Business Ethics Issues - Assignment Example

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Question 1

Resource depletion refers the consumption of scarce resources. It refers to un sustainability in resource utilization in that people are not concerned with resource conservation for future generations. Pollution, on the other hand, refers to the contamination and possible damage to the environment owing to the production of certain materials or their utilization. There are different types of pollution which are water, air, and land pollution (Velasquez, 2011).Resource depletion and pollution are interconnected in the sense that once we pollute the environment various natural resources such as plant and animal life can no longer exist owing to harmful effects caused by the pollution.

Air pollution is caused by the release of harmful gasses in the atmosphere produced by industries, vehicles, and aerosols. The release of gasses from vehicles and industries increases the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. This is known as the greenhouse effect which causes the earth to warm up. Owing to the increase in these global temperatures, there is increased desertification and extinction of rare species. Polar ice melts at higher rates causing disasters such as increased coastal flooding.

Water pollution is caused by the release of organic waste, phosphorous compounds, and industrial waste into water sources. This increases the risk of human beings to diseases such as cholera; it also damages aquatic life by accelerating the growth of algae, the death of fish or their contamination with toxins which results in their entry into the food chain. Land pollution refers to the contamination of land by toxic substances, solid wastes, and nuclear waste. Disposal of waste and garbage threatens ground water. Pollution by nuclear waste causes death and sterility of species.

Question 2.

There are various prospects for increased international and domestic growth. Key among them is the increased development of the private sector not only locally but also in developing countries, second is the investment opportunities being offered by the developing countries and finally is the increased use of technology in international trade which has resulted to the convergence of global trade. Various ethical issues are bound to arise owing to this. First is a situation of state capture where due to increased profits, multinationals use funds or their influence to make states change policy to their advantage.

Such a situation exposes the economy to crisis. Another ethical issue that is likely to come up is the exploitation of labor. As more and more multinational companies move to developing countries to do business, they may fail to comply with international labor standards hence exploit their workforce. The issue of protectionism, especially in developed countries which leads to underdevelopment in developing countries, is also an emerging issue.

Question 3.

Consumer protection today has become a huge problem in the market. Consumer protection in the market today is viewed as a utility that arises through the establishment of a free market that has to respond to customer demands. In this situation, consumers are protected by the fact that the marketplace is free, and they have the right of choice. In such a situation, producers will take measures to ensure that goods are safe since if the consumers hold that products are not safe, they will not buy.

There are various ways in which the free market has failed to protect consumers. First is that despite the fact that consumers have a right to safe products, there are various ways in which the market has failed to protect them. For instance, the conduct of drug and soft drink companies is questionable and has led to many lawsuits against them.

The market has also been widely involved in misleading advertisements which in the long run has made consumers make wrong decisions. This kind of advertising is directly linked to materialism which affects both the social and cultural aspects of the user. Another failure in consumer protection regards to market research. For instance, there have been a lot of questions on whether insurance companies have the right to use genetic testing to predict an individual’s susceptibility to certain illnesses. Finally, globalization has brought with it new problems. For instance, multinationals fail to heed to the different standards of consumer protection in their various markets.

4.

The social costs theory insists that the manufacturer is responsible for all harm that the consumer is exposed to by the product even if the harm was due to unforeseen faults during manufacture. This specific theory extends to the due care theory in several ways. The first assumption of the due care theory is that the consumer and the manufacturer are not equals to any extent. This is owing to the fact that the manufacturer is experienced and has expertise in the production and manufacturing process hence making consumers very vulnerable to malpractices by the manufacturer. Owing to this, manufactures are at an advantaged position it is their responsibility to protect consumers. The theory takes the doctrine of caveat vendor where the seller has to take all the responsibility. Due care refers to the responsibility in product design, quality control, construction methods and warnings.

Critics claim that this theory is a bit complicated since there is no way to ensure or measure due care. They argue that if due care is exercised most products would not be affordable to the consumer. They also argue that the theory is extremely paternalistic in that the manufacturer alone should take responsibility in ensuring that the consumer is safe. As such, they argue the burden should be left to the consumer who should decide whether or not they should pay additional cost for safety measures. I find that these arguments bear some sense to me. The manufacturer and the consumer should bear the burden of safety collectively.

Question 5

Discrimination refers to the distinguishing of individuals illicitly along the lines of prejudice or attitude rather than merit. The utilitarian view holds that an act is determined to be right or wrong depending on whether the consequences are for the greatest good or bad. According to the utilitarian perspective, the society becomes highly productive when employment is based on merit. It further holds that when discrimination is based on anything else rather than merit, then it counter the rationale of utility. According to rights theorists’ discrimination is wrong since it is a violation of the fundamental rights of people. According to them, human beings should be treated as rights themselves and not as a means to an end. Discrimination hence becomes a wrong since it is a violation of people’s rights to be treated as equals. They further argue that discrimination becomes wrong since the person that is discriminating would not want his act to be universal hence putting him at risk of becoming discriminated.

According to supporters of the justice theory, discrimination is unjust. According to the supporters of this theory, the idea that some people should have more opportunity than other people is simply unjust. They further argue that people who are viewed as equals in all respects should not be treated indifferently since they differ in other respects that are non-relevant. There are various discriminatory practices in employment. These include recruitment practices where word of mouth referrals are likely to be advantaged about other job seekers. Another form of discrimination in employment is screening where the employer may demand irrelevant qualifications to an individual post. Promotion practices that rely on seniority have kept minorities and women groups out of senior posts. Finally, is the employment conditions that fail to award equal wage or salary to people that do the same work.

Question 6.

Employers should be concerned about the level of employee job satisfaction. This is owing to the fact that job satisfaction is directly related to productivity. An employee that has a negative perception of the working environment will not give their best in the workplace. Another factor that is directly involved to job satisfaction is the level of creativity that employees have (Velasquez, 2011). When an employee is satisfied or happy about their job, they making more involving and will want to be involved in problem solving and creating solutions to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. Finally, job satisfaction and teamwork are directly related. Employees that are satisfied in the workplace can work collaboratively.

Many people are unsatisfied with their job since they feel that they are not recognized by management. Most of their contributions simply go unnoticed (Velasquez, 2011).Another reason that they are unhappy with their jobs is that they feel that they are not well remunerated. This makes them poorly motivated. Finally, some feel that the working environment is not conducive at all. Many employees are unable to adapt to the culture of the organization (Velasquez, 2011). Hence, they feel excluded. For employees to improve the level of job satisfaction in the workplace, they need first to know what their employees feel unhappy. Most important is ensuring a conducive working environment and ensuring that employees are paid fairly.

Question 7.

There are several ways in which crime and punishment can be improved. It is imperative to realize the current system of crime and punishment is not effective. This is owing to the fact that people been released from the prisons sometimes end up back in their criminal habits. First is that there is the need to remove the perception that all law breakers are alike. We must recognize the diversity of these groups should be recognized so as not to push them to one corner where they feel that society has a negative perception of them. There is also the need to separate violent offenders from non-violent offenders (Velasquez, 2011). As such different ways to rehabilitate these groups can be applied. Finally, it becomes more efficient to address the problem of drugs as an issue of public health rather than a criminal justice issue. This will actually reduce drugs and its social effects which among them is a crime.