Assignment on Business Ethics Sample

Business Ethics

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
Case study 1................................................................................................................................3
Case study 2................................................................................................................................4
Case study 3................................................................................................................................4
Case study 4................................................................................................................................5
Case study 5................................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Business ethics are the values and morals which are designed in an organisation and
through them the problems or issues that arises at work place is also identified. It defines or gives
the guidelines to different individuals which they have to follow while they are at the work place.
An organisation which works as per the ethics is clear with the difference between what is right
and what is wrong (Crane and Matten, 2016). The direct impact of following the right actions is
on the different stakeholders of the company as they are ensured that their benefits will not be
harmed by the firm in any case. In the given report different case studs will be discussed in
which ethics will be kept as base to explore. Specifically the dilemmas which are faced by each
enterprise is discussed that effects the operations to a great extent.
TASK
Case study 1
In the given case study there is an ethical issue which arise due to the excessive
competition which is now increasing with a great speed in the business world. By discovering a
better and cheaper source of supply the operation manger has an option to adopt another dealer
which can help him in increasing total revenues in the long run. Earlier he was receiving the
same quality of toys at an increased price from his present dealer in Portuguese. When he
reached Thailand he found that there are no workshops and the process of toy manufacturing is
carried out at homes by the family members which includes child's also that too of below age 10.
this was surprising factor for the supply manger as he saw such system of supply chain for the
fist time. Such situations create dilemma for the managers as being a business men profit
maximization is the main objective which in this case is high if the dealer of Portuguese are
selected to continue supply chain. Therefore in the given situation Kant theory of ethics can be
utilised (De George, 2011). As per the view of Kant a person can not take the judgement
according to the consequences of same but has to give more consideration to his duties and roles.
Under this theory three maxims were given which were human dignity, universality and
consistency. These suggestions could be effectively used in the given dilemma. As per the
consistency maxim the manger would not like to make it a universal acceptable law and hence
would deny to take the given deal. After this according to human dignity if applied to the
situation the children were working as per their own will and were not force by any other hence

there is no harm if they are at work in safe surroundings. Lastly, there is lack of chances that
child labour is considered as ethical, hence makes the deal unethical and as per this the manager
will take his future decision (Hoffman, Frederick and Schwartz, 2014).
Case study 2
When an individual is at a particular post much responsibility and roles are expected by
him to be perform. In the given case study due to an uncertain situation in Pharm ChemCo (PCC)
the regional marketing director was asked for an emergency meeting in which the confidential
information was shared related to an issue that arises against the name of refereed organisation.
This was sure that once the information related to that issue will be published in the market the
value of stock will go down which will effect all its shareholders. After getting this news the
director make the withdrawal of the amount but encountered dilemma of whether he should share
the same news with his best friend who has also made investment in the same company as he
will face loss if not told about the expected fall in share price. Therefore, in this context the
ethical issue of the expectation from a person working at particular designation arises (Ferrell,
and Fraedrich, 2015). As manger he can not discuss the information prior to the publication of
same as it is necessary that difference between personal and processional obligations are
understood so that no questions is raised against his duty as an employee (Trevino and Nelson,
2016).
Case study 3
In the given case study, it is observed that company need to recruit a deserving candidate
who has enough skills and also has good social skills. The selected two candidate has the
required capabilities among which the second applicant has work experience also which makes
her superior from the other one. But, when the HR went trough her Facebook profile he founds
bad impression. On the other hand the first candidate is found to be good at social site but she
dopes not has the work education. Therefore, in this context a dilemma rises weather to select a
candidate on the basis of her social site or to should the work experience be considered. It is true
that Facebook is a place where people update photos without realising their impact and it is
wrong whatever is displayed there is true. Here another issue which is confronted is the manager
did wrong accesses to her account which hampers her privacy as he should have only used the
information which was willingly displayed by her for the unknown users (DesJardins, 2011). As
the work concern is of nature that require a responsible candidate the second applicant can be

selected on grounds that she has good working experience. But, if the line of work is consider
than the second one can not be selected as her picture with drugs shows that she is not the right
person to be selected for this job and hence the first candidate should be selected. Use of
Facebook should be limited to making contacts and profiles should not be accessed by
unauthorised user so that privacy of account holder can b e maintained.
Case study 4
Organic farming is more labour intensive and hence this makes the products produced by
this method to be more costly. Due to their purity and good results customers are ready to pay
higher prices for same. According to the case study it is observed that it is important to keep the
standards of products as unfair sale of non organic product with fake seals is hampering the
purchasing choice of customers. Food suppliers know that customer will readily pay the
demanded price and hence this lead to the development of ethical issues. This way the unfair
trade practices are developed. It is due to the reason that growing product organically demands
excessive efforts and space area as plantation on is done on large scale (Weiss, 2014). As the
product concern has a great demand in the market it becomes difficult to produce it purely and
hence influence the suppliers to use other modes. Therefore a deli-ma is faced by producers
weather to follow rules while production process or to go for mixing so that demand can be
fulfilled and revenues can be generated. Hence in this case suppliers must ensure that wrong
labelling is strictly avoided so that they do not influence customer to buy a particular commodity
and use of unhealthy chemicals should be strictly avoided so that the health of buyers dose not
get effected.
Case study 5
The given case study revolves around the issues of cotton which is sourced from
Uzebekistan. It is given that their the standards of working conditions are not maintained and
specifically practices like child labour are in massive quantity. The ethical issue here is that to
what extent the workers need to be protect the workers as it is the basic right of any employee.
This industry receives higher profits and therefore it should ensure be ensured that all those who
are working with the same are provided with effective resources so that their living standards can
be developed. As the cotton is taken out using hands therefore much cost is incurred. Students
should be provided with great opportunities so that they do not compromise with their education

for which the timing should be either kept in a manner that they can earn their livelihood and and
also gets the right to education (Buchholtz and Carroll, 2012).
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been summarised that while dealing in the business
environment management faces various ethical issues in which effective decision making is
required. In order to avoid conflicts it is necessary that ethics are maintained so that right code of
conduct is followed and benefits to society are raised. Different solutions are discussed above
which can help the distinct authority in dealing with the dilemma they are facing.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Crane, A. and Matten, D., 2016. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
De George, R.T., 2011. Business ethics. Pearson Education India.
Ferrell, O.C. and Fraedrich, J., 2015. Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson
Education.
Trevino, L.K. and Nelson, K.A., 2016. Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do
it right. John Wiley & Sons.
DesJardins, J.R., 2011. An introduction to business ethics. McGraw-Hill.
Weiss, J.W., 2014. Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach. Berrett-
Koehler Publishers.
Buchholtz, A.K. and Carroll, A.B., 2012. Business & society: Ethics & stakeholder management.
South-Western Cengage Learning.
Hoffman, W.M., Frederick, R.E. and Schwartz, M.S. Eds., 2014. Business ethics: Readings and
cases in corporate morality. John Wiley & Sons.