Business Ethics Assignment -1

By, Harshil Pacheria

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UGP-IIPM (10Roll no : 3

1. What is Business and Business ethics? Ans. Business is a legally recognized organization designed to provide goods or services, or both, to consumers, businesses and governmental entities. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies. Most businesses are privately owned. A business is typically formed to earn profit that will increase the wealth of its owners and grow the business itself. The owners and operators of a business have as one of their main objectives the receipt or generation of a financial return in exchange for work and acceptance of risk. Notable exceptions include cooperative enterprises and state. Businesses can also be formed not-for-profit or be state-owned. The etymology of "business" relates to the state of being busy either as an individual or society as a whole, doing commercially viable and profitable work. The term "business" has at least three usages, depending on the scope --the singular usage to mean a particular company or corporation, the generalized usage to refer to a particular market sector, such as "the music business" and compound forms such as agribusiness, or the broadest meaning to include all activity by the community of suppliers of goods and services. However, the exact definition of business, like much else in the philosophy of business, is a matter of debate and complexity of meanings. Business ethics (Corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and business organizations as a whole. Applied ethics is a field of ethics that deals with ethical questions in many fields such as medical, technical, legal and business ethics. Business ethics can be both a normative and a descriptive discipline. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the degree to which business is perceived to be at odds with non-economic social values For example, today most major corporate websites lay emphasis on commitment to promoting non-economic social values under a variety of headings (e.g. - ethics codes, social responsibility charters). In some cases, corporations have redefined their core values in the light of business ethical considerations (e.g. - BP's "beyond petroleum" environmental tilt).

Eg.-The relationship between business and ethics can be compared to marriage and morality. A good marital relationship has several essential moral ingredients: commitment of loyalty to each other by the partners, none of the spouse ever having any extra marital affairs, commitment to healthy upbringing of the children, taking care of parents and elders in the family, earning decent money by unquestionable means for running the family, maintaining a responsible relationship with the society and contributing albeit in a small way for its welfare. Almost in similar lines, business and ethics have their connection. Any family running within the framework of above moral guidelines gets respect from the society. Likewise, a business run within ethical framework gets respect amidst its stakeholders. 2.Define cooperative social responsibility? What is the relationship between Business and Society? What is the responsibility of Business towards:(a) Share Holders (b) Employees (c) Customers (d) Government Ans.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), is a form of corporate selfregulation integrated into a model. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an obligation, beyond that required by the law and economics, for a firm to pursue long term goals that are good for society. The continuing commitment by business is to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as that of the local community and society at large about how a company manages its business process to produce an overall positive impact on society. Ideally, CSR policy would function as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure its support to law, ethical standards, and international norms. Consequently, business would embrace responsibility for the impact of its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere. CSR-focused businesses would proactively promote the public interest by encouraging community growth and development, and voluntarily eliminating practices that harm the public sphere, regardless of legality. There is clearly an overlap between CSR and business ethics. Both concepts concern values, objectives and decision based on something than the pursuit of profits and socially responsible firms must act ethically The difference is that ethics concern individual actions, which can be assessed as right or wrong by reference to moral principles. CSR is about

the welfare and the development of the society. There is a social contract between business and society involving mutual obligations that society and business recognize. The responsibility of business towards: Shareholders: - Fair return on investment - Safety of investment - Steady appreciation of investment Employees: - Fair wages, salaries - Good and safe working conditions - Adequate service benefits - Recognition to employees, their contribution etc. Customers: No business can survive without the support of customers. As a part of the responsibility of business towards them the business should provide the following facilities: - Products and services must be able to satisfy customers. - Products and services must be qualitative - There must be regularity in supply of goods and services - Price of the goods and services should be reasonable and affordable. - All the advantages & disadvantages of the product and the procedure to use. - The products details must be informed do the customers. - There must be proper after-sales service. - Grievances of the consumers, if any, must be settled quickly. - Unfair means like under weighing the product, adulteration, etc. must be avoided. - Regular supply of right quality of goods, at right time and place. Government: Business activities are governed by the rules and regulations framed by the government. The various responsibilities of business towards government are: - Setting up units as per guidelines of government - Payment of fees, duties and taxes regularly as well as honestly. - Not to indulge in monopolistic and restrictive trade practices. - Conforming to pollution control norms set up by government. - Not to indulge in corruption through bribing and other unlawful activities. - Contribution towards economic development of backward regions and weaker sections of the society and to recognize and respect social values, business ethics and cultural heritage. -Cooperate with Government in solving problems like communalism,

illiteracy, over population, concentration of income, wealth etc. - Make the country economically self-reliant through export promotion and import substitution. - Make the best of use of national resources - Protect national environment 3.How ethical are you? What have you learnt about ethics in class? Did you find it interesting? Ans.Ethical choices face each of us every day. I am ethical. I follow certain rules and principles. I am honest and completely dedicated to my work. I believe in punctuality and try and complete every task on time. There are many things which I have learnt from these sessions of Business Ethics .I have learnt what Business Ethics is, how is it different from Business, their characteristics, the various types of industries existing today, the objectives of the business, the economic activities and the social obligations performed by a business enterprise, information about environment, pollution and much more. Practically, these sessions of Business Ethics have helped me a lot to know about various top companies like about their history, their turnover, their working style, the people in that company, the type of work done by them and much more. I find these sessions very interesting. I am being exposed in such a way in which I am able to gain knowledge about the subject and the all over Business Environment. I really enjoy attending this class.