Page 86 - Bus101FlipBook

6-4 Ethics & Social Responsibility [CH 6

Unocal conducts fire training
for its operating personnel in
its refineries. The company
values the safety of its
operations in order to protect
its employees, visitors,
customers, and neighbors in
the community. Unocal set up
a new department of safety
and risk management to
implement a company-wide
safety program, including
safety audits to ensure the
program works effectively in
every facility.

Photo Source: Courtesy of Unocal/Larry Lee.

Business cannot afford to act unethically towards its customers, its employees, nor its

community; it will not stay in business as customers and employees leave. Management
may require production supervisors to make assembly-line jobs more meaningful; revise
production procedures; or engage in job sharing to retain employees.
Environmental considerations have become important as a means of controlling
business and people; considerations include the work environment; the resources industry
business ethics draws on to provide goods and services and what it emits into the environment. While
The businessman's high-quality products are still in demand, many consumers now judge a company by
standards of conduct what it does, how its employees act, as well as the quality of its product. This chapter
reflecting his moral discusses ethics and social responsibility in a variety of scenarios for the reader to
values. consider.

ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
When we discuss ethical principles from the standpoint that you need to be an ethical
Do not lie, cheat, or steal, person, it can be stated simply: Do not lie, cheat, or steal, and do not tolerate those among
and do not tolerate those you who do. This is actually a code; a rule for personal conduct. There is also the biblical
among you who do; principle: ‘Abstain from all appearance of evil’ (1 Thessalonians 5:22, KJV). The
abstain from all
appearances of evil. fundamental underpinnings of Western civilization’s morality, which is expressed as
ethics, is founded on Judeo-Christian principles. This is exceptionally valid for the United
"A cadet will not lie, States. These principles are inculcated by our parents and family members, and from the
cheat, steal, or tolerate churches and synagogues we attend regularly. Morality is inherent in each person and as a
those who do." law, a Natural Law that informs our decisions as we deal with people.
—U.S. Military Academy at When we discuss ethics for business, the same principles apply to the individual: Do
West Point
not lie, cheat, or steal, and do not tolerate those among you who do; abstain from all
appearances of evil. These ethics are for business and for the individual alike. Remember
Three rules of thumb that a business is amoral, but the business reflects the owners and the employees who are
1. Does this action attempt
to deceive anyone or not amoral. It is through people who run a business that ethics are lived and exercised
allow anyone to be regardless if it is the owner, the CEO, or an employee working on the shipping dock.
deceived? When you are employed, your acts also reflect on your employer and your fellow
2. Does this action gain or employees. Have you ever frequented a business as a customer and had an employee treat
allow the gain of you badly? The grievance is immaterial. The customer will leave dissatisfied with the
privilege or advantage treatment received and will tell their friends about how bad ALL the employees are, even
to which I or someone though they only dealt with one employee. In the retelling of the incident, which will
else would not
otherwise be entitled? enlarge with the retelling, the aggrieved will insinuate that no one should do business with
3. Would I be satisfied by the firm ever again. Fair or unfair, that is what happens. How we act, reflects our morality
the outcome if I were on which is the foundation to our ethics, expressed in our daily actions.
the receiving end of this C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, opens his comments on ethics with the
action? following: “Consider those times when you have heard people quarreling over rights
that have been infringed. Many times, quarreling words are unpleasant and sometimes

Copyrighted Material