Ethics and Sustainability: A Comprehensive Business Report

This report delves into the critical intersection of ethics and sustainability within the business environment. It begins by examining key findings from the Survey of Employees Australia 2018, highlighting employee perceptions of ethical practices, misconduct, and the prevalence of ethical dilemmas. The report then identifies and explains significant ethical issues faced by businesses, such as protecting client privacy, ensuring workplace safety, and addressing harassment and discrimination. It differentiates between primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors, analyzing how these sectors impact career choices. Furthermore, the report identifies the Commonwealth Bank as a case study, presenting its code of conduct and key aspects related to customer relations, governance, and employee conduct. The analysis concludes by emphasizing the importance of ethical behavior and sustainability for long-term business success and providing recommendations based on the survey results and best practices.

Ethics and Sustainability

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
1. Key findings from the Survey of Employees Australia 2018.............................................1
2. Identify key ethical issues and explain why they are considered into ethical issues.........2
3. Differentiate the sectors and how it affect career...............................................................3
4. Identify the industry and justify that through representing Code of conduct and its key
aspects based on survey..........................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERECES...................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
In present world, the word ethics refers to the habits of behaviour or thoughts that
majorly take interest of other into accounts that help them to make more accurate and reliable
consequences (Akkucuk, 2016). Ethics or social theory is a philosophical concept in which ideas
of correct and incorrect behaviour are systematized, defended and recommended. Sustainability
required to meet current objectives without altering potential capacity to satisfy their
requirements. Sustainability include three components such as financial, environmental and
social also popularly recognized as profit, planet and individuals. Business morality offers a
prospective analytical structure for evaluating overall and sustainable management practices.
MAIN BODY
1. Key findings from the Survey of Employees Australia 2018
The Institute of Business Ethics, which aims to encourage higher standards of ethical
principles-based business behaviour, is an significant partner for any company that wants to
maintain its long-term legacy by concerning business in the correct manner (Amran, Lee and
Devi, 2014). The institute is able to perform various crucial function thus they are able to achieve
following:
 Maintain a healthy relation with companies they work
 Advise senior executive members as well as those who are responsible for developing
and incorporating measures on business ethics.
 Gives support for developing the policies with the help of regular events, official
publication, benchmarking and training to employees so that they can perform work to
attain the business requirements.
According to the employee survey 2018, A maximum of 2,268 staff are interviewed for
Ethical principles at Work in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The main key
finding from these survey are:
 Most staff claim that their organization operates honestly 84% of participants believe that
honesty is often or commonly practised within their organization (86% in New Zealand,
84% in Australia and 81% in the UK).
 From total the quarter of staff were conscious of abuse at job 25% of staff were conscious
of abuse at job during the previous year. The most frequently mentioned form of
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misbehaviour is people behaved improperly/ unethically (44%), accompanied by
harassment / bullying (40%) and safety issues (34%).
 Company's employees speak about misconduct in the organization and it is about two
thirds of employees that is 65%, who have been aware of misconduct spoke up
(Bosselmann, 2016). In the UK's employees reported that total 67% misconduct having in
the organization, in New Zealand 65% and Australia (63%).
 A quarter of executives believe that 34 percent of executives inevitably believe small-
scale fiddling in a contemporary organization is inevitable. 13% Managers even claim it
is appropriate to boost prof LOSS earnings artificially in comics as soon as no cash is
steal.
 A little over a third of staff are encouraged to conduct 22 percent of participants ethically,
saying their organization offers opportunities to encourage staff to live up to ethical
norms. Including ethics in annual assessments or efficiency assessments is the most
prevalent motivation.
2. Identify key ethical issues and explain why they are considered into ethical issues
There are various ethical issues which faced by the managers of the company. Some
issues discussed below:
Protecting client privacy: Nowadays customer information hacked or exposed which
develop problem for the organization. Organization have to keep their client's personal
information. So business should adopt strong security system in order to project their customer
personal information (Lam, 2016). If any organization neglect the security then it become an
ethical issue for the business which further impact the production as well as profitability.
Keeping employees safe in workplace: In the organization, millions of accident or
incident reported yearly. As per Bureau of labour statistics, there were about 2.9 million injuries
& illness reported in 2016. It comes under ethical issues because when any employee work in the
organization, so business should be responsible for their safety in the work place. Few accident
happen due to negligence of employees at the time of performing their task.
Harassment and Discrimination: In the business environment, some people use their
power to harass others. It comes under ethical issue, so management should ensure that higher
authority do not harass or done any kind of discrimination with other on the basis of gender,
caste, religion etc. This issue develop when working environment is not friendly and employees
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does not have good relation. Harassment not affect the work it may affect their pay as well as
their career. For example: If harassment done against women then it will impact their career as
well as personal life. So organization need to ensure that, these issues will not generate in the
organization.
3. Differentiate the sectors and how it affect career
All sectors are different from each other where every sector has different nature of work
and process of completing task in order to achieve their goals & objectives. Every sector have
different targeted customer, marketing strategy, suppliers, investors etc. There are mainly three
sectors such as primary, secondary or tertiary.
 Primary sector: It includes the process of extracting raw materials such as mining,
fishing and agriculture (Setó-Pamies and Papaoikonomou, 2016). It include renewable
or non renewable resources such as fish, wool, wind power, oil extraction, mining for
coal etc.
 Secondary sector: It is also called manufacturing sector where raw material converted
into finished goods for the use of customer to satisfy their needs & desire. This sector
include factories which produce making cars, food, cloths, toy etc.
 Tertiary/ service sector: This sector offer intangible products such as services to the
customers. It includes tourism, retail, banking, entertainment, IT services etc.
In the current situation of economy, individual need to select their career after analysing
the requirement of economy and current position of country in the international market. Career in
primary sector is all time in favourable situation because demand of these product all time in
favour. Inflation or international market crises will mostly impact the service sector and then it
impact further sectors. If any person have interest in agriculture sector then they have to choose
it passionately perform which provide economic growth.
4. Identify the industry and justify that through representing Code of conduct and its key aspects
based on survey
Commonwealth Bank selected from the banking sector and analyse it's code of conduct in
order to perform effective or efficient performance (Code of Conduct of Commonwealth Bank,
2019). Commonwealth bank is an Austrian multinational bank and its business spend across New
Zealand, Asia, US and UK. It provide various financial services as well as solutions including
retail, commercial banking, fund management, insurance, investment, broking services etc.
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Code of Conduct is the set of rules, norms, regulation and business responsibility which
fulfil in order to satisfy their stakeholders. It define that how business have to act or perform
their day to day activities. It include daily operations activities, core value and overall working
culture. In context of Commonwealth Bank some key group policies discussed below:
 Customers and Communities: In order to increase efficiency at the time of making
decision which impact customer as well as community. So management ensure
various activities and develop various policies regarding product development,
consumer protection, competition, customer complain management and customer
remediation.
 Governance and Control: Commonwealth Bank develop various policies regarding
information security, privacy, Anti money laundering, managing funds, compliances
etc. Bank staff need to ensure that they follow all the norms which helps in reducing
fraud and other errors. As per their code of conduct they ensure to provide proper
security to protect customer information.
 People: All the people who linked with the organization achieve fair outcomes to
satisfy customer as well as communicate. It include various policies regarding
various group such as physical security, media conduct, health & safety etc.
Above mention code of conduct or ethics provide clear path to follow or achieve their
goals & objectives. Key aspect of commonwealth bank follow all the rules & regulation which
mentioned in the survey (Yin, Qian and Singhapakdi, 2018). As per the survey, director of
organization need to be responsible regarding every activity of the business. Manager have to
follow various duties, resolve workplace conflict, disclosure issues, corruption etc. Basically
company follow all the required or necessary practices which helps in improving productivity as
well as profitability.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it has been concluded that ethics & sustainability is very
important for any business because it helps in maintain their success in the organization. Every
organization need to follow their business code of conduct and other ethical practices. Some
times it happen that, in the organization ethical issues will generate which impact the production
as well as profitability. Every organization have to follow best practices which listed in the code
of conduct, it provide clear path where employees perform as per the guidelines and instruction.
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Misconduct in the organization will be identify with the help of staff members survey which
helps in evaluating what are the exact problem and where is the root of these cause.
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REFERECES
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