Business Ethics Questions and Answers 2022

BUSINESS ETHICS

Answer 1
Multiple stakeholders constitute an organisation as they extend various resources for
the functioning of an entity in the form of capital, manpower and other resources. Hence,
apart from the management of the affairs of the entity for the objective of earning profits, it is
imperative for the managers to be ethical while serving the interests of the varied
stakeholders (Kline, 2010). Nevertheless, there are few challenges for the managers in the
said process, as elaborated follows. One of the key challenges in the entity is regarding the
system of communication in the enterprise (Crane, Matten, Glozer & Spence, 2019). This is
because, if the said system is not sound, the policies developed at the top would not trickle
down in the entity, in the same manner. The internal communication is the key for the
employee involvement in the ethical decision making. The managers must ensure to inspire,
persuade and connect the various members in the entity for the sound implementation of the
ethical standards. The yet another challenge is the diversity in the background of the
employees in context of the language, culture, experience, values and other personal
attributes. It is imperative for the management to recognise the culture values of the
stakeholders as well as the objectives of the enterprise (Lawrence & Weber, 2014). Hence,
creation of homogenous ethical environment is a challenging task for the management. The
yet another major challenge in the promotion of the ethical values is that a healthy balance is
created between the organizational values, vision, and the targets. Additionally the challenges
lie in the compliance with the regional as well as the global laws and regulations as
applicable on the entity. Thus, as the business operations are spread across the varied areas of
globe, the compliance with diversified legal frameworks is essential and is a challenge to
match the regional ethical benchmarks.
Answer 2
Part a
Banking: One of the major decisions that lead to the ethical issues in the baking
industry are the decisions with respect to extension of credit facilities (Cohn, Fehr &
Maréchal, 2014). Often those who are in power are bribed with individual interests in
exchange of credits being extended without the strength of proper documents. The second
decision relates to the vitality of the assets that are kept as security against the loans. The
monitoring of the soundness of the assets is a key decision in context of ethical standards.

Retail: The decision relating to the marketing of the products is one of the key areas
for the ethical conflicts. The marketing policies are aimed at capturing the interests of the
consumers, addressing the competition and as an aid to expansion strategy (Nill & Aalberts,
2014). The yet another chief ethical conflicts decision is relating to the ethical sourcing. The
products must be ensured of the safety and must abide by the healthy working conditions for
the individuals engaged in their provision.
Education: The chief area of decision making where the ethical issues can arise is
that in the management of the cultural diversity of the clients or the students (Natale &
Doran, 2012). The issues relating to racial discrimination and ethnic differences can influence
the decisions of an organisation. Additional issue is that of the promotion of the discipline.
There have issues cropped lately relating to the bullying, drug use, mass shooting and
likewise, hence employing a stringent disciplinary approach is vital, but may lead to ethical
concerns.
Catering: The key area of decision making where there can arise ethical concerns is
regarding the safety of the products and the conditions in which the same are manufactured.
The abidance with the food laws and the transparency in the nutritious is essential, but may
be overlooked. In addition the next decision is related to the manner of training, rewarding
and retaining the employees as employees are the key between customers and entity.
Construction Design: The most common decisions by the contractors where ethical
concerns can arise are bid cutting, lack of safety ethics, poor documentation, account
negotiations, late and short payments, and the overstatement of capacity and qualifications to
secure the contracts and address the competitions. In addition, the ethical issues arise in the
employment of labour and payment of their wages.
Part b
The ethical issue denotes a situation where the individual interests of an agent
dominate the organisational or the stakeholder’s interests. Thus, the issues arise when the
balance of interests is to be created between the various alternative courses of actions to
address a problem or achieve a business objective. The decisions related to the critical
business areas become base for ethical issues because of the different moral values,
individual interests, work experience, expectations and goals of the members that are
connected by the virtue of the achievement of common objectives of organisation as well.
Part c