Business Ethics and Social Responsibility - Research Paper Example

Outline Introduction Mistakes of a business become bigger The Customer Perspective The Role of the Employees The Top Management Conundrum What research says Example of Shell Truthfulness within a business Conclusion Business Ethics and Social Responsibility Thesis This paper centers its attention on the due role of business ethics and social responsibility doing their best to boost the basis of a business and the industry as a whole. The role of business ethics and social responsibility is an important one and has been seen as such over the years. The world of business requires that its processes are clean and transparent, and the individuals working within its realms are doing their respective jobs at the best of their abilities and skills. This is the reason why business ethics and social responsibility have been much debated and talked about over the years. The manner in which business ethics and social responsibility has been spoken about raises quite a few eyebrows. The role of the concerned individuals and the authorities is of immense significance here because they outline how well different actions and undertakings are, and what kind of consequences lie in the store. The essential role of business ethics and social responsibility can be broken down into business ethics separately from the social responsibility realms because these are different yet more or less the two opposite sides of the same coin. The corporate world of present times is more concerned with making huge profits but it is the truly global enterprise which is bent upon extracting the returns from business ethics and social responsibility domains. This is needed because these aspects outline how well business regimes have been over a period of time and what they plan to do in the future. Since a business cannot be considered as a genuine one if it does not manifest some form of ethical undertakings, it is a fact that the wrongdoings of a business enterprise are highlighted more than its good deeds. This is because the mistakes, intentional wrongdoings and the like need to be weighed in with what the business has thought of its own self in the long range scheme of things. The strategic perspective is therefore much needed which will suggest how the organization aims to achieve its goals and objectives whilst keeping a good amount of consideration for the business ethical basis and the social responsibility discussions. When the social responsibility undertakings are made on a consistent basis, the business does benefit in terms of its word of mouth, which indeed will become positive to state as a matter of fact. However, when a business is bound to touch the wrong side of the ethical debates, then there would be a host of problems for the ones who work under its aegis and those who are directly or indirectly involved with such a business organization. The stakeholders similarly are also interested in finding out why and how a business is being unethical, immoral or socially irresponsive. They aim to discern the exact basis of the business and how it can enact measures to find the correct pathways; where alternative solutions are also studied in-depth. If all such factors are found in the negative, then perhaps it is time for an organization to get up and do what is required most, because its reputation is at stake more than anything else (Fraedrich, 2006). No organization in this day and age can afford to have a negative reputation because it is one stigma that remains attached to a business enterprise for a long period of time, and has been proven with research that the negative word of mouth actually gets infested more than the positive one. This is an aspect that needs dire attention by the people who understand the dictum of coming out clean through ethical documentations and undertakings. Speaking from a customer perspective, the businesses which are ethical in their own right and act in a socially responsive manner are taken as the better ones rather than organizations which do not focus on the ‘doing good’ premise. This is the need of the hour because organizations have well and truly understood what is required of them and how they should go about doing things the ‘right way’. The discussion of ethics is therefore a significant one because it represents the true picture of the business and how the people work under its domains on a consistent level. The customers usually appreciate the idea that they are being given products and services which come from an ethically clean and socially responsible organization. If their perspectives are unclear, they would much rather like to have these lucid before they involve themselves in physical trading with these organizations. They would not like any organization to mingle with them if it has an unethical track record and has been hurting the cause of the people and the society at large. Such matters need to be taken into account as far as the customer understandings are concerned so that the business enterprises could grow left, right and center. The relationship is therefore a mutually beneficial one – that could easily be remarked as a symbiotic link within the industrial domains in any territory of the world. The need is to understand how well the business understands not only its own self but also the customers that are an essential part of it nonetheless. When the business domains are ethical and socially responsible at the same time, then the internal publics, i.e. the employees also feel contented with the business undertakings. They believe that they are working for an organization that respects the society as a whole and gives each and every individual the due dignity that they so require. However, on the flip side of the coin, when the business entities are not being seen as truthful and ethical from their outset by the employees who work in such organizations, then this means that they stop respecting the owners, the top management and the business processes that take place within their folds (Robbins & Judge, 2009). This is a classic case of comprehending where the evil arises from and then to nip that very evil in the bud as well. Much deliberation is required to make sure that the employees are told the factual story as far as an organization’s processes, undertakings and actions are concerned. If this is done, sanity will come about in full circle; but if such measures are not taken in a proper timeframe, then the employees will have resentment within their ranks – a fact that does not speak well for any organization. Having said that the role of the employees within an organization is to make sure that the business enterprise lives up to its promise of adhering to the policies, rules and regulations to take care of the society and to be ethically clean at all times. If there are issues that need to be addressed, then this would mean that the employees are not being truthful to not only their own selves, but also to the organization that they are a vital part of. The top management actually decides the pertinent course of action for a business. If it knows that it has been unethical for a long period of time, then perhaps it should hand over the organizational mantle to someone else. The management domains need to be kept in the loop as far as performance of work tasks and processes in a clean enough way is concerned. However, if the top management is doing its tasks well yet the people are not taking it in a manner that it should have been perceived, then this means that there are certain mistakes at the end of the management concerns. This calls for a better policy within an organization to realign undertakings and tasks so that success could be achieved without much deliberation (Hoffman, 1990). However, what remains to be seen is the reputation that this organization has within the related industrial settings. If the people believe that an organization brings in goodness through its tasks and deeds yet is unable to win any reputation as such, then the rebranding strategy of the business enterprise would be the way to go about doing things the right way. However, if the tasks are equally good but are perceived in a dubious way, then this would mean that there are other factors that need to be contemplated upon – the sooner the better for the sake of the business in the long run. Therefore how the top management actually decides the fate of the organization is very quintessential as it lays the foundation stone of success that shall be achieved by this organization over a period of time in the future. Research has shown that those organizations which focus strongly on building their ethical basis in a prominent way are indeed the winners in the long run. While there are similar organizations that leave it to the general masses to judge for their own selves what they think of the organizations, this actually does not work well. It is important that the business settings chalk out a strategy to tackle the competitive rivalry which exists so that the ethical domains and the socially responsible realms are communicated to the people in a quantifiable manner. This is needed because this world is moving in a fast paced mode and people’s memories are of a short-term nature, hence it is a good omen for any business to proactively inculcate the good points about its own processes, undertakings and actions, which shall eventually garner positive vibes about the organization under consideration (Buchholz, 2000). This is the basis of achieving success that is unheard of and will find its own way within the related settings of organizational growth, development and productivity. Much evidence has been available that states the fact that these growth and development debates strongly represent the positive word of mouth that people hold for a business and indeed the organization as a whole. The research basis therefore is based on what the scholars, researchers and practitioners have been able to deduce over a period of time. One example that could be quoted here is of the oil and gas sector which is an industry in its own right. Since it is a well-known fact that the oil and gas sector produces toxic emissions all over the world, the role of such organizations is to give back something of value to the society. Now this can only be done through touching areas like healthcare, education and relief to the nature by the different initiatives, undertakings and actions. Shell is one such global organization that is doing its bit in quite a prominent way. This is being manifested through its different education awareness campaigns all over the world, and especially within the third world countries. This is a norm now because Shell has to win back the loyalty of its customers, stakeholders and the internal publics (employees) by telling them that it cares for them in one way or the other. Often times, Shell has to inform people that its related line of business is the basis of bringing in oil and gas resources for them through which their different life events are connected, like traveling, cooking, electricity, etc. What is most important is the fact that Shell has made a mark for its own self within the socially responsible realms, and it will continue to do so in the coming times as well. When the discussion centers on providing an ethical route to the people who might be the direct or the indirect customers of a business, the focus always goes towards organizations which are doing the opposite as concerns to their line of work. Shell is one such example and one can be sure that there are other similar organizations that are bringing in efforts that are not any different than what Shell is undertaking at present. If the business believes that the socially responsible element needs to be incorporated for the sake of coming out clean towards the public, then perhaps it is doing the right thing. However, when the business is of the view that it is doing the same because it simply has to, then there are problems that need to be taken care of, within one such business entity (Ciulla, 1998). The truthfulness aspect should always be encouraged because it is much needed within the relevant thick of things. If these ideologies are understood properly, the business can grow in far-off zones but if the same are just undertaken to fill the empty pages on the audit sheet, then the customers, stakeholders and the internal publics are being made fools at the end of the day. This would mean that the business is lying throughout its life time and hence negative word of mouth would arise for one such organization. This cannot be tolerated for any business entity in this day and age, and much needs to be done to win back the favor of the people at large. The socially responsible role of any business is therefore not just a role to fulfill but a role to live by, as has been seen through proper research, practice and evidence that has come to the fore with the passage of time. Now is the time for the organizations of today to understand where their loyalties lie – either in winning the customers on the truth premise or to win a customer for a day and then deceiving him through the business’ tactical plots. The decision rests with the business enterprise itself and it would always be a good idea to tackle such nuances once and for all – the sooner, the better it will be. In the end, it would be fitting to state that the business enterprises must be accountable to their own publics in an out and out fashion. If they are not doing so, then they are bound to lose out on the profit making front and not to forget the positive word of mouth that comes attached with the same. If they are unwilling to bring the ethical manifestations within their entirety, then they are bound to lose out on the customer base sooner rather than later, as has been proven with research over a period of time. However, what remains to be seen is the role of the top management entities within any organization that is willing to either go one way or the other (Jager, 2002). There are individuals sitting in such coveted positions which simply do not care what the different publics think of the organization. They are more inclined to reap in the profits and the added benefits that come along. This is a wrong that shall not bring any drastic and long term results. All said and done, the business ethics and social responsibility are aspects that need to be given attention to by a business that is geared to achieve big and that too within a certain period of time. This garners positive belief and thinking levels by the people, which remains a very significant and potent tool at the end of the day. Much success can be envisaged if the business is truthful and honest in its dealings, and comes out clean on the mistakes that it has intentionally or unintentionally done within the past. References Buchholz, R. (2000). Rethinking Business Ethics: A Pragmatic Approach. Oxford University Press Ciulla, J. (1998). Ethics: The Heart of Leadership. Praeger Publishers Fraedrich, J. (2006). Business Ethics Ethical Decision Making and Cases. South-Western College Publications Hoffman, W. (1990). Business, Ethics, and the Environment: The Public Policy Debate. Quorum Books Jager, P. (2002). Ethics: Good, Evil, and Moral Duty. Information Management Journal, 36 Robbins, S. & Judge, T. (2009). Organizational Behavior (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Read More