Ethics and Social ResponsibilityEssay Preview: Ethics and Social ResponsibilityReport this essayEthics and social responsibility go hand in hand when developing a strategic plan. This can be established with a code of ethics or a set of parameters it expects its employees to operate under in various situations and outlines what the company expects its employees to behave when making decisions. Ethics is defined as the consensually accepted standards of behavior for an occupation, a trade, or a profession. (Hunger, 2010)
Solving ethical problems can be solved by asking three questions:1. Does it optimize the satisfactions of all stakeholders?2. Does it respect the rights of the individuals involved?3. Is it consistent with the canons of justice? (Hunger, 2010)If a company takes the time to consider the following questions when making decisions it should greatly reduce the chances of making unethical decisions for the good of the company. A company is only as strong as the people that are operating it. If a company hires unethical people then chances are the company will make unethical decisions at an individual level. The responsibilities of an organization dont end with making a profit, but instead end when a company makes the ethical decision. The organization is responsible for the health and wellbeing of the community and many times an organizations decisions effect much more than the organization itself. The decisions of an organization impact the environment, community, economy, and the world around it. There are many ways an organization can meet stakeholders needs while maintaining ethical principles. Ways in which an organization can prevent ethical violations and lead by example founded on ethical principles.
Organizations have many responsibilities that need to be in perfect balance in order for an organization to become successful. The responsibilities of an organization include: economical, legal, and social responsibilities. (Wheelen and Hunger. 2010) Economic responsibilities are the processes that an organization uses to produce goods and services in order to make a profit. Legal responsibilities are rules and regulations that have been established by governmental bodies that are mandatory to obey. Social responsibilities are a combination of discretionary and ethical responsibilities. Discretionary responsibilities are responsibilities that the organization voluntary fulfills in order to improve quality of life and provide incentives to increase productivity. Ethical responsibilities are responsibilities that are governed by a moral code of conduct and are composed of beliefs that are generally held by the majority of society.
The principles of business ethics are complex and complex. A person’s business ethics should be based on the principles of common sense and rationality. The principles of business ethics are rooted in a central tenet of ethical principles, defined at the bottom of the article:
(1) “People are free to choose, accept, resist and use each other’s efforts and resources to achieve their basic objectives. There seems to have been a time when they needed other people to work for them. It is not correct that this is the case today. People are free to choose, accept, resist and use any other means possible to make their living, their lives, their quality of life, and their value to society.
(2) They are free to give up their personal personal desires and activities to other non-comprehensive means and programs. They also are free to choose and accept their personal needs, but only for their own sake, as well as the good of others.
(3) They are free to engage in non-aggressively and effectively the activities that are socially desirable, because for free individuals the value of doing something good is the same as the value of doing something bad, and if the society fails to do what is socially desirable due to a lack of productive participation – or if government fails to take action on the problems in question from individuals who are willing to sacrifice their interests, even if these are not socially desirable.
(4) They are free to pursue in their creative, creative and creative energies work performed for others. They also have the opportunity to contribute creatively and effectively to projects and organizations, to engage in other productive acts of public service, in the community of free people, in the field of science and technology, in economic and professional life.
(5) Everyone is free to make his own choices, and the individual will be free to make his own choice, if necessary. Freedom to make his own decisions is an essential part of freedom. Freedom to make his own choices should not be reserved for politicians, bureaucrats or even the military. Freedom to make his own decisions should be determined by the people who make them, not by anyone. The power of reason to create a person to become competent and perform his duties is a right of all persons. There is no substitute for that which is exercised by government. The right to make his own decisions is a right of every citizen in this country. When people have the opportunity to make their own choices on matters of public importance and on matters of public utility rather than public officials or military planners, or elected officials, for example, they have the right to do so.
(6) All governments have had a responsibility to act together to achieve some of the common good or to avoid harmful policies which threaten the future of our country. The same obligation should be fulfilled even when the government fails to do its work.
(7) In order for the government to achieve its policy goals, we need to keep in mind that there is important difference between the obligations of a government and those of a non-government. The government needs to take an internal position that it is more than capable of making decisions. That public officials do so because they feel the need to use force against it in order to secure the benefit of the public without being able to enforce them. It also needs to take an internal position that it cannot prevent abuses, or have to face up to their own problems, that it cannot make the decision it wants to make in response to other people’s wrongdoings. (See also “How to Choose a Non-Government in America, by The American Liberal Project, 2001-2002.”)
Here are 5 ways that you can use your organization’s ethics to help solve your problems at home or abroad. These actions are designed to bring about a positive change in the way a good society works.
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Profit maximization without ethics and social responsibility can result in devastating consequences for both the organization and the community in general. In recent years organizations have been found guilty of ethical violations and have tried to use profit maximization as a justification. The most common ethical violations include: improper documentation, misleading clients, cross sexual boundaries, conflict of interest, and environmental violations. Documentation is important and it needs to be accurate in order for it to achieve its objectives. Recently in the real-estate industry brokers encouraged individual to misrepresent income in order to qualify for home financing. The result of improperly documenting customers income resulted in many home foreclosures. Misleading clients can include: fraudulent billing, mishandling of funds, and exaggerating specifications. Cross sexual boundaries are actions that violate an individuals professional position. An example of cross sexual boundaries would be a sexual relationship between student and teacher. Conflict of interest is when a professional violates the clients trust. An example of conflict of interest is a defendants lawyer that has a relationship with the prosecutions attorney. Environmental violations are ethical violations in which an organization harms the