The world today is reeling from the effects of world trade, globalization, development of multinational companies and the never ending war for the fight of resources that countries have to offer. With this development, one of the critical aspects of a business, to have sound ethical practices, seems to be lost with the management, shareholders and government proliferating profit maximisation strategies. This paper will explain ethics, consider the role business and government play with respect to social responsibility and how these may be influenced and achieved through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the World Trade Organisation. The focus of the paper will be on current achievement of MDGs, being the most successful global anti- poverty push, in terms of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and developing a global partnership for development. The paper will also highlight food security issues in several countries.
Key Words: Ethics, globalisation, MNCs, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), World Trade Organisation (WTO), hunger, poverty, food security
Ethics in Business
The issue of alleviating poverty through international trade considering the notions of business in respect to philosophy, legal, political and social disciplines is akin to defining what ethics mean to business and trade. Quoting the famous Milton Friedman from his book Capitalism and Freedom, he wrote, “there is one and only one social responsibility of business–to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud” (Friedman, 1962). When multinational companies set their corporate strat...
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...velopment Institute, London.
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Dr. Grudem (2003) concludes his book with a compelling and ardent reflection on the impact of business in relation to world poverty:
Cavusgil, S. T., Knight G. and Rosenberger J.R. (2012), International business: the new realities. Pearson: Prentice Hall
Business ethics are the moral principles that describe the way a business behaves. Because businesses are treated as “persons”, it can be said that the same principles that determine an individual’s actions can also apply to business. Making ethical choices involves distinguishing between right and wrong, and then making the right choice; and while it can be easy to identify unethical business practices, such as using child labor or not paying employees properly, good ethical practice can be harder to define simply because what is deemed right is not always universally accepted. In other words, everyone has a unique moral compass, and can see black and white as different shades of gray. In the face of this, every business holds corporate social responsibility to act fairly for their employees’, stakeholders’, and sometimes even the earth’s sake. However, whether or not the business adheres to this ethical paradigm varies.
This paper will compare and contrast the various interpretations of four separate authors in respect to ethics and social responsibility as they apply to business. The four articles to be reviewed are; “The Social Responsibilities of Business is to Increase its Profits” by Milton Friedman, “The Relevance of Responsibility to Ethical Business Decisions” by Patrick E. Murphy, “What is ‘business ethics’” by Peter F. Drucker and “To Be Ethical Not To Be: An International Code of Ethics for Leadership” by Ala’ Alahmad. Each of these articles represents the author’s interpretations on the interplay between “business ethics” and “social responsibility” supported by both external and personal research. Although none of the authors represent themselves as being opposed to ethics or responsibility in general, there appears to be opposition in the attempt to silo these two topics into a separate, distinct business application rather than maintain them as applicable to individuals’ separate of any corporate (or business) relationships.
The importance of ethics and values in business sustainability is undeniable. Ethics has been defined as, “Moral principles that govern or influence a person’s behaviour”- Hornby. Ethics is different from business ethics however, business ethics is defined as “Written or unwritten codes of principles or values that govern decisions and actions within an organisation”. Therefore we can see that the ethics, moral standards and behaviour of the consumers, employees, entrepreneurs or management teams does not concern business ethics.
Business ethics is a diverse field that cannot be defined with a single definition. This area addresses numerous issues, problems, and dilemmas within the management of businesses. Does this through numerous perspectives and methods. Of course, in order to present the complexities of business ethics, we must explore the types of issues that business professionals are continuously confronted with. To understand one must
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The individuals exercising responsibility are challenged to make the right decisions often under considerable pressure and constraints of time and money. it becomes necessary not only to make business ethics more international but also to explore systematically the extremely rich but still largely ignored treasures of global moral and practical wisdom. ..( Stephan Rothlin and Dennis Mcann -springer ,2016).The growth of international business calls for the development of universal ethical standards,As Corporate and national cultures embody differing codes of conduct.and therefore Serious ethical lapses have damaged organizations as well as societies. (Janice M. Beyer, David Nino). . Business Ethics becomes a prerequisite for conducting any type of business, particularly in the global marketplace. Traditionally, there have been two views on the role of ethics in business. The first perspective is that the corporate executives’ sole responsibility is to maximize the shareholder’s value. The second view is that “ethics pays,” which implies that acting in a socially responsible way towards stakeholders will automatically enhance shareholder wealth (Verhezen, 2005).Child labor is certainly child Abuse which in turn is a serious issue, and employing child labor
Global corporations have the responsibility of making successful strategic decisions when developing a new plan for their company. One wrong move and these corporations could negatively impact the shareholders, surrounding communities and the environment, as well. It is imperative that these large global corporations understand how the roles of ethics and social responsibility have an enormous impact on those that are directly invested in them. The decision making process is a delicate process that requires special attention to detail and perhaps even a blueprint on how their decisions should affect society. It is also very important that the corporate executives have a well-rounded and balanced strategy when pursuing shareholders profits. All decisions should always be made using their blueprint of strong ethical code in order to prevent a negative
Entering the 21st. Century – World Development Report 1999/2000. World Bank 2000. Oxford University Press. New York, NY 2000.
The companies and corporations have more and more influence on economical, ecological and social processes in today’s world. Consequently business social responsibility deserves more attention.
Just imagine waking up in squalor, a once prominent society, now a desolate wasteland. All because foreign interest has raped your land of its natural resources and you seen not a cent in profit. Although, globalization is unifying the worlds developed nations and is bringing commerce to nations that have struggle in past years. True, globalization has many positive effects but do the pros outweigh the cons. In this essay I will discuss Globalization ruining the integrity of many countries and also is forcing many undeveloped nations into a bind, and is causing economic distress on some developed nations. Also, due to economic globalization the nations of the world are diluting their culture, sovereignty, natural resources, safety and political system. My goal is not to change your way of thought, but only to enlighten you of the negatives of global economic expansion.
The sole purpose of the enterprises is not only to earn profit but they are also responsible for the development of the people and society. If the corporations continue to neglect their responsibility in the social sector then it will also eventually affect their business. Today, customers are more aware and they usually analyse a business based on their participation in the social sector. The concept of the corporate social responsibility is not very old. It emerged recently and requires the large corporations to spend a small share of their profits in the respected social projects. The concept of the corporate social responsibility is not legal but rather it is moral. It is not the legal responsibility of the large corporations to indulge in social development instead it is their moral duty to address the social needs of the people.
The module has analysed business-society relations through the theories and practices of business ethics and social responsibility and how business ethics has evolved from theoretical frameworks as to how business should be managed.
International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2008, “International Monetary Fund: Issues Brief”, IMF Publications, Available at : www.imf.org