An Analysis of Values, Ethics, and Collaborative Working in Business

This report delves into the multifaceted aspects of business ethics, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and collaborative working. It begins by defining ethics and its influence on business practices, exploring factors that shape ethical codes and the significance of ethics in the workplace. The report then examines CSR, using examples like TOMS UK and Starbucks, and illustrating its obligations to society. It further discusses issues faced by new employees, outlining expected employee behaviors, and details legal rights related to GDPR. The final section focuses on collaborative working, including the importance of values, interpersonal skills, and the benefits of promoting equality and diversity, as well as the consequences of unethical behavior. The report also includes relevant UK laws promoting ethical practices and provides real-world examples to support its analysis.

Values, ethics and
working
collaboratively

Contents
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................2
Ethics...........................................................................................................................................2
Use of workplace ethics...............................................................................................................3
Laws in UK promoting ethical practice.......................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
Corporate Social Responsibility and an example to show the obligations it performs to the
society..........................................................................................................................................4
Issues faced by new employee and 5 rules the clients expect from an employee.......................5
The legal rights people have in relation to GDPR.......................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
Collaborative working.................................................................................................................7
Values..........................................................................................................................................8
Interpersonal skills.......................................................................................................................9
Benefits........................................................................................................................................9
Promoting equality and diversity in the workplace...................................................................10
British Values in collaborative working....................................................................................10
Consequences............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

TASK 1
Ethics
It refers to the moral principle that guides the company to work in such a manner that it’s work
will be accomplished but with the compliance of ethical code of conduct and without harming
moral and societal values. Ethics are those principles which help the business to perform its
activities morally right (Wernaart, 2021). Applicability of ethics are not only limited over the
concept of business but it is applicable apply in personal life too that guide an individual to
differentiate between morally and ethically right and wrong decision and things.
Factors influencing ethics:
There are various factors that affect the ethical code of conduct of business. These factors may
include:
Personal code:
It is the most important factor that influence ethics. This means that a personal perception of an
individual to seeing something morally is highly influenced ethics.
Legislation:
Legislation and laws of government also plays an important role in influencing ethics in a
positive manner. This means that when the business of companies become too unethical and they
start neglecting the value of ethics and society so in this case government pays and important
role and restore ethics by laws and regulations.
Social pressure:
As customer are the part of the society. And if companies while focussing over the profit and
start reducing the quality of product and due to that if customer would affect then they would

also create pressure in the form of social pressure that assist the company to perform its activities
in ethical manner (Sison, Beabout and Ferrero, 2017).
Ethical code of company:
As company will grow and expand its functioning then it itself made ethical code which it
follows. Due to its success and expansion it will itself got encouraged to follow ethics. This
means that any non-compliance of ethics will made the bad impression on company in the form
of affecting its image and brand image in market.
Use of workplace ethics
Ethics plays an important role in the workplace too. This means that through efficiently
following the concept of ethics the performance of the company will raise. This means that if
there would be ethics in the company then it can diversify its activities that which are morally
right and which are not. Likewise, the employees of the company are again a strong follower of
ethics and if they work on the concept of honesty, hardworking, fairness then this will again raise
the overall morale as well as performance of the company (Remišová, Lašáková and
Kirchmayer, 2019). Through following of ethics the brand image and reputation of the company
will also raise among the market and the customers. While on the other hand if there is no ethics
in the workplace then this will have a direct impact over the company, its employees and
perception of its customers too. This can be understood with the example of scandal that is
associated with Facebook.
As in 2018, when Facebook caught in one of the big scandal which has impacted a bad image
over its brand. This scandal was named as Cambridge Analytica Scandal. It was one of the big
scandal when Cambridge Analytica hack personal data of 87 millions of users of Facebook
without taking their consent (Facebook–Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal, 2020). And after
that it used that data in favour of Donald Trump for political purpose. Facebook after knowing
about this scandal has not taken any strict action and waited for a month in order for the reply of
taking action. This clearly shows the irresponsibility of Facebook towards the following of
ethical consideration and safeguarding the data of its user. This scandal has not only exploit the
name of the Facebook but it has negatively reflected its image among its user. This has also
affected in loosing of many of its customers.

Thus, from this scandal it is very clear that following of business ethics is very important in the
workplace too. And non-compliance of this ethical consideration would directly put an adverse
impact over the company and its customer’s share too.
Laws in UK promoting ethical practice
There are various laws in UK that are concerned with the implementation and execution of ethics
in the workplace of the organization. Out of those two most important laws may include:
Environmental protection law:
As per this law it is the ethical and moral duty of every company that apart from
operation of the business of the company it is also necessary to contribute towards the
environment in terms of protecting it. As per this law it is essential for every company that in
addition of performance of business operation they should take some steps towards protecting
the environment. This may include adaption of the concept of sustainability so that apart from
meeting the current need of the customer the need of the future generation will also be safeguard
(Moore and et.al., 2017). It is to be noted that this will also put a positive impact towards the
company because every customer will be attracted towards such company which is involved in
such ethical practice. Thus, it will directly help the company too in raising sales by raising
customer’s share.
Health and safety:
This law also assists the company to be a follower of ethics in the working operation. As per
this law it is the duty of the company that it has to perform some duties towards its employees.
This means that along with performance of business operation it is also the duty of the company
that it should take some steps towards protecting the interest of its employees. For that, company
should maintain safe system regarding working, provide adequate training to employees with
regard to health and safety, instalment of safety equipment in workplace including fire
extinguishers, or any other important equipment’s. Implementation of such practices in the
company and good perspective towards the employees will make the working of the company
ethically considerable.
Thus, implementation and following of these laws will help and assist the company in terms
of making their business and its operation ethically considerable so that along with achievement
of objective in terms of high profits and sales its image can also be enhanced.
TASK 2
Corporate Social Responsibility and an example to show the obligations it performs to
the society
TOMS UK and Starbuck’s initiative falls under the concept of Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR). Under this the self-regulating companies helps the companies to be social
accountable for itself, the stakeholders and the customers. This practice helps the companies to

put an impact on the different aspects of the society. The aspects of society may involve social,
economic as well as the environmental aspects (Agudelo, Jóhannsdóttir and Davídsdóttir, 2019).
By doing this the company ensures it is contributing to the environment and the society along
with performing the business. These types of practices increase the morale of the employees of
the organization. The corporate social responsibilities are important for both, the consumer and
the company.
The TATA group of motors are involved in the concept of corporate social
responsibilities and are involved in many programs under this like:
Aarogya
The TATA group under this program act upon the malnutrition issue that is a problem in
India. The company spread awareness about the issue and provide with the preventative
healthcare. This has impacted many people and shown results for the employees in the company
and for the customers.
Vidyadhanam
Under this program the company focuses on the education of the children and give the
financial support to the families who cannot afford the education for their children. This has
helped enormous number of students and had made their lives better.
Kaushalya
Under this program, the TATA group is helping the people to develop skills so as to
provide them with employment. The program help the people get skilled by providing them with
vocational training, women empowerment and assisting them with supplementing income
(Berger‐Walliser and Scott 2018).
Amrutdhara
Under this program the company have helped the people having problem due the lack of
safe drinking water. The program helps the people by offering them with water relief measures.
Vaundhara
Under this program the company is focusing the environmental issues. The company
create awareness about the deforestation and planted saplings.
Adhaar
The company under this act help the people by focusing on the rural programs and
develop integrated approach for the betterment. They are committed for the better lives of tribal
communities.
Issues faced by new employee and 5 rules the clients expect from an employee
ASOS Plc is an online fashion and cosmetic trading company. The new employee of ASOS
Plc is faced by some issues like:

 It’s hard for a new individual to fit in the work environment that can cause issues for the
employee in the working (Carnevale and Hatak, 2020).
 It takes time for the employee to earn the trust of the other employees at the work place,
this create the problem when the employee tries to suggest any idea for the work.
 It is difficult to manage the time and work accordingly in start for the new employee.
 There are some bullies at the work place that discourages the employee.
 The new employee while working with the higher authorities can drain all the energy out
of them. The higher professional of the organization have to perform multiple tasks at
once and the new employee cannot get along early with this.
The employee is expected to obey some rules for the customers of the organization that are:
Customer service
The customers expect the employees of the company to be responsive and attentive of
what they are saying and what they are asking for. The customers ask for support from the
employees to help them in finding what they are need. The employee must be attentive and keen
at listening the problem with the customer.
Promise that is applicable
The employees are expected to promise only the products and the services that are
applicable. They are not expected to provide the customer with any false information about the
product and services (Harris, Lavelle and McMahan, 2020).
Apologize
The employees are expected to apologize at the things they are wrong. They are not
expected to make their customers angry when they are not satisfied with the product or the
service.
Communication
The customer expect the employees to communicate with them and understand the needs.
The employees should be convincing and persuasive about the product and services they are
selling. The interaction with the customer is the most important part in selling products. The
employees can make interaction so the customer develop a sense of trust and feel that the
employee is thinking in the best interest for them.
Making things easy
The employee needs to make it easier for the customer to choose from the products and
services. The employee should provide with the right knowledge of the products and suggest the
best option for the customer. This help the customer to choose from and makes it easier.
The legal rights people have in relation to GDPR.
People in the organization have the right to protect the data they are providing to the
organization and where the data is being used. There are eight rights under the GDPR.

Right to be informed
The organization have to provide the individuals with the information about what data is
being collected, where it is going to be used , the time for which the data is with them and with
whom the data will be shared.
The right of access
The individuals are provided with the right that they are provide with the copy of the data
they have given to the organization and the organization are provided with one month time to
produce the copy.
The right to rectification
The employee can ask the organization to correct the data they found to be inaccurate
about them, this right allows the individual to update the data (Hijmans and Raab, 2018).
The right to erasure
This right individual with the right to request the organization to erase the data in some
situations like:
 When the individual is no longer attached to the organization.
 The data is used unlawfully.
The right to restrict processing
This right gives the individual to limit the organization on how the data is processed. It’s
used as an alternative for the erasure right.
The right to data portability
The employees under this right can take the data they have provided to the organization
and use it for their own purposes for different services. This only implies on the data provided by
the contract or the consent of the individual.
The right to object
This right provides the individual to object the processing of their data by the
organization taken on the basis of the interest of the tasks.
Right to automated decision making including profiling
The rules are made for the decisions taken without the human involvement in those that
include profiling. In profiling the individuals data is collected and assumptions are made, the
individual can challenge the processing and ask for review, in case where the rules are followed.

TASK 3
Collaborative working
The partnership between the two organizations through various ways so that they can
perform tasks and can work together, this is called collaborative working. This includes the
informal networks as well as the alliances, along with the joint delivery of the projects. This type
of working between the organizations can last up to a fixed time or can be permanent (Rasool,
2017).
Strategies
The companies can use some strategies to improve the team collaboration like:
Communication
The company can communicate with the employees and tell them about the objectives
again and again to clear any kind of doubt and misunderstanding while working. The employee
who knows and understand the role can help the team and the organization as a whole.
Organizing tasks
The company can organize the individual employee’s task according to their skills in the
organization. Providing with appropriate role can help the organization work collaboratively.
Transparency
Keep a transparent atmosphere in the workplace. Divide the roles and responsibilities
between the team members equally. Taskbars can be created where the work done by the
employees can be seen.
Team games
The member of the team can be made to work in collaboration by team building
activities. The games and activities help the member to achieve higher level of trust and
understanding among themselves.
Team huddles
Team huddles can be created in the office or on the online collaboration tools. The team
can interact to each other, let know of their problems and issues they are facing and the work
upon it. This will let the members know the progress of each other and help in collaborative
working.
Rewards
The team can be rewarded for performing well, for their behavior at the workplace and
for their speed. This will boost the employee and help them perform well afterwards. The

employees try to perform well as an individual and help the team that leads to organizational
development.
Right leaders
It is very necessary to choose the leader of the organization carefully as they are the ones
that are going to handle the working of the organization. A good leader tries to work things out
to help the employees and align them in according to the objectives of the organization.
Values
Collaborative working can be guided by these values:
Efficiency
The company can provide the employees with the meetings when it is absolutely
necessary for them to know the information and guidelines to work (Ligthart, 2021).
Trust
The employers of the company need to build trust within the employees. This can only be
achieved when the employees feel the employers have the best interest for the employees.
Empathy
The employers needs to understand that no employees feel like they are working more
than the other.
Positivity
A positive environment can increase the performance of the employees greatly. Making
an environment that promotes the growth of the employee is necessary part.
Accountability
The leaders have to be accountable for what is going on in the company. Blaming other
will not help but only decrease the employee’s efficiency to work.
Interpersonal skills
 Open mindedness can be very helpful when collaboratively working with teams as it will
help understand the views and the ideas of the other individual and try applying that in
the task or the project can help the work (Von Davier, Zhu and Kyllonen, 2017).
 People working in the teams if communicate clearly and thoughtfully can help the team
in understanding their point of views without misunderstanding anything and improve the
efficiency of collaborative working.
 Collaborative working includes the working of several people and organizing the roles
and responsibilities accordingly plays a major role in the collaborative working.
Benefits
Save time

The work that is dine in collaboration require less time to be completed as the work is
divided in small parts and each part is done by different individuals at same time (Borowski and
et.al, 2020, February).
Flexible and creative
The collaborative work require more reactivity towards the changes that might take place,
these are considered as the challenges and gives the employees to be creative at these times.
Improvement in the workplace
In working collaboratively the employees become close to each other that helps them
share their work progress and appreciate their work. This makes working in the organization a
better place.
Increased productivity
The collaborative working facilitates the employees in working with the new
technologies that keep them up to date and increase their productivity rate.
Promoting equality and diversity in the workplace
 The seniors and the leaders of the company need to take the initiative in opening up the
employees for this. The high ranking employees have the trust from all the employees, so
they can play a major role in involving people in promoting equality and diversity
(Meaby, 2018).
 The employers of the organization need to be very careful while addressing something to
their fellow employees.
 The employers can promote the celebration of various holidays and religious events that
will improve the equality and diversity at the workplace.
 The organization can eliminate the policies that promote the discrimination at the
workplace.
British Values in collaborative working
The British values have four values for working in the collaborative working that
includes:
Democracy
The organizational culture of collaborative working is built upon equality and freedom of
the employees. The employees have full understanding of their rights and responsibilities (Habib,
2017).
Rule of law
The organization have certain specific rules and regulations for the employees to make it
a safe, secure and happy environment to work.
Respect and tolerance

The employees at the organization are made to understand that, not all the employees
share the same views and beliefs and all of them have to respect the values and ideas without
imposing yours on them.
Individual liberty
This helps the employees to protect their rights and the colleagues as well.
Consequences
Poor collaboration at the workplace can lead to these issues:
 The poor collaboration can make the work take longer hours to be completed
(Vijayaraman and et.al, 2018).
 The project management play crucial rule for the collaborative work. If the projects are
not managed accordingly it can cause lose for the company.
 If the collaborative work is poor then the execution of the plans and strategies will be
effected by this greatly.
 The impact can be seen in the performance of the employees and that results in the
demotivating environment.
 Collaboration includes the sharing of valuable data between the employees and if the
collaboration of work is not done right this can lead to security risk of the information
shared.