Exploring Ethical Dilemmas in Business Decisions

Brad Staudt

9/17/15

Intro to Business and Economics

Article Analysis

Article title: “The ‘Do Whatever It Takes’ Attitude Gone Wrong” published by the Huffington Post

Of the many possible ethical dilemmas that people could face in the business world, the article: “The ‘Do Whatever It Takes’ Attitude Gone Wrong” portrays particular ethical situations in todays business world that are very common: poor social responsibility and its negative effects. Social responsibility is considering what affects business decisions and products have on society. The article reveals what goes on behind the scenes at a business in terms of poor ethical decision making and how often it occurs. It mainly focuses on how business decisions are made without consideration

of how they can affect society. It also shows us how carrying out business tasks without care for the feelings of employees negatively affects a business’s environment. The article shows the reader how “doing whatever it takes” to be successful in business is a poor decision.
There are two categories under social responsibility: the economic model of social responsibility, and the socioeconomic model of social responsibility. The economic side, supports the idea that society will benefit most from a business that is alone to produce its products that our society wants, so it would support the “do whatever it takes” method. This side of social responsibility would want a corporation to supply our society with its products any way it can so it can meet the demand of its consumers. This side of the argument is also focused mainly on making profit. If the business finds a way to produce a product fast and make money fast, then by all means that company should use its method to its best effort (Warner). The economic side believes that if the method a business uses ships out its products to society and its consumers then its goal has met. A business that operates by this is focuses a lot on the money it produces.
The other side of social responsibility is the socioeconomic model of social responsibility.

This side states that business should not just focus on the profit it produces and the products it makes, but the affect its decisions has on society so it would be against the “do whatever it takes” method. It perpetuates the ideal that business executives and employees should think twice about the method it uses to make products. It states that a business should stop and make sure that what it is doing is affecting society negatively (Warner). For example, if a business is using a method that has been proven to be very efficient in producing its products quickly, maybe a manager or executive should make sure their employees are happy with this method and that they aren’t being over worked or treated in a negative manner. A business should also make sure it isn’t producing any type of

pollution.
I believe that in order for a business to be successful it needs to use the socioeconomic side of social responsibility.

A business should make sure its methods of production are not negatively affecting its employees and that all the people in the business are happy and willing to work. Also, a business should make sure that its methods of production are not producing any waste on land or water or air pollution, for these negatively affect society. A business that cares about it’s influence on the environment, and its consumers is bound to make a difference. For example: General Mills wants to reduce the amount of energy it uses. In order to do this, they had energy monitors installed into some of their equipment in one of their manufacturing plants. The result: General Mills saved around six hundred thousand dollars (James). Profit can be obtained faster by a business that is looked upon as a positive influence on the environment and its employees. Overall, a business should be careful about how it produces its products and think about society’s health before it makes a decision, for if it doesn’t, the liability for damage is a much greater price to

pay.
Works Cited

James, E. (2012, February 21). Six Reasons Companies Should Embrace CSR. Retrieved
September 17, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/csr/2012/02/21/six-reasons-companies-should-embrace-csr/

Warner, R. The 'Do Whatever It Takes' Attitude Gone Wrong. Retrieved September 17,
2015, From http://www.huffingtonpost.com/russ-warner/the-do-whatever-it- takes_b_7821322.html