edification plans. Such programs initiate from organizations like Achiever Oasis Program and Petroleum Institute that are products of ADNOC. Moreover, ADNOC sponsors Athletics, Cultural Clubs, and Educational Organizations like Abu Dhabi Educational Zone, Higher Colleges of Technology, as well as Zayed University. Generally, the corporation subsidizes the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and donates aids to the Centers with needy children (ADNOC, 2011).

The Emirates environmental responsibility and sustainability

The Emirates airline company aspires to exist as a dynamic partaker of the main public policy influencing the aviation business worldwide. The corporation is dedicated towards worldwide competition for full employment, economic development, as well as free and fair business. In regards to the matter of commitment to sustainability, the group’s chairperson stipulated that the company is dedicated to offer several global airline destinations, sustain natural environment, company’s business, and the interest of consumers. Emirates Airline makes and sustains the utmost ecological disparity for instance using the most fuel-efficient aircraft in its robust operations, selection, and development (Emirates, 2013). The group transports freight and customers over a centralized environmental focal point under a well-organized base of operation.

The Emirates commitment to environment protection and sustainability started before the initiation of Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve. Ever since, the company has created several distinctive conservatories in Spa, Wolgan Valley Resort, and Australia to upsurge the community rapport, waste management, and recycling. The corporation appears to facilitate sustainability and eco-efficient initiatives through improving environmental performance and efficient utilization of water and energy. The company’s initiative for greener tomorrow is an idea that places the company in a position to prop up the available nonprofit making institutions. Thus, Emirates admits its global answerability to the environment, social, and economic responsibility (Emirates, 2013). The inimitable project on eco-tourism in diverse nations demonstrates Emirates Airlines sustainability commitment.

Conversely, the growth of co-efficiency and sustainability initiatives is the core commitment of Emirates as a dynamic industry. The environmental policy at Emirates enables it to become an ecologically resourceful institution since its business is economically sustainable. Emirates uses smaller amount of resources, and creates fewer waste and greenhouse gasses to the environment. Hence, the company achieves the advantages in business, milieu, and for the clientele. Similarly, the Emirates Company persists in maximizing its efficiency in the ground operation through minimizing the accruing wastes. The sustainability of the company augments as it has reliable staff, and sustainable transport. Furthermore, a good recycling and waste administration as well as reduced consumption of water and energy in residential and commercial buildings make the company operations sustainable (Emirates, 2013).

The conviction of the company that no bounds can stop the environmental presentation enables Emirates to strive towards balancing the environment with corporate activities. Technology and efficiency help the company to foster growth in aircraft thus; fuel minimal consumption constantly reduces the operational impacts on the environments. The Emirates employees from more than 163 nation states comprise of above fifty seven thousand individuals aimed at championing the environmental protection initiatives. Several workforces are willing and ready to lend hand in further sustainability fields, residential housing, and workplace environmental initiatives given that they are ardent about the issue of environmental conservation and protection. The Champions involve themselves in tree planting, clean-up operations, recycling drives, pictorial competitions, and environmental protection awareness time (Emirates, 2013).

Corporate social responsibility at Emirates

The kind of corporate social responsibility activities that are performed by local and international corporations such as Emirates differ slightly from those that MNCs perform. In the UAE, the most commonly observed Emirates CSR activities include emiratization and philanthropy. Employees’ safety and health as well as environmental concerns are equally gaining much attention. According to Emirates Environmental Group (2008) report, Emirates Airline tends to concentrate more on the emiratization and corporate philanthropy, which entails efforts geared towards bringing the public into the labour force. The company also has long-standing better records relating to their engagements with safety and health as well as environmental issues.

Emirates Airline assumes the emiratization strategy. The strategy entails the company’s national efforts intended to prepare and educate the young Emiratis so that they can be well acquainted with workplaces as well as to secure the available employment opportunities for them. The UAE citizens are very youthful individuals with approximately 45.0% of them being under the age of fifteen years. Besides, according to the Emirates Environmental Group (2008) report, 9.0% of men and 20.0% of women are in employment. Despite this, the Emiratis usually lack the incentives for taking up the available employment opportunities since most of them come from the wealthy and elite families. Moreover, Emiratis are sort of the abilities requisite to compete with the relatively cheap and skilled expatriate workforces. The Emirates Airlines CSR activities associated with corporate emiratization are both compulsory and voluntary. The voluntary activities are deemed educational to prepare the Emiratis to be equipped with workplace skills and knowledge.

References

ADNOC (2011). Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) 2011 sustainability report. Web.

Boubaker, S. & Nguyen, D. (2012). Board directors and corporate social responsibility. Houndmills Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Cuvilceva, M. (2012). The importance and significance of corporate social responsibility reporting. Munich, Germany: GRIN Verlag.

Emirates (2013). About emirates, public affairs, and the environment. Web.

Emirates Environmental Group (2008). Corporate social responsibility and the United Arabs Emirate, a way of life for tomorrow’s business: A perspective on corporate social responsibility in the Arabian Gulf. Web.

Schwartz, M. (2010). Corporate social responsibility: An ethical approach. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press.

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Common Ethical Problems in Business

Businesses have had various ethical issues and problems as far as their operations are concerned. In this case, there is a need to understand the ethical and moral issues that businesses are currently exposed to. This means that there are various differences that need to be understood. As a matter of fact, this is as far as real-world examples are concerned (Vendemiati, 2004, p. 29). There is a very big difference between business ethical and moral issues.

Morals revolve around the personal character that individuals are supposed to portray and display while ethics are supposed to come up with a social system that will enable morals to be practical in a business (Singer, 2000, p. 23). In this case, a business that has a good ethical system will cultivate the best morals that will make it competitive in the current demanding world of business. Ethics is an expected code of behavior that has been demanded of every business that wants to stay competitive.

A common example of the difference between ethical issues and moral issues is where murder is an immoral activity, but ethics will always demand that the accused should be defended by a lawyer as the law stipulates (Vendemiati, 2004, p. 16). This will be even against his personal morals as an individual. Another example is where a manager is not supposed to engage in a sexual relationship with his employees because the ethics of the organization prohibit office relationships.

On the other hand, the same manager has bad morals, where he is known to seduce female employees every now and then (Singer, 2000, p. 29). Morals are where an employee believes that he is supposed to do something depending on how he/she understands it. This is as far as his general conduct and believes are concerned. An example of ethics is what society expects business to do in the current world. For instance, a business is supposed to be transparent and open in a broad way as far as its ethics are concerned.

Personal ethics and business ethics is a wide issue that needs to be evaluated and critically looked at for long term sustainability. This is because of the role that these two aspects play in our society as a whole (Vendemiati, 2004, p. 63). Every business is composed of people, and this means that we have different beliefs and practices that define our lives. This is where business and personal ethics come in. Individual actions can be wholesomely described as personal ethics, and this means that people will always make personal decisions depending on what guides them (Singer, 2000, p. 45). This is solely different from business ethics that guide the way a business is run or operated. Business ethics identify a business from the other in a broadway. This means that a business is known by its own ethics and what it stands for.

A perfect example of the difference between business ethics and personal ethics is where a company has its own code of conduct and operations that its customers identify it with while personal ethics is how a given manager or employee is perceived by the company’s customers and clients (Vendemiati, 2004, p. 63). For instance, in the current real world, the way an employee relates with other individuals can be described as personal ethics, while business ethics is what will guide business in its day to day operations. In this case, a company can be identified by the society because it gives its customers quality goods and services (Singer, 2000, p. 28). On the other hand, an employee can be identified because of his professional conduct as far as accomplishing tasks on time is concerned.

Reference list

Singer, P. (2000). Writings on an ethical life. London: Harper Collins Publishers.

Vendemiati, A. (2004). In the First Person, an Outline of General Ethics. Rome: Urbaniana University Press.

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Ethics and Morals Role in Business

Introduction

Ethics and morality are two aspects of business operations that are vital to the success of any business from the owner’s perspective and that of the public. Before distinguishing the two terms, it is worthy to note that ethical business norms have been evolving ever since man discovered the art of trading, actions, such as slave trade and colonialism, were previously deemed acceptable but became objectionable. Business ethics, on the other hand, is a more recent term as it only came into common use in the US in the early 1970s and in Europe in the late 1980s. Businesses began highlighting their ethical standpoint in the late 1980s and early 1990s, perhaps in an effort to distance themselves from business malpractices of the day, such as pricing (Roa, 2010).

Ethical Issues and Moral Issues

These terms may appear to have a similar meaning, however, there exists a significant distinction between them. Ethics is a subdivision of philosophy and rationally separates right from wrong, good from bad, moral from immoral, and fair from unfair acts. Ethics refers to a “set of rules, principles, or ways of thinking that guide or claim the authority to guide, the actions of a particular group” (Roa, 2010). In general, ethics institute the regulations and standards that oversee the moral conduct of human beings and groups.

By contrast, morals are judgments, standards, and tenets of a society that make a distinction between right and wrong in the social aspect. There are no standard morals, besides, morality does not pronounce conduct to be either right or wrong but only refers to institutional standard norms, such as those set by a business organization or religious group (Ferrell et al., 2009). Morals guide people towards acceptable conduct concerning fundamental societal values.

Ethical and Moral Issues in Business

Business ethics deals with the establishment and use of moral standards in the business setting. In other words, it mirrors the application of philosophy in business dealings and aims at determining the core functions of the business. If a company’s core function is to maximize shareholder dividends, then using profits for other reasons is unethical. Ethics also dictates other business activities, for example, spying on a competitor, declaring false profits, false advertising content, unauthorized payments, and failure to adhere to product safety codes are all deemed unethical. Generally, business ethics dictate how businesses interact with their staff, customers, and stakeholders (Ferrell et al., 2009).

Morality is just as important in business as ethics. Business executives and staff can display moral courage by making personal sacrifices in order to realize the objectives of the business. However, this should not distract it from performing its core function of serving customers. Employees and staff must avoid immoral actions such as sexual harassment and discrimination of any form. Besides, organizations must ensure their staff works in acceptable conditions. The moral responsibility for any business organization and its staff is to respect the natural rights of persons. This covers the moral agency, rights and freedom, and autonomy of individuals. Organizations must also deal with their customers in a moral manner. For example, a decision to end a contract prematurely because the business has received a better offer is not morally right. The firm must respect the rights of all stakeholders (Roa, 2010).

Conclusion

With a proper understanding of ethical and moral issues, a business is able to create a framework for effectual decision-making with proper strategies. The willingness to incorporate ethics and morality in business decision-making processes shows a desire to uphold fairness, as well as avert potential ethical problems.

References

Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., and Ferrell, L. (2009). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, 7th Ed. Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Roa, F. C. (2010). Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, 2007 Ed. Manila: RFX Book Store.

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Moral and Ethical Values in Organisation

Morals are values and character that a person holds. These values can be applied in the workplace since it is a social setting (Fredrick, 2002). This is where ethics comes in. It implies the standards and expectations of a group towards the individual who holds these moral values. Ethics applies in any social setup such as family, company, or even nationwide. So the difference is seen in the fact that morals are dependant on an individual while ethics are another dependant (Farrel, 2008).

It is true that something can be ethical and immoral at the same time. Since morality is about a code of conduct that depends on the individual, there can be some expectations and standards that others require regarding an issue (Farrel, 2008). For example, in the workplace, it can be ethical to limit the employment of people with disabilities to ensure the effectiveness of all employees, but it is immoral since it discriminates against others.

At the same time, there can be practices that are considered moral but unethical. Such a case can arise when codes of conduct of a social group are not coinciding with a person’s moral codes. This mostly includes beliefs, thoughts, behaviors, and actions of an individual, meaning that for such a case to occur, it depends on an individual. For example, a leader may think that some of the things he does are moral, but the entire workforce may be thinking otherwise and considering them unethical.

In a company, to be ethical is more important than being moral (Fredrick, 2002). This is because of the rule that the company sets that all the employees should follow. At the same time, being ethical means that one has the approval of everyone in the company can easily interact with people. At times this might create a dilemma in the workplace as following one means not following the other. The best way to respond is to choose the one which has a greater good but a lesser evil (Farrel, 2008).

Ethics are a bunch of rules and regulations that are expected of members of a particular social group. Personal ethics differs from business ethics as the latter entails problems or issues that come about as a result of the business environment. It uses every aspect of how a business should be conducted that is relevant to the behavior of all the employees in the organization. Personal ethics is quite similar to morals, as it depends on an individual. It includes principles and believes that a person has developed as a result of interacting with people and also religious teachings (Farrel, 2008).

At my place of work, there are codes of conduct that are very effective. Teachers are not allowed to use corporal punishment on students. This practice is very clear, and every teacher follows it to avoid confrontation with the management and the parents even though not all teachers may agree with this practice.

Businesses that have their prime focus on making money are highly likely to perform unethical practices. Shifting the focus and the ultimate goal to something based on providing solutions to societal needs will reduce the unethical practices and decisions in the workplace. Unethical practices that I have witnessed in business include a case where the management of a school decided to make the school look like a business instead of a place where quality education is provided. The management did not want to buy the required resources while the parents were paying fees in a good time. This practice was a result of an unethical school director who used to misappropriate school funds.

Organizational values are part of the broader culture of the organization. They include both groups and personal values of every member of the organization. Organizational culture is a collection of all the values, beliefs, experiences, and attitudes that the member of an organization have towards them and other stakeholders outside the organization. Organizational values influence organizational culture more than the reverse case because the values held by everyone in the organization will determine how they interact with each other and everyone else with a stake in the organization (Fredrick, 2002). This will also determine the trend of behavior developed by the employees and any other employee who joins the organization

For a small business owner, creating an organizational culture to a business that is expanding in terms of the labor force might be required to come up with strong goals for the business and ensure that everyone is conversant with the business goals and they work towards achieving them. He might also be required to increase the morale of the employees and create cohesiveness in his small team. The relationship between personal values and organizational values is that personal values can easily be aligned with organizational values to increase an employee’s commitment to the company (Farrel, 2008).

Whistleblowing is revealing some secretive unethical and unacceptable practices that can be done by anyone, especially the management in an organization. The circumstances that can lead an employee to blow the whistle are when personal values override organizational. An employee may feel that it is totally not right to misappropriate company money and hence decides to reveal the details of misappropriation going on in the management.

As an employee who has witnessed an unethical or illegal thing in a company, the circumstances that can lead one to blow the whistle are when the employee’s personal values contrast with this unethical thing, and the employee also has the moral strength to be brave to report the case. If the employee has no moral strength and maybe in fear, he may fail to blow the whistle.

Reference list

Farrel, F. (2008). Business Ethics 7e. eBook.

Fredrick, R. E. (2002). A companion to business Ethics. Massachusetts: Blackwell.

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Corporate Social Responsibility: Business Benefits

Summary

Corporate social responsibility may be described or referred to as the unspoken contract, which exists between a business society and society. This relationship is based on the kind of business that organizations operate within a given society. It is worth appreciating that corporate social responsibility is an important aspect when it comes to running and operating business enterprises. This is because corporate social responsibility gives businesses an opportunity to offer back to the society what they have offered the society in return. This is the goodwill that exists that ensures that as the organizations pursue their goals, they interact with others inside a larger context of the society to meet their goals.

Thus, corporate social responsibility is a key point in the business world since it enables the companies to get corporate objectives with the social challenges which are facing the environment in which they operate. In essence, research confirms that corporate social responsibility has got benefits that enhance the productivity and profitability of an organization in the future. What is important is to understand the fact that this should be a long term initiative that should be set up by organizations to work towards initiating forums that ensure progress is realized.

Key learning point’s

Corporate social responsibility is a subject that still remains to be controversial in the general society. However, it is worth noting the fact that despite being controversial, it is a very critical aspect of organizational progress. Organizations intertwine with the societies in which they operate in mutually beneficial ways driving social progress and affluence. Companies create most of the jobs, wealth, and innovations that enable the larger society to prosper. They are the primary delivery system for food, housing, medicines, medical care, and other necessities of life. Without modern-day corporations, the jobs, taxes, donations, and other resources that support governments and nonprofits would decline significantly, negatively affecting the wealth and well being of society as a whole. Businesses are the engines that propel us toward a better future.

Why is Social Responsibility important?

CSR is important because it influences all aspects of a company’s operations (Werther & Chandler, 2010). Increasingly, consumers want to buy products from companies they trust, suppliers want to form business partnerships with companies they can rely on, employees want to work for companies they respect, large investment funds want to support firms that they perceive to be socially responsible, and nonprofits and NGOs want to work together with companies seeking practical solutions to common goals. Satisfying each of these stakeholder groups allows companies to maximize their commitment to their owners, who benefit most when these groups’ needs are being met.

CSR is increasingly crucial to success because it gives companies a mission and strategy around which multiple constituents can rally, the business most likely to succeed in today’s rapidly evolving global environment will be those at best able to balance the often conflicting interests of their multiple stakeholders. Lifestyle brand firms, in particular, need to live the ideals they convey to their consumers. It is important to recognize that CSR is not just about doing the right thing. This is because corporate social responsibility also offers benefits that are directly enjoyed by the business (Werther & Chandler, 2010). Building a reputation as a responsible business differentiates your business and may create added value and marketing capital.

Critical Analysis

Many consumers prefer to buy from ethical businesses and increasingly prefer to invest in them. Companies often favor suppliers who demonstrate responsible policies, as this helps them to minimize the risk of any damage to their own reputations. Companies increasingly want to demonstrate their CSR by occupying sustainable buildings (Yakovleva & Natalia, 2005). In the business world, customers have a tendency to prefer to deal with responsible and caring companies. For example, sales of ‘environmentally friendly‘ products continue to grow, and these products often sell at a premium price.

Social responsibility examines the direct benefits of CSR, which include: a good reputation makes it easier to recruit employees, employees stay longer reducing the costs and disruption of recruitment and retaining, employees are better motivated and more productive, corporate social responsibility helps ensure you comply with regulatory requirements, activities such as involvement with the local community are ideal opportunities to generate positive press coverage, good relationship with local authorities make doing business easier, understanding the wider impact of your business can help you create profitable new products and services and CSR can make you more competitive and reduce the risk of sudden damage to your reputation.

Practical Implications

Business is a critical factor in the world’s economic and social development. Business interactions with society go beyond economic impacts on nations that include the supply of goods and services, generation of profits, provision of jobs, tax payments, and trade development (Yakovleva & Natalia, 2005). Consequences of business operations affect the interests of society not only through products and services supplied but also through impacts on traditions, culture, and social constructions. As a business grows in size and expands geographically, more groups of society are affected by business operations. These affected groups feel that the business has an obligation to share its profits and benefits with society as the society helps to sustain its existence and operations. Today, society expects the business to act in a way that would satisfy society’s interests and share benefits with those members of the society who are not business shareholders.

Reflections

Business is working towards increasing its positive inputs into society through making voluntary contributions to education, health, social services, arts, and culture as well as aligning its practices in accordance with societal norms and expectations in the areas of employee relations, impact on the environment, supply chain and many others that were previously considered to be spheres of economic and legal consideration. A concept of corporate social responsibility suggests that business has no obligation to contribute to social progress beyond economic transactions of a firm (Yakovleva & Natalia, 2005).

Corporate social responsibility implies that businesses should consider the interests of those affected by business operations and respond to their desires and concerns. Corporate social responsibility explores the relationship between business and society in the context of satisfying society expectations, achieving social goals, and bringing benefits to society that, in many cases, implies voluntary actions, which are prescribed by moral and philanthropic values rather than by legal requirements. Thus, companies have to meet a variety of responsibilities assigned to them by law, shareholders, other stakeholders, and the society at large in order to undertake their duties legitimately. This will eventually form the foundation of progress, which is aimed at within the corporate sector.

References

Werther, W. B., & Chandler, D. (2010). Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Stakeholders in a Global Environment. California: SAGE.

Yakovleva, & Natalia. (2005). Corporate social responsibility in the mining industries. New York: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

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