Business Ethics and Responsible Management

This document explores the various factors of business ethics and responsible management. It discusses the role played by business in society, the impact of ethical choices on other organizations, and the theories that can be applied to the case. It also delves into the factors that make a person an ethical leader and provides insights on managing a business ethically. Additionally, it touches upon unethical organizations, personal ethics, and compliance.

Business Ethics and
Responsible Management
1

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART 1............................................................................................................................................3
a) Explore the various factors including – Why does this has to be explored? How can the
organisation think about the role played by business in the society? You are also required to
provide a brief outline about the key stakeholders of the company and the way in which they
are affected? Relevant examples of how ethical choices can impact other organisations should
also be included (like where is the research that show the good choices are beneficial for the
companies whereas bad choices can impact negatively). Lastly, you are required to provide a
conclusion along with some recommendations for the company................................................3
b) Explain two theories and explain how can these be applied to the case in order to show the
way in which they can provide a view about ethics of the case..................................................4
PART 2............................................................................................................................................6
Explain factors that make a person an ethical leader and how can you manage a business and
other activities, various conditions about unethical organisations, personal ethics as well as
different values and ways of compliance of the organisation being an ethical manager.............6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10
2

INTRODUCTION
Business ethics is defined as implementation of business practices as well as policies in
regard with controversial subjects (Burchell, Kennedy and Murray, 2015). This is referred as
form of professional or applied ethics which examines about principles of ethics and moral or
problems that arises at business environment. It is very important for organisation to conduct
their business activities and operations in an ethical manner. This is possible through responsible
management as they are liable as well as responsible to operate functions in effective way. The
given case study is based on Ladbrokes Coral which was founded in 1886 at London, United
Kingdom. It is British gambling and betting company that deals in different products such as
financial betting, casino, sports, poker, games, bingo and many more. According to legislation of
gambling industry, there would be loss of jobs and shops have to be closed. Employment can be
saved through online jobs only. The main aim of report is to discuss about ethical practices for
running business activities and using of different theories in most effective manner.
PART 1
a) Explore the various factors including – Why does this has to be explored? How can the
organisation think about the role played by business in the society? You are also required
to provide a brief outline about the key stakeholders of the company and the way in which
they are affected? Relevant examples of how ethical choices can impact other
organisations should also be included (like where is the research that show the good
choices are beneficial for the companies whereas bad choices can impact negatively).
Lastly, you are required to provide a conclusion along with some recommendations for the
company
The given case study is based on Ladbrokes Coral which is gambling industry that deals
in betting of games, sports, casino and many more (Cornuel, Hommel and Painter-Morland,
2015). With change in time, there is increase in gambling activities at market which leads to earn
high profit or bear huge loss. It is totally unpredictable business because depends on luck of
individual either to earn profit or loss money. This is regarded as ethical question because people
as well as organisation both are suffering a lot to achieve better results. It is gambling business
that is impacting activities and operations of organisation in negative manner. According to case
study, gambling is regarded as fun which can be destructive too. In year 2001, betting shops has
3

introduced Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBT) which is super slot machine where punter may
win or lose. As there is betting of £100 which is made every 20 seconds as well as stories of
losing money by people are seen in gambling business. Government has stepped in and set
maximum limit from £100 to £2 which was loss for betting shops.
According to case study, Ladbrokes Coral were planning to react in given situations. The
company said some shops would be close and there is losing of jobs by employees in an
organisation (Cornuel and et. al., 2015). As gambling industry have done argument against
government legislations of FOBT which has made to losses jobs. As per Ladbrokes Coral there is
loss of 5000 job losses and 1000 of 3500 shops closing. It is ethical questions as every business
has their own laws and regulations which should be followed by them. In terms of gambling
industry, there is high losing of money by people so government set maximum limit and consider
online process to save jobs. Due to setting of limit, there is huge loss for betting shops.
The respective organisation might want to think over about the role played by business in
the society as gambling leads to create huge losses to people due to which they have to commit
suicide and bear huge loss. Role of business in society is to provide benefits to individual but
creating problems in terms of achievement of goal and objectives. The main stakeholders are
investor, employees, staff and other as they all are affected due to legislation imposed by
government for gambling business. This is good for companies as well as bad choices to create
negative impact. In terms of positive aspects, there is rise in value of brand as well as goodwill at
marketplace. On other hand, there is loss of employment, closing of shops and so on. It is also
recommended to business to follow all ethical values and principles in an effective manner for
attainment of goal as well as objectives in an effective manner.
b) Explain two theories and explain how can these be applied to the case in order to show the
way in which they can provide a view about ethics of the case
It is very important for respective organisation to follow proper theories to demonstrate
ethical values and principles in most effective manner (Kolb, Fröhlich and Schmidpeter, 2017).
According to the given scenario in case study, Ladbrokes Coral has faced issues in terms of
losing jobs and closing of shops at marketplace, in order to implement new laws. Employees
performing work in that place has to perform online in order to save jobs from market. There is
high rate of gambling taking place at market which impacts business and their activities as well
as operation in negative manner. According to data and statistics, there are job losses of 500 and
4

1000 of 3500 shops to be closed. These impact employees who are working in organisation for
attainment of goal as well as objectives. The two different ethical theories which views case
study are as follows:
Theory of Justice
It is defined as theory which was founded in 1971 work of political philosophy as well as
ethics developed by John Rawls where writer has addressed problem of distributive justice
(Dyllick, 2015). This is political theory of justice which is opposed to other form of justice
explained in other contexts as well as disciplines. Such theory was refined many times due to
change in time and situation. Respective theory was based on three principles as well as five
procedural steps to achieve fairness at workplace. Ladbrokes Coral has faced ethical issued
where employees has to lose their jobs and close their shop. In this context they have to use
online source to run business. There is highly rising in gambling activities which leads to high
profit or high losses. Here, principle of justice theory is original position, veil of ignorance and
unanimity of acceptance of real or original position. The respective organisation has to focus on
following all these principle at their business so that set goal and objectives are achieved. The
employees who are working in business should perform activities and operations at original
position for positive outcomes. Following of such principle leads to achieve fairness at
organisation in most appropriate manner. Rawls believe that justice theory provide minimum
guarantee of rights as well as liberties for each and every people working in an organisation. On
other hand, there are five steps of justice theory which includes entering into contract, agreeing
unanimously to contract, including basic terms as well as conditions in contracts like freedom of
speech, maximizing welfare of disadvantaged persons and ensuring stability of contract. These
steps help in creating proper system of justice which provides fairness above bottom line as well
as utility. It is important for business to follow such principles at workplace so that each and
every employee gets an opportunity for equal rights in an effective manner.
Virtue Ethical Theories
This theory holds ethical value of an individual that is determined through their character.
Here, character is defined as virtues, intentions, inclinations which dispose person to act in
ethical as well as legal manner (Haski-Leventhal, Pournader and McKinnon, 2017). Such
theories are individual character, work character and professional character ethics. Here,
individual character ethics hold both development as well as identification of human
5

characteristics that helps in determination of intrinsic as well as instrumental value of individual
ethical interactions. It includes self disciple, gratitude, sincerity, understanding, prudence,
wisdom, sincerity and benevolence. Second is work character ethics which means to do
development as well as identification of practitioner, reflective at works like loyalty, creativity,
trustworthiness, honesty, civility, shared work pride which determine instrumental and intrinsic
ethical quality of life. Last is professional character ethics which hold self regulation, impartial
judgement, public service, trustfulness that determine ethical quality of individual who is related
with communities.
With the following of such theory at workplace, Ladbrokes Coral can easily create
individual, work and professional character ethics in effective manner (Hibbert and Cunliffe,
2015). Respective organisation has faced problem in terms of all three aspects that created
problems for it to attain positive outcomes. Here, individual are becoming jobless and has to
close their open due to legislation of government, work is hampered and professional character
of employees are decline due to arising of such issues at workplace which impact to achieve goal
and objectives.
Therefore, these are the two theories which have applied to respective organisation to
identify their issues and solve by applying in appropriate manner in most effective manner. The
adoption of such theories leads to create positive environment at business to attain desired goal
as well as objectives. Thus, it should be applied in most effective manner so that results are
attained.
PART 2
Explain factors that make a person an ethical leader and how can you manage a business and
other activities, various conditions about unethical organisations, personal ethics as well as
different values and ways of compliance of the organisation being an ethical manager
For running of operations, it is essential to have ethical leader as well as manager so that
set results are achieved (Louw, 2015). In order to be ethical leader, there are some aspects which
should be followed in appropriate manner. As manager, there is difference among boss and
leader, where boss provide order & manages and leader guides and inspires. Here, good leader
are liable to inspire, nurture, guide employees for turning them to improve in proper manner.
Ethical leadership is referred as leadership which is monitored as well as controlled by different
6

ethical values, rights, beliefs etc. of other people. This focus on moral development as well as
virtuous behaviour. Also ethical leader are those who dies as well as lives for integrity. These are
aspects which help in becoming ethical leader such as:
Defining and Aligning Values- The leader should define as well as align values in most
effective manner for attainment of positive outcomes (How to Be an Ethical Leader: 4 Tips for
Success, 2020). They have to consider morals which were raised with, treating others, saying
thank you and so on. This helps in making business to be ethical good and promote values in
proper way.
Hiring People with Similar Values- As value should not be identified with employees
but there should be establishment of common goal with them. Such things begin with hiring
process and maintained with vision statement. It is not possible for every employee to be fit in all
company. Leader has to hire people possessing similar values in most effective manner.
Promoting Open Communication- For ethical running of business activities and
operations, it is important to have open communication among workforce so that they can attain
goal and objectives. Each and every decision must be transparent so that team are motivated for
better work performance.
Therefore, these are the elements which makes ethical leader. It is very essential for
leader to have all values, ethics and principle in order to guide individuals for achievement of
goals as well as objectives.
Being the ethical manager of organisation, I would manage standard by following
principle and applying those at workplace so that set outcomes are achieved. I have to manage
ethics in workplace by following various guidelines. First is recognising to manage ethics in
process, second is accomplishment of different behaviours in workplace, third is handling ethical
dilemmas is avoiding occurrence in first place, fourth is making ethical decisions at group and
making public decisions (8 Guidelines for Managing Ethics in the Workplace, 2020). Moreover,
I have to integrate ethics management with other practise, using cross functional team to develop
as well as implement ethics management program in an effective manner.
The concept of Personal ethics can be referred to as a category of philosophy which
determines about individual believes in morality as well as right and wrong. This is differentiated
from legal and business ethics. As business ethics explains legal laws and legislation about
enterprise and personal ethics determine person’s own through, believes about positive and
7

negative aspects. It is very important for business to have ethical value and principles so that
goal and objectives can be attained and achieved in most effective manner.
In an organisation, reputation of business is regarded as big contributor in achievement of
success and growth of business. If consumers have perception that business is running ethically
then they continue to transact with those organisation whereas if they believe that enterprise is
running unethically then they does not continue their relationship with them. There are different
factors that are a reason behind unethical condition of an organisation bring unethical
organisations and practices. Some of them are described below:
Theft of material and time- It is the factor that leads to cause unethical practices at
workplace (Nonet, Kassel and Meijs, 2016). When there is theft of time as well as material, then
it create problem for attainment of positive outcomes. This is an unethical practice which is
performed by employees working in an organisation that decline brand value and goodwill at
marketplace.
Misuse of Company Technology- The adoption of computer technology is very costly
for business so employees have to use it in effective manner. In many case, it is misused by
organisation due to which there is failure of business activities as well as operation that may
decline productivity and profitability. This all leads towards unethical practices as well as
behaviour that impact value and goodwill of organisation.
Lying About Performance- In an organisation, there are set of values and principles that
have to be adopted by employees working in it. It is very important for organisation to check
performance of their employees on regular basis. There are many situation arises at business
where employees lies their performance to manager to avoid problematic situation.
Violating Company Internet Policy- The employees performing work in an
organisation violate internet policy to achieve their own goal and objectives in negative way that
impact business and their performance (Quarshie, Salmi and Leuschner, 2016). This creates
unethical practices at workplace which make manager to make any wrong decision at firm that
hamper their values.
CONCLUSION
The above report concludes that organisation should follow ethics in their business so that
activities and operations are run in effective manner. It is very important for each and every
organisation to have ethical practices in business for achievement of goal and objectives.
8

Manager has to make ethical decisions through following all legal law, practices and policies for
positive outcomes. Ethical issues impact enterprise in negative way in terms of losing jobs,
decline in brand value, goodwill and many more. Therefore, it is essential for organisations to
carry out their operations effectively as well as efficiently to avoid any kind of problems.
9

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Burchell, J., Kennedy, S. and Murray, A., 2015. Responsible management education in UK
business schools: Critically examining the role of the United Nations Principles for
Responsible Management Education as a driver for change. Management Learning.
46(4). pp.479-497.
Cornuel, E., Hommel, U. and Painter-Morland, M., 2015. Philosophical assumptions
undermining responsible management education. Journal of Management Development.
Cornuel, E. and et. al., 2015. The business case and barriers for responsible management
education in business schools. Journal of Management Development.
Kolb, M., Fröhlich, L. and Schmidpeter, R., 2017. Implementing sustainability as the new
normal: Responsible management education–From a private business school's
perspective. The International Journal of Management Education. 15(2). pp.280-292.
Dyllick, T., 2015. Responsible management education for a sustainable world: The challenges
for business schools. Journal of Management Development. 34(1). pp.16-33.
Haski-Leventhal, D., Pournader, M. and McKinnon, A., 2017. The role of gender and age in
business students’ values, CSR attitudes, and responsible management education:
Learnings from the PRME international survey. Journal of Business Ethics. 146(1).
pp.219-239.
Hibbert, P. and Cunliffe, A., 2015. Responsible management: Engaging moral reflexive practice
through threshold concepts. Journal of business ethics. 127(1). pp.177-188.
Louw, J., 2015. “Paradigm change” or no real change at all? A critical reading of the UN
principles for responsible management education. Journal of Management Education.
39(2). pp.184-208.
Nonet, G., Kassel, K. and Meijs, L., 2016. Understanding responsible management: Emerging
themes and variations from European business school programs. Journal of Business
Ethics. 139(4). pp.717-736.
Quarshie, A. M., Salmi, A. and Leuschner, R., 2016. Sustainability and corporate social
responsibility in supply chains: The state of research in supply chain management and
business ethics journals. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management. 22(2). pp.82-
97.
Rasche, A. and Gilbert, D. U., 2015. Decoupling responsible management education: Why
business schools may not walk their talk. Journal of Management Inquiry, 24(3),
pp.239-252.
Schaltegger, S. and Burritt, R., 2018. Business cases and corporate engagement with
sustainability: Differentiating ethical motivations. Journal of Business Ethics. 147(2).
pp.241-259.
Setó-Pamies, D. and Papaoikonomou, E., 2016. A multi-level perspective for the integration of
ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability (ECSRS) in management
education. Journal of Business Ethics. 136(3). pp.523-538.
Storey, M., Killian, S. and O'Regan, P., 2017. Responsible management education: Mapping the
field in the context of the SDGs. The International Journal of Management Education.
15(2). pp.93-103.
10

Zhang, M. M. and et. al., 2015. Towards a research agenda on the sustainable and socially
responsible management of agency workers through a flexicurity model of
HRM. Journal of Business Ethics. 127(3). pp.513-523.
Online
How to Be an Ethical Leader: 4 Tips for Success. 2020. [Online]. Available through: <
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5537-how-to-be-ethical-leader.html>.
8 Guidelines for Managing Ethics in the Workplace. 2020. [Online]. Available through: <
https://managementhelp.org/blogs/business-ethics/2010/11/27/8-guidelines-for-
managing-ethics-in-the-workplace/>.
11