Business Ethics Analysis: Venice Case Study, Stakeholders, and CSR

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of business ethics in the context of Venice. It begins with an introduction to business ethics and its importance, followed by an examination of relevant ethical theories, including utilitarian, Kantian, and virtue ethics, and their application to the case of Venice. The report then delves into stakeholder involvement, classifying stakeholders based on their legitimacy, urgency, and power, such as local residents, tourists, businesses, and the government. It assesses how each stakeholder is affected by business practices in Venice and how their interests can be balanced. The report also explores corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its significance in Venice, discussing how businesses can contribute to the betterment of the city and its environment. The analysis highlights the need for ethical practices to ensure the sustainable development of Venice as a tourist destination while protecting the interests of its residents and preserving its cultural heritage. Finally, the report concludes with a reflection on the key learnings and insights gained from the analysis, emphasizing the importance of ethical considerations in business decision-making within the context of Venice's unique challenges and opportunities.

BUSINESS ETHICS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
RELATIVE THEORIES..................................................................................................................3
STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT AND CLASSIFICATION...................................................5
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.................................................................................8
REFLECTION.................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Business ethics is defined as the professional working which is very necessary for the
company to apply within the business for effective and efficient working of company. These
ethics guide the working of all the employees within the business as these are the principles of
effective working1. The current report will discuss the case study relating to Venice and how the
ethical theories apply to the case of Venice. This is selected as the condition of Venice is being
deteriorating and there is need to develop it.
Thus, the current study will outline the different theories relating to the ethics and the
involvement of stakeholder and their urgency and power. Further the report will discuss about
the corporate social responsibility which need to be followed at time of taking care of Venice. In
the end the reflection on the whole of the working and learning from the discussion will be
highlighted.
RELATIVE THEORIES
Ethics are defined as the principle which state that whether the person is working in
correct manner or is using some wrong practices which are against the moral values. Hence, it is
very necessary for the person to work in ethical manner as this is a philosophy which help the
person in differentiating between correct and wrong practices. Hence there are many different
theories which can be used to improve the case of Venice and these are as follows-
Utilitarian ethics- This is a theory which states that wrongfulness and rightness is an
action which must be judged by the consequence of the actions of the person. This is an ethical
theory which states that whether the action is right or wrong is checked by the outcome of the
work done. If the outcome of the work done is positive, then it is said that the work was done in
ethical manner. On the other hand, if the work is not done in effective manner then the work is
not accomplished in ethical manner2. This is a normative ethical theory applied in case of
managing Venice in ethical manner. For attracting the tourist to come to the place and stay for
1 Bowie, Norman E. Business ethics: A Kantian perspective. Cambridge University
Press, 2017.
2 Pearson, Ron. "Business ethics as communication ethics: Public relations practice and
the idea of dialogue." In Public relations theory, pp. 111-131. Routledge, 2017.

long it is very necessary for the city to provide for different types of attractions. This is necessary
because of the fact that if some attraction will be provided to people coming to Venice then they
will stay for longer and will not go early3.
Kantian ethics- This is a deontological theory of ethics which is initiated by the German
philosopher Immanuel Kant. This theory was developed in opposition of Utilitarian theory
because this theory states that the rightness or wrongness of the action is not dependent over the
consequence of the action undertaken. The Kantian theory is dependent over the fact that
whether the employees or the workers are performing and fulfilling their duty and obligation in
effective and efficient manner. This theory suggest that the person must treat the other person
with dignity and worth and must not degrade other people and respect the other person. In case
of Venice this theory is applied as there is need for the people living within the area to not
degrade the other beauty of place. Like for instance, the case of Airbnb as they are letting the
people go out of their residential area and using it as tourism rental. This was the local people are
suffering and this is not a good and ethical practice by Airbnb and this impact the popularity of
Venice.
Virtue ethics- This is the major theory relating to the normative theories of ethics and
ethical working. This is a theory which majorly lay emphasises over the character of the
individual character as an element of ethical thinking rather than focusing on the rules guiding
the act of person or the consequence of action. The virtue ethics includes three different strands
that is Eudiamonism, ethics of care and the agent based theories. This theory is basically linked
with the discussion of the fact that how the virtues are being applied in the different situations in
different manner. This theory states that the helping of a person who is in need is a very good
and benevolent and charitable act as compared to the utilitarian theory4. This theory is applied in
case of Venice because here the people earning money are not providing to the local economy
and rather they are keeping it concentrated in few hands which is not a good practice. Thus, here
3 Duska, R. F., Duska, B. S., & Kury, K. W. (2018). Accounting ethics. John Wiley &
Sons.
4 Dierksmeier, Claus, and Peter Seele. "Cryptocurrencies and business ethics." Journal of
Business Ethics 152, no. 1 (2018): 1-14.

the theory of virtue ethics is applied and all the money must be used in the betterment and
development of Venice as a good tourist place.
STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT AND CLASSIFICATION
Stakeholder are the people who are interested in the working of the company and the
profitability of the company5. This is majorly because of the fact that these are the people who
invest in the company and the outcomes of the performance of company affect the profitability
of the stakeholder as well. Hence, these are the person who are majorly interested in the working
of the company to a great extent. The stakeholder includes many different types of people
involved within the working of the company and it includes employees, investors, consumers,
shareholders, suppliers and all the other person who are involved within the working of
company. In the present case study, the stakeholder are the people who are interested in the
growth and development of Venice as a city for popularity. Here in case of Venice the
stakeholders are the one which are interested in the growth of the country as a tourist place
which will lead to the development of the country to a great extent6. Here the stakeholders are the
one which includes local people living in country, tourist coming to Venice, business run in
Venice, government of country and many other related people and business in Venice. All the
stakeholder has different level of power and interest within the company and in case study the
different stakeholder of country Venice.
Stakeholder Legitimacy Urgency Power
Local people- this is a
type of stakeholder
which are the resident
of the country. It is
very necessary for this
stakeholder to take
These people are
more legitimate as
they are the residents
of the country and are
directly related with
the working of
The urgency is the
degree to which the
stakeholder claims for
the immediate
attention. Here the
urgency is not much
The power of local
people is very high
because of the reason
that if the local people
will not work in
effective and efficient
5 Werhane, Patricia H. "The normative/descriptive distinction in methodologies of
business ethics." In Systems Thinking and Moral Imagination, pp. 21-25. Springer,
Cham, 2019.
6 Kaptein, Muel. "The battle for business ethics: A struggle theory." Journal of Business
Ethics 144, no. 2 (2017): 343-361.

care of the country as
the living of these
stakeholder is from
the county itself. So
they believe that if the
country will develop
than their income and
standard of living will
increase.
country. This is
because if there will
be recession in
country then this will
impact the living of
local people to a great
extent.
as the local people are
the resident of Venice
and they are always
available7.
manner then this will
impact majorly over
the goodwill of the
country. Thus, if local
people for any issue
are against the
country then the
country has to accept
what the local people
are suggesting.
Government of
country- this is the
regulating authority
which is responsible
for the management
and growth of the
overall country as a
whole. This is the
authority which
formulates the rules
and regulation which
governs all the
business within the
country and the whole
economy of the
The relation of this
stakeholder within the
country is very close
as all the guidelines of
running of Venice and
its economy is guided
by the government of
country only8.
Here these
stakeholders are
urgent because of the
fact that the
government makes all
the rules and
regulations which
guides the working of
the whole country and
its economy.
This also has great
power over the
working and
functioning of the
country. This is
majorly because of
the fact that
government is the
ruling authority which
outline all the rules
and regulation which
are to be followed by
the country and other
business. Hence, they
have the power to
7 Vazquez, Pedro. "Family business ethics: At the crossroads of business ethics and
family business." Journal of Business Ethics 150, no. 3 (2018): 691-709.
8 Maniora, Janine. "Is integrated reporting really the superior mechanism for the
integration of ethics into the core business model? An empirical analysis." Journal of
Business Ethics 140, no. 4 (2017): 755-786.

country. decide for all the rules
and regulations which
will guide the
working of country.
Local business within
country- these are the
stakeholders which
are responsible for
earning for the
company itself and
the whole economy as
well. This is majorly
because of the reason
that when company
operates in the
country then this
increases the national
income of the country
and adds to the GDP
of the country.
This is also very
closely related with
the development and
growth of country as
is local business will
not effectively run
then the working of
country will be
affected to a great
extent.
The need of these
stakeholder is also
urgent as these are
responsible for the
fostering the working
of economy and the
country as well9.
This kind of
stakeholder also has
power to impact the
working of the
country Venice. This
is majorly because of
the fact that they add
to the income of the
company and if they
reduce it or stop doing
it then the income of
company will reduce.
This will eventually
impact the working of
the country and its
growth and
development.
Tourist coming to
Venice- these are also
a type of stakeholder
for Venice as these
people also are
interested in the
This is also related
and affecting the
working of country
because if tourist will
not be there then the
extra income of the
Also, it is necessary
for Venice to cater to
need of tourist coming
to the place as this
increases the business
of the country and
These are the people
who also have some
power and this power
impact the working of
the country. This is
majorly because of
9 Sroka, Włodzimierz, and Richard Szántó. "Corporate Social Responsibility and
Business Ethics in Controversial Sectors: Analysis of Research Results." Journal of
Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation 14, no. 3 (2018): 111-126.

growth and
development of the
country. This is
majorly because of
the fact that when
these people come to
Venice they increase
the local business as
they stay here ad also
they buy goods and
services from local
business and this
increases the local
business of country.
country will be
reduced and this will
decrease the source of
income of the country.
goodwill and
popularity of the
country as well.
the reason that
touristy increases the
income for the
government and
country and this
money is being used
in development of
country. Now if the
tourist is reduced
because of any reason
then the income for
the country also
reduces.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Corporate social responsibility is a type of responsibility which the business has towards
the betterment of the country and the society and environment. The CSR is a practice in which
the company uses a part of its profit for the development and betterment of the society and the
environment and people living in society. For the business to be successful it is very important to
take care of the society as the business exist in environment and it is the moral duty of the
company to take care of the society and the people living in it. For the effective maintenance of
CSR within the country Venice need to use the model of Carroll’s CSR pyramid10. This is
framework which outlines how a company need to work in order to meet their social
responsibility. This model states that there are four major responsibilities which they have to
fulfil in any condition.
Economic- This includes the fact that the first responsibility of Venice is to earn the
profits and be profitable in all the conditions which the country is being facing. This includes the
10 Carroll’s pyramid of CSR: taking another look. 2016. [Online]. Available through: <
https://jcsr.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40991-016-0004-6>

fact that for the existence the profit and money is the basic and most important thing which the
country must focus. The earning of profit is the only single way to exist in the highly competitive
world.
Legal- This is another major responsibility of Venice that is they must abide by all the
rules and regulations which are being made by the government of country. It is necessary
because of the reason that these laws guide the way of working and includes different types of
laws like employment law, equality, health and safety and many others11.
Ethical- This is another responsibility of the Venice to make sure that every activity
which is being undertaken by the country must be ethical that is correct on grounds of moral
values. Here Venice must not use any of the unethical practice or the practices which harms the
working of the country.
Philanthropic- This is the responsibility of Venice wherein they have to give back to the
society. Under this responsibility Venice has to take care of the whole society and must cater to
the needs of all the stakeholders of country. This includes the organizing of the charitable events,
donations and many other related activities.
REFLECTION
In the end I learnt that for the business to be successful it is very necessary for the
company to use ethical principles so that the working is in accordance with the correct values
and beliefs. Hence, the use of business ethics is very necessary for the Venice to be a successful
country. This is majorly pertaining to the fact that ethical working of country will ensure that all
the activities of the country are going in the correct and right manner. Hence, this is very
necessary for Venice to use the different theories of ethics and its principles. Also, I learnt that
the use of ethical principles and values builds up the trust of local people and tourist coming to
the place. This is majorly because of the fact that if the country will use good practices to attract
the consumers and local people then this will increase the level of trust among the people for the
country. Also, this is majorly because of the fact that taking care of the society and environment
will help people in trusting the country and its practices.
11 Enderle, Georges. "How can business ethics strengthen the social cohesion of a
society?." Journal of Business Ethics 150, no. 3 (2018): 619-629.

CONCLUSION
In the end it is summarised that using business ethics is very essential for the company as
well as country to use in its working. Hence, it is very important for the business to use the
principles of ethical working and moral values so that this increases the quality of product and
services of company. The current report stated that for successful running of the country it is
very essential that the business to use different theories of ethics into business. These theories are
like virtue ethics, Kantian ethics and utilitarian ethics for the success of country and its policies
and practices.
Further the discussion outlined the different stakeholder which are interested in the
working of country. The stakeholder was like government of country, residents of country,
tourist coming to the county and many other different types of stakeholder. All these
stakeholders are different on basis of their interest, power, urgency or legitimacy. In the end the
corporate social responsibility was discussed and with help of Carroll’s model it was outlined
that there are four basic responsibility of country is economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic.