Business Ethics and Society: Final Reflection on Course Modules

This assignment is a comprehensive reflection on the interrelationship between business and society, exploring ethical considerations, stakeholder conflicts, and social responsibility. The student analyzes the impact of business practices on society, drawing on examples from course modules to illustrate key concepts. The paper examines challenges in managing stakeholder conflicts, the roles of ethics and social responsibility, and the influence of journaling activities on understanding these complex issues. Furthermore, it investigates the interrelationship between external forces, the role of government, and the student's most significant learning experiences throughout the course. The assignment demonstrates an understanding of how business decisions affect various stakeholders and the importance of ethical conduct in the business environment. The reflection covers topics such as the impact of business on local communities, the ethical implications of manufacturing practices, the role of companies in addressing global issues, and the importance of corporate social responsibility. It also highlights the importance of ethical practices and the influence of journaling activities on the development of these concepts. The student reflects on the course material, applying the concepts learned to real-world scenarios and demonstrating a thorough understanding of the subject matter.

Running head: BUSINESS ETHICS
Business ethics
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Name of the Author:

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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
Understanding of the interrelationship between business and society............................2
Challenges of dealing with the conflicts of stakeholder..................................................3
Circles of reflection.........................................................................................................5
Part B...................................................................................................................................5
Roles of ethics and social responsibility..........................................................................5
Influence of journaling activities.....................................................................................7
Interrelationship between external forces........................................................................8
Role of government.........................................................................................................9
Part C.................................................................................................................................10
Comment on journaling activities..................................................................................10
Most significant learning of the modules......................................................................12
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................13
Reference List....................................................................................................................15

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Introduction
A lot of implications have been seen in the society from the conduction of business. In
this report the various ways by the aid of which the business affects the society have been
explained in a proper manner. The various examples which have been used in previous modules
have been used in this report to support the facts. The conduction of business in the modern era
is associated with the society as well as the stakeholders of the company. With the
implementation of the social responsibility of the individuals who reside in a society the
relationship between the internal and external matters of a business are explained in the report.
Various uses of real life instances have been done in the report to support the fact which have
been stated in the report. The various process by the aid of which business have been conducted
in a social environment have been explained in the report.
Understanding of the interrelationship between business and society
After the completion of this project I have gained a lot of ideas regarding the relationship
between the business and society. I have also come to known about the various process by the
aid of which both the factors affect each other. The work is business that is done by us is
influenced by a lot of factors which includes various factors which are related to society (Pies,
Beckmann & Hielscher, 2014). Both the business and the society are individual entities and they
are equally important to us in different ways. The various ways by the aid of which society
molds and effects the various functioning of the have been discussed in the modules. In module 1
it was seen how the restrictions which were implemented by the government affected the life of
the local fisherman in the area. From this instance I can clearly understand that there are effects
of business on society on many levels and the business is equally affected by any kind of steps
which are taken by a society. In the context of modern business I must say that business must be

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conducted keeping in mind the surroundings and also there are direct effects of the society on
business (Byerly, 2014). In module 2 I have learned that some of the Canadian companies are in
the dilemma in manufacturing their products in their own country or shift them to other
manufacturing centers of India or China. This shifting in the manufacturing process have adverse
effects on the people of Canada as there will be a loss of jobs (Delmas & Grant, 2014). These
loss in the jobs will be hampering both the employees and their families. From this aspect I can
state that the conduction of business in different countries have adverse effects on the society and
its lifestyle (Kolk, Rivera-Santos & Rufín, 2014).
I have understood that the business which is conducted by a company have direct effect
on the society. In module 3 I have stated that clean cook stoves have helped a lot in the reduction
of global warming. With the implementation of cook stoves the companies around the world are
not only generating more customers and profits but also they are contributing to the health and
wellbeing of the people surrounding the company (Barnett, 2019). In this case it can be said that
safety and wellbeing of the society is being looked after by the companies. Thus both business
and society are interrelated with each other in this instance (Wang, Dou & Jia, 2016).
In module 4 it is seen that the various techniques which have been used by Merk in
pushing the drugs to the market have clear implications in the social environment of the place it
was operating in (Kolk & Rivera-Santos, 2018). I have also found out that the social
responsibility of the company was questioned bib a huge margin with the implementation of
steps which was followed by Merk in implementing their business in the market.
Challenges of dealing with the conflicts of stakeholder
In module 1 I have pointed out that the customers of Cola-Cola Company were not happy
with the various steps which were taken by the company in conducting their business. In this

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case customers were right in being furious towards the country. The company was following
unethical steps in the conduction of their business and they were not meeting the needs of the
main stakeholders of the company who are the stakeholders. The company was slowly depleting
the groundwater levels and were using the water in creating soft drinks for the consumers and
were also selling them bottled water in higher prices than other companies. This is a clear
example in which the company is simply ignoring the interest of the stakeholders and is not even
meeting the social needs of the place.
In module 2 I have reviewed that some of the stakeholders are beneficial while others are
not. The provision for the drugs which I have states in the module suggests that the justice
approach which have been taken by the company for the distribution of drugs benefits some of
the stakeholder of the company who are associated with the virus and the drugs while the others
are not affected by them. The costs which are adhered by the company for the drugs is seen to be
unethical. The cost which I have addressed in this case are the various lives which have been lost
by the virus and the burden of cost which have been implemented by the company. The failure of
drugs have caused many problems for these associated stakeholders and have affected them
heavily. The others stakeholders who have been beneficial from the drugs are the patients which
have been cured by the drugs.
The internal revenue service and U.S. word which are both related to the health and
safety of the people are considered to be the non-showcase stakeholders of the company. These
non-showcase shareholders of a company are not generally benefitted from the various decisions
of the company.

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Circles of reflection
Each and every organizations around the world have different takes on the conduction of
business. The diverse kinds of issues and the conflicts which are faced by a company have direct
effect on the various social gatherings. In the center of circle of reflection the identified issues
along with its perspectives. While conducting all the modules I have come to the conclusion that
the various impacts of conduction of business will be having various kinds of impacts. The
identification of the various issues like Chipotle’s Case have different effects on different issues
and affect the alternate areas. In certain cases it has been seen that the decisions which are taken
by the society have fee choices which are beneficial for the company and there are certain
choices which are harmful for the society. So I believe that it is important for the company to
look at the various process by the aid of which the society will be benefited. The company needs
to make changes in accordance to the needs of the society and be flexible in their decision
making process so that the society is not affected and benefitted by the decisions of the company.
In the context of modern business it is very important for a company to make the society happy
and make sure that the various needs of the stakeholders of the company are met. The target of a
company must be to reach its target and be beneficial from the various goals which have been set
by the company for the future.
Part B
Roles of ethics and social responsibility
Ethic is an important factor that help in developing a better and significant team in an
organisation. Working effectively in a business will help in the development and growth of the
organisation. In fact, business ethics is a moral principle that will provide a guide in the business
development process. The business ethics is being develop developed to help one understand the

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right and wrong in decision-making in a business. In the words of Martínez, Fernández &
Fernández (2016), use of unethical copyrighted materials and procedure will have a great impact
in the working of the employees as well as the ethical values of the organization. The use of
ethics must be a policy that will enable better working in the organization bringing changes in
the business. Chaudoir & Fisher (2017) observed that with the changes in the ethics of the
organization there would be changes in the culture and values that will be affecting the working
process as well as reputation of the business in market.
The modules 2, 3 and 4 have helped me to identify the role of ethics in social
responsibilities of business. In the 2 module it has been evident that the business must develop
ethics understanding the internal as well as external factors that will help in the improvement of
the working of the employees. Analyzing the internal and external factors that will have an
impact in the business ethics are being considered in the module.
In the module 3, it has been focused in the social inventive thoughts that will help in
bringing changes in the improvement of the economic condition of the countries with various
items that will help in the improvement of the population of the country. Interface Inc. has
developed various innovations and technologies that will help in the improvement of the morals
and ethics of the organization.
In module 4, Vioxx has shown the areas that will be responsible in the changes in the
dynamics of lives and the society considering the external factors that will be affecting the
working process of the organization.

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Influence of journaling activities
I had a good knowledge of work environment morals and social obligations earlier.
However, with the module it became more evident and clear to understand the aspects that has
been affecting the working ethics and social duties of the business (Edwards & Ortega, 2017). In
order to ensure that there will be evident rise in the workplace it is necessary that the business
must take up activities that will help in the development of the morals and understand the
positive and negative side of the business.
There has been changes in the business values that will be brought into with the
help of business morals and essentials in the job. The moral and social welfares help in brining
changes in the society, employees and government (Mirchandani & Bromfield, 2019). From
different modules of the paper, there will be different understanding that explains various
conditions of business moral and social changes. In the Coco-Cola water activity I have
recognised the use of social asset as water is a social product that will be utilised in the business
that will help in bringing changes in the productivity of the business.
The activities helped to understand the viewpoints of Chiquita brand. With the help of the
unauthorized employees, I have gathered the knowledge of business morals and corporate social
obligations. It has also explained about the welfare of the business employees that will help in
bringing changes in the business as well as the working of the employees.
Interface Inc. also explained how the assets will be impacting the nature bringing changes
in the decrease of the quantity of the water level in the nature. As it has been observed that
recklessness of pharmaceutical organizations of Vioxx has provided me with the knowledge of
genuine strides and sparing numerous lives.

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Interrelationship between external forces
After the conduction of this course I have come to understand about the various inward as
well as the outward ideas of business. The various outside factors include globalisation, different
conditions, innovation and various financial matters. The various inner powers include the
customer insurance policies, the various employee rights of the workers in the company and the
duties of the people associated with the company. In the present context of business it can be said
that organisations around the world are taking special steps by the aid of which they can
implement certain polices which will be making the workplace a better place. The factors can be
associated with globalisation and the time when an organisation is adapting to the globalisation.
The various steps which are taken for the inclusion of globalisation in an organisation and the
various methods uses for making newer items are done by the process of innovation. With the
aid of innovation the various qualities of the product along with the additional ethics are
maintained in a better way to ensure that globalisation is taking place in the company. The
capacities of the employees along with the capacities of the employees areas used for assigning
that employee to a particular job. With the implementation of certain process in the steps of
decision making it is important for an organisation to implement globalisation and innovation in
an organisation. The various effects which have been seen to exist in an organisation include the
cultural differences and internal clashes among the employees and the managers and the leaders
of the organisation.
The various process by the aid of which the employees in an organisation are trained for
adjusting themselves to the changes in the organisation are very important to make sure that the
change is taking place in the company in a better way. The various outer powers like innovation
plays a great role in the structuring of the company and is connected with the inward processes.

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Some other factors like corporate administration and various corporate social responsibilities
encourages a company in adjusting itself to globalisation. A company must ensure that the
various process by the help of which the company is conducting its business is not affecting the
environment of the society. The company must ensure that the various steps which is being taken
by the company to conduct its business must not be affecting the social condition as well. With
the implementation of new strategies and innovation sin the company it will be possible for the
company to take care of the environment and ensure that proper care of the environment is being
taken care of. The various new innovations which have been used by the company effects the
construction of the company. Along with these things the various interior and the outer powers
are in relation with each other and each of these factors affects the other factors as well. The
various changes in the inner power which is being brought about have effects on the outer
powers as well and the performance of the company is affected by it.
Role of government
The government has played a vital role in the development of the business influencing the
internal as well as external stakeholders of the organisation. In a business of tobacco, the
government has a great impact (Aguinis & Glavas, 2019). The government that has been
influencing the sale and well as developing various campaigns that will limit the consumption of
tobacco that will have an impact in the business. In the Chiquita case, the government has taken
initiatives to quite making unlawful installation of unapproved labors who may be facing issues
like health issues. Government plays a crucial role in the various functioning of a company since
it is major stakeholder of a company. The various norms and roles of a company needs to be
followed by the company to meet their expectations.

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Part C
Comment on journaling activities
Bias is a concept that is used for opposing or supporting an individual in an unfair
manner because of the interference of any personal opinions that influences the judgment. There
are certain times, when choices are impacted by the different kind of preferences. These types of
biases are likely to trade off the morals of the business since every business is completed by
keeping in mind the benefit amplification or the other business might be completed keeping in
mind the feasible improvement and also the expansion of benefit along with the choices which
are taken to satisfy the targets that constitute preferences about anything. Thus, the
predisposition is that biases are of two types; the first is the cognitive bias which can occur for
four types of issues like provision of too much of information, not providing adequate meaning,
the issue of needing to act fast and the things that we should remember. Cognitive bias is
observed to occur when people have the tendency to see whatever they want themselves to see
(Haselton, Nettle & Murray, 2015). This kind of distortion in the perception of a person or their
thought process can have an impact on the decision- making which also has a significant
influence on the findings of the reports of forensic. The predispositions are of two types:
intellectual and motivational and it is of utmost importance that the lawyers have the knowledge
about how the biases can affect the investigators’ elucidation of the proof from forensics.
The next type of bias is the motivational bias which is generally the unintentional
tendency to favor a certain party for personal motivation or self serve (Hilgard et al., 2014). For
instance, some analysts who have to work under a prosecutor’s office might allow their
relationship with the higher authority to alter or change the results. There is also the four other
types of cognitive biases namely, the contextual bias, the confirmation bias, the selection bias

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and finally the expectation bias. Conformational bias occurred in Chiquita brand where it was
seen that the partners of the company supported the illegal gatherings by giving a reason of
safety of their company and also their employees and it was adversely influencing them.
Selection bias occurred in the case of the unauthorized immigrants where the organization hired
unauthorized workers with the intention of saving money and the taxes. Contextual bias was seen
when a fingerprint examiner who attains a file that contains prints and a summary of the case but
an analyst receives no such detailed case information. Finally the expectation bias was observed
in the case of Mercks Vioxx, where people bought the product by seeing an advertisement but
they never used the medicine in actual.
Although bias is something that cannot be dispensed with, yet they can be alleviated and
identified amidst the examination and also the introduction of proof. My observation about the
diverse cases and the activities provided me more data about the job media that affects the points
of view. In the case of Mercks Vioxx, I read about the way the lives of numerous people being
affected because of the media. The organization apparently publicized the prescription and did
not illuminate the shopper about all the symptoms that the medication causes since it was
promoted in such a way, consumers gained a positive image of the company and thus
subsequently, they accepted whatever they saw and they heard. As a result it brought on
numerous heart issues and in people and thus it prompted wrong basic leadership because of the
provision of wrong data. Bias assumes an important job in the morals of the business since it
goes about as the reason for the basic leadership. However, on the opposite side of the fact, it can
also be said that in a similar manner, it delineated a factor that media has the potentiality to make
some optimistic points of view along with the negative points.

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Most significant learning of the modules
The most significant thing which I have learned from this course is that business and
society goes hand in hand. If either one of them is affected then there will be direct effect on the
other factor. With the various process by the aid of which business is conducted in the modern
era have direct impact on the society as well (Wood & Demirbag, 2015). The various steps
which have been taken by the companies in this report have affected the society in better or
worse way. The people comprising the society of the surrounding community in which a
company operates are also the major stakeholders of the company (Mayer, 2014). The various
taxes which are taken from the companies by the government is used for the betterment of the
society. The society of a company relates to the employees as well as the consumers (Waddock,
2016). Both of them are heavily affected by the various functioning of the company. The various
process by the aid of which business is conducted in the modern era is dependent on the
changing consumer needs of the current era. In the context of modern business it can be said that
the various process by the aid of which business is conducted in the modern era is solely
dependent in meeting the various needs of the stakeholders of the companies (Safwat, 2015). The
stakeholders of the company are very much affected by the steps which are taken by the
companies around the world. The diverse steps which are taken by companies for the conduction
of the business which is taken by the companies’ plays a great role is setting the subset of the
company and plays a vital role in shaping a society.
The various process which are implemented in this report shows that the various steps
which are taken by a company solely depends on the needs of the stakeholders and the various
ways by the aid of which the stakeholders of company will be satisfied (Mazutis & Slawinski,
2015). The consumers of the company are of core importance of a company and the various

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reasons which have been stated in the journal and the activities makes it clear to me that business
in the present time are heavily affected by the decisions of the society (Lages, 2016). The society
of a place are the key factors which decided whether a business is feasible in the place or not. If a
society does not need certain products then they will be rejecting the product and there will be no
place for a company to expand in the society (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2014). The vicarious reviews
which will be provided by a company decides whether a company will be sustainable in the
environment or not. In the context of modern business it can be said that people around the world
must implement the certain policies by the aid of which the business can be performed in a better
way. With the effects of globalization the business in the modern time have changed a lot and
there are various new steps which needs to be considered by a company for the conduction of
business (Laudon & Traver, 2016). Innovation and technology have taken a major place in the
business industry today and keeping this in mind the companies have to take their various
decisions (Lawrence & Weber, 2014). Both the business and the society are a major part of the
world and they both are beneficial to one another and are equally important in the conduction of
business (Muratovski, 2015).
Conclusion
To conclude it can be said that business which is conducted in the present time depends
on a lot of factors and there are direct effects of the conduction of business on the society as well
as the stakeholders. There are many factors which needs to be looked at by a company for the
conduction of business. There are many effects of the business conducted and some of the
stakeholders of the company are affected by the decisions taken by the company while others
become beneficial. The Various steps which are taken by a company must be ethical steps and
the various implications of the company. After the conduction of the different modules the

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various concepts of business have been very clear to me and the various process by the aid of
which the business is conducted in a proper way. The various roles and the needs of the
stakeholders of the company is thoroughly understood after the conduction of the various
journals.

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