business and society Flashcards
What is society?
A community, a nation, or a broad group of people with common traditions, values, institutions and collective activities and interests
What is business?
The private, commercially oriented organisations ranging in size from one person proprietorships to corporate giants
What is the business and society relationship?
What is the Anglo American Model?
Little consideration for anything outside stakeholders such as the environment - the greatest threat to environment sustainability is the continued increase in human consumption
What is capitalism?
The economic and political system where major portions of production and distribution is in private lands, operating under what is termed a ‘profit’ or ‘market’ system
What is corporate social responsibility?
To align a company social and environmental activities with its businesses purposes and values
What is the Maori Worldview?
What is the stakeholder model?
It holds that a company os morally obligated to all parties with a stake in the outcome of its activities, including employees, the communication and the environment as well as stockholders
What is the agency theory?
Promotes idea that shareholders own and the Board acts in their interest as their ‘agents’ focus on returning profit to shareholders. This is often an ‘unspoken assumption; in contemporary businesses as shareholders ‘own’ and are the ‘principals’ with authority to manage business. Managers are delegated decision making authority and they are therefore ‘agents’ of shareholders as an agent, they’re obliged to operate in accordance with shareholder desires
What is company regulation?
What is the social contract theory?
Holds that all businesses operate under an unwritten contract with the society as a whole, in which the society allows the company to do business under the condition that its actions benefit society
What is the old and new social contracts?
What is system thinking?
Modes of responding to messy/complex situations
ETHICS
What is the social contract?
A set of reciprocal understandings that charactsie the relationships between major institutions (business) and society, deals with arguments regarding to amount of freedom restrictions for the sake of protection of other rights
What is the Friedman Doctrine?
Use resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so it stays within the rules of the “game”
What is an example of ethics being misused?
The US congress attempted to pass a law allowing the censorship of any website
What is system theory?
All elements existing outside the boundary of the organisation have the potential to affect the organisation
What are the ethical frameworks (for decision making)?
Utilitarian, individualism, moral rights and justice
What is an utilitarian framework?
The ethical concept that moral behaviour produces the greatest good for the greatest number
What is an individualism framework?
Holds that acts are moral when they promote the individual best long term interest, which ultimately leads to greater good (the invisible hand)
What is a justice framework?
The ethical concept that moral decisions must be based on standards of equity, fairness and impartiality
What is a moral rights framework?
Holds that moral decisions are those that best maintain the rights of those people affected by them
What is a pluralistic society?
The politics and decision making are mostly made by the government but many nongovernmental organisations use their resources to exert their influence, prevents concentration of power
What is consumer-centric markets?
Are purpose driven and consumer involved. Transactional and Relational
What does transactional mean?
Product driven, few consumer interactions, “market of millions”
What does Relational mean?
Consumer driven, customer emphasised, “millions of markets”
What is consumer boycotts?
Becoming easier to execute and more die to social issues more so than financial (price)
What are brand communities?
Formed on the basis of attachment to a product or brand. E.g Nike or Lego
What is the main way to determine the Health of the Nation currently?
Use GDP as main indicator due to money being the main method of surviving (housing, food) but flawed
What other ways to determine the Health of a Nation?
Greek, Hedonic, Eudaimonic, GNH (Gross National Happiness), HDI (Human Development Index), based on life expectancy and per capita income indicators, Maslow hierarchy of needs
What is Hedonic?
Attainment of pleasure and avoidance of pain
What is Eudaimonic?
Focus on meaning and self realisation
What is social business?
People increasingly concerned about making a positive impact as well as money
What is Maslow Hierarchy of Needs?
From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are: physiological (food and clothing), safety (job security), love and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization. Needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to higher needs.
What is system thinking?
A holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the way that a system’s constituent parts interrelate and how systems work over time and within the context of larger systems.
What is greenwashing?
Act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practises, poor performance but good communication/marketing
What is corporate transparency?
Describes the extent to which a corporation’s actions are observable by outsiders.
What is the Consumer Guarantee Act (CGA)
allows repairs, replacements or refunds when goods are faulty. Think about characterising an employee as well as his or her rights, pay their taxes and sick leave
What is dieselgate?
Dieselgate, When Volkswagen (VM) exceeded emission levels accepted when technology was available, led to shareholder value decrease of 1%, shows consumer expectations.
What is consumer Magna Carta?
Right to safety, be informed, be heard, to choose
DIVERSITY!!!
What is capitalism?
Economic system where production and distribution are in private hands, operating for profit or the market, free market system
What is colonialism?
A practise or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas often establishing clones and generally with the aim of economic dominance in the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their religion, language, economic and other cultural practises
What are the seven pillars of capitalism?
Competition, invisible hand, utility, agency theory, pricing , shareholder value, limited liability
What is the invisible hand? Adam Smith
Self interest driven business will prove beneficial society
What are the different ideaologies?
Dominant, subordinate, radical and hegemony
What does the dominant ideology mean?
ideology is the norm, accepted by most
What does the subordinate ideology mean?
ideology that has minor arguments against dormant, does not attempt to change norm/dominant
What does the hegemony ideology mean?
is the political, economic, or military predominance or control of one state over others, naturally without force
What does the radical ideology mean?
directly opposite to the dominant one
What is governance?
How the organisation is directed, administrated or controlled, show the rights, roles and accountability of shareholder groups
What is an example of a diversity issue?
Enron - was respected industry that was plagued by accounting/financial practise, concealed debt. hidden compensation, board failed to take responsibility
What is HSWA?
Health and Safety Work Act - allows accountability of org for workplace health in NZ
What is workforce diversity?
hiring, training and valuing people with different human qualities or who belong to various cultural groups, not just about physical features, more habit based (in the workplace). Give broader range of opinions and viewpoints, spurs greater innovation and creativity, increases horizons ensures greatest competitive edge
What are employee rights?
Speech, fair treatment
What is moral management?
Employees are viewed as a human resource that must be treated with dignity and respect
What is amoral management?
Employees are treated as the law requires
What is immoral management
Employees are viewed as factors of production to be used, exploited and manipulated
What is a whistleblower?
What is dieselgate?
Dieselgate, When Volkswagen (VM) exceeded emission levels accepted when technology was available, led to shareholder value decrease of 1%, shows consumer expectations.
