Ethical, legal and environmental factors Flashcards
(26 cards)
What is meant by business ethics?
- Ethics in business refers to doing what is morally right, treating stakeholders such as employees, customers, suppliers, and the environment fairly and responsibly.
What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?
- CSR means businesses take responsibility for the social and environmental impact of their actions, beyond just making a profit.
What are common ethical issues businesses face?
- Treatment of workers
- animal welfare
- environmental damage
- supply chain practices
- fairness to customers.
What ethical concerns relate to animal welfare?
- Using free-range products
- avoiding unethical sourcing
- addressing pressure from groups like PETA.
How can acting ethically increase business costs?
- Ethical practices like paying living wages or using sustainable materials often raise production costs.
What are the benefits of acting ethically?
- Improved brand reputation
- customer loyalty
- motivated employees
- long-term profitability.
What is a Social and Environmental Audit (SEA)?
- A report assessing how ethically and sustainably a business operates in areas like pollution, wages, and discrimination.
Can ethics and profitability conflict?
- Yes
- ethics can raise costs and reduce short-term profits
- but can also boost long-term success and reduce reputational risk.
How might different stakeholders view ethics?
- Employees value fair treatment
- customers value ethical sourcing
- shareholders may worry about costs
- pressure groups monitor behaviour.
What is company law?
- It governs how companies are legally structured and operated
- protecting shareholders and ensuring transparency and accountability.
What is employment legislation?
- It protects employees’ rights through contracts, fair pay, safety regulations, anti-discrimination laws, and unfair dismissal protection.
What does health and safety legislation require?
- Employers must provide a safe workplace
- train employees in risk management
- ensure compliance with safety rules.
What is consumer protection legislation?
- It ensures goods and services are fit for purpose, accurately described, and sold without misleading information.
What is anti-discrimination law?
- It prevents unfair treatment based on age, gender, race, religion, or sexuality in hiring, pay, promotion, and dismissal.
What is the National Minimum Wage?
- The legal minimum hourly pay employers must provide
- intended to reduce low pay and poverty.
What is competition policy?
- Government efforts to prevent monopolies and promote fair competition
- enforced by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
What is intellectual property law?
- It protects creations like trademarks, patents, and copyright from being copied or misused by others.
What is data protection law?
- It ensures businesses handle personal data fairly, securely, and only for stated purposes under laws like GDPR.
What are environmental externalities?
- Unintended negative effects of business activity
- such as pollution, congestion, and waste.
How does government influence environmental behaviour?
- Through green taxes (e.g. Landfill Tax, Climate Change Levy)
- legislation
- regulatory bodies like the Environment Agency.
How do pressure groups influence business environmental policy?
- They use lobbying, media campaigns, protests, and legal action to push for sustainable practices.
What is the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ principle?
- A waste management approach that prioritises reducing waste
- then reusing materials
- then recycling what’s left.
Why is sustainability important to businesses?
- It reduces costs
- enhances reputation
- ensures legal compliance
- attracts ethical consumers
What are the potential environmental costs of business activity?
- Air, water and noise pollution
- climate change
- habitat destruction
- congestion
