Ethical Theories Assignment

1.1 Explain the background and development of ethical approaches.
Theoretical ethics is concerned with norms, values and beliefs embedded with the
social process and it defines the right and wrong for the organization like Accor Hotel
Group. Every organization has a morality because this constitutes the basis for mutual
beneficial interaction.[ CITATION Fer15 \l 1033 ] Ethics is the branch of philosophy which
focuses on the morality of things. On the other hand moral principles are applied to
everyday life.
Theoretical ethics includes applying value which may range from religious
principles to customs and traditions. n general, there are two types of theoretical ethical
approaches which are deontological and teleological ethical theories. Through a simple
understanding, deontological ethical theory is more interested in duty while teleological
ethical theory is more interested in consequences.
Deontological
The term of deontology comes from the Greek word “deon”, meaning duty. It
states that we are morally obligated to act in accordance with a certain set of principles
and rules regardless of outcome.[ CITATION Sha13 \l 1033 ] This approach was introduced
by Prussian German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Kant’s approach to ethics is to focus
on what humans can be fully responsible for, which is essentially our motives and
intentions.[ CITATION Gri10 \l 1033 ]
Teleological
The word teleology comes from Greek ‘telos’ which means end or purpose. This
is an ethics approach where actions are judged morally based upon their
consequences. It is counter approach to the deontological ethics.[ CITATION Tel13 \l 1033 ]
1.2 Compare and contract absolute and relative ethics
Absolute ethics holds that there is one universal moral code which is final and
applies equally to all men of all ages, and that changing situations or changing views
make no difference whatsoever to this absolute moral code. Ethical absolutism claims
that there are eternal, universally applicable moral principles. ethical absolutism
determines the qualities of the right and wrong objectives. It has been noticed that
absolutism allows the moral rules which can be evaluated critically. According to
absolute ethics, the managers of the organization need not change the moral only when
the moral rule is right[ CITATION Bun12 \l 1033 ].
Relative ethics holds that the moral standard varies with different circumstances.
There are so many cultural and religious differences and in some circumstances, it may
be ethically correct to do certain things but in other situations it might be completely

immoral. The relativism ensures that there are no universal rights and wrong that can be
logically decided. For example in some culture it is right for a man to have four wives
but in other cultures this would be considered immoral.
The similarities between absolute and relatives ethics is both are a guideline to
decide what is right to be done and what are wrong. This guideline is necessary for the
big organization like Accor Group to operate ethically.
The differences between absolute and relative ethics is about toleration.
Absolutism is intolerant of other people’s beliefs and moral ethics as well. It hold that
their way is right and could be accused of arrogance. On the other side, relativism
accepts others’ beliefs and moral ethics for whatever reason.
1.3 Explain the ethical issues which can affect the operational activities of a
business.
There are a lot of advantages of ethical behaviors. If the business is running in
an ethical manner, it would also lead to better employee retention, recruitment and
employer branding. So the business will grow because of new sources of finance. But
sometime the situation is difficult and managers have faced ethical dilemma in
business.
It has been observed that more than 30% employees of a Multinational company
face workplace harassment for using of social networking sites. Its consequences in the
workplace affect the business industry because the employers are setting policies
regarding use of social networking sites during working hours[ CITATION Fer15 \l 1033 ] On
the other hand, the employers have devised a policy about the use of social networking
sites when they are off duty.
Other ethical issue that can affect the business is Discrimination. Discrimination
is the act of treating someone differently-typically by restricting or excluding the person
from opportunity that are available to others-solely because of that person's
membership in a certain class or category of people.[ CITATION Sch11 \l 1033 ] This usually
happened in organizations that only care of their special interest and did not care about
the different culture of people as well. For example, there was a case between Walt
Disney World and a Muslim woman. A former Disney employee on Monday sued the
California-based entertainment giant, charging harassment and religious discrimination
against her based on her Muslim religion and ethnic origins in North Africa[ CITATION
Huu12 \l 1033 ]. This case had attracted the media attention and at the same time also
affects the business operation activities of Walt Disney World. It’s become viral and the
Muslim people all around the world criticized what have the company done. As a result,

the company Walt Disney World make a conference with the public to make an
explanation on the case happened.
1.4 Evaluate the implications for a business and its stakeholders to operate ethically
Management of organization need to follow good ethics which will be accepted
by the society. However, after some days the issues in the ethics will arise. It has been
noticed that management system of Accor Hotel Group operated by the laws of honesty
and consideration will be preferred over a competitor. Accor Group maintains ethics by
zero tolerance to Discrimination which we equally give respect and treat to our
customers of different races and religion.
2.1. Assess the potential conflicts which may arise between the needs and expectations
of different stakeholders
Stakeholders are both internal and external individuals who may be impacted by
a business' decisions. These individuals may be employees, shareholders, investors, or
the general public, among others. Ultimately stakeholders all have an interest in the
performance of the business and this is not helped by stakeholder conflict which can be
extremely damaging. Poorly motivated staff, for example will lead to lower productivity,
efficiency and lower profits. Even worse, would be conflict between management and
the workforce leading to action industrial such as strikes.
Another conflict can be happened between the company and non-government
organization such as environmentalists which have the power to influence business
decisions, as their aim is to alert the public opinion to the negative consequences to the
environment. Conflicts can arise if hotel doesn’t dispose the waste properly and the
management team neglects or detracts their views with poor structured arguments.
Stakeholder conflict comes to light when the needs of some stakeholder groups consist
of the expectations of others. A business has to make selections, which some
stakeholders might dislike. For example, the inexpensive supplier goods that can aid in
holding the prices down for customers must not come at the cost of ethical practice by
suppliers.
2.2. Analyse the impact of CSR on the supply chain
Supply chain leaders must understand the public concerns about the
environment, health and safety. As consumers have grown more accustomed to the
impact of companies around the globe, demand for better integration of CSR and supply
chains has come to the forefront. The growing concern regarding corporate social
responsibility, especially in the environmental dimension, has promoted research on
environmental risks and influenced supply chains. Moreover, pressure from consumers
determines the development of processes in a supply chain. In this sense, it is obvious