Module 4 - Background
Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility
In Module 4, we turn to business ethics as corporate responsibility. Whether an organization operates in a single country or the organization is a multinational corporation (MNC), it is in the best interests of that organization to behave ethically. The management guru, Peter Drucker, expressed this eloquently in his seminal 1968 book The Practice of Management:
What is most important is that management realize that it must consider the impact of every business policy and business action upon society. It has to consider whether the action is likely to promote the public good, to advance the beliefs of our society, to contribute to its stability, strength and harmony (p. 461).
Review the following four-video sequence in which the Executive Director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics speaks about ethics. Business ethics is specifically discussed in the first video entitled “What is Ethics?”:
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/business/introduction.html
Businesses have the responsibility to act ethically; but they also have the right (and one might argue that they also have a responsibility to their stakeholders as well) to make a profit. Read the following article for more on this:
Machan, T.. (2011, February). Profit: the Right Standard for Business. Barron's, 91(7), 32. Retrieved August 2, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2270052241). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=11&did=2270052241&SrchMode=1&sid=4&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1312308799&clientId=29440
And finally, the following article may be lengthy, but it is also a thorough discussion of business ethics, corporate responsibility, and their benefits:
William I. Sauser Jr.. (2005). Ethics in Business: Answering the Call. Journal of Business Ethics, 58(4), 345 357. Retrieved August 2, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 855764211). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=5&did=855764211&SrchMode=1&sid=6&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1312310320&clientId=29440
Optional:
The following book chapter provides an excellent introduction to business ethics:
http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199564330/craneandmatten3e_ch01.pdf
In the following article, the question is raised: Is the notion of corporate responsibility (CR) a business driver – or is CR instead an ethical obligation?
Perakis, E.. (2009, April). Corporate responsibility: a business driver or an ethical obligation? Global Focus, 3(2), 60-63. Retrieved August 2, 2011, from Entrepreneurship. (Document ID: 1786820241). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=75&did=1786820241&SrchMode=1&sid=4&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1312309590&clientId=29440051417411).
The following article relates to corporate social responsibility (CSR):
Murphy, P.. (2009). The Relevance of Responsibility to Ethical Business Decisions. Journal of Business Ethics: Supplement, 90, 245-252. Retrieved August 2, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2051417411). http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=40&did=2051417411&SrchMode=1&sid=4&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1312309245&clientId=29440
There are numerous organizations that monitor CSR: AsYouSow, CorpWatch, and Justmeans are just a few such organizations: