Examining Business Ethics: A Case Study of Engro Corporation, Pakistan

This case study explores the business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of Engro Corporation in Pakistan. It delves into Engro Foundation's role in community engagement, focusing on livelihood, skills development, education, health, and environmental sustainability. The study identifies instances of job discrimination within Engro, including religious and gender biases, and discusses relevant affirmative laws in Pakistan. It highlights Engro's commitment to ethical behavior, open communication, and individual growth, emphasizing the importance of trust and active involvement in the communities where it operates. The case also showcases Engro's CSR awards and its inclusive business model aimed at improving the livelihoods of vulnerable populations, demonstrating the integration of ethical practices and social responsibility into the company's core goals. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments for students.

Business Ethical in Engro 1
ENGRO FOOD INDUSTRY
What is ethics?
1. “Moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity”.
2. “The branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles”.
Business ethics definition:
Business ethics is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics, that examines ethical
principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. It applies to all
aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations.
According to Robert Kreitner, “Business Ethics is the study of complex business practices and
behaviors that gives rise to ethical issues in organization.”
According to Andrew Crane, “Business Ethics is the study of business situation, activities and
decisions where issues of right and wrong are addressed.”

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Engro Foundation
Engro Foundation is the brainchild of Engro, aimed at helping the people of Pakistan access
better opportunities and life choices. Engro Foundation serves as the single platform for
community engagement initiatives and social investments of all Engro affiliates, enabling them
to combine financial and managerial resources to enrich lives and pave the way for sustainable
living. The key themes Engro Foundation focus on livelihood, skills development, education,
health, environmental sustainability as well as infrastructure development and disaster relief.
Job Discrimination:
Job discrimination is when business decisions, policies or procedures are least partially based
on illegitimate forms of discrimination that benefit or harm certain group of people.
Discrimination in its root meaning refers to the act of distinguishing one object from another. In
modern usage, the term refers to “wrongful discrimination,” or distinguishing among people on
the basis of prejudice instead of individual merit.
Job Discrimination in Engro:
 Religious Discrimination:
As Engro is a Pakistan based company where Muslims are in majority. So,
there is discrimination among Muslims and Non-Muslims. Muslims are more
likely to get the job and get promoted as compare to non-Muslims. Hindus,
Christians, Sikhs, Shias and Ahmadis among other religious minorities often
face discrimination and at times are even subjected to violence.
 Gender Discrimination:
In Engro Corporation, they hire more females in customer relations
department than males. As it is really common practice in Pakistan to hire females
in hospitality business. On the other hands, females are less likely to be involved
in the decision making process as they are under-represented in committees, and
very few hold the position of chair.
Unintentional Discrimination:
An act may be part of the systematic routine of a group that unintentionally discriminates
because group members uncritically incorporate the discriminatory practices of society.

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Discriminatory acts can be categorized according to the extent to which they are intentional and
institutionalized.
Affirmative laws in Pakistan:
The Constitution of Pakistan has a wide range of provisions in regards to labor rights as
Articles 11, 17, 18, 25 and 37(e) prohibit all forms of bonded labor, child labor, allow freedom of
association, grant rights to unionize, provide citizen with the right to enter any lawful profession
or trade without any discrimination and secure humane and reasonable working conditions.
Rights:
The Corporation expects employees, customers, suppliers and contractors at all affiliated
companies to not only abide by standards of business conduct but also to speak out about any
concerns they have regarding business ethics, safety, environmental performance, harassment
and other employment related matters or other possible breaches of compliance. Every effort will
be made to maintain the confidentiality of complainants and to protect them from any form of
retaliation or victimization for genuinely held concerns that are raised in good faith.
All employees, customers, suppliers and contactors at Engrocorp and its subsidiaries are
encouraged to report serious concerns that could have a significant impact on these
organizations, such as actions that
 are unlawful or may damage the reputation of the Corporation or an affiliate
 are fraudulent and lead to a loss of assets
 may be intended to result in incorrect financial reporting
 are in violation of various corporate policies governing business conduct
 are in violation of Safety Health and Environmental standards applicable to the business
 gave rise to harassment, discrimination or other unfair employment practices.
Justice:
It should be noted that unfounded allegations made recklessly, maliciously or knowing
that they were false can expose the complainant to disciplinary action.

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Islamic Business Ethics:
The story of Engro is one that has remained intertwined with the growth of Pakistan. We have
an undeniable responsibility in our individual and institutional capacity, to solve some of the
most pressing issues of our time. In the pursuit of building a better future for Pakistanis, Engro
views the challenges faced by the nation as opportunities to change the status quo. We believe
our efforts will measurably improve our lives and those of our colleagues, customers,
shareholders and the communities in which we live and work. They don‟t sale on credit or on
interest because they consider it unethical and not according to the law of our region.
Corporate social responsibility:
A robust and prosperous society is imperative for the growth of business. Built on the
inclusive business model, engro prides itself for creating businesses that are commercially viable
whilst also improving the livelihoods of the most vulnerable in society. Often excluded from
formal markets, innovative approaches adopted to create impact in this “base of the pyramid”
segment results in broad, systemic and lasting positive change. Creating shared value is more
than a responsibility for Engro. It is embedded in the corporate goals of the organization. We
channel our passion and aspirations to positively impact Pakistan with a focus on education,
health-care, livelihood, infrastructural development, and environmental sustainability.
Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility in Engro Foods:
Engro Foods wins three CSR awards. Engro Foods Limited‟s (EFL) contributions over the
years were recognised at the NFEH 11th CSR Award ceremony held recently, a statement said
on Tuesday. Engro Foods was awarded winner of the CSR award in three categories; women
welfare, empowerment and development; community development and services; and social
impact and sustainability. The awards served as an acknowledgement for EFL‟s initiatives to
build and empower the dairy farmer communities at the grass roots level. Engro Foods is
currently supporting six schools, through a school adoption programme near their production
facilities, which is empowering 1700+ children with education, it said. Near EFL Sukkur plant, a
health clinic called Sehat Markaz is supported, which has treated 8,000+ patients to-date at
subsidized rates. Among many other initiatives, EFL has worked rigorously to empower
Pakistan‟s dairy farmers through various development projects, a key focus of which remains on

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women empowerment through projects such as WELD – Women Empowerment for Livestock
Development, Strengthening Entrepreneurs and Dairy Stakeholders Network (SEADs) and The
Big Push for Rural Economy (BPRE), it said.
Inclusive Business:
Engro Foundation‟s focus lies primarily on the Inclusive Business model which we believe
will maximise the positive socio-economic impact of our businesses. The purpose is to target
„bottom of the pyramid‟ communities around our business operations for raising their economic
conditions, thereby making our value chains strong and sustainable. This will be achieved by
providing low income communities with the opportunities of skills development and livelihood.
The model will enable underprivileged members of our society to emerge as potential business
partners and become vendors, customers and employees in our business value chains.
Candid & Open Communication:
It is the policy of ECPL not to make contribution to political candidates or political parties an
employee‟s personal lawful political contributions of decision not to male contributions will not
influence the employee‟s compensation. Job security, or opportunities for advancement. The
company will continue to communicate information and views on issues of public concern
having an important on the company.
External Involvement:
We believe that society must have industrial organizations that it can trust. Trust and
confidence are earned by our performance, by open and direct communication, and by active
involvement in the communication which we live and conduct our business.
Individual Growth & Development:
We strongly believe in the dignity and value of people. We must consistency treat each other
with respect and strive to create and organizational environment in which individuals are
encouraged and empowered to contribute, grow and develop themselves and help to develop
each other.

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Ethical Behavior:
 Act as a role model for the ethical behavior you wish to see in your employees
 Ensure your company has established and regularly trains employees in business codes of
conduct and business ethics
 Work with your HR department to ensure potential candidates are screened for highly
ethical conduct
 Train all new employees on their expected ethical behavior such as arriving to work on
time, treating company expenses as if it were their own personal checkbook, keeping
personal time to a minimum.
 Provide an employee ethics hotline
 Hold open discussions with your employees on how your company or department can
improve their ethical behavior.