What Are the Strengths, Limitations and Challenges of Ethical and Socially Responsibility - Essay Example

? Business Ethics and Social Responsibility              Introduction The world of business has continued to grow and expand over the years into entities that operate on a global scale and have separate economic existence from itself and its founders. The smaller versions of such corporations are still present and not to mention relevant in the society but they have had the doors opened in terms of the possible heights that can be scaled (Habisch et. al 2005). It is with this in mind that there has arose a need to shed light on certain issues such as control and regulation of these business entities to ensure that there is no negative backlash from their activities. It is essential that a corporation not only remain profitable, but serve the society as well so as to live in harmony within its environment. Two subjects that can be said to have attempted to breach this matter is the emergence of business ethics as well as the social responsibility. These two topics have grown in intensity as they have served to provide a viable solution in which the business community can take part in their regulation working together with independent bodies. The issue of maintaining ethical business practices by corporations has become an interesting subject as though the concept is appealing, the practical implications in some cases may tend to cause profit hungry conglomerates to shy away from such measures. Case Studies There are two good examples that can be taken as case studies in recent years and thus portray the value of business ethics and social responsibility. One such case is that Of the BP oil spill that caused a lot of damage to the environment when it happened. The clean up and rehabilitation of the animals there was part of the company showing the Social responsibility it had to the society. The organization was also fined heavily for the part they played in the accident. Another case is that of the horsemeat scandal that was uncovered in the UK involving Tesco industries. This situation is a portrayal of what could have been avoided should the organization have decided to implement strict business ethics in their practice and operations. Doing what is best for the company does not always mean doing what is best for the society and the Tesco horsemeat scandal proves that. Business Ethics Business ethics can be described as the practice of maintaining ethical principles in the decision-making and operations of a company with regard to the effect that their actions may have on the society (Greenfield, 2006). It can be seen as the process of ensuring that businesses stay in line during their quest for profitability and that this objective does not hinder the advancement or progress of the surrounding community. Business ethics can be said to have been set up to ensure that companies behave in their day to day activities be they long or short term (Murphey et. al 2007). The ethics were developed in a bid to provide guidelines to the businesses on proper forms of interactions and inconsiderate trajectories. A number of external independent bodies that with the corporation of the involved corporations have strived to encourage the practice of these ethics by every business have backed the development. Business ethics can be considered to take up a wide range of issues as it deals with all aspects of a company with regard to their conduct and operations. This means that the business’ activities as a whole are not the only sections that will be evaluated and individual’s activities for example will be taken into consideration should they be acting as a representative of the corporation. The code of business ethics hopes to cover all scenarios in a bid to improve the interaction between the businesses and the society. This ensures a harmonic existence as mentioned earlier that allows both sides to flourish. Social Responsibility Social Responsibility refers to the relationship that an organization has with the members of the society in which they operate. A company should take it upon themselves to influence the area they establish themselves in a positive manner and leave it better than it was when they arrived (Habisch et. al 2005). This is where the issue of social responsibility arises as it is a form of ensuring that this objective can be obtained. Social responsibility will deal with the relationship a business has with the community members around in terms of the interaction that takes place between them. A good example of social responsibility is the provision of employment in regions that a company operate. An organization that sets itself up in a particular region should ensure that their presence brings about a positive impact via offering job opportunities to the members of that society. Employees should not be brought in from other places to fill in roles that can quite easily be filled by members of that community (Cetina & Preda, 2005). This would serve to improve the relationship that the organization has with the society and encourage the acceptance of its presence in the community. Strengths, Limitations and Challenges of Business Ethics and Social Responsibility There are a number of view points that ca be taken when studying the effect that practicing business ethics and taking up social responsibility would have on a business (Marcoux, 2009). There are both strengths that can be obtained as a result as well challenges that will be faced in the implementation of such a project as well as the various limitations that are currently faced by organizations practicing these ethics. Some of these include: Strengths The practice of business ethics and social responsibility raises the profile organizations that undertake the endeavor and this serves such businesses well in the long run (Marcoux, 2009). An enhanced reputation from the practice of business ethics can give a company the competitive advantage it needs to usurp close following rivals in the business arena. The practice of social responsibility gains the trust of the community in which a business is located and by extent their acceptance. This is essential for any business that wishes to succeed in the region that they have located to. Limitations The practice of business ethics may mean that an organization may have to forgo potential profits in some cases as some choices may involve the increase in costs for the better good (Ely, 2008). However, this mentality can be dealt with and should not be seen as a serious limitation. The short-term costs that may be incurred will prove fruitful further down the line as in most cases the quick money is marred with future blights and complications that could potentially come back to haunt the perpetrator. Challenges The main challenge in the practice of business ethics is the fact that there has not yet been an established global set of rules and governing body to enforce such and thus the option to practice is left in the hands of the business. The fact that some companies are practicing good business ethics and social responsibility and some have chosen to take a separate path means that there is an uneven playing field. Some organizations will be able to take shortcuts while others take the mapped out route and this may serve to discourage companies from sticking to their guns on the matter. Conclusion The practice of business ethics and social responsibility is highly encouraged as the long term benefits can be enjoyed by both parties (that is, the organization and the society) and thus should stand the preferred option (Shamir, 2011). Social Responsibility will also strengthen the relationship between the society and the organization and thus serve to provide a sense of stability from which the business can base its operations. It should be noted that the level of trust that is established between an organization and the society can be linked to the level of success that a business will be able to enjoy in that region and thus determine a business’ longevity.           References Cetina, K. K., & Preda, A. 2005. The sociology of financial markets. Oxford University Press. Oxford. Ely, J. W. 2008. The Guardian of Every Other Right. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Greenfield, K. 2006. The Failure of Corporate Law fundamental flaws & progressive possibilities. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Habisch, A., Jan J., Martina W & Schmidpeter, R (eds.) 2005. Corporate Social Responsibility across the Europe. Springer, Heidelberg. Marcoux, A. 2009. Business-Focused Business Ethics. in Normative Theory and Business Ethics. J. Smith. Plymouth Rowman & Littlefield Murphey, P. E. et al. 2007. "An ethical basis for relationship marketing: a virtue ethics perspective". European Journal of Marketing 41 Shamir, R. 2011. Socially Responsible Private Regulation: World Culture or World- Capitalism? Law and Society Review. (45) 2   Read More