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Business social responsibility WHY IT MATTERS
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Recommended: Business social responsibility WHY IT MATTERS
The world today is reeling from the effects of world trade, globalization, development of multinational companies and the never ending war for the fight of resources that countries have to offer. With this development, one of the critical aspects of a business, to have sound ethical practices, seems to be lost with the management, shareholders and government proliferating profit maximisation strategies. This paper will explain ethics, consider the role business and government play with respect to social responsibility and how these may be influenced and achieved through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the World Trade Organisation. The focus of the paper will be on current achievement of MDGs, being the most successful global anti- poverty push, in terms of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and developing a global partnership for development. The paper will also highlight food security issues in several countries.
Key Words: Ethics, globalisation, MNCs, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), World Trade Organisation (WTO), hunger, poverty, food security
Ethics in Business
The issue of alleviating poverty through international trade considering the notions of business in respect to philosophy, legal, political and social disciplines is akin to defining what ethics mean to business and trade. Quoting the famous Milton Friedman from his book Capitalism and Freedom, he wrote, “there is one and only one social responsibility of business–to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud” (Friedman, 1962). When multinational companies set their corporate strat...
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...velopment Institute, London.
Maruffi, B. L, Petri, W.R, Malindretos, J. (2013), “Corporate Social Responsibility and the Competitive Advantage of Multinational Corporations: What is the right Balance?”, Journal of Global Business Issues, 7(2).
Nelson, J, Prescott. D. (2008), “Business and the Millennium Development Goals: A Framework for Action”, 2nd ed., International Business Leaders Forum.
Norwani, N. M, Mohamad, Z. Z, Chek, I. T. (2011), “Corporate Governance Failure and its Impact on Financial Reporting within Selected Companies”, International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2 (21), 205 – 206.
Sage, C. (2012). “Food Security and the Environment”, University College Cork, Ireland.
Stern, N. (2004), “Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics – Europe 2003”, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, The World Bank.
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
This issues study is aimed to explain the importance of ethical business practices which also include social responsibilities and will be compared to an example of an unethical business practice. It will explore the different unethical issues in business, the benefits of running an ethical business and this will be done with reference to a certain case study.
Business ethics simply can be defined as the application of business values in the business practice of a company (Seawell 2010, p. 2). For a multinational company, business ethics is one of the critical aspects need to be taken into account in business decision-making processes. Failure to give attention on ethics may bring consequences on company’s reputation (Meyer & Jebe 2010, p. 159). The company is expected not only to pursue its own profits but also contributing to the environmental and social welfare of the community where it operates (Svensson & Wood 2008, p. 308).
The importance of ethics and values in business sustainability is undeniable. Ethics has been defined as, “Moral principles that govern or influence a person’s behaviour”- Hornby. Ethics is different from business ethics however, business ethics is defined as “Written or unwritten codes of principles or values that govern decisions and actions within an organisation”. Therefore we can see that the ethics, moral standards and behaviour of the consumers, employees, entrepreneurs or management teams does not concern business ethics.
In today’s fast paced business world many managers face tough decisions when walking the thin line between what’s legal and what’s socially unacceptable. It is becoming more and more important for organisations to consider many more factors, especially ethically, other than maximising profits in order to be more competitive or even survive in today’s business arena. The first part of this essay will discuss managerial ethics[1] and the relevant concepts and theories that affect ethical decision making, such as the Utilitarian, Individualism, Moral rights approach theories, the social responsibility of organisations to stakeholders and their responses to social demands, with specific reference to a case study presenting an ethical dilemma[2], where Mobil halts product sales to a garage, forcing the garage owner to stop selling solvents to young people. The second section of this essay will focus on advice that should be given to any manager in a similar position to the garage owner with relevance to the organisational strategic management, the corporate objective and the evaluation of corporate social performance by measuring economic, legal, ethical and discretionary responsibilities. It will address whom to think of as stakeholders and why the different aspect could cost more than a manager or an organisation could have imagined.
Entering the 21st. Century – World Development Report 1999/2000. World Bank 2000. Oxford University Press. New York, NY 2000.
Solomon, J (2013). Corporate Governance and Accountability. 4th ed. Sussex: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. p.7, p9, p10, p15, p58, p60, p253.
International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2008, “International Monetary Fund: Issues Brief”, IMF Publications, Available at : www.imf.org
United Nations, (2013) the millennium development goals report 2013 [ONLINE] United Nations. Available at: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/publications/mdgs-report-2013.html [Accessed on 26 December 2013]
The sole purpose of the enterprises is not only to earn profit but they are also responsible for the development of the people and society. If the corporations continue to neglect their responsibility in the social sector then it will also eventually affect their business. Today, customers are more aware and they usually analyse a business based on their participation in the social sector. The concept of the corporate social responsibility is not very old. It emerged recently and requires the large corporations to spend a small share of their profits in the respected social projects. The concept of the corporate social responsibility is not legal but rather it is moral. It is not the legal responsibility of the large corporations to indulge in social development instead it is their moral duty to address the social needs of the people.
McMichael, Philip, ed 2012. Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective, 5th ed. London: Sage Publications, Inc.
So, if these multinational corporations have such strong influence, it is their responsibility to activate change in terms of sustainability. Sustainability is the number one problem our society faces today. Sustainability refers to social, environmental, and economic behavior that aims to maintain our resources so that the world and everyone on it can continue to exist in a prosperous manner. Social sustainability is “identifying and managing business impact, both positive and negative, on people.”
The module has analysed business-society relations through the theories and practices of business ethics and social responsibility and how business ethics has evolved from theoretical frameworks as to how business should be managed.
Moreover, international trade can be more effective in reducing poverty than outright aid in which trade can help any country become self-sufficient, rather than relying on foreign assistance. However, there are, many disparities within the present global trade system that work against poor countries. That is regulated by a set of rules created by governments over the years. In general, poor countries don't have access to developed countries’ markets because of the barriers of trade and agricultural. It’s difficult for poor countries, because of trade barriers, to sell their products abroad and develop their living conditions. While free trade benefits everyone, governments sometimes aim to protect their goods and markets by providing subsidies to local rules and producers, or creating barriers like tariffs and quotas. This particular practice is known as Protectionism; which can be identified as the economic policies and procedures of controlling trade between states...
Kaufmann, Daniel, Aart Kraay, and Pablo Zoido-Lobaton. Governance Matters. The World Bank Development Research Group Macroeconomics and Growth and World Bank Institute Governance, Regulation and Finance, October 1999.