HC2121: Comparative Business Ethics & Social Responsibility Essay

This essay delves into the realm of business ethics, contrasting personal and professional ethical values and their impact on decision-making. It explores the significance of ethical principles in society, emphasizing the role of corporate governance in structuring ethics and social responsibility. The essay analyzes the perspectives of stakeholders and examines ethical dilemmas, using the case of a uterus transplant to illustrate the clash between personal and professional ethics. Furthermore, it compares and contrasts utilitarianism and deontology as approaches to ethical decision-making. The discussion highlights the importance of honesty, fairness, and ethical conduct in both individual and organizational contexts, emphasizing the need for responsible actions and consideration of future consequences. The essay concludes by underscoring the importance of ethical values in all aspects of life.

[Year]
Ethical values and social
responsibilities

PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL ETHICS 1
Introduction
Ethics is a system of moral and ethical values and principals. They mostly affect
people’s lives and their decision (Borenstein, 2019). Personal and business ethics are
very important to human lives. Ethical values are those values and principals which
decide what is good and right for the people and the society also and assessed moral
philosophies (Dierksmeier, 2018). Ethics have some character or dilemmas, such as
how to live a decent and respectable life, human rights, and duties, the dialectal of the
wrong and right and moral decision that what is good or what is bad. However, there is
a key differentiating point amid the personal ethics and the professional ethics (Pozgar,
2019).
Increasing ethical issues brings society’s concern, whether it is "Australian Misconduct
in the Banking" or "Uterus transplant in a women case". These increasing Ethical issues
are here in everything that humans do. No matter how small or large scale of the work
is. Ethical issues make this world and society little more complicated it is tough to
become a good person in such a society where people breach everyone’s trust and
their own values (Luhmann, 2018).
This report will analyze the role of personal and business ethics in the society also
defining the role of corporate governance in structuring the Ethics and social
responsibility.

PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL ETHICS 2
Ethical issues
Whenever making choices it is possible that everyone has a different one. But the thing
which matters is what is right/ wrong. Ethics is possible when people could go contrary
to nature based on their morality. It safeguards from just portraying what is perhaps
going to take place and allows in the making of decisions regarding what ought to occur.
Of the considerable number of ways, individuals may act, which is the best? Of the
considerable number of conceivable outcomes, which one should individuals bring into
the real world? That is the issue moral tries to reply (Hutchison, 2019).It is tough to
survive in such an environment where everyone is being selfish and conflict
environment.
Personal and professional Ethics
There are two types of ethics personal and professional ethics. Individual ethics refers
to those values which an individual carries to deal with the situation in their everyday life
(Bailey, 2018). Professional ethics are those that an individual should adhere to in
respect of business dealing and interaction in their professional life. But in some
situation personal and professional ethics might clash and cause a moral conflict. This
scenario can be understood by a case in Australia where a team of doctors transplants
a uterus to Lolita. According to the doctors, the uterus transplant was risky, as an earlier
human transplant in Saudi Arabia in 2000 and turkey in 2011 was failed. In the first case
of Arabia, the uterus underwent necrosis (premature cell death of an organ’s tissues). In
the other one uterus was taken from a dead donor who was failed to carry the
pregnancy to term (Natash Mitchell, 2019).
In this case, the team of the doctor was bounded with their professional ethical values
as they knew that there is a risk to transplant the uterus in her. The previous
transplantation was unsuccessful and the penitent has to take heavy immuno-
suppressant drugs after transplant which can cause other side effects in her body.
But on the other side, the patient wanted to become a mother, and there is always
pressure on women to be a mother. Lolita desperately wanted to be a mother.
According to do Human right act Lolita has all the right to take their own decision
especially when it is related to her body only. The doctors have to respect the rights and
freedom of choice. The team of the doctor has to transplant the uterus in Lolita’s body.
With this case personal and professional values can be identified and how both
personal and professional clashing each other.
Stakeholders, Business Ethics and CR
A professional individual or a business has to identify the stakeholders and how they
are affected by their decision making (O’Brolcháin, 2018). With the case of a uterus
transplant, the stakeholders are all those women who are also suffering this disorder. All
are impacted by the decision. There are many women are suffering from this problem
and not able to be a mother and there is a chance after this case they would get ready
to transplant the uterus, the risk would arise.

PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL ETHICS 3
However it can be possible that this transplant would get successful but still, no one can
assure that this course of action is 100 % risk-free and successful.
The doctors have to think before they take action no matter what the patient wants but
they are responsible for their job and profession. If doctors know the future side effects,
they should not take a decision as per the patients’ rights. Hence based on some
coincident they cannot give the same treatment to every stakeholder (patients).
The doctors have to take social responsibility for their patients and develop the cure for
such problems. They should provide all the risk information such as side effects and
least chances of successfulness such transplants. They should provide information that
how such kind of transplant can cause future problems and bring many other side
effects in their baby as well.
They can raise the awareness of this disorder and provide all the knowledge to be
aware of this problem so that the problem can be controlled in the first stage.
Health care departments and Governments also have to support this issue and such
kind of disorder. They can conduct campaigns in many countries to aware people about
the scenario. They also need to makes those ethical policies which can help the
scenario where personal and professional ethics are clashing. The doctors should be
given all those rights to take actions according to their knowledge just because they are
only, who knows about the disorder and consequences of the treatment if they would go
with the patients' decision then there is no mean to be a doctor for them. In future
people will come back to them by complaining and blaming that they having other
diseases caused by the given treatment only (Butts, 2019). Therefore it is important
governments’ role in such ethical issues.
There are many theories that underlying the concept but the two major theories are
Utilitarianism and deontology.
Compare and contrast of Utilitarianism Deontology
While Utilitarianism theory is based on the consequence of the future. Deontology is
based on duty. Utilitarianism theory states that people should do what makes others
happy. According to this theory, the most ethical decisions are that which makes others
happy brings positive consequences for others (Banks, 2018). On the other side This
point of view, established by Immanuel Kant, is centered on restricting guidelines and
one's commitment and obligation to family, nation, church, or other and so forth. One's
thought process is significant; results or outcomes of one's activities are not the core
interest (Hutchings, 2018).
Utilitarianism is the “main good structure that can be utilized to legitimize military power
or war; It is likewise the most widely recognized way to deal with good thinking utilized
in business in light of the manner by which it represents expenses and advantages”.
With this theory, Doctors did well by transplanting the uterus in Lolita as it makes her
happy. However Utilitarian theory cannot predict the future and it’s difficult to the identify
future consequences of the action and decision this fits well with Lolita’s case as
doctors and Lolita does not focus on the future consequences they just did what makes

PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL ETHICS 4
them happy. And according to deontology theory doctors have to do what they are
bound to do and this theory also does not focus the future consequences. The doctors
did their duty and what Lolita wants. They aware Lolita about the future consequences
and transplant the uterus, they neither ensured that it will be successful nor they think
that how their decision will impact on the stakeholder, will it influence the decision of
stakeholder?
Ethics are those actions which do not have any intentions to harm anyone, although the
decision based on the future predictions that how it will impact on future.
As covered earlier these values and beliefs frequently inspire an individual by defining
what they deem as being crucial. Consecutively, they are able to have an impact on the
attitude and behavior of such an individual’s attitudes.

PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL ETHICS 5
Conclusion
Being honest, fair and ethical is one of the major needs for the society. Every individual
should carry ethical values while working in organization or interacted with friends and
family. Ethics attempts to make a feeling of good/bad in the relations plus often when
the regulations fall short, the morals could stop the people and relations from causing
harm or sadness for the general public or for the condition.
With the case of Lolita, the doctors did their duty however they breach their own ethical
values as they knew that it is not ethical course of action to remove someone else’s
uterus and transplant in other women if they were not sure that will it be successful of
not, and aware that it will cause different disease in future. They should have a thought
of the future consequences. The doctor’s decision might influence other stakeholder’s
opinion, which can have future negative impacts.

PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL ETHICS 6
Bibliography
Bailey, S., 2018. Ethics and the public service. In Classics of Administrative Ethics.
s.l.:Routledge.
Banks, C. 2., 2018. Criminal justice ethics: Theory and practice.. s.l.:Sage Publications..
Borenstein, J. H. J. a. M. K., 2019. Self-driving cars and engineering ethics: The need
for a system level analysis.. Science and engineering ethics, 25(2), pp. 383-398.
Butts, J. a. R. K., 2019. Nursing ethics. Jones & Bartlett Learning. s.l.:s.n.
Dierksmeier, C. a. S. P., 2018. Cryptocurrencies and business ethics. Journal of
Business Ethics, 152(1), pp. 1-14.
Hutchings, K., 2018. Global ethics: an introduction.. s.l.:John Wiley & Sons..
Hutchison, C. a. M. P., 2019. The ethics of treating family members. Current Opinion in
Anesthesiology, 32(2), pp. 169-173.
Luhmann, N., 2018. Trust and power.. s.l.:John Wiley & Sons..
Natash Mitchell, S. F., 2019. A uterus transplant made this woman's dream come true,
but the procedure sparks ethical controversy. [Online]
Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-03-10/future-uterus-
transplants-ethical-dilemmas-science-friction/10879024
[Accessed 17 05 2019].
O’Brolcháin, F. d. C. S. a. G. B., 2018. The ethics of smart stadia: a stakeholder
analysis of the Croke Park project.. Science and engineering ethics, pp. 1-33.
Pozgar, G., 2019. Legal and ethical issues for health professionals. s.l.:Jones & Bartlett
Learning.

PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL ETHICS 7
Appendix