HC2121: Comparative Business Ethics and Social Responsibility Essay

This essay delves into the ethical challenges faced by Toyota, specifically concerning faulty diesel particulate filters (DPF) and their impact on the environment and customers. It examines the ethical issues through the lens of business ethics, corporate governance, and social responsibility. The essay analyzes the consequences of Toyota's actions, including legal penalties and damage to the company's reputation. It discusses the importance of ethical decision-making and the application of ethical theories, such as utilitarianism and Kantian ethics, to resolve these issues. The paper emphasizes the need for Toyota to prioritize transparency, ethical practices, and social responsibility to regain consumer trust and maintain a positive market presence. The conclusion highlights the significance of integrating ethical measures and corporate governance for long-term business success and sustainable operations.

Running head: COMPARITIVE BUSINESS ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
COMPARITIVE BUSINESS ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Name of the Student
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1COMPARITIVE BUSINESS ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................2
Brief discussion of the news article............................................................................................2
Ethical issues in the news article................................................................................................3
Relevant moral theories...............................................................................................................5
Conclusion......................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
Business ethics is often considered as the corporate standards and moral values
that are accepted in an organization. Business ethics proposes a guideline which
businesses follow in order to gain acceptance by the public (Robertson, Voegtlin and
Maak 2017). Ethics in business is said to be one of the most important of aspects of
business these days for the positive reputation and for the smooth operations of a
business. This paper will focus on the recent news article by ABC News about polluting
cars by the leading brand, Toyota.
Brief discussion of the news article
According to the news, Toyota the car company is being sued because of their
faulty diesel particulate filters. Australia is said to have been lagging behind in
comparison to other countries in terms of emissions of pollution from cars because of
the inefficient standards set by the government. Faulty diesel particulate filters (DPF) by
Toyota have become a huge issue for the drivers in Australia as they have complained
that the cars by the company have been causing excessive smoke and have been
negatively impacting the fuel efficiency of the cars (ABC News 2019). Many drivers in
the country are being hit with notices and are being fined because of excessive smoke
which is coming out from the vehicles of the drivers. Many people have given ABC news
an interview about them receiving notice from NSW Environment Protection Authority
(ABC News 2019). This issue is not only impacting the drivers because of the legal
notice but has also been impacting the society and the environment in a negative way.
The polluted gas are paving way for increase in health issues and has also been

3COMPARITIVE BUSINESS ETHICS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
contributing to global warming and climate change which may affect Australia as well as
the world in a negative way. This is not only hampering the company and their
customers and also the environment thus this issue faced by Toyota is completely an
ethical issue. This paper will shed a light on the ethical issues of Toyota and what
decisions can be made to resolve these issues aligning with the ethical theories for the
betterment and the development of the business.
Ethical issues in the news article
The news article talks about the ethical issue that the company Toyota is
currently facing because of the faulty DPF which has been creating pollution and also
has been creating problem for their customers as they are being penalized for using the
cars by the company. According to scholars, business ethics are said to be the moral
values that are usually accepted by the organization and operate the business aligning
with the laws (Halinen and Jokela 2016). Namada (2018) states ethical behavior in a
business can make significant benefits to the business of the organization like attract
customers, employee retention, increase productivity, attract investors and many more.
In this article it can clearly be seen that the methods and the practices incorporated by
the company is not going to bring any benefits to the organization rather is going to
impact the company negatively which may become a huge problem for the company in
the long run. Ethics in business means to operate in a way that brings gains to everyone
associated with the business from the stakeholders, shareholders, employees and their
customers (Ogbari et al 2016). In this news, it can be seen that the ethical issue in the
business is not only affecting the business but also the customers who are considered
to be one of the key stakeholders of an organization as it is the customers who have

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one of the biggest contribution to the success and to generate profits in an organization.
Toyota here does not only violate the environmental laws set by the country but also
violates the laws for providing their customers with faulty DPF. This shows the lack of
personal morals and values within the country which is the reason they have been
making these faulty DPF’s for over a year. This has been affecting the company in a
huge way as people are suffering and resorting to new brands of cars that have a good
reputation in the market and has god reviews.
It is important for Toyota to take these issues in terms of ethics seriously to
ensure that the business does not collapse and makes sure they may come up with
suitable measures that will help them in making appropriate decisions that will help
them from overcoming the issues. in order to make a proper and an effective decision
one needs to make an ethical decision that will have positive impacts on not only the
company, Toyota but also the other stakeholders and shareholders who are associated
with the company.
Every individual has different ethics and morals that reflect on their decision
making skills (Hwang 2016). When making certain decisions the main priority and the
focus is given on the fact whether the decision is morally right and wrong. However,
every individual has a different thought process and has grown up with different ethics
and morals. To make an ethical decision one needs to make sure that everyone
benefits from the operations of the business and it does not harm the people as it is
completely unethical that people especially the stakeholders of a company will suffer for
the benefits of the company. Providing people with cars that do not meet the safety
standards of the country is highly unethical and is a type of fraud and cheating their

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customers. Thus Toyota should have effective corporate governance in their company
which will help them in operating ethically and help them overcome the issue that they
are currently facing. Corporate governance is considered to set rules for the operation
of the organization that will help encourage fairness, transparency and communication
with the stakeholders that will ensure there is no corporate fraud and maintain ethics for
positive reputation in the business (Todorovic 2013).
Relevant moral theories
Most organizations these days incorporate ethics in the business for the overall
positive operations of the business like positive and healthy relationship with the
stakeholders and the smooth operations of the company which will help them in giving
them a added advantage in this competitive market. Ethical philosophies were
introduced long time back and are still being used in recent times to ensure positivity in
the environment. Different philosophers’ had come up with different ethical theories that
have huge impact in the decision making of the people especially in an organization.
One of the ethical theories that are very popular is utilitarianism. Utilitarianism
was proposed by Jeremy Bentham. In this theory, he puts emphasis on the happiness
of the human beings (White 2013). According to him pleasure and happiness is the only
thing that human beings value and thus every action that is taken by the people is to
satisfy their needs to get pleasure and be happy. He states that the right decision or the
right action is one which will bring utmost happiness to majority of the people ((Williams
2013). Aligning with the news article, it is important for Toyota to make a decision that
just does not bring them profit but provides gains to everyone making everyone related
to the organization happy.

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One of the other noted theories, Kantian ethics which was introduced by
Immanuel Kant (Kühn 2014). Immanuel Kant, in this theory lay out some categorical
imperatives that need to be followed and people should act in a way where the actions
can be universalized. He stated that human beings cannot be treated as a means to an
end and the foundation of this theory is on good will (Dierksmeier 2013). He believed
that the actions performed by people should bring good will which will encourage other
people to do well. Aligning this theory, with the news article, Toyota should practice
certain methods that they would want other people to follow. The operations of the
company do not bring any good will to the company as well as their stakeholders that
are highly unethical and negatively impacts the organization.
By assessing both the ethical theories, the main concept and base of the theories
is found to be on the good and the happiness of the people. Thus, Toyota needs to
make ethical decisions that will help the company in overcoming the issues that they are
currently facing in the market. Toyota needs to be transparent with their customers in
order to build a relationship of trust and make necessary changes which help the
company to make a positive reputation, increase sales and maintain the safety
standards by the government. The company should also take up some social
responsibilities that will give the company a competitive advantage in the market like
come up with initiatives that help the environment or educate people about pollution and
many more.
Conclusion
Toyota has been facing ethical issues in their organization because of the lack of
proper corporate governance and the lack of ethical structure in the organization. This

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may have a negative impact on the organization and may lead to the downfall of the
company. Thus, it is important for Toyota to make ethical changes in the organization by
introducing machines that will not contribute to pollution. Thus it can be concluded that a
positive corporate governance and by implementing ethical decisions and measures in
the company will help the company in improving their sales and also help them in
acquiring a positive reputation in the market.

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Reference
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