Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility: Business Success - Essay Example

The business of ethics and corporate social responsibility By Introduction Business of ethics the study of business situations, decisions and activities where issues of what is right and wrong are looked at and addressed. It aims at ensuring that the goals and activities of the business are conducted honestly and people involved treated fairly. It also makes sure that the corporations and companies are responsible to their actions. This is whereby in case of any company not meeting the standards expected it can be punished by imposition of fine or the management members prosecuted as individuals. On the other hand corporate social responsibility is concerned on the responsibility between the firm and both its environment and its stakeholders. Business of ethics and corporate social responsibility focus on issues concerned with morality. They focus on the issues that cover business activities fully such as reducing pollution, exploiting raw materials responsibly, frauds in the corporation and even fair payment. The relationship between business and ethics is complex and it incorporate approaches such as individual choices on what is right and wrong. This is where the individual’s decision is put on consideration. It also incorporate the values of what is bad and right involved in the business premises. In every business, they have their own way of doing things and offering services to their customers. This is where there are customs, beliefs and culture created which the employees follow as they handle their customers. The codes of conduct within organizations vary by many ways. Some societies may accept use of bribes while in others it condemned thus due to this the codes of conduct vary. We also find that some countries are prone to corruption thus when a business is situated in that country they tend to follow the norms. Due to these variations in social norms, individual values and cultures of the society in which the business is situated, it is the function of business ethics to standardize all. It ensures that the good moral conducts are followed thus contributing to the success of the business. As seen earlier the corporate social responsibility outlines the ethical concerns in a business by showing the groups to which it is responsible. It involves putting the business ethics into action. The groups it deals with are the stakeholders and the environment of the firm. These include the employees, suppliers, customers, the community, shareholders the government and the society. The relationship between the business and these groups should be conducted morally and ethically. This is for example to the shareholders they should be treated well by having their correct share depending on how they invested. This amount is to be shared compared to the amount to be reinvestment back in the business. We find that the businesses ethics influence the shareholders. Some shareholders like the banks who lend money to the company expect their profits back in time and if this is delayed they a times change their decisions. The business therefore should ensure they demonstrate social responsibility and have good ethical standards to attract the shareholders and thus contributing to their success. We also have the relationship between the customers and the firm. We find that in many cases that customers demand quality goods and services. Firms face competition from other market players and are determined to provide goods and services that meet customer needs. Therefore, the consumers are the ones who motivate the firms to produce socially responsible products. The activities of the firm influence much the number of the customers that they expect. It is the responsibility of the firm to ensure good ethical standards by having quality service and goods and keeping their prices down. More so, there is a relationship between the business and the employees. The employees are people who offer their services for money in return. They are in direct contact with their employers and thus they expect much from them. This means that the business should ensure good working conditions for the employees. These include fair salaries, security, fair promotions at work, a clean working environment; fair working limits and provides medical care. Therefore, companies should ensure good working conditions because workers determine the performance of a company. The firm also has to exercise it responsibilities towards the suppliers. The suppliers are those who provide the required raw materials to the firm. When the firm wants to ensure a close working relationship with it suppliers it should make sure that it not only treats them fairly but as their fellow members. This is by ensuring that the suppliers have good payment terms and by honouring their contracts. We also have the relationship between the firm and the society influencing much the success of the business. This is where by for the business to succeed they should follow the society’s norms and customs in order. In doing these the business will prevail with no difficulty since they conform to the culture of the people around (Needle, 1994). The relationship between the firm and the community is of much importance determining the outcome of the business. The effect of the firm to the community determines whether it has to stay in its location. This is where by the firm should have a great impact to the community and dominate it as a whole. The firm should be involved in the community’s affairs either directly or indirectly. This is for example where it provides job opportunities. It also contributes to the revenue in the community and provides support to the activities taking place. When the firm provides success to the community it also prospers in return thus the community determines much the success of the firm. The responsibility of the firm to the government is also of much significance. The government has the mandate to ensure laws are followed, change existing ones and even make new. We find that among the laws the social norms are also included. The government influences the firms much since we find it is the law that controls selling products, the release of advertisements and even the conditions and terms of employment.(Mögele and Tropp, 2010).In this the government determines much the performance of the firms in the sense that some policies may hinder them from carrying out their business. In addition, we have the responsibility of the firm to its environment. The environment refers to all that surrounds the firm. The firm should be socially responsible to the environment not only where it is located but globally. The firm should be responsible to the impacts of its activities to the environment such as emission of gases. It should also ensure proper disposal of it waste products even if it calls for recycling. In this, we find that the firm may incur some cost to ensure proper disposal and to take of the gases emitted thus this influencing the business in a way. When considering all these relationships we find that they determine the performance of the firm in one way or another. When the firm is socially responsible, we find that it experiences business success. The business should therefore be socially responsible due to various reasons. This is for example from the moral argument we find that the organizations are an element of the society thus they should behave as the society demand. We also find that all the business activities have effect on the society. This is for example where they use the resources in the society and provide employment to the people. Thus by this we find that the business contributes directly to the society thus it should be socially responsible (Ditlev & Wenstøp, 2013). Furthermore, we find that a business that is ethical fulfils the consumer’s needs and thus bringing about the business success. This is in the sense that the business advertises itself due to being socially and ethically responsible thus many customers are attracted leading to high purchase. It creates awareness to people about the business thus leading to more sales and hence making much profit. We also find that an ethical business fulfils the employee’s needs hence they work effectively. This is where by the worker is always willing to give the best and quality services even under no close supervision. Due to this, the output of the firm is increased and it leads to good performance. Conclusion In conclusion, business ethics and corporate social responsibility is important to any firm to achieve business success. This is where they influence a lot the performance of all those who meet the business including the suppliers, employees, the society, the government and more so the consumers who play a great role. The relationship between the firms and these groups should be ethical and socially responsible. In doing so, the business will fulfils the interests of its customers thus leading to high performance hence success. Bibliography Ditlev‐Simonsen, C. and Wenstøp, F. (2013). How stakeholders view stakeholders as CSR motivators. Social Responsibility Journal, 9(1), pp.137-147. Hsu, J. (n.d.). Can SMEs Transform CSR into CA?.SSRN Journal. Mögele, B. and Tropp, J. (2010). The emergence of CSR as an advertising topic: A longitudinal study of German CSR advertisements. Journal of Marketing Communications, 16(3), pp.163-181. Needle, D. (1994). Business in context. London: Chapman & Hall. Needle, D. and Needle, D. (2007). Operations management and innovation. Beijing: Ren min you dianchu ban she. Read More