Should Business Be Concerned about More than Profit - Essay Example

BUSINЕSS АND SОСIЕTY , 3 RЕFLЕСTIVЕ РIЕСЕS АBОUT WОRK. Name Course Tutor Date Reflection 1: Should business be concerned about more than profit?  Businesses people ad shareholders should have more concerns apart from getting worried about profits alone. According to Freeman 1998, business people and shareholders are entitled to more privileges since they own part of the businesses with their shares. The shareholders have economic, political, and moral privilege in engaging in all the activities of all business. Management takes a special role in ensuring that all the parties concerned with the business organization gets satisfied. Stakeholders invest their shares or bonds as stock in the business. In the end, they expect financial returns. In order for this to occur, the management must ensure that customer satisfaction is achieved. Freeman brings the stakeholders theory that aims at ensuring that the employees get higher pay and good working conditions[Fre05]. The customers on the other hand expect the best services at the least cost with efficiency and right quantity. The stakeholders are not left behind since they also require higher financial returns at the end of the trading period. For this reason, we can clearly argue that profit maximization is not the sole reason for conducting a business. According to Freeman, the stakeholder’s theory requires that profit is maximized while aiming at the welfare of the stakeholders alone. This type of reasoning should be redefined according to Freeman. The peril for not considering other players in the market leads to increase in wages and poor quality of goods, which discourages the shareholders, and this depresses the profits in the market. Freeman argues that the kind of management that only considers the shareholders and assumes other player has led to most of the businesses failure. Freeman proposes several structures that are applicable in redefining the stakeholder’s theory. Amongst his proposal includes the normative core management that is liberal, fair and ensures equality in terms of moral rights. In order for equality and freedom to be achieved, Freeman suggests that the principle of entry and exit must be well defined to avoid creating risks and uncertainty to the business organizations. The principle of governance should also be well articulated such that rules and governance take place unanimously and in order. This also helps in avoiding and solving disputes in the business organization. Freeman also proposes the principle of contracting cost. This principle requires that all parties be involved in cost sharing while engaging in contracting. Another principle that is applicable if freedom and fairness is to be achieved is the principle of Agency. This principle requires that an agent must have the interest of all the stakeholders while conducting business on behalf of the corporation or company. Freeman also proposes the principle of limited immortality. This principle aims at protecting the stakeholders about future risks and uncertainty in case the business collapses and fails due to losses and mismanagement of funds. Finally, Freeman argues that the principle of externalities is necessary for fairness. The principle suggest that if A and B are in a contract and proposes a cost on C then C is legible for becoming a party to the contract as the terms and conditions undergo redefinition and negotiation. Reflection 2: What I value in a career Every person yearns to work in a good environment with good values and morals. However, working conditions keep on changing and therefore people need to adapt and change to the conditions. As an individual, one should possess certain characteristics that influences positively in the working environment. Before one sets to work for a certain company, there are those values and the type of environment that influences his/her choices. People work for various reasons. Some people work to satisfy their financial needs. Others work to protect the environment. Other people are involved in daily activities to provide to the community while others work because they have a passion for the jobs they do. I would personally work to give back to the community, protect the environment besides satisfying my own needs. As an individual understanding my own values influences the type of career, I engage in. I can value a career depending on the type of influence it creates in my life. Careers or job opportunities that improve my living standards and protect the environment are my best. For example, careers like that of Bill Gates Foundation is one of my best. Bill Gates is one of the richest people in the world. He continues to influence the world with his innovation in the world of computers. Besides this, he provides for African children by ensuring that they have access to basic needs and attending school, which influences their lives. Bill Gates develops a certain intrinsic value such as the desire to provide to the society, power, independence, and status. As already indicated, the working environment influences values for people employees. The environment should be the one where one is able to learn, benefit, and be comfortable in addition to having a good income. Creating a good work relationship with other employees increases social satisfaction. The ability to socialize properly with other employees leads to faster problem solving and improved communication skills. This helps in providing job security. Reflection 3: What ethics means for my work In order to find meaning in life we need ethics according to Somerville Margaret, 2009. Many business organizations have struggled for a long time to ensure that ethical standards are maintained in the business organization. Some business organizations have gone as far as lying in order to make profits. This is unethical. Ethical behavior requires respect for human nature and the surrounding environment so as not to cause any civil harm to humans or the surrounding environment[Som09]. Most people in the business face ethical dilemmas. Most of the managers and companies face dilemmas when it comes to dealing with ethical issues. Many managers are facing intensive pressure for achieving short-term results within their companies. It is for this reason that most of them have opted to engage in different illegal activities within their companies. Companies and their managers will use all kind of excuses in order to try meeting their short-term goals. While approaching the ethical issue in the organization, it is important to note that the problem can be individual or communal. An organization is responsible for its own moral responsibility. However, the problem is normally an individual responsibility. It is also important to note that not all companies and organizations always aim at making profits and interest for their stakeholders. In addition to this, we realize that organizational life and our normal lives are not much different since our lives incorporate our day-to-day activities. Many mangers agree that ethics improves organizational performance and ultimately achievement of the organizational success and goals. Other managers insist on doing the right thing by including honesty, trust, diligence, responsibility, accountability, and hard work as their core values regardless of the organization’s self-interest. Ethical considerations by any company bases on the readiness of the company defined by their extent of compliance, to be able to account for the people associated with that organization and the society as a whole. Evidently, organizations run on principles upon which they are set, ethical standards being just one of them though a fundamental case. However, most of the organizations have failed to heed to this significant postulate. On the other hand, the rest of them have had compliance, though differing in nature. The result is that for the fully complying organization towards the ethical concerns, there has been a corresponding public quest to associate with them. This is a full contradiction to the non-complying cases, which have received the public appeal of a cease-fire or otherwise face a denunciation on the long-term basis. Those that comply with ethical concerns have benefited from the fact that most shareholders are concerned with a short-term based-return of capital, yet a long term-based ethical implication for their investments. It is important for an organization to constantly keep stock of its workforce and evaluate its performance for the following three important reasons. First, is to improve organizational performance through individual contribution. This should be an automatic process of the HR management. Secondly is by identifying various potentials and existing talents, empowering them and transferring individuals into job places where they can better be suited and perform better. The managers should also provide equitable method of linking payment and assessment and this will help in reducing negative competition within the company. In order to sustain the company’s moral ethics it is important for the mangers to conduct several meetings, which help in building the cultural value within the company. Through proper communication process, companies can avoid illegal issues. It is important that communication remains open and free. Communication helps in attaining feedback within an organization. Good communication channels helps in avoiding illegal activities as people interact and socialize with each other freely within the organization. Constant monitoring and evaluation helps with ensuring good morals and ethical values within the organization. Motivation and fulfilling of employees needs has proved positive while combating ethical issues within organizations. Employee training is essential in ensuring that the employees are familiar with the organization’s goals, mission, and values. Many employers do not encourage external training for fear of competition and extra costs on their companies. It is therefore important that organizations provide their own systematic training within their own given timeline. Bibliography Fre05: , (Freeman, 2005), Som09: , (SomerVille, 2009), Read More