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Business
Ethics is a form of the art of applied
ethics that examines ethical rules and principles within a commercial
context, the various moral or ethical problems that can arise in
a business setting, and any special duties or obligations that apply
to persons who are engaged in commerce.
In
the increasingly conscience-focused marketplaces of the 21st century,
the demand for more ethical business processes and actions (known
as ethicism)
is increasing.[1]Simultaneously,
pressure is applied on industry to improve business ethics through
new public initiatives and laws (e.g. higher UK road tax for higher-emission
vehicles).[2]
Business
ethics can be both a normative and a descriptive discipline. As a corporate practice and a career specialisation,
the field is primarily normative. In academia descriptive approaches
are also taken. The range and quantity of business ethical issues
reflects the degree to which business is perceived to be at odds
with non-economic social values. Historically, interest in business
ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both
within major corporations and within academia. For example, today
most major corporate websites lay emphasis on commitment to promoting
non-economic social values under a variety of headings (e.g. ethics
codes, social responsibility charters). In some cases, corporations
have redefined their core values in the light of business ethical
considerations (e.g. BP's
"beyond petroleum" environmental tilt).
Ethics (via Latinethica from the Ancient
Greek ἠθική [φιλοσοφία]
"moral philosophy", from the adjective of ἤθοςēthos "custom, habit"), a major branch of philosophy,
is the study of values and customs of a person or group. It covers the analysis and employment of concepts such as right and wrong, good
and evil, and responsibility.
It is divided into three primary areas: meta-ethics (the
study of the concept of ethics), normative ethics (the study
of how to determine ethical values), and applied ethics (the
study of the use of ethical values).
The
Josephson Institute of Ethics An organization aimed to
improve the ethical quality of society by changing personal
and organizational decision making and behavior.
Social
Responsibility is a doctrine that
claims that an entity whether it is state, government, corporation, organization or individual has a responsibility to society. Among these entities, activist
groups and local communities can also be associated with social
responsibility, not only business or governmental entities. This
responsibility can be "negative," in that it is a responsibility
to refrain from acting (resistance stance) or it can be "positive,"
meaning there is a responsibility to act(proactive stance).
There
is a large inequality in the means and roles of different entities to fulfill their claimed
responsibility. This would imply the different entities have different
responsibilities, insomuch as states should ensure the civil
rights of their citizens, that corporations should respect and
encourage the human
rights of their employees and that citizens should abide with
written laws.
But social responsibility can mean more than these examples. Many NGOs accept that their role and the responsibility of their members as
citizens is to help improve society by taking a proactive stance
in their societal roles. It can also imply that corporations have
an implicit obligation to give back to society (such as is claimed
as part of corporate
social responsibility and/or stakeholder
theory).
Social
responsibility is voluntary; it is about going above and beyond
what is called for by the law(legal responsibility). It involves
an idea that it is better to be proactive toward a problem rather
than reactive to a problem. Social responsibility means eliminating
corrupt, irresponsible or unethical behavior that might bring harm
to the community, its people, or the environment before the behavior
happens.
It
has been defined as "the specific collection of values and norms
that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that
control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization. Organizational values are beliefs and
ideas about what kinds of goals members of an organization should
pursue and ideas about the appropriate kinds or standards of behavior
organizational members should use to achieve these goals. From organizational
values develop organizational norms, guidelines or expectations
that prescribe appropriate kinds of behavior by employees in particular
situations and control the behavior of organizational members towards
one another"[1].
Senior
management may try to determine a corporate culture. They may
wish to impose corporate values and standards of behavior that specifically
reflect the objectives of the organization. In addition, there will
also be an extant internal culture within the workforce.
Work-groups
within the organization have their own behavioral quirks and interactions
which, to an extent, affect the whole system. Task culture can be
imported. For example, computer technicians will have expertise,
language and behaviors gained independently of the organization,
but their presence can influence the culture of the organization
as a whole.
Social
Exclusion relates to the alienation or disenfranchisement of certain people within a society. It is often connected to a person's social
class, educational status and living
standards and how these might affect their access to various
opportunities. It also applies to some degree to the disabled,
to racial minorities, women and to the elderly.
Anyone who deviates in any perceived way from the norm of a population
can become subject to coarse or subtle forms of social exclusion.
“Social
exclusion is about the inability of our society to keep all groups
and individuals within reach of what we expect as a society...[or]
to realise their full potential."Social
exclusion in the UK
To
be "excluded from society"
can take various relative senses, but social exclusion is usually
defined as more than a simple economic phenomenon: it also has consequences on the social, symbolic field.
"Women
of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Caribbean descent [in Britain] are
doing well in schools but are still being penalised in the workplace...80-89%
of 16-year-olds from those ethnic groups wanted to work full-time...but
they were up to four times more likely to be jobless."[1]
PhilosopherAxel
Honneth thus speaks of a "struggle for recognition",
which he attempts to theorize through Hegel's
philosophy. In this sense, to be socially excluded is to be deprived
from social recognition and social value. In the sphere of politics,
social recognition is obtained by full citizenship;
in the economic sphere (in capitalism)
it means being paid enough to be able to participate fully in the
life of the community.
The
problem of social exclusion is usually tied to the problem of equal
opportunity, as some people are more subject to such exclusion
than others. Marginalization of certain groups is a problem even in many economically more developed
countries, including the United
Kingdom (UK) and the United
States (US), where the majority of the population enjoys considerable
economic and social opportunities..
The
rise of technology has allowed our environment to be characterized as a global one.
“The global economy"
gave business the ability to market products and services all over the globe.
It has also allowed them to develop partnerships and alliances throughout
the world, which has become essential for success in today’s
business.”[1] Prior to Globalization,
the United States dominated the global economy. In recent years,
however, the U.S. share of the global economy has shrunk to approximately
25%. This trend is expected to continue as the economies of many newly
industrialized countries continue to grow at a faster rate.
Globalization refers to increasing global connectivity, integration and
interdependence in the economic, social, technological, cultural, political,
and ecological spheres. Globalization is an umbrella term and is perhaps
best understood as a unitary process inclusive of many sub-processes
(such as enhanced economic interdependence, increased cultural
influence, rapid advances of information
technology, and novel governance and geopolitical challenges)
that are increasingly binding people and the biosphere more tightly into one global system.
There
are several definitions and all usually mention the increasing
connectivity of economies and ways of life across the world.
The Encyclopedia Britannica says that globalization is the
"process by which the experience of everyday life ... is becoming
standardized around the world." While some scholars and observers
of globalization stress convergence of patterns of production
and consumption and a resulting homogenization of culture,
others stress that globalization has the potential to take
many diverse forms.[1]
In
economics, globalization is the convergence of prices, products,
wages, rates of interest and profits towards developed country
norms.[2] Globalization of the economy depends on the role of human migration,
international trade,
movement of capital,
and integration of financial markets.
The International
Monetary Fund notes the growing economic interdependence
of countries worldwide through increasing volume and variety
of cross-border transactions, free international capital flows,
and more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology. Theodore
Levitt is usually credited with globalization's first
use in an economic context. [3]
Making
Globalization Work - Listen to Joseph Stiglitz Lecture
delivered in Chennai on January 4, 2007
Democratic
World Federalists is a San-Francisco-based civil society
organization with supporters worldwide, advocates a democratic
federal system of world government.
Globalization
from Below. Lecture given by Luis Macas, Ecuadoran Indigenous
Leader and Human Rights Activist. November 16, 2006. University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Specialists
in many fields are concerned with organizational performance including
strategic planners, operations, finance, legal, and organizational
development.
In
recent years, many organizations have attempted to manage organizational
performance using the balanced
scorecard methodology where performance is tracked and measured
in multiple dimensions such as:
-
financial performance (e.g. shareholder return) - customer service
- social responsibility (e.g. corporate citizenship, community outreach)
- employee stewardship.
Business
Ethics Fifth Edition
O. C. Ferrell, Colorado State University
John Fraedrich, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
Linda Ferrell, University of Wyoming
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