MGT301A Report: Ethical Issues and Sustainability in the Workplace

This report, prepared for the MGT301A Ethics and Sustainability course, examines ethical issues within the context of Woolworths. The student identifies two key ethical concerns: misreporting company expenditures and employee layoffs during an economic crisis. The report applies ethical frameworks, specifically virtue ethics and utilitarian theory, to analyze these issues. The student reflects on how ethical practices within the workplace influence future employee behavior, emphasizing the importance of professional ethics, corporate governance, and the impact of senior management. The report concludes by highlighting the role of ethical practices in enhancing a company's competitive advantage in both domestic and international markets. References to academic sources are provided to support the analysis.

Running head: ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY
ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The following paper attempts a discussion on the ways in which the ethical management
practices that are presented within the workplace influence the future workplace behavior of a
prospective employee. The paper further focusses on the insights that were learnt from the
ethical frameworks that are applied in this scenario. The paper sheds light on the several factors
that are known to have been affecting the workplace behavior of an individual.
Summary of issues and frameworks discussed in Part A
The first unethical practice that has been discussed in the first part of the assignment
refers to the unethical practice of misreporting the expenditures of the company. The issues that
are faced in this regard refers to the non-reflection of the true image of the organization. The
reporting of the false facts might further lead to the conditions wherein there would be a lack in
the maintenance of the ethicality of the organization. This issue is resolved with the application
of the virtue ethics theory. This theory highlights the need for the ethical practices within the
concern.
The other issue that has been discussed in the first part of the assignment refers to the
activity of firing the existing employees during the economic crisis that had hit the international
markets. This is also considered to be an ethical concern due to the fact that the employees have
been facing issues due to the economic crisis that had developed due to the lack of the jobs in the
given market. The utilitarian theory is used to explain the issues that are highlighted with the
lack of the availability of the job at hand.
Reflection on future workplace behavior

2ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY
The ethical issues that have been highlighted in the first part of the assignment refer to
the issues that are related to the economic factors. The company in discussion, Woolworths, is
observed to have been involved in the matters that are related to the unethical practices in the
field of economics.
The company is known to have been misreporting the profits that they have been earning
from the given markets. The company has been known to have been undertaking the practices
that are related to the falsified reflection of higher expenses on the part of the company. This in
turn led to the lowering of the taxes that are charged on the company (Wang, Cheney & Roper,
2016). The other major issue refers to the firing of the employees during the economic crisis that
is faced by the international markets. This is considered to be one of the major ethical concerns
since the firing of the employees would further result in the conditions of unemployment within
the country (Bag, Venkatesh, Luthra & Anand, 2018). This in turn would lead to the overall
derogation of the economic conditions within the given country.
The situations discussed above might be explained and justified with the help of the
ethical frameworks that are used during the resolution of the issues within the organizational
workforce as well as the operational market. The implication of the ethical frameworks within
the given organization would lead to a change in the behavior of the employees of the
organization (Zeng, 2018). I would like to introduce the various ethical practices within the given
workplace. The introduction of the ethical practices would lead to the inclusion of the fair
practices within the workplace (Dzomonda & Fatoki, 2017). This in turn would lead to the
conditions wherein the economy of the country would be affected by the contribution of the
company in a positive manner.

3ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY
The professional ethics as needs to be maintained by the concerned organization is
known to have been influencing the behavior of the employees in a better manner. The
employees of the organization are advised to maintain the professional ethics while dealing in the
corporate activities undertaken in the internal operations of the company (Roy, Paul, Roy &
Mukhopadhyay, 2018). This includes the practical and fair reporting of the accounting factors as
have been included within the operations of the company. The professional ethics might also be
helpful in the maintenance of the employees within the organization. The understanding of the
issues regarding the employment within the company further plays a greater role in the
management of the performance of the company in the ethical viewpoint (Pritchard, Avey,
Conroy & Emerson, 2018). The employee behavior is further affected by the behavior of the
senior management within the company.
The corporate governance as have been employed within the organization is known to
have a greater effect on the activities that are undertaken by the concerned employees of the
organization. The rules and the regulations that are maintained within the given organization are
highly useful in the matters that are related to the performance of the employees within the
organization. The various rules and the regulations that are highlighted within the concern helps
in the maintenance of the ethical practices that are presented within the organization (Driscoll,
McIsaac & Wiebe, 2019). The corporate governance within a given organization helps in the
maintaining of the various rules and regulations that are necessary to ward off the unethical
practices that are undertaken by the organizational employees or the management. The proper
maintenance of the ethical factors that are present within the given organization is helpful in the
maintenance of the ethical practices as have been undertaken by the workforce that has been
serving the organization (Arnold, Beauchamp & Bowie, 2019). The inclusion of the ethical

4ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY
practices that are highlighted within the various organizations all over the world help in the
maintenance of the instilling the ethical sensibilities and the practices that need to be highlighted
in order to maintain the proper competitive advantage of the organization in the international as
well as the local markets.
Conclusion
In lieu of the above discussion, it can safely be stated that the ethical practices that are
undertaken by the business organizations play a greater role in the development of the ethical
measures as are undertaken by the company. The various rules and the regulations that are
highlighted within the concern helps in the maintenance of the ethical practices that are presented
within the organization. This in turn helps in the increase of the competitive advantage of the
company in the international markets.

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References
Arnold, D. G., Beauchamp, T. L., & Bowie, N. E. (2019). Ethical theory and business.
Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.in/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=FHG9DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR17&dq=ethical+practices+in+busine
ss&ots=FfdMePutDz&sig=LDa91Rz9wD_bpJc10rhbwSVulgk#v=onepage&q=ethical
%20practices%20in%20business&f=false
Bag, S., Venkatesh, V. G., Luthra, S., & Anand, N. (2018). Ethical Practices, Buyer-Supplier
Relationship, and Innovative Green Procurement Performance: Some Exploratory
Results. In Ethics and Decision-Making for Sustainable Business Practices (pp. 1-23).
IGI Global. Retrieved from DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-3773-1.ch001
Driscoll, C., McIsaac, E. M., & Wiebe, E. (2019). The material nature of spirituality in the small
business workplace: from transcendent ethical values to immanent ethical
actions. Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 16(2), 155-177. Retrieved from
DOI: 10.1080/14766086.2019.1570474
Dzomonda, O., & Fatoki, O. (2017). The Impact of Ethical Practices on the Performance of
Small and Medium Enterprises in South Africa. Journal of Economics and Behavioral
Studies, 9(5), 209-218. Retrieved from DOI: 10.22610/jebs.v9i5.1924
Pritchard, M., Avey, J., Conroy, S., & Emerson, T. (2018, June). The Relationship between
Worldview and Moral Recognition in Business: Examining Patterns of Ethical
Acceptability: An Abstract. In Academy of Marketing Science World Marketing
Congress (pp. 553-554). Springer, Cham. Retrieved from DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-
02568-7_149

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Roy, A., Paul, P., Roy, M., & Mukhopadhyay, K. (2018). Mapping Confucian Values in the
Context of Ethical Dimensions: Implications for Contemporary Business
Practices. Business and Professional Ethics Journal, 37(2/3), 181-212. Retrieved from
DOI: 10.5840/bpej201841769
Wang, Y., Cheney, G., & Roper, J. (2016). Virtue Ethics and the Practice–Institution Schema:
An Ethical Case of Excellent Business Practices. Journal of Business Ethics, 138(1), 67-
77. Retrieved from DOI: 10.1007/s10551-015-2579-3
Zeng, Y. (2018). Crisis in media business models threatens long-standing ethical
practices. Media Asia, 45(1-2), 10-13. Retrieved from DOI:
10.1080/01296612.2017.1527563