Transcript Ethics and Social Responsibility

Which one is the odd one out?
Business Ethics and
Social Responsibility
What responsibility do businesses have?
• Do businesses have responsibilities?
• What are their responsibilities?
• Should they have them? Why?
• Surely their purpose is to make profit?
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/enron/
Archie Carroll’s
‘Pyramid of Social Responsibility’
To do some good for society
Philanthropic
Ethical
What society sees as acceptable
Laws/Regulations
Legal
Economic
Profitable
The Golden Rule
“Do as you would be done by!”
What does this mean for individuals?
What does this mean for organisations?
Business Ethics
• Rules or standards governing
the conduct of a business
• Moral code – what is ‘right’
and what is ‘wrong’?
• Highly subjective nature
• Tension between different stakeholders
Ethical Company Investigation
You need to answer the following
questions about your company:
1. Who are the company’s key
stakeholders?
2. What responsibility does the company
owe to these stakeholders?
3. How is the company ‘ethically’
minded?
4. Do you think the company is totally
ethical focused or tokenistic in its
Business Ethics
Tensions:
• Profits versus higher wages
• Expansion versus development
• Production versus pollution
• Supplier benefits versus consumer
prices/lower costs
• Survival of the business versus needs
of stakeholders
Plenary:
Does ethical business
mean profitable
business?