STEEPLE - ethical factors

Question 1

define ethics?

Answer 1

concerned with the judgement about whether something is morally right or wrong e.g. outsourcing abroad where workers are paid low wages

Question 2

what are the ethical issues that affect a business?

Answer 2

• treating workers well and paying a living wage
• not harming the environment
• behaving responsibly towards stakeholders by being aware of impact of production
• working with the community
• not discriminating

Question 3

What are the benefits of behaving ethically?

Answer 3

• attract new customers to the business (customers want to invest in ethical)
• attract new and better employees (better conditions, aligning value)
• higher staff retention (same as above)
• encourage investment (investors want to keep risk low)
• business can charge higher prices

Question 4

what are the disadvantages of behaving ethically?

Answer 4

• increased costs
• less competitive on price
• could lead to less output (staff can’t work overtime)
• lower shareholder returns
• difficulty in finding suppliers

Question 5

why are some businesses more affected than others by ethical issues?

Answer 5

• larger businesses = more well known = more media attention/customers
• businesses that outsource production to countries with different laws = more likely to be affected by safety issues/lower wages
• businesses with lower price points = more likely to be affected by issues = seek to lower the cost of production