Ethics and Law in Business and Society - Literature review Example

?Ethics and Law in Business and Society Answer a Kohlberg observed that there is a sequence of stages of moral development in the process of growing up of a child to an adult. The first stage states that the action or behavior of a child as well as an adult is influenced by the anticipation of pain or rewards. The possibility of punishment results into action of obedience with the expectation of reward. For example, the soldiers who were ordered to perform brutal killing in the World War were actions of obedience despite which punishments were levied. The second stage of moral development passes through a stage of instrumental exchange. In this stage of moral development, the individuals engage in actions of retaliation, vengeance. These actions are filtered by the individuals according to the level of satisfaction desired by the individual. For example, if one scratches somebody’s skin, there is supposed to be an act of retaliation. The third stage of moral development demands the conformation from the society on the good behaviors and approval of not engaging into bad behavior. This stage of confirmation leads to moral development for which the individuals would be ready to co-operate with other members of the society and engage in self sacrifices. For, the individuals engage in providing personal favor to other people for want of social confirmation. The fourth stage of moral development identifies conformity to the law and order. Most of the individuals reach this stage after showing due respect to the judiciary and the maintenance of social order. For example, the law and order in the society leads to the prevention of crime and enhances the path of justice. This influences the right behavior among the individuals of society. The fifth stage of moral development leads the individuals to the path of restoration of human rights as a social contract (Gibbs 89). These are rights that the individual demands in the social conditions of existence. For example, right to speech and opinion is a human right that is conferred by the society on the individuals. The sixth stage of moral development leads individuals to realize the importance universal ethical principles. In this stage, the human beings spread the message of equality, moral and ethical values and the duties of being the followers of God. For example, Mohandas Gandhi reached the sixth stage of moral development and spread the message of Ahimsa. Answer 1 b The model of Kohlberg can be applied to corporate culture which could lead to ethical behavior of the managers. The managers could learn the importance of the various stages and apply the knowledge to trigger actions expected from the employees through moral development. The sense of punishment in the corporate culture would allow the managers to enforce urgent decision for benefits of the company. The work culture could be made healthier with the sense of interpersonal communication and approval among the employees. The sense of social conformity and ethical principles could be addressed by manager to implement better code of conduct in the corporate environment that is required to develop a responsible work force. Answer 1 c The main objective of business is not only to earn profits but to earn the profits in an ethical ay and perform the social responsibilities. However, relativism exists in the work culture where policies of business ethics are undertaken by the corporate houses. However, despite the practices of business ethics for building a good image in the society has flaws in the fact that these practices of ethics are often influenced by the managers. This has led to the development of frauds and misreported figures. Thus personal interest should be curved and organizational interests would need to be given foremost importance for genuinely incorporating business ethics in the work culture. Answer 2 a As viewed by Aristotle, Kant, the philosopher’s approach to ethics might help in doing things in the right way. The principles of ethics define the set of actions that are recommended and viewed as examples of good behavior of the individuals. The philosophers approach to ethics provides an insight of the moral values of life and the ideas, culture and code of conduct that are considered to be pushing an individual in the right path of life. The lessons of the right ideas in the minds of the individuals guide them towards the right course of actions. In situations of dilemmas, the individuals are able to take the right decisions by following the ethical values and beliefs (Kurtines 78). The sense of ethics creates a sense of not influencing the sources of power in the wrong direction. On the other hand, it restores the good sense of justice and equality. This is how, the approach to ethics help in doing right things. Answer 2 b The philosophy of Aristotle best supports my ideas of ethics due to the following reasons. Aristotle has been efficient in articulating the underlying principle, moral values and ideas that are required to live life in the right path. The set of actions, the senses of justice, distinction between the right and wrong have been able to reinforce the ideas and beliefs on the right course of action. It has helped in identifying the incorrect course of action and recommended the steps to be taken to drive the activities in the right path. This has supported the ideas of ethics as it has helped to gain social conformity and restore a situation of equality among all the members of the society. This has led to the reduction of unwanted actions against humanity and the environment of peace and harmony has been restored. The universal ethical principle and the example of rewards for conforming to ethics have supported and reinforced my ideas of ethics. Answer 2 c The ideas of morality needs to practically implemented in the regular course of action of the individuals. The lessons on morality have a feel good factor which is attained by realizing the benefits of moral development. It feels good to imagine that the individuals could apply principles of morality in various stages of moral development by filtering the course of action. These actions of morality need to be performed rather than keeping it at the stage of learning and development. It is better to do good where one can implement the moral values and perform actions of self sacrifice, right courses of action for restoration of equality which would pave the path of social harmony. By doing the right things, the individuals would not only comply with the law but would also gain social conformity in the process. Answer 3 a The philosophies of Milton Friedman and Archie Carol have been compared as given below in the context of corporation’s responsibility. The philosophy of Friedman states that the business houses engage into actions of social responsibility which is solely driven by the profit earning motives. On the other hand, Carol’s philosophy states that the corporations go beyond their profit earning motives and engage into socially responsible actions for returning the benefits to the society in which its exists. Friedman believes that the corporations integrate social responsibilities in their strategies and invest to obtain returns that increase the profitability of the corporations. Carol believed that corporations perform their role of corporate social responsibilities not only to earn profits but to maintain a sustainable environment in which they exist. By contribution the overall development of the society in which the corporations exists, the corporations are able to fulfill their obligations in return of the resources that they use in the business process. Answer 3 a i There is a link between the two philosophies suggested by Friedman and carol and hence, it is very difficult to pick one of the philosophies as the accurate one. It is true that the businesses have showed increasing concerns to the activities which are considered to be socially responsible like the recycling of wastes, measures to reduce pollution, setting up health and community centers, etc. By these activities, the companies have been strategically able to protect the environment in which they exists and at the same time return the benefits to the society which has offered them useful resources of work. However, this has led to the development of brand goodwill of the corporation and has been trusted by the consumers and the society. The development of loyalty has contributed to increasing economic profits which in turn have led to the increased focus on the actions of corporation’s responsibility. Answer 3 c The importance of corporate houses as a social citizen has developed rapidly with increasing consciousness of the corporation of giving equal importance as per the objective of economic profits. The various characteristics that the corporation should exhibit in order to be a good corporate citizen and the related rationale are given as follows. The corporations should conduct activities for the welfare of the society which includes conduct of health camps, educational centers, etc. This would develop a sense of trust among the society that the corporation is there to stay in the industry for a longer period of time for which they are investing (Schwartz 56). The organizations should engage into activities of recycling the wastes of production which would create an impression among the members of the society that the corporation carries out its activities in a responsible manner. The corporations should conduct awareness programs and plant trees in order to protect the environment which passes the message that they care for the society. The same message could be transmitted with activities that prevent pollution of air, water bodies, etc. The corporation should take steps to look after the destitute as responsible corporate citizen which helps them to create brand goodwill in the market. Answer 4 a The Board of directors plays a major role in keeping a stronghold over the operations of the company that is in line with the policies of the management. The single most important task among all other duties of an effective board is the activity if corporate governance. Apart from setting out the strategies and the recommended set of action by the various levels in the hierarchical structure, the board which is effective performs the task of monitoring and controlling the operational activities of various business functions. The board identifies the various loopholes and the difficulties faced in the implementation of the organizational tasks. The employees which are involved in malpractice and not complying with the required set of actions as per policy are also identified. Exemplary actions are taken in order to keep a stronghold over the work processes. The boards could be effective only when it monitors gaps in the organizational processes and takes necessary action to achieve the organizational goals. Answer 4 b The major lesson for the future executive is that the executive should understand the mission and vision statement of the corporation in which he is working. The set of recommended actions to the executive in the area of work are set according to the policy guidelines and the strategic decision making in order to fulfill the organizational goals. Thus there is no scope of deviation from the recommended course of action. Any action that is treated to be malpractice and deviate from the principle of integrity and honesty would be punished exemplarily. The future executives should adhere to the code of conduct of the organization to meet the expectations of the corporation. The executive should not engage into activities that hampers the interest of the organization. The interests of the corporation should be placed before individual interest as per the policy of the corporation. Answer 4 c The assertion that management is not governance is true in the context of corporate culture. The terms management explains the effective ways in which the available resources of the business could be utilized effectively in order to achieve optimum level of output. Governance on the other hand is a set of policies and guideline passed by the management according to the mission and vision of the organization and need to be maintained by the work force under any circumstance (Fernando 45). Thus management of the available resources which could take the form of raw material, inventory, manpower resources, energy resources, finances, etc. need to be done in accordance with the policy guideline of the corporation. Any deviation of the governance rules would lead to failure of management as the interests of the internal and external stakeholders would be hampered. Thus management is not governance but management can only succeed with effective governance. Works Cited Gibbs, John. Moral Development and Reality: Beyond the Theories of Kohlberg and Hoffman. USA: SAGE, 2003. Print. Kurtines, William. Moral Development: An Introduction. USA: Allyn & Bacon, 1995. Print. Schwartz, Mark. Corporate Social Responsibility: An Ethical Approach. USA: Broadview Press, 2011. Print. Fernando. Corporate Governance: Principles, Policies and Practices. India: Pearson Education India, 2009. Print. Read More