Assignment || Business Law

Running head: BUSINESS LAW
Business Law
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors Note

BUSINESS LAW1
Executive Summary
Ethical and socially responsible companies are those who protect the rights and interests
of the customers and various company stakeholders. The main objective of these companies is to
use natural resources ethically, to earn profits by not affecting the rights and interests of others.
This report sheds light on the examination of how the selected organization of Sri Lanka,
namely, John Keells Holdings PLC is trying to be a socially accountable and ethical organization
in the present competitive business environment. This report also discusses how challenges have
been accepted by John Keells Holdings for becoming a social, ethical, and sustainable business
organization and for this purpose John Keells Holdings PLC is compared with an international
organization, namely, Walmart.

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Introduction
Every business organization must operate ethically and should not adopt any business
strategies, which are considered to be harmful to society. For instance, a natural oil and gas
corporation run their business in such a way so that poisonous gas emission does not affect the
human beings of that locality from where it operates. A successful organization is one which can
remove the difficulties faced by it effectively (Upward and Jones 2016). It is important for a
socially responsible and ethical organization to keep and observe the key measurements, such as
quarterly financial reports, production levels and market positions methodically and thoroughly.
In addition, usually, to run a business successfully in the competitive business environment,
various organizations try to uncover different unidentified ways to improve efficiency and
viability intensely by adopting new business models. Many authors are of the view that these
financial reports take an active part in creating the reputation of a business organization (Samy,
Odemilin and Bampton 2010).
In this report, we will be identifying a public and locally operated company of Sri Lanka
in order to analyze the business operating model of it critically. This report also examines how
the selected organization is trying to be a socially accountable and ethical organization in the
present competitive business environment. The Sri Lanka-based company John Keells Holdings
has been chosen for the purpose of making this report. John Keells Holdings is a renowned and
locally operated chain of supermarkets, tea broking, banking and tourism business. In early 1870,
it started is business as a produce and exchange broker. This report also analyses how challenges
have been accepted by John Keells Holdings for becoming a social, ethical, and sustainable
business organization. While discussing the above-mentioned matters, it also compares the

BUSINESS LAW3
sustainable development of the Sri Lankan company with an international company (here,
Walmart is taken into consideration).
Discussion
As every human being has an ethical responsibility of not to harm others similarly, a firm
or business organization also has the same ethical duty towards the environment and people of
that place where it usually operates. The conduct of the organization that is required by society
but un-codified by law includes ethical duties. Ethical duties must ensure that the business
organization is naturally friendly. The company always needs to know what its activities are and
how the environment is affected by its operational activities. A brief discussion about the
company, critical analysis of the business model and ethnicity of the business model is discussed
below:
About the company
John Keells Holdings PLC is a Sri Lankan multinational retail company running the
chain of supermarkets, leisure, tea broking, banking, tourism, and stock exchange business. It is a
publicly quoted and very famous company of Sri Lanka. The company was established in the
year 1870 as a firm of produce and exchange brokers by two English brothers, namely, George
and Edwin John. In 1948 the firm merged with such a company which was based in London as
tea brokers and changed the name of the organization to John Keells Thomson White Ltd. in
1960. In 1973, a foremost inbound tours and travels company were acquired by John Keells
Thomson White Ltd. and in 1974. It became a publicly quoted company by taking the name of
John Keells Ltd. Finally, in the year 1986, John Keells Ltd. has been acquired by a newly
constructed company, namely, John Keells Holding Ltd. (JKH). According to a report of Forbes