Report on Business Ethics - Volkswagen

Business Ethics

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 The background and development of theoretical ethical approaches..............................1
1.2 Compare and contrast Absolute and relative ethics.........................................................2
1.3 The ethical issues which have impact on operational activities of Volkswagen..............3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
2.1 Impact on business objectives due to ethical consideration of Volkswagen....................4
2.2 The implications for Volkswagen and its stakeholders to operate ethically....................5
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
3.1 The role of Toyota acting as a moral agent......................................................................6
3.2 The development of mechanism for achieving employee involvement and empowerment. 7
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
4.1 A current ethical issues affecting Toyota.........................................................................8
4.2 Ways to improve ethics while keeping performance maintained.....................................8
4.3 Designing suitable ethical code........................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Business ethics are applied or professional ethics that examines various values and
principles that should be followed by companies to avoid any issues or problem to society or
environment. These principles cover all aspect of business activity and has to be followed for
ensuring standardised conduct of individuals and entire organisation. At simplest, it is a system
where moral principles impacts the decisions taken by people which have high level of impact on
their own life (Audi, 2012). They are the values which states about what is good for business,
people and society at large. This report is based on Volkswagen scandal and other companies
ethical issues. It will also cover all the aspect which will assist in developing a suitable ethical
code of conduct for business organisation.
TASK 1
1.1 The background and development of theoretical ethical approaches
The whole concept of business ethics is not new to the world, they are being used by
people from long time. There are many researcher who have given different theories about
ethics and how they impact business, people, society and environment at large (Bageac, Furrer
and Reynaud, 2011). Basically, all theories stated about different dilemmas which are covered in
following points:
 Ways to live good life while following values
 Rights and responsibilities of a person
 The language and understanding of right and wrong
 Taking moral decision while evaluating their impact
Ethics are concerned with various factors which have influence over person decision
making capabilities. That is why they need to be recognised and used for ensuring right results in
future (Bardy, Drew and Kennedy, 2012). There are many theories which are are applied to all or
specific decision. They are as follows:
 Teleological Ethics: This is a theory which was proposed by Aristotle. It is concerned
with keeping all the actions at par with moral values that bring in more happiness and
enhances the end results. It is a consequentialist ethical theory which is absolute in
nature. There are three types of teleological ethical theories:
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◦ Ethical egoism: This is a theory which states that, ' an action is considered to be good
if it produces a positive and better result, such as maximising the person self interest
as per his desires, even if it impacts others.
◦ Utilitarianism: This theory was given by John Stewart Mills (Belak and Milfelner,
2011). It states that an action is considered to be good if it is able to satisfy huge
population who will get impacted by the action.
◦ Eudaimonism: It is a theory which states that an action is good if it is able to fulfil all
goals while also enhancing happiness of human beings.
These theory were evolved over time and thus considered as relevant for all except
utilitarianism theory which is relative in nature and consequentialist.
 Deontology theory: It was proposed by Emanuel Kant, who was a social scientist. It
refers to perceptive which is based on duty or obligation (Calabretta, Durisin and
Ogliengo, 2011). It is a normative ethical condition that judges the moral values in an
action that is based on rules. It is different from teleological theory as it focuses on the
rightness or wrongness of action and not the consequences.
These theories act as a basis for making code of conduct in business today. They are
mostly applied to all and some are used in specific condition.
1.2 Compare and contrast Absolute and relative ethics
The ethical theories are not always applied to all or absolute in nature, there are some
which are specific or
Theory Absolute (objective)
or Relative
(Subjective)
Comparison of
theories
Contrast of these
theories
Teleological ethical Absolute as it applies It is theory that is This is a theory which is
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Illustration 1: Teleological Ethics, 2017