Ethical Behaviour & Social Responsibility BOH4M Unit 1

Ethical behaviour

Agenda Learning goals Vocabulary What is Ethical Behaviour?

Learning Goals Define ethics, ethical behaviour, ethical dilemma, ethics test and code of ethics Explain why not every Legal behaviour is necessarily ethical behaviour and ethical behaviour is not necessarily legal Explain how values impact ethical behaviour and decision making. Define cultural relativism, ethical universalism and ethical imperialism

Learning Goals Describe and give examples of how ethical dilemmas complicate the workplace Give examples of ethical dilemmas faced by manager in the workplace Give examples of how organization can demonstrate ethical behavior Give examples of areas covered in the code of ethics Understand and be able to implement the checklist for ethical decisions

Vocabulary Ethics Ethical behaviour Values Cultural relativism: Universalism Ethical Imperialism ethical dilemma Ethics test Code of ethics

What is Ethical Behaviour? Ethics: Code of moral principles that set standards of good and bad and right and wrong Ethical behaviour: What is accepted as good and right in the context of the governing moral code Legal behaviour is not necessarily ethical behaviour and ethical behaviour is not necessarily legal

What is Ethical Behaviour? Values are broad beliefs about what is appropriate behaviour Values vary from one person to the next. This the reason why different people may respond quite differently to a situation with ethical challenges

Cultural influences on ethical behaviour include: Cultural relativism: No one right way to behave; ethical behaviour is always determined by its cultural context Universalism: Suggests ethical standards apply absolutely across all cultures Ethical Imperialism: An attempt to impose one’s ethical standards on other cultures

Ethical Dilemma Ethical business is good business. The real test, however, is when an ethical challenge is encountered and has to be dealt with An ethical dilemma occurs when choices offer potential for personal and/or organizational benefit but may be considered unethical

Ethical Test Decision makers can use the test of disclosure method to solve ethical dilemmas: “How would we feel if everyone knew about the decision we made?” If they are not concerned, they have likely made an ethical choice. If they are, they have probably not made an unethical choice.

Ethical dilemmas faced by managers may include: Discrimination (non-job-relevant bias) Sexual harassment (inappropriate comments or actions of a sexual nature) Conflicts of interest (bribes and kickbacks) Customer confidence (sharing privileged information) Organizational resources (office supplies and e-mail)

Codes of ethics: Official written guidelines on how to behave in situations susceptible to the creation of ethical dilemmas Areas often covered by codes of ethics: Workforce diversity Bribes and kickbacks Political contributions Honesty of books or records Customer/supplier relationships Confidentiality of corporate information Although codes of ethical conduct are now common, codes alone cannot guarantee ethical conduct

Ethics in the Workplace Respect for human dignity Avoid anything that threatens safety, health, education, and living standards. Create culture that values employees, customers, and suppliers. Keep a safe workplace. Be good citizens Produce safe products and services. Support social institutions, including economic and educational systems. Respect for basic rights Work with local government and institutions to protect the environment. Protect rights of employees, customers, and communities.

CHECKLIST FOR MAKING ETHICAL DECISIONS Identify the ethical issue or problem. List the facts that have direct impact on the decision Identify anyone who might be affected by your decision and how. Explain what each affected person would want you to do about the issue. Identify your options

CHECKLIST FOR MAKING ETHICAL DECISIONS Test each option: Is it legal? Is it ethical? Who does it benefit? Decide which option to follow. Double check your decision by asking two follow-up questions: “How would I feel if my family finds out about my decision?” “How would I feel about this if my decision is printed in the local newspaper?” Take the action.

Workplace Ethics Activity: Making Informed Ethical Decisions In groups of 4 students read the assigned scenario and follow the steps for making ethical decisions. Each group should select a decision and be prepared to discuss their reasoning for selecting that choice with the class Other groups should challenge the decision and give appropriate feedback.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Agenda Learning goals Vocabulary Where gadgets go to Die article What is CSR CSR group projects

Learning goals Be able to read an article and summarize it using the 5w’s Be able to define corporate social responsibility and stakeholder and provide examples Compare and contrast classical and socioeconomic view on CSR Identify and explain the four strategies of CSR Define what is a CSR audit and explain the criteria for CSR Be able to apply and conduct a CSR audit

Vocabulary Accommodative Classical view Corporate social responsibility Defensive Obstructionist Proactive Social responsibility audit Socioeconomic view Stakeholders

Where do gadgets go to die – article Read the article individually Fill in the organization chart with the 5w’s Compare your answers your summary with a partner Take up the article together as a class

Where gadgets go to die-Article Analysis What: The article talks about how America, Japan and some European countries export toxic e-waste to Asia and Africa, which is considered unethical and illegal, going against the 1989 Basel Convention due to low environmental regulations. Where: Guiyu in Guangdong province is known as the e-waste capital of the world. Also Delhi in India received a large volume of e-waste. When: E-waste is growing at about 8% per year which is about 20m-50m tonnes according to EPA. EPA also estimates that electronic devices produced in 2009 could easily produce 100m tonnes of e-waste by 2020.

Who: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 80% of America’s e-waste gets shipped to Asia and Africa. 150, 000 people are estimated to be employed in the e-waste management in Guiyu. This includes a large numbers of children, disassembling old computers, phones and other electronic devices by hand in their homes. In Delhi, India 25,000 workers are estimated to be employed recycling up to 20,000 tonnes annually of computers, phones and other hardware waste.

How: In India the preferred method for recycling circuit boards is to toss them into an open fire in order to melt the plastics and burn away everything but the gold and copper. In China the circuit boards are soaked in acid to dissolve out the lead, cadmium and other metals. The Plastic cases are ground-up and copper wiring are stripped similarly to be sold.

Why: E-waste can contain up to 60 elements from the periodic table and other harmful chemicals. These elements can cause cancer, reproductive disorder, endocrine disruption and several other health problems. Moreover, the heavy metals found in e-waste can eventually make its way into our food chain, through fish, and harm future generations. Evidence of the damage can be seen in Guiyu where air and water pollution are said to be horrendous. Moreover, medical researchers have found that the children living in Guiyu have 49% higher levels of lead in their blood than the maximum safe levels.

This article talks about the injustice of the rich taking advantage of the poor. Developed countries that have strong developed economic systems are taking advantage of developing countries. Places like China and India with very high population and high need of employment, fall victims to this. Many European countries have realized that this is unethical and even illegal. However, environmental regulations are low, in developing countries keeping the cost of recycling low, allowing multinational companies to increase profits. We can see how business take priorotize of profitability over human life.

What is Corporate Social Responsibility? Corporate social responsibility: an obligation of the organization to act in ways that serve both its own interests and the interests of society Organizations have a social responsibility to serve the interests of its many stakeholders: 

What is Corporate Social Responsibility? Stakeholder: persons, groups or other organizations directly affected by the behaviour of the organization and hold a stake in its performance

Perspectives on social responsibility: The classical view: holds that management’s only responsibility is to maximize profits. The socioeconomic view holds that management must be concerned for the broader social welfare, not just profits.

Perspectives on social responsibility Arguments against social responsibility: Reduced business profits Higher business costs Dilution of business purpose Too much social power for business Lack of public accountability Arguments in favor of social responsibility: Adds long-run profits Better public image Avoids more government regulation Businesses have resources and ethical obligation Better environment Public wants it

Four strategies of corporate social responsibility: Obstructionist – fight social demands; meet economic responsibilities Defensive – do minimum legally required; meet economic and legal responsibilities Accommodative – do minimum ethically required; meet economic, legal, and ethical responsibilities Proactive – take leadership in social initiatives; meet all criteria of social performance; take preventative action

Social Responsibility Audit A social responsibility audit can be used periodically to report on and assess an organization’s accomplishments in areas of social responsibility

Criteria for evaluating corporate social performance: Economic responsibility met? (is the organization profitable?) Legal responsibility met (does it obey the law?) Ethical responsibility met (is it doing the “right” things?) Discretionary responsibility met (is it contributing to the broader community?)

CSR Audit Assignment Give out and explain the CSR assignment