Week 12: Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Flashcards
Definition of Ethics
it is a moral philosophy with standards/principles of right and wrong that influence/guide behaviour
Three domains of actions
*codified law (legal standards), *ethics (social standards), *free choice (personal standards)
Three levels of ethics
1- Individual ethics
2- organisation’s ethical stance
3- CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)
1- Individual ethics:
concerns decisions and actions of individual managers, and ethical principles behind their behaviour
2- organisation’s ethical stance
concerns extent to which organisation’s minimum obligations to stakeholders and to society at large will be exceeded
3- CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility):
focus on how org. puts its ethical stance into practice by addressing different stakeholder interests
Ethical approachs:
oAbsolutists/Absolutism: believe ethical positions are fundamentally and permanently either right or wrong
o Relativists/Relativism: ethical positions depend on circumstances, culture, consequences of action etc.
Four approaches to ethical dilemmas
o Utilitarian: guided by result in greatest good for most number of people
o Individual: guided through individual’s best long-term interests, ultimately in everyone’s self-interest
o Moral-rights: guided by respect for fundamental human rights
o Justice: guided respect for standards of fairness and equity
Social responsibility
is our duty to take actions that benefit society and organisation. CSR is a notion that corporations are expected to go above and beyond following the law and making a profit.
Carroll’s global corporate social responsibility pyramid
- Philanthropic responsibility, 2. Ethical, 3. Legal, 4. Economic
e.g.
child labour – forced and child labour linked to World Bank Group Investments in Uzbekistan
Corporate governance
system of governing a company so interests of corporate owners and other stakeholders are protected
