Transcript Chapter 2 Social and Ethical Environment of Business

Chapter 2
Social and Ethical
Environment of Business
Objectives
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Describe the changing nature of the population, the
labor force, and their impact on businesses.
Discuss how the values of Americans have changed and
how business has adapted to those changed values.
Debate the dilemma posed by the need for business to
grow and the need to protect the natural environment.
Suggest ways in which businesses can be socially
responsible.
Predict how changes in society and business will affect
employment in the future.
Human Resource Issues
People are a firm’s most important
resource
 More important than finance, technology,
product innovation, or international
business
 Changes in population and lifestyles have
a direct bearing on business operations
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Human Resource Issues
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Population
– Gross Domestic Product (GDP) cannot
increase unless there are enough people to
provide necessary labor and to purchase the
goods and services produced
– Growing Population
 Current US population = 307,254,924
 Growth Rate largely determined by the birth rate,
the death rate, and the level of immigration
 As the standard of living increases, birth rate falls
Human Resource Issues
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Population
– Growth Population
 Much of it takes place through immigration
 US accepts more legal immigrants than any other
country
– Changing Population
 The nature of the population
– Demographics
– Baby Boom
– Baby Bust
US Growth Chart
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http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=us
population&met=population&tdim=true&q
=US+population
Human Resource Issues
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Population
– Moving Population
 One out five Americans changes his or her address
 Frost Belt – The colder northern half of the country
 Sun Belt – The warmer southern half of the nation
 Rust Belt – the north central and northeastern
states where the major manufacturing firms once
dominated
 Florida and Georgia have experienced rapid
economic and industrial growth
Human Resource Issues
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Labor Force
– Most people aged 16 or over who are
available for work (employed and
unemployed)
– Does not include active duty military
– Labor force size is approximately 150 mil.
– Labor participation rate is the percentage of
the labor force that is either employed or
actively seeking employment = 65.5%
– Unemployment Rate = 9.7%
Human Resource Issues
Unemployment Rates
Human Resources Issues
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Poverty
– 37.3 million people (12.5% of the population)
lived at or below the official poverty level
– Primarily children and adults who had not
participated in the labor force during the year
– 7.5 million working poor (at least 27 weeks in
the labor force)
– Education, living conditions (single, family) all
are taken into account
Human Resources Issues
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Poverty
– Low-earnings income $305 a week
– http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/08Poverty.shtml
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Equal Employment
– Laws passed to outlaw discrimination
– Glass Ceiling- an invisible barrier to job advancement
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Comparable Worth
– Paying workers equally for jobs with similar but not
identical job requirements
– Not easy measure a jobs worth
Human Resources Issues
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Societal Values
– Based on the generations
 Generation X – post baby boom generation
 Net Generation – born between 1977-1997
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Employer Practices
– A changing society affects an employer’s choices
– Redesigning jobs
 To reduce boredom
 To reduce job receptiveness
– Improving Health and Safety
– Family-Friendly Practicing
 Bank of America
 Allstate
 Children’s Health Care of Atlanta
Natural Resource Issues
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Managing the Environment
– Companies going GREEN
– Following environmental trends
Ethical Issues
Ethics are the standards of moral conduct
that individuals and groups set for
themselves
 Defines what behavior they value as right
or wrong
 Closely linked to personal values,
underlying beliefs and attitudes that
individuals or groups possess
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Ethical Issues
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Ethical Dilemmas
– Rises when it is not clear whether a particular
action is legal or illegal
– Constantly faced with ethical dilemmas of
various kinds
Societal Responsibility of Business
Social Responsibility refers to the duty of a
business to contribute to the well being of
society
 Stakeholders are any individuals or groups
that are affected by the firm’s actions,
such as owners, customers, suppliers,
employees, creditors, government and the
public
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