Assessing Ethical Challenges in the Retail Industry: A Study of Corporate Social Responsibility

Running Head: BUSINESS ETHICS
Business Ethics
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BUSINESS ETHICS
Executive Summary
The purpose of this report is to assess the ethical challenges existing in the retail industry.
This report will also discuss the broad and narrow view of corporate social responsibility and
analyze why the broad view of corporate social responsibility is ethical. The retailers and
professionals involved in the manufacturing and the retail industry have some ethical and
social responsibility. This report will particularly evaluate responsibilities of retailers who
purchase goods from Indian Factories.

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BUSINESS ETHICS
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Retailing.................................................................................................................................3
Concept of Ethics in Retail Industry......................................................................................4
Corporate social responsibility of Retailing...........................................................................5
The different Views of CSR...................................................................................................9
Analysis of the operations of companies by the application of ethical theories..................11
Utilitarianism........................................................................................................................11
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11

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BUSINESS ETHICS
Introduction
Making ethical decisions helps the society to ensure that a sense of order and justice
prevails in the society. The retailers also have the responsibility to adopt a policy of CSR in
order to ensure that business carried on by such retailers do not adversely affect the
stakeholders of the retail industry. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be defined as
the responsibility of the business to adopt a sustainable approach which aims to create
economic, environmental and social benefits for all its stakeholders (Schwartz, 2017). Such
concept of Corporate social responsibility is often closely associated with corporate ethics,
thus as opined by CSR can be defined as a business’s ethical expression.
Thus in context of the retail industry it can be said that the retailers also have the
corporate social responsibility to comply with such ethical standards that aims to create
wellbeing of the workers and their families, sustainable economic development and positively
impact the environment. In the video Blood, sweat and Tshirt it is clearly evident that the
workers who are employed in the Indian factories are living in adverse health conditions.
They are getting low wages. No steps are being taken by the retailers to improve the
condition of the workers. The actions of retailers can be analyzed from the perspective of
good options. As opined by Ferrell & Ferrell (2016), retailing plays a very important role in
the economy as it serves the link between the manufacturer and the final consumer. Therefore
it can be said that it is of utmost necessity and importance that retailers comply with social
standards while conducting business and aim to positively affect the lives of the stakeholders.