MANA 3319
Benefits of Social Responsibility
-Organizations with CSR are good corporate citizens to the community and to the environment.
– Policies can enhance the image of a company as well as its product brands from the perspective of the consumers.
– Have fewer conflicts with stakeholder groups who disagree with the company over how it uses its resources.
– Are more likely to influence stakeholders to become loyal customers and become advocates of the company’s products.
– Research shows that corporate social responsibility is related to higher financial
performance and the ability to recruit better quality job applicants.
Costs/ Disadvantages of CSR:
Socially responsible companies may:
 Lose focus on the business goals while focusing on goals related to good corporate citizenship.
 Divert needed resources for improving the business into other social responsibility projects which could put a company at a competitive disadvantage.
ETHICS: guidelines on right and wrong, good and bad, and what is appropriate or inappropriate in various settings.
Business ethics provide standards or guidelines for the conduct and decision making of employees and managers.
Without a code of ethics:
 There is no consensus regarding ethical principles
 Different people will use different ethical criteria in determining whether a practice or behavior is ethical or unethical
Business ethics are not the same things as laws.
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MANA 3319
Various Ethical Approaches
Rights Approach:
Each person has fundamental human rights that should be respected and protected.
Conflicting rights should be sorted out while making decisions
Justice Approach:
Treating all people justly and fairly when making decisions.
Distributive Justice
Procedural Justice
Individualism Approach:
Personal self interests should be promoted as long as they DO NOT harm others.
It is in people’s self interest to do business with ethical firms and other people.
Utilitarianism Approach:
Decisions should be made on the basis of what is good for the greatest number of people.
A solution that satisfies most of the people is chosen.
Egalitarian

Economic Freedom

Libertarian
Ethical Issues in Business-
The different contexts are:
 Employee-Employer Relations- eg.Petty theft of office supplies
 Employer-Employee Relations- eg Sexual harassment
 Company-Customer Relations- eg Deceptive marketing or advertising
 Company-Shareholder Relations- eg Excessive pay for top executives
 Company-Community/Public Interest- eg Sponsoring activities that harm the environment.
Value Systems: People utilize different ethical value systems based on:
1.
Personal experiences
2.
Religious background
3.
Education
4.
Family training
Organizations need to ensure agreement about relevant criteria on which to judge the ethics of a business decision, so that people do not base their decision on personal value systems.
They need to establish a.
Code b.
Credo- eg Johnson and Johnson c.
Ethical Policy Statements
Managing Ethics a. Ethics Training
Contains three elements: a.
Messages from top executives emphasizing ethical business practices
Individuals
Matter
Community
Matters
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MANA 3319 b.
Discussion of Code of Ethics c.
Procedures for discussing or reporting unethical behavior b. Ethical Structures
Procedures and divisions or departments within a company that promote and advocate ethical behavior. There are two types of ethical structures: i.
Ethics Officer ii.
Ethics Committee c. Whistleblower Policies
 Reporting unethical conduct.
 Procedures to deal fairly with reported violations.
 Protection from retaliation.
 Alternative reporting procedures.
 Anonymous reporting to an ethics officer/committee.
 Feedback to employees on ethics violations.
 Top management support and involvement.
Mangers Can Influence the Ethical Behavior of Associates by:
 Actions to develop trust.
 Acting consistently.
 Being truthful and avoiding white lies and manipulative actions.
 Demonstrating integrity.
 Meeting with employees to discuss and define what is expected of them.
 Ensure employees are treated equitably.
 Adhering to clear standards that are seen as just and reasonable.
 Respecting employees.
Ethical Dilemmas at the workplace
Performance appraisal
Formal evaluations of an employee’s performance provided on a recurring basis
To perform effective evaluations, the supervisor should devote substantial time to collecting accurate performance information
Rating are used for:
Letting employees know which skills they have mastered and which require improvement
A basis for pay increases, future work assignments, promotions, and sometimes layoffs
Employee discipline
Guidelines for giving employee discipline in a fair and impartial way:
Notify employees in advance of a company’s work rules and the consequences for violating them
Investigate the facts of an employee’s misconduct before applying discipline
Be consistent in the response to rule violations
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MANA 3319
Office romance
Suggestions for ethical employee conduct in a romantic relationship in the workplace:
Public displays of affection at work should be discouraged
Employees should be prohibited from dating people they directly supervise
Giving gifts in the workplace
Ethical test of accepting gifts:
Think about how a manager or co-worker would perceive the gift and the person who gave it
If you feel uncomfortable explaining the gift, the discomfort probably means it would be ethically problematic
The laws and ethics related to giving gifts between parties as a business practice are highly diverse from culture to culture
Stakeholders: Owners, Employees, Government, Customer, Community, Competitor,
Social Groups,
Strategies for Managing Stakeholders
 Confrontation strategies use courts, public relations, and lobbying to fight a stakeholder group.
 Damage control strategies admit mistakes and attempt to improve public image and their relationship with stakeholders.
 Accommodation strategies accept social responsibility for business practices and make appropriate changes.
 Proactive strategies signify a partnership with the stakeholder and go beyond the groups expectations.
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