Ethics and Social Responsibility - Chapter 5 Flashcards
Ethics
The standards of moral behaviour; that is, behaviour that is accepted by society as right vs wrong
Compliance-based ethics codes
Emphasize the prevention of unlawful behaviour by increasing control & penalizing wrongdoers.
Integrity-based ethics codes
The organization’s guiding values, create an environment that supports ethically sound behaviour & stress shared accountability among employees.
What are the 6 steps to help improve business ethics:
- top management must adopt & unconditionally support an explicit corporate code of conduct.
- Employees must understand that expectations for ethical behaviour begin at the top & that senior management expects all employees to act accordingly.
- Managers & others must be trained to consider the ethical implications of all business decisions.
- Ethics office must be set up.
- Outsiders such as suppliers must be told abt the ethics program.
- Ethics code must be enforced w/ timely action if any rules are broken.
Sox (Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)
This legislation established stronger standards to prevent misconduct & improve corporate governance practices.
The goal of Sox is to ensure the accuracy & reliability of published financial information
What is FAA short for?
Federal Accountability Act
FAA (The federal accountability Act)
A wide range of measures to help make the Canadian federal gov more accountable & to increase transparency oversight in gov operations.
CSR (corporate social responsibility)
The concern businesses have for the welfare of society, not just for their owners
Ethical consumerism
Strategy where “companies provide products that appeal to ppl’s best selves.”
Corporate philanthropy
Charitable donations to non-profit groups of all winds.
Corporate social initiatives
Enhanced forms of corporate philanthropy.
Corporate responsibility
Includes everything from hiring minority workers to making safe products, minimizing pollution, etc, everything that has to do w acting responsibly within society.
Corporate policy
The position a firm takes on social & political issues
What is EPAC short for?
Ethics Practitioners Association of Canada
EPAC (Ethics Practitioners Association of Canada)
Enables individuals to work successfully in field of ethics in organization
What are the 2 views on CSR to stakeholders?
- Strategic approach
- Pluralist approach
The strategic approach
Requires that management’s primary orientation be toward the economic interest of shareholders.
Pluralist approach
Recognizes the special responsibility of management to optimize profits but not at the expense of employees, suppliers, etc
What are the 4 basic rights of consumers?
- The right to safety
- The right to be informed
- The right to choose
- The right to be heard
Insider trading
Uses private company info to further insider’s own fortunes, or those of their family & friends.
Social audit
a systemic evaluation of an organizations progress toward implementing programs that are socially responsible and responsive.
Triple bottom line (people, planet, and profit):
A framework for measuring and reporting corporate performance against economic, social, and environmental parameters.
What are the 5 types of groups that serve as watchdogs regarding how well orgs enforce ethical and social responsibility policies?
- Socially conscious investors
- Socially conscious research organizations
- Environmentalists
- Union officials
- Customers
Sustainable development:
implementing a process that integrates, environmental, economic, and social considerations into decision making
Socially conscious investors
they insist that a company extends its own high standards to all its suppliers
Socially conscious research organizations
they analyze and report on CSR efforts
Environmentalists
they apply pressure by publicly, identifying companies that do not abide by the environmentalists standards
Union officials
they identify violations and force companies to comply to avoid negative publicity