Ethics and Social Responsibility
Ethics
• Study of morality and standards of conduct
• Dilemmas arising from conflicts between ethical standards between countries most evident in
employment practices
• Inferring right vs. wrong in the legal sense.
Ethical Issues in Business
• According to the Global Business Ethics Survey of 2018, employees (40%) believe that their company
has a weak leaning ethical culture, and that little progress has been made to mitigate wrongdoing. Here
are some of the ethical issues in business and real-world cases of how these ethical issues have affected
companies.
1. Accounting
• “Cooking the books” and otherwise conducting unethical accounting practices is a serious
problem, especially in publicly traded companies.
2. Social Media
• The widespread nature of social media has made it a factor in employee conduct online and
after hours. Is it ethical for companies to fire or otherwise punish employees for what they post
about? Are social media posts counted as “free speech”?
3. Harassment and Discrimination
• Racial discrimination, sexual harassment, and wage inequality –are all costly ethical issues that
employers and employees encounter on a daily basis across the country.
4. Health and Safety
• The International Labor Organization (ILO) states that 7,397 people die every day from
occupational accidents or work-related diseases.
5. Technology/Privacy
• With developments in technological security capability, employers can now monitor their
employees’ activity on their computers and other company-provided electronic devices.
, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
• Closely related to ethics
• Actions of a firm to benefit society beyond requirements of law and direct interests of the firm
• CSR involves taking voluntary action
• CSR concerns include working conditions in factories and service centers as well as environmental
impacts of corporate activities
Employment and business practices
• Difficult to establish a universal foundation of employment practices
• Difficult dilemmas in deciding working conditions, expected consecutive work hours, and labor
regulations.
• Offshoring due to differences in labor costs
Human Rights
• Currently not universally adopted standard
• A great deal of subjectivity and culturally biased viewpoints exist
• Some basic rights: life, freedom from slavery or torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the
general ambiance of nondiscriminatory practices
• Human rights violations are still rampant globally
The Labor Code of the Philippines
• is a legal code that determines all employment practices and labor relations in the Philippines. This is
to help protect employees and employers- while ensuring that neither is subject to unfair treatment or
exploitation. No employee in the Philippines must work for over 8 hours a day.
Corruption
• Government corruption pervasive element in an international business environment
• Scandals in Russia, China, Pakistan, Lesotho, South Africa, Costa Rica, Egypt, and elsewhere.
Ethics
• Study of morality and standards of conduct
• Dilemmas arising from conflicts between ethical standards between countries most evident in
employment practices
• Inferring right vs. wrong in the legal sense.
Ethical Issues in Business
• According to the Global Business Ethics Survey of 2018, employees (40%) believe that their company
has a weak leaning ethical culture, and that little progress has been made to mitigate wrongdoing. Here
are some of the ethical issues in business and real-world cases of how these ethical issues have affected
companies.
1. Accounting
• “Cooking the books” and otherwise conducting unethical accounting practices is a serious
problem, especially in publicly traded companies.
2. Social Media
• The widespread nature of social media has made it a factor in employee conduct online and
after hours. Is it ethical for companies to fire or otherwise punish employees for what they post
about? Are social media posts counted as “free speech”?
3. Harassment and Discrimination
• Racial discrimination, sexual harassment, and wage inequality –are all costly ethical issues that
employers and employees encounter on a daily basis across the country.
4. Health and Safety
• The International Labor Organization (ILO) states that 7,397 people die every day from
occupational accidents or work-related diseases.
5. Technology/Privacy
• With developments in technological security capability, employers can now monitor their
employees’ activity on their computers and other company-provided electronic devices.
, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
• Closely related to ethics
• Actions of a firm to benefit society beyond requirements of law and direct interests of the firm
• CSR involves taking voluntary action
• CSR concerns include working conditions in factories and service centers as well as environmental
impacts of corporate activities
Employment and business practices
• Difficult to establish a universal foundation of employment practices
• Difficult dilemmas in deciding working conditions, expected consecutive work hours, and labor
regulations.
• Offshoring due to differences in labor costs
Human Rights
• Currently not universally adopted standard
• A great deal of subjectivity and culturally biased viewpoints exist
• Some basic rights: life, freedom from slavery or torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the
general ambiance of nondiscriminatory practices
• Human rights violations are still rampant globally
The Labor Code of the Philippines
• is a legal code that determines all employment practices and labor relations in the Philippines. This is
to help protect employees and employers- while ensuring that neither is subject to unfair treatment or
exploitation. No employee in the Philippines must work for over 8 hours a day.
Corruption
• Government corruption pervasive element in an international business environment
• Scandals in Russia, China, Pakistan, Lesotho, South Africa, Costa Rica, Egypt, and elsewhere.
