Ethical View On the Influence of Corporations On Environment - Research Paper Example

Ethical view on the influence of corporations on environment Introduction In broad terms, the main aim of ethics application in any corporate is to actively work on identifying both the rules that should be governing peoples behavior and the goods that are worth seeking (Mhhe 10). Ethical decision making are characters which are normally guided by the underlying values of an individual persona which are categorized to be the main principles of conduct including caring, honesty, being fair and respecting others despite their ranks (Mhhe 10). It is prudent to also note that the value and manner of conducting and formulating business strategies which many managers of various corporate have adopted is on the question primarily on ethical view. What is never implemented by omission is the employment of ethical rules which precisely governs the ordering of values and also demands managers and employees in general to act with integrity (Mhhe 10). This paper will explore in ethical perspective the influence its corporation has on environment. Discussion There are various dramas and scandals which engulfed many business companies as a result of poor ethical standards resulting into ethical dilemma. It should be noted that the end result of such scandals is never sweet as many people think. People have been accused, some convicted after being charged with ethical related crimes. This is because most ethical scandals are normally pre-planned by cooperation of several stakeholders within the company (Mhhe 12). This character is mostly propagated by stingy rules which allow dictation where one value overrides the others within the same corporate. Moral principals are standards that guide behaviors of everybody in business world which should be applicable in business environment despite the rank or position of the individual (Mhhe 12). The first step in achieving this is by developing ethical systems which is a specialized tool for demonstrating how business ethics could be applied to create a favorable working environment (Mhhe 12). One of the factors influencing ethical corporates on working environment is the application of moral standards. This broadly refers to overall principles, rules and values that people within the business environment apply before and when deciding what is right or wrong (Mhhe 13). In layman’s language, this seem to be a simple statement but often becomes a terrible complex point of reference primarily when ignored and later faced with ethical dilemma. When incorporation ethical system in creating favorable working environment; universalism is one of the key ethical system which need to be employed. This is because, universalism underlie personal moral choices and ethical decision in business therefore benefiting majority favorable opinion (Mhhe 13). In addition to this, universalism ethical system allows people to uphold certain values including honesty plus other positive values the society needs to function effectively (Mhhe 13). Universalism in ethical view advocates for the need of corporate relationship within the business environment where everybody is morally sound working together for achievement of the common goal in the company. This allows positive corporations and mutual prosperity to coexist with healthy and fair competition in between (Mhhe 13). Universalism is an important influencer to ward a corporate working environment where human dignity concerns the value of each and every individual within the company (Mhhe 13). Egoism and utilitarianism is another ethical influencing attribute toward corporative working environment within a business. According to egoism, acceptable behavior is known to be that which maximize huge benefits for the individual (Dimitriades 8). To expand on this, egoism attributes for need to do things for the sake of promoting personal good. This is the driving force toward the well being of the entire society if this policy is followed keenly. Under the corporate world, when utilitarian is incorporated with egoism it work well in facilitating a broader and greater personal good for a large number of people. In this contest, ethical rules always guide company managers in decision making and good moral conduct within the company (Dimitriades 8). The best example is the ethical scandal that faced Citibank student’s loans group. This firm is known to work on paying certain percentage of fees loans to college students once they have been referred by the college (Dimitriades 10). Even though there was no problem with the financier assisting the school in settling student’s financial challenges, the incident was classified not to be corruption but an ethical scandal. This is because the financier was preferred in the most of the letter that students used to apply for finance support from private sources. Upon thorough investigation, it emanated that one of the college financial aid officials owned some stock in the preferred lending financial institution. This is ethically wrong since it literary categorized as conflict of interest is (Dimitriades 10). Ethically, in business no gifts should be used in awarding or exchange of favor. Relativism is a powerful attribute that also alters positively or negatively the working relationship among employees in a business environment. Relativism ethically influences positive behavior by defining opinion and behaviors of other people (Cengage 3). Most importantly is the acknowledgement that there are various ethnic speculation and viewpoints among people working in the same business environment (Cengage 3). Relativism also extend further the acknowledgement that norms, attitude, standards of expected and acceptable behavior do vary much in individuals based on cultural background on comes from (Cengage 3). To supplement on this, a study conducted in Russia versus United States revealed that all participants followed norms of seeking informed consent about chemical hazard formed within the working environment (Cengage 4). However, it was clear that the Russians business people more than the Americans showed interest of a broader set of the stakeholders (Cengage 4). Virtue ethics is another factor that is essential in influencing corporation environment in a business setting. It should be noted that virtue ethics is a general and specific perspective capable of extending far beyond the convectional rules of the society by mainly suggesting that “Moral must always come from a mature persona with good moral character” (Glac 15). However, research has revealed that people within the society also differ greatly in terms moral development. Thus calls for preconvectional and convectional moral development classes (Glac 15). Preconvectional class involve people who end up making decision based on concrete rewards, punishment and self-interest while the convectional class conforms on the wider expectation of individual ethical behavior held by an institution (Glac 15). Ethical code of conduct under this section demands everybody to desist from insider trading. For elaborate and transparent business environment, illegal campaign contribution, all act of bribery and any other scandal executed at the expense of compromised code of ethics should never be encouraged for a healthy fair business environment to develop (Glac 17). In achieving an ethically respectable corporation within the business environment, it is important to facilitate the incorporation of ethical climate (Glac 17). Research has proven that ethical conduct is something that cannot be reinforced by the law but by intrinsic development and virtue. Since the law cannot force commitment of ethical codes, it is therefore important to influence it positively by creating a favorable working environment with ethical climate (Glac 17). Ethical climate of an organization simply refer to the process by which company decisions are made after deep evaluation of its implication and on the basis of right or wrong (Glac 18). This is one way of ensuring that decision making does not compromise ethical code of conduct. This also involves strict measures taken against anyone violating ethical codes of conduct. It is the best way that demonstrates to other people within the company of the seriousness of maintaining moral values and self dignity that does not compromise code of ethics within the business environment. When developing a healthy functional working environment that is respectable to ethical requirement, there is need to develop a management structure that pose equity (Cengage 6). This should involve evaluation of internal procedures and controls that makes up the management structure (Cengage 6). Much of this should be done after scrutiny of powers of the CEO and board of directors. It should be noted tat when the CEO is the chairman of the board of directors, most decision making even if they are unethical would follow the monopoly system by the virtue that it is the CEO saying (Cengage 6). Ethically, when it comes to corporate behavior and values, most businesses are employing and developing strategies to improve employee’s working relations (Cengage 7). This is one way in which collective energy shall be invested with an aim of achieving one goal. Good working relationship reduces chances of bridging ethical codes of conduct within the company thus creating a corporation working environment for everybody (Cengage 7). Moral rights approach is another key factor that can influence ethically compliant working environment. According to this approach, the main speculation is the fact that human beings have fundamental rights and liberty that cannot be taken away by an individual decision making (Dimitriades 15). Therefore, the call is on business manager who should ensure that ethical notation should always be consulted when making decision in order to also protect the rights of people affected by the decision (Dimitriades 15). To create business environment where everybody is cooperating positively, ethical based decision need to be employed in order to avoid interfering with fundamental rights of other employees (Dimitriades 15). Conclusion It is clear that ethical matters are of great concern as far as influence of corporation on environment is concerned. In any business environment, establishment of good working relationship between employees and management is vital toward motivating workers. The managers should ethically be responsible in ensuring that rights of employee’s are not infringed in whatever decision they make. This is the only way to ensure prosperous working environment with mutual respect. Works cited Cengage. Managerial Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility. 2014. Web. 7 May, 2014. Dimitriades, Zoe. Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility in the e-Economy: A Commentary. 2007. Business and Organization Ethics Network (BON). 12: 2 Glac, Katherina. The Influence of Shareholders on Corporate Social Responsibility. 2010. Center for Ethical Business Cultures. 2. Mhhe. Ethics and Corporate Responsibility. 2013. Web. 7 May. 2014. Read More