Topic 9

3/11/2013
-week 12-
Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environmental Sustainability, And Strategy

What is Business Ethics?
-  Doing business in a good way like honest, responsibility, don't take bribery,punctual in time a so on.
-  In the book, business ethic means the application of general ethical principles to the actions and decisions      of businesses and the conduct of their personnel.


Where do ethical standards come from?
1- The school of ethical universalism holds that the most important conceptions of right and wrong are                universal and apply to members of all societies, all organizations and all businessperson.
2- The school of ethical relativism holds that differing religious, customs, norms, and behavioral  give rise to        multiple sets of standards concerning what is ethically right or wrong.

Example Of challenging ethical dilemmas :
1. The use of underage labor - Lately, many company used underage workers.  It will considered as taboo.       Some activist think that underage worker considered as unethical things.  Underage worker means                 company hired children under the age of 18 as full time worker.  More than 50 countries view children as       potential and necessary workers.  The company will pay the low wages and it will make profit if the               company hired underage workers.  It is considered as unethical because children need education starting       in the early age and they should be care by parents not care about work.

2.  The payment of bribes and kickbacks - In some area, the company will include also the bribes and                kickback for be successful business quickly.  In many Eastern Europe countries, it is usual to pay bribes        to government in order to get government contract, obtain a license or permit, or facilitate an                         administrative ruling.  In some developing  nations, it is difficult to move goods through customs without         paying off low-level officials.  In U.S, there is Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) that will prohibited       from paying bribes in other to do business.


Why should  company strategies be ethical?
* because a strategy that is unethical is morally wrong and reflects badly on the character of the company personnel
* because an ethical strategy can be good business and serve the self-interest of shareholders
- companies that involve in unethical conduct will have difficulty in recruiting and retained talented workers, lost revenues, reputation of business will down, creditors will disappeared trustworthiness to the company and so on.  There are also penalties on unethical executives which is they will be 150 years in the prison.  So, every company and individual should prevent from doing unethical behavior in the life.