Business Ethics Report: Examining Corporate Responsibility and Ethics

This report delves into several key aspects of business ethics, examining critical topics such as product safety, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and environmental ethics. It begins by exploring the importance of product safety, using the Ford Pinto case as a significant example of unethical business practices and the consequences of prioritizing profits over consumer well-being. The report then investigates the reconciliation of personal and organizational values, highlighting potential conflicts and providing strategies for aligning them to foster ethical behavior within companies. Furthermore, it analyzes environmental ethics in business, emphasizing the adoption of sustainable practices and the role of the triple bottom line. The report also examines CSR and corporate governance, discussing the arguments for and against CSR, its impact on corporate image, and the importance of ethical leadership. Finally, it addresses the fundamental question of what business is for, and how ethics plays a crucial role in guiding business operations and decision-making, emphasizing the importance of ethical standards and their impact on a company's reputation and success. The report uses examples from various companies, including Siemens, Nike, and Air Mauritius, to illustrate these concepts.

Chapter 5: Product safety
This lecture was about product safety. Companies should always provide customers with safe
products that do not cause harm or injury while using it. It is viewed as unethical and unsafe to
sell defective products to customers. As a result the manufacturer or seller is liable for any
damage or harm caused to the customer (Ryan 2003.
However Governments and independent authorities act as regulators to prevent firms from
supplying unsafe goods and services to customers. Like for instance, in Australia, The
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission caters for consumers as they make sure
that firms sell safe goods and services. It also provides information about safety, product recalls
and people can also complain about a defective product (ACCC 2017).
The ford Pinto case
According to Cowley (2016), there was an issue regarding product safety in the automobile
industry in 1978. The automaker Ford commercialized the Ford Pinto which caused 27 deaths
and 24 injuries. (Cowley 2016). The car was not safe as its fuel tank was too close to the rear
bumper which made the car explode in accidents (Gioia 1992). The company knew the issue but
did not take any actions because re designing the car will make the trunk smaller in space and at
that time a large trunk was highly demanded by customers. Following this, the pinto model was
recalled and auto safety regulations were implemented to minimize similar problems in the
future (Lee 1998). To conclude, it was unethical that Ford sold the Pinto as it was harmful to its
users. The company did not cater for their customers but instead focused on maximizing sales of
this car.
Chapter 6: How can you reconcile competing values and priorities? (e.g. your personal values
and organisation values)
Personal values
Each of us has a set of moral guidelines and beliefs which guides us in our life. Personal values
can be trust, forgiveness, love and honesty. Our personal values help us to take decisions in a
given situation and also help us to distinguish between what we think is right and wrong (Suar
and Rooplekha 2010).
Organization values
Organizational values are the qualities and standards that an organization follow and put forward.
It may include integrity, equality and commitment which form part of their organizational culture
(Jaakson 2010). These values will help the organization to achieve their goals and objectives set.
Reconciling personal and organization values

Personal and organization values can be different. An employee personal values may differ from
those of the company for he or she is working thus conflict of interest may occur unfortunately.
For instance, concerning the Nike child labour scandal, the company did not value fairness as
they have employed children thus violating their human rights as it is unethical and illegal to hire
children to work (Boggan 2001). So some employees of Nike may have found it unfair as they
value equality and fairness which is a good example of conflicts between personal values and
those of the organization. Unfortunately, many firms like Nike want to maximize profits leaving
behind values and standards.
To reunite personal and organization values, it should start early from the recruitment process.
During recruitment, the organization should clearly state their values so as to know if it matches
the candidate’s profile. Secondly, after the recruitment process, training should be offered to the
employees to make them adapt better to the organization culture and values. If personal and
organization values are aligned, the company will achieve their goals faster in an efficient
manner (Branson 2008).
Chapter 7: Environmental ethics in business
Topic 7 is about “environmental ethics in business. Nowadays, businesses are adopting more
sustainable business practices as it is highly demanded by consumers (Simas and Antonio 2013).
Companies follow the triple bottom line where they have to cater for people, planet and profit
together which help to minimize unethical practices like environment degradation, pollution and
other malpractices in the business world (Høgevold et al 2015).
Siemens and sustainability
The article “The World's Most Sustainable Companies 2017” positions Siemens in first place as
the most sustainable company (Kauflin 2017). The company is the most energy efficient firm
and has also the lowest carbon footprint around. It has also a low employee turnover.
Additionally, Siemens has invested in creating environmental friendly air conditioning systems
and heaters by using less energy.
Local businesses in Mauritius
In Mauritius, many businesses have adopted the green lifestyle to be ethical. Cottons, a textile
shop, has adopted the use of eco bags to decrease pollution and this was done before the law to
ban plastic bags was implemented in Mauritius (Cottons 2017). Another example of a local
business adopting sustainable practices is the radio station Top Fm (Top Fm 2017). The firm has
recently created a “No car day” where employees would come to work by foot or bicycles. This
shows that they are caring for our planet as this will lower the emission of carbon dioxide.
Chapter 4: CSR and Corporate Governance

Corporate social responsibility is an approach that makes companies focus on delivering
benefits to the society and environment (Büchner 2012). Nowadays profit is not the only motive
so companies should be sustainable to be able to face fierce competition (Schüz 2012).
According to Hammer and Pivot (2017), businesses should follow the triple bottom line to be
profitable. For Nestle, one of its CSR program was to recycle more than 100, 000 tons of waste
making the environment cleaner in North America ("Nestlé Waters North America Announces
$6 Million Investment In Closed Loop Fund – Press Releases On Csrwire.Com" 2017).
The arguments for CSR are firstly that it helps to conserve and protect the environment as well
as shaping the society in a better way. In Mauritius, local businesses invest 2% of their total
annual income into CSR projects ("Corporate Social Responsibility" 2017). The Mauritius
Commercial Bank has adopted a green way to protect the environment by using solar energy in
one of its building thus saving energy and avoiding depletion of resources in our country ("MCB
Moves To New Green Office" 2017). On the other hand, Air Mauritius has been donating school
materials to poor children around the island making life easier for their families thus shaping the
society in a better way ("Air Mauritius | Corporate Social Responsibility" 2017). Moreover,
CSR is also important for the reputation and corporate image of any companies (Cafolla 2007).
Maintaining a good image can lead to an increase in brand visibility.
The arguments against CSR are firstly that it drives businesses away from their main objective
that is profit maximization. It is also time consuming and costly as companies have to invest in
CSR programs. Training also should be provided to employees when they are participating in
CSR activities. However CSR does not mean being ethical as some companies are doing green
washing that is they are pretending to be eco-friendly but in fact are still using unethical business
practices.
When it comes to corporate governance, it is in fact the set of rules and practices by which a
company is run and controlled. It also promotes fairness among stakeholders namely employees,
managers and customers by taking into consideration their interests (Lattemann 2014).
To conclude, companies adopting CSR will not only benefit the society and environment but also
attract new customers and retain existing ones as they will be more sustainable. This will lead to
greater revenues and profit in the long run.
Chapter1: What is Business for? and what does ethics has to do with it?
Doing business is actually providing goods and services to people in a society by using resources
like land, capital and labor. It can be either one party, a group of individuals or an organization.
Parties involved in business usually follow the same goal or interest like for example generating

profits. However, not all businesses pursue the same goals some have the profit motive and
others like for example, The Grameen Bank wants to fulfill a social mission that is providing
loans to the poor (Hossain 1998).
According to Blomquist (1978), ethics is a set of rules and moral guidelines to be followed and it
also helps to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong (Blomquist 1978). Business
and ethics are related as organizations should follow standards while operating in the business
world. Like for example, in the case of Nike, they have employed children to work in their
factories so they have not followed proper standards as child labor is illegal (‘'We Blew It': Nike
Admits To Mistakes Over Child Labor" 2017). On the other hand, businesses show that they are
ethical with the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) approach where businesses usually
donate a percentage of their profit for the welfare of the society (Schüz 2012). Like for example,
in my country, the airline company, Air Mauritius has donated educational materials to 200
children in many parts of the island ("Air Mauritius | Corporate Social Responsibility" 2017).
An ethical business will perform better as they will have certain values and do good actions that
others do not so this will help to build a positive image and gain reputation which will attract
more customers as a result.