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Business Ethics - Coggle Diagram

- - - - example
        -for example, when COVID 19 pandemic took hold in the UK in 2020/2021 many businesses had to furlough their employees: the government offered to pay 80% of the costs of furloughing
        
        some buisinesses, if they could afford to, went further and topped up their employees' saleries up to the full 100% to aid them
        
        alothough other businesses could afford to top up their employees' saleries and not require taxpayers' money for the furloughing, still claimed and did not top up their employees' saleries
        
        investing in 'ethical' business
        -there are many thousands of investors who only want to put their money into 'ethical' businesses
        
        for example, the FTSE4Good Index Series provides information for investors on businesses that demonstrates 'stong environmental, social andgovernance practases' (www.ftse.com)
        
        the United Nations has alos set up voluntary principles for ethically responsible investment. As of 2014, investors had put more than $34 trillion into funds committed to these principles
        
        whistle blowing
        -whistle blowing is when an employee of a business chooses to make public their beleif that their employer has acted unethically
        -businesses have processes through which emplyees can report faults or problems so that they can be addressed
        -whistle blowing may be percieved as an individual moral choice. But in some cases, employees ahve a legal responsibility to report unethical behaviour because of the likelihood that this behaviour is criminal
        
        whistle blowing examples
        -for example, if an employee found out the business they worked for was not paying tax, they would be legally obligated to report
        -in the case of the COVID 19 pandemic, some businesses were not adhering to the health and saftety guidlines set out by the government to keep employees safe. this means some people came forward to explain their poor working conditions and lack of personal protective equipment (PPE)
        
        legal protection
        -in most cases in the UK, whistle blowers are protected by law: the Public Interest Disclosure Act (1998)
- - - - what is globalisation?
        -describes the integration of economies, industries, markets, cultures and policy making around the world
        -moving production from wealthier countries such as the US and Western parts of Europe- to countries such as China and India- where the wage paid is much lower than it would be in these MEDC's (more economically developed countries)- has rapidly increased economic development and technology
        
        impact of globalisation on wages
        -although the wages that corporations pay in countries like china are far lower than the wages they would need to pay in Western countries, they are still much higher than those of rural workers, like peasant farmers in China
        -This has had enormous economic benefits for stakeholders in these emerging economies
        
        reduction in poverty
        -Jeffrey Sachs says that, as a result of globalisation, the number of extreamily poor people in India has reduced by 200 million and by 300million in China (The End of Poverty, 2005)
        
        consumer culture in Europe
        -moving production to low wage countries has had major impacts on stakeholders in the US and Europe
        -consumers have benefitted from cheaper products, feulling a consumer culture
- - - - support for CSR
        -classis utilitarians, such as Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, would likely support the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR)
        -corporate social responsibility means that a business has a responsibility towards the community and environment
        -so in a utilitarians view, if a buisness acts in a way that benefits the majority of its stakeholders, then it is a good business as it brings the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people
        
        weighing profit against outcome
        -if corprate social responsibility is just 'window dressing' for profit and greed, then this has to be weighed up in terms of the outcome
        -if this profit and greed benefits employees, governments and other stakeholders, then the end justifies the means
        
        outcomes>processes
        -utilitarianism can be used in any buisiness decision that seeks to maximise positive effects (especially morally, but also financially) and minimise negative ones
        -utilitarianism in business ethics is primarily concerned with outcomes rather than processes
        
        if outcome leads to the greatest good (or the least harm) for the greatest number of people, then it is assumed the end justifies the means
        
        kantain arguments
        -kant would argue that a business hsould be ethical and take responsibility for all stakeholders because that is the right thing to do. however, if a business was simply being responsible to make a profit then this would not be moral
        -kant argues that we have a duty to treat people as an end and not a means. if our prime reason for being ethical in business is to make a profit in the future, then this is not a moral action
        
        kants categorical imperative
        -kants categorical imperative highlights that human beings are the pinnacle of creation: they are the highest point
        -so how people are treated in a business/ the people who are directly affected by that business need to be taken into account. no one should be exploited or mistreated in the search for profit
        
        kantian view of globalisation
        -globalisation raises moral concerns because people in less developed countries could be getting exploited
        -if the company is acting just for its own good, then in Kantian ters it is treating the people of the poorer nations as a means, not as an end
  - - - arguement: CSR is a disguise
        -some argue that most buisinesses' association with social issues comes from a calculation that this association will help them increase their profits throuh building up a positive brand image with the customers they want to attract
        -this argument says that companies behave in a more ethical way in order to promote their business ina postive light and gain more custom and, consiquestly, profit
        
        arguements: CSR is not a disguise
        -there is external pressure on buisinesses to act ethically. if that is the case, can they be accused of acting hypocritically when they are obligated to accept the responsibilities they have to their customers and other stakeholders?
        -it cant be hypocritical if they are helf to account by the law, especially with whistly blowing policies potentially being used against them
        
        globalisation promotes good ethics
        -the pursuit of good ethics as the foundation of good buisiness is something that the excesses of globalisation might be encouraging
        -some transnational corporations have made sincere efforts to live up to their mission statements
        
        micorosoft for example, has donated well over $1 billion to charity since 1983
        
        globalisation discourages good ethics
        -globalisation operates mostly in the interests of the richest countries, which continue to dominate world trade at the expense of developing countries
        -the role of LEDCs (less economically developed countires) in the world market is mostly to provide teh North and West with cheap labour and raw materials
        -Critics include groups such s environmentalists, anti-poverty campaigners and trade unionists
    - - arguemnts: huaman can flourish
        -consumerism gives individuals the power to make choices between a range of brands and acquire a wider range of products- ones that help the, to live a lifestyle that was only possible for the very wealthy decades ago. this in turn drives the economy
        -this drive has been behnd many technological developments
        -capitalism allows people to choose what to consume and this choice leads to more competition and better products and services
        
        capitalism: humans cannot flourish
        -capitalism encourages individuals (andbusinesses) to pursue wealth and become greedy. they may act irresponsibly with regards to the environment or ethics in the prusuit of gain
        -capitalism has had a negative impact on the environment. it resuces the way we think about the planet as humans become more concerned with a collection of natural resources to be maximsed and acquired
        
        consumerism: humans cannot flourish
        -consumerism encourages a wasteful approach to the prodcts we make
        -many products become disposable and people do not keep products in the long term as there are so many technological advances
    - - In a capitalist system, property, industry and business are privately owned.
        
        pursuing wealth causes greed
        
        negatively imapcts the environmet
        
        greater choice of products
        
        more choices= greater competition
        
        more choices= better products/ services