2chapter

Business Essentials, 7th EditionEbert/Griffin

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

Instructor Lecture PowerPointsPowerPoint Presentation prepared by Carol Vollmer Pope Alverno College

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 2

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:1. Explain how individuals develop their personal codes of

ethics and why ethics are important in the workplace.

2. Distinguish social responsibility from ethics, identify organizational stakeholders, and characterize social consciousness today.

3. Show how the concept of social responsibility applies both to environmental issues and to a firm’s relationships with customers, employees, and investors.

L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E SL E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

4. Identify four general approaches to social responsibility and describe the four steps that a firm must take to implement a social responsibility program.

5. Explain how issues of social responsibility and ethics affect small business.

L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S (cont’d)L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S (cont’d)

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

What’s in It for Me?

• By understanding the material in this chapter, you’ll be better able to:– Assess ethical and socially responsible issues

facing you as an employee and as a boss or business owner.

– Understand the ethical and socially responsible actions of businesses you deal with as a consumer and as an investor.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Ethics in the Workplace

• Ethics– Beliefs about what’s right and wrong or good and bad

• Ethical Behavior– Behavior conforming to individual beliefs and social norms about

what’s right and good

• Unethical Behavior– Behavior conforming to individual beliefs and social norms about what

is defined as wrong and bad

• Business Ethics– The ethical or unethical behaviors by employees in the context of

their jobs

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Individual Values and Codes

• Sources of Personal Codes of Ethics– Childhood responses to adult behavior– Influence of peers– Experiences in adulthood– Developed morals and values

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Business and Managerial Ethics

• Managerial Ethics– The standards of behavior that guide individual managers

in their work– Ethics affect a manager’s behavior toward:

• Employees• The organization• Other economic agents—customers, competitors, stockholders,

suppliers, dealers, and unions

• Ethical Concerns– Ambiguity (e.g., financial disclosure)– Global variation in business practices (e.g., bribes)

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Assessing Ethical Behavior

• Simple Steps in Applying Ethical Judgments

– Gather the relevant factual information

– Analyze the facts to determine the most appropriate moral values

– Make an ethical judgment based on the rightness or wrongness of the proposed activity or policy

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Assessing Ethical Behavior• Ethical Norms and the Issues They Entail

– Utility: Does a particular act optimize the benefits to those who are affected by it? Do all relevant parties receive “fair” benefits?

– Rights: Does the act respect the rights of all individuals involved?

– Justice: Is the act consistent with what’s fair?

– Caring: Is the act consistent with people’s responsibilities to each other?

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Company Practices and Business Ethics

• Encouraging Ethical Behavior Involves:

– Adopting written codes of conduct and establishing clear ethical positions for the conduct of business

– Having top management demonstrate its support of ethical standards

– Instituting programs to provide periodic ethics training

– Establishing ethical hotlines for reporting and discussing unethical behavior and activities

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Social Responsibility

• Social Responsibility– The overall way in which a business attempts to balance its

commitments to relevant groups and individuals (stakeholders) in its social environment

• Organizational Stakeholders– Groups, individuals, and organizations that are directly

affected by the practices of an organization and, therefore, have a stake in its performance

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

The Stakeholder Model of Responsibility

• Customers– Businesses strive to treat customers fairly and honestly

• Employees– Businesses treat employees fairly, make them a part of the team, and

respect their dignity and basic human needs• Investors

– Businesses follow proper accounting procedures, provide information to shareholders about financial performance, and protect shareholder rights and investments

• Suppliers– Businesses emphasize mutually beneficial partnership arrangements

with suppliers• Local and International Communities

– Businesses try to be socially responsible

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Contemporary Social Consciousness

• The Concept of Accountability– The expectation of an expanded role for business

in protecting and enhancing the general welfare of society

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Areas of Social Responsibility

• Responsibility Toward the Environment– Properly disposing of toxic waste– Engaging in recycling– Controlling air, water, and land pollution – Green Marketing

• The marketing of environmentally friendly goods• Includes a number of strategies and practices:

– Production processes

– Product modifications

– Carbon offsets

– Packaging reduction

– Sustainability

• Greenwashing: Using advertising to project a green image without substantially altering processes or products

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) started hearings in January 2008 regarding green marketing claims

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Areas of Social Responsibility (cont’d)

• Responsibility Toward Customers– Involves providing quality products and pricing products fairly

• Consumerism– Social activism dedicated to protecting the rights of consumers in their

dealings with businesses• Basic Consumer Bill of Rights

– To possess safe products– To be informed about all relevant aspects of a product– To be heard– To choose what to buy– To be educated about purchases– To receive courteous service

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Areas of Social Responsibility (cont’d)

• Unfair Pricing– Collusion: When two or more firms agree to

collaborate on such wrongful acts as price fixing– Price gouging: Responding to increased demand

with overly steep (and often unwarranted) price increases

• Ethics in Advertising– Truth in advertising– Morally objectionable advertising

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Areas of Social Responsibility (cont’d)

• Responsibility Toward Employees– Legal and social commitments to:

• Not practice illegal discrimination• Provide a physically and socially safe workplace• Provide opportunities to balance work and life• Provide protection for whistleblowers (an employee who

discovers and tries to put an end to a company’s unethical, illegal, or socially irresponsible actions by publicizing them)

• Responsibility Toward Investors– Proper financial management (no insider trading)– Proper representation of finances

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Implementing Social Responsibility (SR) Programs

• Arguments Against SR– The cost of SR threatens profits.– Business has too much control over which SR issues would

be addressed and how SR issues would be addressed.– Business lacks expertise in SR matters.

• Arguments for SR– SR should take precedence over profits.– Corporations as citizens should help others.– Corporations have the resources to help.– Corporations should solve problems they create.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Approaches to Social Responsibility

• Obstructionist Stance– A company does as little as possible and may attempt to

deny or cover up violations• Defensive Stance

– A company does everything required of it legally but no more

• Accommodative Stance– A company meets its legal and ethical requirements and

also goes further in certain cases• Proactive Stance

– A company actively seeks to contribute to the well-being of groups and individuals in its social environment

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

FIGURE 2.4: Spectrum of Approaches to Corporate Social Responsibility

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Managing Social Responsibility Programs

1. Social responsibility must start at the top and be considered as a factor in strategic planning.

2. A committee of top managers must develop a plan detailing the level of management support.

3. One executive must be put in charge of the firm’s agenda.

4. The organization must conduct occasional social audits—systematic analyses of its success in using funds earmarked for its social responsibility goals.

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Social Responsibility and the Small Business

• Large Business versus Small Business Responses to Ethical Issues

– Differences are primarily differences of scale

– More issues are questions of individual ethics

• Ethics and social responsibility are decisions faced by all managers in all organizations, regardless of rank or size

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Key Terms

accommodative stance business ethics collusion consumerism defensive stance ethical behavior ethics insider trading managerial ethics obstructionist stance organizational stakeholders

proactive stance social audit social responsibility unethical behavior whistleblower

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.