Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

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Context of Business
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5
Reference List............................................................................................................................6
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Introduction
Businesses evolve in order to improve their productivity and increase their capability to
generate more revenues and profits. Businesses evolve by recruiting new and better
employees and by upgrading their existing machinery and equipments. Advancements in
technology have allowed businesses to expand their operations globally. This change and
evolution of businesses are influenced by business environmental factors. Every business
organisation has their own business environment that affects their operations and
profitability. This business environment can be divided into two segments - micro or internal
environment and macro or external environment (Prajogo, 2016). Along with these factors,
the rules and regulations of a company also affect their operations. Every company follows
ethical business practices and maintain corporate social responsibility to make sure all their
operations are running smoothly and to maintain a fair work environment for the employees.
This essay will explain how the factors of the business environment influence the operations
of the business and the importance of maintaining business ethics and corporate social
responsibility (CSR).
Discussion
Business environment constitutes all the factors that have the capability to affect the
operations of the business. The business environment is classified under two categories -
microenvironment and macro environment.
Microenvironment is referred to the internal environment of the business. These factors can
be controlled by the business organisation. A few micro environmental factors are elaborated
below. Their competitors influence all companies. Businesses keep track of the operations of
their competitors in order analyse and identify their strategies so that they can make their own
counter-strategies in order to gain the advantage. This will help the business to gain a
competitive edge in the market (Hamilton and Webster, 2018). All businesses conduct their
business operations with the purpose of selling their products and services to the consumers
in order to gain income and profits. The companies make sure that their products are aligned
with the market trends and the demands of the consumers. Doing so will maximise their
potential of their products being bought by the consumers, effectively increasing sales.
Businesses need to make sure that their suppliers supply in time and in the right quantity their
raw materials. A good relationship with the suppliers might provide the company discounts
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from them, thereby decreasing operational costs. The employees of the company conduct the
operations of business organisations. Their productivity will define how well the company
will perform, in terms of achieving their goals and providing high quality goods and services
to generate income.
Macro environment is the external environment of the business. It refers to all those factors
that affect the business operations of a company from outside the boundaries of the
organisation. The macro environment of an organisation can be analysed by using the PEST
(Political, Economic, Social, and Technological) analysis. Political factors like the
government and the various laws they implemented that impacts business organisations.
These affect the companies because they have to follow these laws strictly. Economic
conditions of the country of operations affect the company in many ways because exchange
rates, interest rates, market inflation, and many more factors influence the business operations
and strategies. Organisations need employees to conduct their operations. Social factors like
employment rate, market trends, gender distribution, family incomes of customers, education
level of society, consumer buying habits, and many more all impact the marketing strategies
and the product development of business organisations (Bah and Fang, 2015). Advancement
in technology has made it possible for businesses to expand their operations globally. Use of
modern machinery and equipments, internet and social media, computers, and many more
aspects of technology have increased the scope of businesses to implement more effective
production processes and advertisements.
Business organisations follow a moral code of conduct that defines their behaviour and
operations. This code is known as the business ethics. The employees of the company are
required to follow the ethics of their company in order to maintain a fair and just work
environment where everyone gets treated equally. Following the moral policies of the
company reduces the chances of conflicts to rise between employees. Business ethics also
prevents employers from treating their employees unfairly, leading to increased employee
satisfaction and productivity. This positively affects the business as it will lead to superior
quality goods to be produced that will lead to customer satisfaction and increased profits. The
ethics of the company also describes what employees and the employer should do under
specific situations. They need to analyse the situation carefully and understand what is right
and what is wrong (Crane and Matten, 2016). The employees and the employer doing the
right thing in these situations should follow it. They should not by any chance do something
that will harm others or the company itself.
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The application of ethics is not only limited to be applied on the employees. It also extends its
application to people outside the business; the society and the customers present in it. In this
context, ethics is applied in various ways. It is the moral duty of the company to provide safe
products and services to the consumers (Grayson and Hodges, 2017). Professionals should
test all the products so that they are of high quality and cannot cause any kind of harm to the
consumers. The companies should also provide all the necessary details of the products they
are selling so that the consumers know exactly what they are buying. The prices of the
products should be reasonable and affordable enough to be bought by the target consumers,
dependent on its quality. The organisations should also make sure that their manufacturing
process creates the least amount of harmful waste materials and pollutants so that a safe
environment is created for the community (Crowther and Seifi, 2018). This moral code of
conduct that is applied to the society is known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Conclusion
The environment of a business plays a significant role in impacting their business operations.
The micro and macro environmental factors affect a business organisation’s strategy and
planning process. Modern businesses also follow a moral code of conduct that is applicable
on their employees and the society at large. The principles of the company implemented to
keep the employees and the employer in check is referred to as corporate ethics while the
principles that are applicable to the consumers and the community are refer to as Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR). It is necessary for companies to follow these principles in order
to create a fair and safe environment for the employee and the society.
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Reference List
Bah, E.H. and Fang, L., 2015. Impact of the business environment on output and productivity
in Africa. Journal of Development Economics, 114, pp.159-171.
Crane, A. and Matten, D., 2016. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
Crowther, D. and Seifi, S. eds., 2018. Redefining Corporate Social Responsibility. Emerald
Group Publishing.
Grayson, D. and Hodges, A., 2017. Corporate social opportunity!: Seven steps to make
corporate social responsibility work for your business. Routledge.
Hamilton, L. and Webster, P., 2018. The international business environment. Oxford
University Press.
Prajogo, D.I., 2016. The strategic fit between innovation strategies and business environment
in delivering business performance. International Journal of Production Economics, 171,
pp.241-249.
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