Carlsberg's Ethical Approach: Business Standards and Key Stakeholders

This report analyzes the business ethics of Carlsberg, a multinational organization, focusing on its ethical considerations, the reasons it is considered ethical, and the ethical philosophies it follows, such as deontology and rights. It discusses the ethical challenges Carlsberg has faced, including data privacy, accounting practices, and environmental responsibility, highlighting the key elements of success in overcoming these challenges, such as honest assessment of needs, establishing a strong ethical foundation, and building a culture of integrity. The report also identifies key stakeholders like shareholders, employees, customers, competitors, and suppliers, and discusses their roles in maintaining the company's business standards. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of business ethics for developing a positive company image and achieving success in a competitive environment.

Business Ethics

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
Identification of company that is considered to be ethical and reason for their ethical
consideration. .............................................................................................................................3
Discussion of ethical philosophy followed by company.............................................................4
Discussion of whether company faced ethical challenges in past and key elements of success
of these challenges......................................................................................................................5
Identification of key stakeholders of chosen company and discussion of their role in
maintaining business standards of company ..............................................................................7
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Business ethics can be described as form of applied ethics in business that examine
ethical principles as well as problems that can be arise in business environment (Alzola, 2017).
This project report includes analysation of ethical approaches of Carlesberg which is Danish
organisation providing its products and service in different countries. This project report includes
identification of ethical consideration of company and reason for which it is considered ethical. It
discusses ethical philosophies to be followed by companies. It discusses ethical challenges to be
faced by companies in path and key elements which make them successful for addressing these
issues. Moreover, it consist identification of key stakeholders of company and their role for
maintaining business standards of company.
TASK
Identification of company that is considered to be ethical and reason for their ethical
consideration.
Carlsberg is a multinational organisation which is providing its product and services in
different company. It was established in the year 1874 in Denmark by J. C Jacobsen. It is also
posses some other brand like Tuborg, Kronenbourg, Neptun, Somersby cider, Belgian
Grimbergen, Baltika a Russian best selling beer (Dziubaniuk and Nyholm, 2020). It is providing
its products and services in Asia, Easter Europe, Western Europe. It is a large organisation as it
has around 41000 employees working for success and growth of company.
Carlsberg is a multinational organisation which is adopting ethical practices in their
organisation. These ethical practices is important for their business as it provide them success in
market. Adopting ethical practice in business provide them competitive advantage in business as
is provide favour to business organisation (Ermasova, 2021). It helps them to attract more and
more staff towards their organisation as ethical practices create good image of company. It also
helps them to retain employees for long term. These ethical consideration helps them to attract
more investors as it increase confidence of people. It is creating good impact over reputation of
company as company is involving in good practices which does not create harm to other person.
It allow company to fulfil their legal and regulatory requirement which is important to make a
positive image of company.

Carlsberg is adopting code of conduct in order to ensure that employees as well as
business partners have clear understanding for ethical values and principles. It is design for
purpose of affirm and promote different standards of conduct that helps to reinforce honesty and
ethical behaviour. It is adopting ethical practices in business by adopting different practices
which are mentioned below:
Compliance with laws and company policies: Carlsberg is implementing and
application rules, regulation and laws which improve reputation of their business (Hassan and
Alanazi, 2018). It is important for an employee to comply with these regulation.
Anti corruption and anti bribery laws: Bribery as well corruption are not allowing in
different countries. It is not legal to offer, promote and give money to government officials in
order to get advantage. Carlsberg are consider bribery as morally wrong, dishonest as it is not
acceptable in this organisation.
Competition laws: Competition law is a anti trust law which prohibit any harm to
consumer as well as competition present in market. These includes price fixing, customer
sharing, bid rigging things among different organisation.
Data Protection and privacy laws: Carlsberg is adopting this law in their organisation
as they are maintaining privacy of data of their clients, customers, suppliers, employees another
stakeholders. It is responsibility of an organisation to protect personal data of their stakeholders
in order to ensure their privacy.
Conflict of interest: Conflict of interest can be occur in situation where personal interest
of third party suppliers, customers as well as relative that create impact over interest of
Carlsberg. This organisation ensuring interest of employees over their personal interest.
Discussion of ethical philosophy followed by company
Ethical theories play important role in decision making of a company as these theories are
representing viewpoint of individuals who are seeking guidance and making decisions (Mili,
Gharbi and Teulon, 2019). There are different theories to be adopted by Carlesberg which play
important role in decision making as it helps to predict outcomes and also helps to following
duties of an organisation. There are four philosophies of ethics including deontology, virtues,
utilitarianism and rights. Carlesberg is adopting deontology and rights philosophies in their
organisation.

Deontology is one of ethical theory that describe that it is important for people to adopt
obligation as well as duties at time when they are engaging in decision making. It simply means
that an individual will following their obligation to other individual as they are considering their
duty in ethically correct manner (Rodríguez-López and Souto, 2020). For example, deontology is
one of philosophy in which a person is always keeping their promises along with their laws.
Business that is adopting this theory will be taking consist decision that are based in their set
duties. It is a theory that contain different positive attributes along with flaws. Flaws are that
there is logical as well as rationale basis for purpose of making decision related to duties of
individual. For examples, it is a responsibility of a business person to be on time in a meeting. It
is a good aspect as a person is choosing to fulfil their duties. Getting late of a managers of
Carlesberg can create impact over image of them in minds of their employees.
Rights is another philosophy which is adopted by managers of Carlesberg that allow them
to develop right. Right can be developed by society which are protected and also providing
priority to people. These rights needs to be ethically right and valid as these are endorse by large
population. Individual can get bestow rights over others as if they can have resources as well as
ability to do things (Suriyankietkaew and Kantamara, 2019). For instance, Carlesberg is giving
responsibility to an employees for handling a team for completion of a project. That means,
employees has right to manage team till the completion of project. Main complication related to
this theory is that a person needs to understand characteristics of right in society. In this society
play important role as they needs about rights needs to uphold and deliver to citizen. It also helps
them to understand what they needs to enact and also ways in which they decide different ethical
priorities as well as goals of society.
Discussion of whether company faced ethical challenges in past and key elements of success of
these challenges
There are different types of ethical challenges to be faced by a company in order to
implement ethical practices in their organisation. These challenges in context of Carlesberg is
mentioned below:
Data privacy: There is increasing technological advancement in different countries
which can create impact over security capability of employees. Employees working in an
organisation can monitor activity of other employees in their computer system or any other
device. These are considered as electronic surveillance which supposed to ensure productivity as

well as efficiency of company but there should a limit of spying. It is legally allowed to company
to monitor emails as well as internet of another company (Waweru, 2020). It create impact over
their privacy as competitors can use their personal data for their personal advantage. Companies
also reviewing activities of their employees which is also a threat for their privacy policy. It is
one of major ethical issue to be faced by Carlesberg in market.
Accounting practices: Accounting practices is one of ethical issues faced by business.
Manipulation of financial data of business make a company more successful but at same time is a
known as accounting misconduct which is a crime. It is beyond legal boundaries as it cress limit
of ethical dilemmas in business which is a part of bad practice of accounting that can harm
innocent people. For instance, business can sometimes misrepresent their expenses and earning
in order to get benefit of tax deduction. It can results in legal penalties for company like
Carlesberg which can create impact over their performance.
Environmental responsibility: It is another issues to be faced by a company as
sometimes actions of people can create impact over environment due to which it results in
negative image of company in minds of their consumers (Werhane, 2019). It is responsibility of
business of Carlesberg to see carbon footprint produces by company. These carbon footprint is
can be impacted on air quality, safety, water cleanliness, use of natural resources and other
things. It create impact over survival of company as some country cannot allow business to
create negative impact over environment.
Success elements:
Honestly assess needs and resources: In order to develop a successful business, it is
important for them to start with a plan and also require ethics and compliance. It is important for
company to assess these resources and needs in effective manner. There are different ways in
which a person can gather information and resources. In order to get success they needs to assess
these resources which helps them to avoid wastage of resources in their organisation.
Establishing strong foundation: It is important for them to develop a strong foundation
of ethics in their organisation which develop values among different people working in an
organisation (Wood, 2017). It helps them to make big difference in their image which is
important for them to reduce pressure and also to compromise standards.
Build culture integrity: It is another practices which allow them to develop a culture
integrity in their organisation in which members of company are adopting cultural differences. In

this mangers are providing training to employees to accept different culture adopt by employees.
It helps them to avoid conflict at workplace and allow employees to work towards success and
growth of organisation.
Identification of key stakeholders of chosen company and discussion of their role in maintaining
business standards of company
There are different types of stakeholders of work which have interest in success and
growth of company. These stakeholders of company are playing important role in maintaining
business standards are mentioned below:
Shareholders: Shareholders and investor are important stakeholders of company who
has high power and high interest in business. These people are providing funds to business and
have right to make changes in an organisation.
Employees: Employees are another stakeholders who are playing important role in
business and can have high interest in decision making of company. These people are working
for growth and success of company and playing important role in maintaining operation of
company.
Customers: Customers are those people to whom company is providing their products
and service. It is important for a company to produce products and service to customers
according to their needs and requirement.
Competitors: Competitors are those people who are providing same products and service
in market. These people can create impact over organisation as it does not allow them to increase
their market share and profitability level.
Suppliers: Suppliers are those people who is providing raw material and other supplies
which is required for production of final product and service.
CONCLUSION
From above mentioned project report, it can be concluded that business ethic are playing
important role for developing positive image of company in minds of their consumer. It provide
success and growth to company in a competitive environment. It provide advantage of
differentiation to company. There are different stakeholders of business which play important
role in maintaining standards of company like shareholders, employees, competitors and others.
There are also different philosophies to be adopted by managers while providing their products

and service in market. These philosophies includes deontology, virtues, utilitarianism and rights
and others.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Alzola, M., 2017. Character-based business ethics. In The Oxford handbook of virtue.
Dziubaniuk, O. and Nyholm, M., 2020. Constructivist approach in teaching sustainability and
business ethics: a case study. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher
Education.
Ermasova, N., 2021. Cross-cultural issues in business ethics: A review and research
agenda. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 21(1), pp.95-121.
Hassan, H.S. and Alanazi, T.M., 2018. Roles of Islamic Business Ethics in the Formation of
Internal Organisational Culture: A Qualitative Approach of Muslims’ SMEs in the
UK. International Journal of Economics, Business and Management Studies, 5(1),
pp.16-30.
Mili, M., Gharbi, S. and Teulon, F., 2019. Business ethics, company value and ownership
structure. Journal of Management and Governance, 23(4), pp.973-987.
Rodríguez-López, Á. and Souto, J.E., 2020. Empowering entrepreneurial capacity: training,
innovation and business ethics. Eurasian Business Review, 10(1), pp.23-43.
Suriyankietkaew, S. and Kantamara, P., 2019. Business ethics and spirituality for corporate
sustainability: A Buddhism perspective. Journal of Management, Spirituality &
Religion, 16(3), pp.264-289.
Waweru, N., 2020. Business ethics disclosure and corporate governance in Sub-Saharan Africa
(SSA). International Journal of Accounting & Information Management.
Werhane, P.H., 2019. The normative/descriptive distinction in methodologies of business ethics.
In Systems Thinking and Moral Imagination (pp. 21-25). Springer, Cham.
Wood, G., 2017. Reflections on business ethics through 1992-2017. European Business Review.