Ethics in Australian Retail Industry: A Case Study

ACCG315 Case Study

Ethics
Abstract
The success of a company relies on implementation of ethical activities and this study assists
in discussing the ethics adopted in the Australian retail industry. In relation this, there are
factors that assists in affecting the operations of the retail industry. Nevertheless, an
illustration of a leader has been discussed wherein many attributes have been taken into due
consideration. Besides, the responses are provided by exerting a thorough analysis on the
issue and other favourable resources to the Australian retail industry. The cash study
highlights the fact that both non-financial and financial factors are crucial in an
organization’s performance. Further, the businesses must comply with all necessary rules and
regulations so that they can attain sustainable growth in due course of time. Overall, the
measure of integrated reporting must also be focused upon by the businesses so that they can
not only increase their productivity but also sustain in the competitive market on a whole.
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Ethics
Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
Case 1 – Good faith...............................................................................................................................5
Case 2 Voluntary code...........................................................................................................................5
Case 3 Decision making power.............................................................................................................6
Case 4 Response by the CFO.................................................................................................................6
Case 5 Developed country standards of employment conditions to less developed countries...............7
Case 6 OxFam Australia survey............................................................................................................7
Case 7 Audit fraud.................................................................................................................................8
Case 8 Integrated Reporting..................................................................................................................8
Case 9 At risk component of remuneration............................................................................................9
Case 10 Stakeholders.............................................................................................................................9
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................10
References...........................................................................................................................................11
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Ethics
Introduction
The retail industry of Australia has been experiencing massive pressures and this study has
highlighted various segments that have not been accounted for by bigger brands. Hence,
minimization of costs can serve as the best possible solution to this issue and the same must
be done in the prevalence of legal and ethical compliances. Furthermore, the judgement of
management primarily concentrated on the process of attaining maximum profits but failed to
focus on how overall success can be attained. Nevertheless, the retail industry of Australia
facing immense pressures has been effectively highlighted through the study. Besides, bigger
conglomerates like Woolworths and Coles had witnessed a decline by 1.5 and 2 percent
respectively in the year 2015-2016 and that can serve as best illustrations that highlight the
amount of pressure in the entire industry.
Minimization of expenses or increasing the selling prices can be adopted by companies to
enhance their gross profit ratio to get rid of the complications. In relation to the previously
mentioned diagram, it can be easy for the retailers to seek an effective option as there may be
immense pressure on the sales segments. Therefore, Wesfarmers and Coles disintegrated on
ethical issues (Bauer & Hann, 2010). Coles started utilizing its bargaining power that was
illegal in nature and therefore, it continuously forced payments from its suppliers (ACCC,
2014). Besides, these payments clearly relied on purporting benefits wherein refusal to offer
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