Business Ethics Flashcards
1
Q
Corporate Social Responsibility - CSR (from class)
A
- having it leads to good business and the others
- we don’t want to give our money to companies that we think are evil
- bad business e.g. Amazon
- working conditions in which humans cannot flourish - not aligning with human dignity
- because its focused on profit its behaviour and ethical practices are negative
- they don’t pay tax and paying tax is one of the easier ways to demonstrate corporal social responsibility as they benefit from so many state funded things
- tax
- good working conditions
- sustainability
- care for employees
2
Q
Globalisation (from class)
A
- poses a challenge to been a good business
- means your competing with companies in LEDC with lower working standards
- e.g. fashion industry
- means less jobs in this country
- employing children allows families to have more money but the adult workers just should be paid more
- companies could work in the global world but still practice good ethics
- could do fair trade or set up schools for children of their workers
3
Q
Good Ethics is Good Business (from class)
A
- been ethical can lead to more profit
- CSR
- globalisation does often mean good ethics is not good business
- but consumers want to spend their money on things we know don’t hurt people
- fair trade allows globalisation but in a good way
- essentially a living wage
- producers and growers paid a minimum that it can’t go below and if prices rise it rises to match
- get paid as a shareholder
- if you look after your workers surely they will work harder for you and be more productive and loyal
4
Q
Human dignity SHOULD be the main value of any good business
A
- good ethics is good business - by improving dignity it may encourage workers to be more productive and loyal which in turn makes the business better
- many businesses today do go beyond what the law requires them to do
- e.g. lush doesn’t test on animals even though this increases research costs
- CSR
- Globalisation can still take place but can be done ethically
- fair trade allows businesses to still compete on the global market without compromising ethical values - lead to good business - people like supporting fair trade companies
- Kant argued human dignity should never be compromised - no should ever be treat as a means to an end
5
Q
Human dignity SHOULD NOT be the main value of any good business
A
- Milton Friedman - social responsibility of a business is to increase its profits - trickle down economics - everything good follows as a result of making profit
- globalisation challenges human dignity as the main value
- the globalised and competitive world encourages businesses to have profit as main value
- globalisation allows UK consumers to enjoy things as cheaply as possible which is surely the aim of a good business as it makes people buy more
- if good ethics is good business why are so many businesses acting so unethically
- profit should be the main value of any company otherwise the business would fail and people would lose their jobs
- but it shouldn’t be the only value
6
Q
define CSR
A
the concept that businesses should be accountable for the impacts they have on people/the environment
7
Q
Ford Pinto Scandal
A
- ford chose to stick with the defective fuel system design that they knew had the potential of exploding in order to save money
- said the` monetary cost was greater than the societal benefit
- caused deaths and injury
- follow Friedman’s thinking that profit most important
8
Q
Coca Cola
A
- acted on CSR by changing the fuel used in their delivery fleet to lower their greenhouse gas emissions
- still don’t act perfectly but act better than before
9
Q
fair trade
A
in the UK 1/3 in bananas bought are fair trade evidencing that good ethics does increase sales and create good business
- some critics argue that fair trade is not fair at all
- expensive niche market to maintain because it needs constant promotion and requires educated consumers
- high marketing costs are one of the reasons not all of the fair trade premiums make it back to the producers
- retailer may take advantage of consumers’ social conscience
- good ethics is good business is just a front to be ethical to get more sales
10
Q
microsoft
A
- although through globalisation it brought vital jobs to many countries it did not create quality livelihoods with some workers earning just 56 cents an hour
11
Q
CSR IS nothing more than hypocritical window dressing to cover the greed of a business intent on making profits
A
- many businesses market themselves as ethical e.g. using fair trade or making large charitable donations
- for the majority this association is because it may help increase profits through building a positive brand image with consumers
- true hypocritical behaviour can be found with some car manufactures producing low emissions cars by cheating tests
- use CSR as cover for real intentions
- yes but it is not wrong
- Friedman - more people benefit if a business focus on profit
- a business is not like an individual and its hypocritical of society to expect anything else
- it is but we can use our choices in the market and through campaigns to persuade companies to ‘be good’ for sound business reasons
12
Q
CSR IS MORE than hypocritical window dressing to cover the greed of a business intent on making profit
A
- some businesses are deeply motivated by social concerns - green energy producers
- as long as this association is genuine its unfair to deem this hypocritical
- even if it is window dressing to start with it does have an impact and these car companies were forced to change their practices and re-build their image as sales went down
- thus once a business realises the damage of an ethical scandal future ethical actions will likely be more genuine
- there is an external pressure to act ethically
- obliged to accept responsibility to stakeholders and customers
- Friedman’s views are outdated
- today’s environmental concerns means pursuit of only profit no longer seems appropriate
13
Q
Human beings CAN flourish in the context of capitalism and consumerism
A
- if a key driver in life is the ever increasing acquisition of products and if this produces greater wealth than perhaps people flourish best under a successful capitalist economy with good consumers driving progress
- consumerism grants individuals the power to make choices/acquire more products which drives the economy
- creation of mass market for consumer products has revolutionised Western economies
- Capitalism linked to the Protestant work ethic the idea that hard work, discipline and frugality are one aspect of a person’s salvation
- capitalism incentivises human behaviour because there is self-interest in the outcome - if you can make your business better you gain more of the rewards
14
Q
human beings CAN NOT flourish in the context of capitalism and consumerism
A
- not all can
- mass market and consumerism may have revolutionised Western economies and benefited many but this comes at the expense of those workers in LEDCs
- it encourages individuals/businesses to pursue wealth and become greedy
- may act irresponsibly in pursuit of gain
- capitalist system reduces the exp of human life to that of essential materialistic consumer gain at the expense of relationships, morality and spirituality
- capitalism reduces the way we think about the planet and consumerism encourages a wasteful approach (but many are becoming more concerned with the planet)
- not clear the increasing ownership of goods is something the earth can sustain for everyone or that everyone will be able to afford
- perhaps the whole capitalist economy just encourages greed which leads to greater moral corruption
15
Q
globalisation encourages the pursuit of good ethics as the foundation of good businesses
A
- people like good businesses
- transactional corporations central to globalisation seem to have embraced this in their mission statement
- Toyata - “enriching lives around the world”
- good ethics is something globalisation encourages
- many made sincere efforts to live up to their mission statements
- microsoft donated $1b to charity since 1983
- as society demands more CSR perhaps good ethics will eventually become good global business even if we are not quite there yet
