Business Ethics and Responsible Management in the Gaming Industry

This report delves into the realm of business ethics and responsible management, using Electronic Arts (EA Games) as a case study. It examines the importance of business ethics within an organization, specifically focusing on the ethical issues arising from EA's practices, such as the use of loot boxes in their games and the impact on stakeholders including employees, customers, and shareholders. The report further explores the role of businesses within society and analyzes the effects of business activities on stakeholders. It then moves on to discuss two ethical theories, Rawls' Theory of Justice and another unspecified theory, assessing their pros and cons in the context of EA Games. Recommendations are provided to improve ethical practices. Finally, the report includes a reflective essay on ethical leadership.

Business Ethics and
Responsible Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART 1............................................................................................................................................3
PART A...........................................................................................................................................3
Importance of business ethics within the organisation................................................................3
Issues of business ethics in the organization given in case study................................................3
Role of Business within the society.............................................................................................4
Effect of business activities on Stakeholders...............................................................................4
Recommendation.........................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................6
PART B............................................................................................................................................6
Discussion on two ethical theories...............................................................................................6
Pros and cons of using these Two Ethical theories in the organization.......................................8
Recommendation to improve issues on the basis of theories......................................................8
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................9
PART 2............................................................................................................................................9
Reflective essay of ethical Leader ..............................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Business ethics can be explained as the roles and responsibilities which are needed to be
considered at the time of conducting business activities. Number of things are included in it
which are related with payment of employees, research work, consumer’s protection and many
more. If in any of the situation company fails to perform their duty, then legal actions can be
taken easily. This report will be prepared by the middle manager of the company. The chosen
organization is “Electronic Arts” which is one of the company design the electornic games which
are famous among the young generation. This report will be divided into two part were part first
is further classified into two different sections. The chosen topic is “EA Games: FIFA, Loot
boxes and whales”
PART 1
PART A
Importance of business ethics within the organisation
In present scenario, the role of ethical codes is very important and it is necessary that
each and every organisation must comply with it as it is related with believes, value of the
employee working in the company. It is necessary because it helps to improve the decision
making ability of the company due to which goals of a company can be accomplished easily
(Homann, 2016). There are some of the ethical requirement which is needs to followed by
business organization such as environmental rules and regulations, different laws related to
employment act because they guide that how company can work to accomplish their goals. Any
of the company will be able to make profit if they are capable of following the terms and
condition of ethical code at the time of conducting business activity. Basically, there are three
different types of ethical discipline which applies upon business organization and they are
professional, personal and corporate. In short, if any of the company wants to deliver best within
the market then they are required to comply with ethical terms and condition.
Issues of business ethics in the organization given in case study.
The given case study shows that EA games is designing the games which are creating lots
of problem for children as well as parents. They company is preparing the loot boxes where
buyer are unaware that what rewards they will get and for the purpose of playing the games with

the help of loot box many of the children doesn't even sees that it can destroy whole of their
property which their parents have earned in last few years. In addition, the problem which are
been seen is that the UK parliament is trying to examine whether loot boxes should be regulated
or not. Number of parents are their who thinks that the games and policies which company is
preparing for earning is profit is quite illegal and even unethical. But, vice president of the
company thinks that loot boxes are 'quite ethical and fun'. In addition, gamer have developed the
concept just because of loot boxes and whales that they will get something in return but in reality
they have to suffer in number of occasion.
Role of Business within the society
There are of number of roles and responsibility of company which they are needed to
fulfill towards the society. The first one is to satisfy the needs and wants of customers. Secondly,
they must take part in number of initiatives which can help the society(Vitell, 2015). Every
business organization must understand that they are not allowed to conduct any of those
activities which create problem for public as well as society. If company can be able to deal with
the ethical codes, then any of the dilemmas can be sorted out in quick succession. By looking at
the above case study it can be clearly seen that parents are the one who is mainly suffering from
the activity which is being performed by the company and their children. Even ethical code says
that any of the organization is not allowed to do fraud but in given case study it was found that
company was not performing in ethical way. There are just conducting the business activity for
personal welfare but not in context of society which is completely wrong and unethical. If
company look for the society, then they will have to mentioned each and every clause about the
loot boxes and whale strategy because that can easily uplift the standard and even children can
understand that there is no chances to earn from such games but instead of that only gamer will
have to spend on it.
Effect of business activities on Stakeholders
Stakeholders are the important part of the company who plays the vital role for
accomplishing the long terms as well as short terms goals. Stakeholders includes those people
who are connected with the company either directly or indirectly (Wymer and Rundle-Thiele,
2017). If in any of the situation, stakeholders of the company are not performing as per the
requirement of ethical codes then it will be very tough to accomplish the goals of a company.

Employees: They are the one who plays the most crucial role within the organization
because they perform the task as per the instruction given by the top level management. In this
scenario, employees of a EA Games will not be able to make sure that whether their jobs are of
permanent basis or of temporary basis because lots of unethical activities are being performed
within the company. (Hemberg, Syrén and Hemberg, 2018). This will not help to boost up the
morale of the company which means if company will not work in ethical manner the goals and
targets will not be accomplished on specific time period.
Customers and Community: It is found that whenever any of the ethical codes are not
performed within the company then it becomes to difficult for the company to survive in the
market because customers will not be able to get the services which they want from the side of a
company. In context of the EA Games, their customer are not satisfied with the company and
even they will not suggest any of the person to play the games which are designed by EA
because they are being cheated by the company which is completely unethical. Even there will
be some of the customers who might have to suffer from financial issues just because of the
unethical activities which are being performed by the organization.
Shareholder: There will be negative impact on the investor of the company as they will
not feel safe to invest in this types of company (Wettstein, 2015). As there will be doubt on their
mind that whether company will be able to the target which they want to accomplish within the
specific time period without following the terms and condition of ethical codes. Also, the things
which are being seen within the shareholder of EA Games is there are number of negative
reviews about the company which means the share value will reduce significantly due to which
shareholder will have to suffer from different losses.
Recommendation
By looking at all of the above terms and condition, it is necessary for the business
organization that they must try perform ethical. It becomes crucial for them to follow each and
every rules and regulations where they should try to avoid any of the unethical activities.The top
level management of the company must understand that if they don’t follow the ethical standards
of the business then it will be difficult for company to sustain within the market for longer period
of time. It is necessary for EA games to understand that loot boxes and concept of whales is
creating the problem for number of parents. To improve this situation, company can bring on the

policy which will express that if any of the gamer will use the loot box then what are the rewards
they will get as that will ensure the games that where they must invest and where they should
not.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Hemberg, J., Syrén, J. and Hemberg, H., 2018. Ethical Leadership in a New Light: As Described
by Leaders in Public Healthcare. International Journal for Human Caring, 22(4), pp.179-
188.
Homann, K., 2016. Globalisation from a business ethics point of view. In Globalisation and
business ethics (pp. 15-22). Routledge.
Kaplan, A., 2017. European management and European business schools: Insights from the
history of business schools. In Management Research (pp. 211-225). Routledge.
Vitell, S.J., 2015. A case for consumer social responsibility (CnSR): Including a selected review
of consumer ethics/social responsibility research. Journal of Business Ethics, 130(4),
pp.767-774.
Wettstein, F., 2015. Normativity, ethics, and the UN guiding principles on business and human
rights: A critical assessment. Journal of Human Rights, 14(2), pp.162-182.
Wymer, W. and Rundle-Thiele, S.R., 2017. Inclusion of ethics, social responsibility, and
sustainability in business school curricula: a benchmark study. International Review on
Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 14(1), pp.19-34.
PART B
Discussion on two ethical theories
Business ethics are the most important part of business organisation because it helps to
reduce the number of cases which are related with scandals, discrimination and fraud. The main
motive to form the ethical codes for business entity because it helps to reduce the percentage of
illegal activities which are being performed on regular basis. Whenever organisation complies
with ethical terms and condition then customers can easily depend on the services which they
deliver within the market (Buchanan, 2017). Also ethical conduct is explained as the integral
components that how leadership is being done within the company. Company can follow the
legal terms and condition in the situation where government forms the rules and regulations.
There are number of ethical theories which can be followed by the organisation like EA Games
for the purpose of solving the ethical issues which they are facing within the company. There are

number of theories which explains that how any of the company can improve the performance by
following ethical codes. Among number of theories some of them have been explained below:
Rawls Theory of Justice: It is one of the ethical theory which has been explained by
John Rawl’s where fairness is explained as concept of bringing multiple ideas in the best
possible manner. The main agenda of this theory is to argues for a principled reconciliation of
liberty and equality that is meant to apply to the basic structure of a well-ordered society. Also,
economic and social inequalities are arranged in a systematic manner through which lots of
benefits can be obtained with least advantage available in front of them. Within Rawl’s theory
there are two principles where principle one is understood as principle of equal liberty (James,
2017). Here, it is necessary that liberty must be protected and of customers who are connected
with company should not be cheated for personal benefits.
Whereas second principle is known as difference principle. It is mainly done for the
purpose of improving the position of every individual living within the society. If organization
like EA Games can apply the rule of Rawl's Theory, then they can easily determine that how they
can treat gamer who are the crucial part of the company. Even it will give the idea to company
that what are their roles and responsibility towards the society. As company will be aware about
their roles and responsibilities towards the customers which will directly improve the
performance of a company which will enhance their revenue because employees will work as a
team for accomplishing the goals of an organization and unnecessary use of Loot boxes for
customers will also reduce. It will help parents to allow their children to play the games which
are designed by the developer team of the company. Basically, it will to develop the concept that
stakeholders can believe within the company as this theory will allow to provide the best services
to them. In the above case it was found that company, EA Games company is earning the profit
in unethical manner due to which stakeholders will not like to invest in the company but in case
of Rawl’s theory, it will allow the investor to invest capital with the company because it will
provide the guidelines to that company that how they can consider to ethical codes (Pennock,
2015).
Deontology- It is important for any of the organization to understand that in any of the
situation decision making ability plays the crucial roles. It is play the most significant part for
company or even the stakeholders of a company who helps to run the organization. For example,

company like EA Games can use deontology theory for taking long term decision which even
helps to divide the roles and responsibility among the employees that how they can perform
ethically. In context of the case study, company will be able to deliver the services which they
want to deliver within the market. Also, it will allow company to perform there just for fun
agenda behind the loot boxes which are currently being discussed as a unethical practises. As
Deontology is the theory which contain number of positive attributes but it also contains errors
(Wenar, 2017). The biggest drawback of this theory is that work will not be divided as the
capabilities and logic's available with the person. As duties are never divided into it due to which
conflict can be raised and this is become one of the reason to raise the conflict within the
organization and unethical practices. Stakeholder might show their trust towards the company
with the help of this theory. In short, it can be understood that Deontology theory will try to
produce very consistent decision because duties and given post to the employees will help them
to work as per the ethical code.
Pros and cons of using these Two Ethical theories in the organization
Both of the theories have their own pros and cons due to which it becomes important for
business organisation where deontology will give the idea to take the best possible decision in
quick succession period. In case of Rawls theory new ideas and concept will be introduced in the
company by following the ethical codes which will allow company to utilise the loot boxes in
suitable manner as theme says that it is just for fun so in order to develop it in fun way company
should not charge those amount of money where they are kept in suspense that whether goals
will be accomplished or not. (Levy, 2016). The biggest cons of Rawl’s theory that although ideas
are generated but this might be wrong as well due to which there are number of occasion where
company takes the unethical decisions.
Recommendation to improve issues on the basis of theories.
From the above file, it can be understood and recommended that EA Games must try to
conduct business activities in effective manner. It will be crucial for them to adopt all of the
regulations and rules at the time of conducting business activities. If company can be able to do
that then they can easily reduce the problem of loot boxes and whales due to which number of
parents an gamer are facing the number of problems on regular basis.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Buchanan, A., 2017. A critical introduction to Rawls’ theory of justice. In Distributive
Justice (pp. 175-211). Routledge.
James, A., 2017. Constructing justice for existing practice: Rawls and the status quo. In John
Rawls (pp. 69-104). Routledge.
Pennock, J.R., 2015. Democratic political theory. Princeton University Press.
Wenar, L., 2017. Why Rawls is not a cosmopolitan egalitarian. In Rawls and Law (pp. 499-517).
Routledge.
Levy, J.T., 2016. There is no such thing as ideal theory. Social Philosophy and Policy, 33(1-2),
pp.312-333.
PART 2
Reflective essay of ethical Leader
It is said that ethical leadership management is leadership form where an individual want
to explain about the different activities which helps to accomplish the better results (Greenwood
and Freeman, 2018). Being as an ethical leader I will like to explains that there are number of
responsibility which needed to be fulfilled as a giving equal responsibilities to each and every
person working within the company. Even I must be able to give suitable form of advice and
motivation to employees so that they can understand the importance of working in effective
manner (Ahn, Lee and Yun, 2018). As per the terms and condition of personal ethics it can be
determine that person should be able to distinguish between right and wrong for them and their
company. The role of ethical manager and leader should be to make proper decisions by
evaluating their influence on the company as a whole. We simply look at every investor's interest
and see it as an integral part for an organization. Being such an ethical manager therefore, I must
create the certain rule or policy that would be equivalent to the executive level to low level.
Therefore, in order to engender the specific ethical, I must add the following factors which may
enable me to create an ethical organization. So, certain points are explained below:
Ethical decision making framework: Through evaluating the external factor and
observing the relevant code of conduct, the director takes the decision on a regular basis. Then I
will systematically evaluate the problem and make the best available choice through the process
of critical thinking. In addition, I will include only those features in the loot box which will not
affect any of the customers in any of the situation. If any of the decision will be taken for

personal prospective then there will be chances that decision will not be related with the ethical
codes(Ali Chughtai, 2016).
Performance evaluation: Because I believe it is necessary to evaluate a person who
works within the company for their involvement, this will help to improve the workforce's
feeling of job satisfaction. I will also make those parameters or set a standard for evaluating an
employee's results. This will help to preserve efficiency within the company and sustain the
confidence of the overall workers.
These are some of the main points which I will focus in the beginning if I will be the
ethical leader. In addition, there will be other activities as which is needed to be focused which
means that I need to know that what are the problem that my sub ordinates and customers of the
company are facing and what can be the possible ways through which those problem can be
sorted out (d’Adda and et. al., 2017). Also, As a leader it will be important for me to use Four V
model which can help me to take some of the crucial decisions. Four V stands for Vision, Value,
Voice and Virtual. This model will help to develop the positive concept within the organization.
By looking at the first part, If I will be the ethical leader then I will try to form the then I
will work in the ethical manner. If would have made clear that loot boxes are just for fun and if
any of the gamer will invest in it then there is no chances that they will get rewards in return.
CONCLUSION
According to the above topic, it could be assumed that business activities must be carried
out by obeying the rules and regulatory that lead in the smooth functioning of the enterprise.
Business operation requires to increase a company’s profits by performing in ethical manner.
The ethical leader is someone who has the desire and provide a good job. It builds trust in the
corporate environment for the company. When conducting business operations, it is necessary
that they do not harm anyone. Organizations are responsible for carrying out social welfare
programs.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals

Ahn, J., Lee, S. and Yun, S., 2018. Leaders’ core self-evaluation, ethical leadership, and
employees’ job performance: The moderating role of employees’ exchange
ideology. Journal of Business Ethics, 148(2), pp.457-470.
Ali Chughtai, A., 2016. Can ethical leaders enhance their followers’
creativity?. Leadership, 12(2), pp.230-249.
d’Adda, G., and Et. Al, 2017. Do leaders affect ethical conduct?. Journal of the European
Economic Association, 15(6), pp.1177-1213.
Greenwood, M. and Freeman, R.E., 2018. Deepening ethical analysis in business ethics. Journal
of Business Ethics, 147(1), pp.1-4.