Relevancy of Ethics in Business Decisions: A Case Study of Sony Group

This report analyzes the significance of ethics in business decision-making, particularly for small businesses, using the Sony Group as a case study. It emphasizes the importance of ethical behavior, transparency, and corporate social responsibility in building a strong reputation and achieving long-term success. The report discusses how ethical standards, such as honesty, fairness, and respect, are integrated into Sony's code of conduct and how these principles guide the company's operations and decision-making processes. It also highlights the relevance of ethics for small businesses, focusing on trust, reputation, legal compliance, and financial performance as key aspects of ethical business practices. The report concludes that ethical conduct is crucial for the sustainability and success of any business, regardless of its size.

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Title: Relevancy of Ethics in Business Decisions
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Relevancy of Ethics in Business Decisions 1
Executive Summary
The report focuses on the ethical concerns of companies while making important business
decisions. The importance of ethics is stated along with its relevance to small business ventures.
The Sony group is selected for this particular report. The business decisions made by Sony are
considered and also their code of conduct is highlighted. In addition, the outcomes of various
ethical business decisions are indicated in this assignment. The study is constructed around the
value of ethics in business organizations and the benefits that it provides in the long-run.

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Relevancy of Ethics for Business Decisions...................................................................................3
Literature Review and Discussion...................................................................................................4
Relevance of Ethics in Sony............................................................................................................5
Are Ethics Relevant to Small Businesses?......................................................................................8
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
Ethics are important for every business. It does not matter if the business is a small or
large scale, following the ethical behavior is a must. It is an obligation that an organization as an
entity has to fulfill. The ethics are not limited to the behavior of an individual. The concept of
ethics includes processing and operations, transparency, security of data and information,
decision making, and many others. Therefore, the following ethical standards are important for a
business to succeed and build its reputation. The organizations who take the ethical path are far
more successful and have a huge pool of customers and stakeholders. In all the aspects of
conducting business, the owners should keep in mind that the only way to survive and succeed is
to be ethical. They should engage in ethical responsibility by being aware of the same. The
decisions about products, costs, production, manufacturing, stakeholders, clients, business
partners, operations and processes, and services should be made as per the ethical guidelines.
Relevancy of Ethics for Business Decisions
Ethical behavior is a point of focus from the beginning. Lately, the practice of ethics has
been vital to organizations. Also, it is considered that ethical business is a successful business.
Every business faces some ethical issues. Some of these issues might be due to leadership or
managerial behavior while others might occur from different situations, which make the
management choose between the moral decision and the favorable decision even if it seems to
give a loss for a short period (Downe, Cowell and Morgan, 2016). However, profit is a strong
influence for all businesses that exist to make profits, but when they get a choice between the
right thing and the profit, people tend to confuse.
Organizations are expected to implement business ethics in their corporate and social
culture. This particular expectation can be fulfilled if the leader is strong, the management

Relevancy of Ethics in Business Decisions 4
follows the laws, and the business as a whole follows and values the ethics by realizing the
corporate social responsibility (Goswami and Mittal, 2012). By following these mantras, the
organizations can be strong and thus successful. The customers will be attracted more and the
existing ones will be retained. The satisfaction level of the employees, customers, and
stakeholders will be higher. Therefore, in order to maintain reputation, following business ethics
is very important (Ten Have, 2016).
Literature Review and Discussion
It has been observed that the research related to small businesses is very less despite the
fact that most of the businesses are small scale. They also contribute to the growth and welfare of
the economy. According to Gresham, Ferrel and Mclaves N. (2013), both individual as well as
the organizational factors drive the ethical behavior. Wosechym (2011) propounded a model of
ethical decision-making, he asserted that conscious and subconscious both operate at the time of
decision-making (Marmat, Jain and Mishra, 2016). Furthermore, it was also put forth that
managers while making decisions face the dilemma and they tend to wing back and forth with
their decisions considering the consequences and outcomes of the situation (Nganga, 2012).
They are also influenced by their ego and morality of the conduct. Brad Shuck in one of the
articles has stated that employee engagement is also very necessary for a company to succeed
and have an approach to understand the ethical values (Shuck, 2011).
The business ethics literature has expanded at a great rate. This topic is very diverse in
itself and further research helps clarify it even more. Different regions have a different take on
ethics. However, one thing has been the same in all the studies that following business ethics is
always beneficial to the organization. Good ethical decisions attract more clients. The
stakeholders want to continue investing and the employees of the organization are satisfied and

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thus want to stay and work. It is an established fact that organizations with good ethics attract
more clients, investors and their employees are comparatively more content. The sharing process
also tends to take high. The ethical organizations are considered moral and truthful. People trust
these organizations easily because of the transparency they offer (Viviers, Krüger and Venter,
2014). Transparency in business operations is also a major part of the ethics. If the organization's
processes are clear and transparent to the public and the investors are more likely to succeed and
stay in business for a longer period. As for the businesses where less transparency exists, they are
perceived as shady and untrustworthy (Snyder, 2013).
Relevance of Ethics in Sony
The Sony group is committed to ethics because they have realized that it provides them a
competitive edge. The management believes in promoting an ethical culture. The Sony Group
Code of Conduct is the foundation of its ethical program. The continuous risk assessment is
done by the management so as to ensure the integrity and ethical behavior by all personnel. In
addition, the top management allocates the required resources to attain the desired objective of
ethical conduct and follow rules and laws properly (Gregory, 2017). At Sony, they believe in
promoting innovation by taking ethical steps for corporate social responsibility. Their core
values are honesty, fairness, integrity, respect and responsibility. Further, the ethical business
standards and conduct are set in the Sony Code of Conduct.

Relevancy of Ethics in Business Decisions 6
Image Source: (www.sony.net)
The ethical standards are set in a way that they promote shared responsibility and
maintain the entire reputation. The codes are not only for the employees, but also for the
organization as a whole. Each and every employee working in Sony is obligated to follow the
ethical conduct, whether he is the CEO or the janitor. The code at Sony focuses on being truthful
and follows its core ethical values in every aspect of the business (Joseph, 2014). They ensure
proper record keeping, anti-corruption, fair competition, avoiding conflicts of interest, fair
employment, no discrimination, appropriate workplace conduct, equal employment opportunity,
fair business practices, ensuring privacy of data and information in hand, cyber-security, human
rights protection, anti-fraud, financial integrity, compliance of tax law, and workplace health and
safety (Sony.net, 2019).

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The leaders at Sony are responsible for the implementation of the code. The management
ensures the ethical decision-making process. The Code of Conduct at Sony is translated in 31
languages so that the employees and any concerned third parties easily understand it. Also, an in-
depth refresher training on the Code of Conduct is provided every two years, and any additional
required training as a result of the risk assessment (Sonydadc.com, 2018).
Image Source: (www.sony.net)
The Sony group considers ethics in their business. It is clear from the case of an
employee, which was into unethical behavior. He was sent to training for 2 months to learn about
the codes and ethics of the company again. It is stated that whistle-blowing is encouraged at the
organization. This is because they want to monitor all the violations and code breaking.
Although, the whistle-blowers are not rewarded, they are listened to. This is because the

Relevancy of Ethics in Business Decisions 8
organization keeps the records of the violation. The employee is protected and the confidentiality
is kept. However, the required action is taken as and when needed so as to maintain the
reputation of the company and making the personnel realize the importance of ethical behavior.
The Company ‘Sony’ understands it well that the reputation of any business largely relies
on the level of its ethical behavior. The organizations that do not engage in ethical behavior are
not very reliable and thus inclined to be exposed sooner or later. The ethical business, on the
other hand, holds uprightness and are considered to be fair and just in the eyes of the people
(Shand, 2017). These types of organizations have hard-working employees and permanent
clients. The organization is also concerned about corporate social responsibility and not just
about making profits. In addition, it is also observed that the socially responsible and ethically
fair organizations like Sony are much better in financial performance.
Are Ethics Relevant to Small Businesses?
Running a business is not an easy task. It takes hard work and dedication to establish and
succeed in a business even if it is on a small scale. However, there are times that challenge the
uprightness of the employer or the morality of employees to attain the desired outcome. Business
organizations violating codes of conduct and misleading consumers are not unknown or
uncommon. Sometimes these violations are concealed and other times they are not. The lies are
short-lived; therefore, the organization gets exposed for their violation of ethics (Rozuel, 2015).
Business ethics are a set of rules that are abided by every member of the organization and
business as a legal entity is expected to follow. Workplace ethics are an important part of the
business world. These ethics might include corporate social responsibility, non- discrimination
on the basis of sex, religion, ethnicity etc. The business ethics have many aspects, but one key

Relevancy of Ethics in Business Decisions 9
aspect is to provide equal opportunities to everyone. The organization is expected to follow the
rules of the business industry and the laws laid down by the constitution. Also, transparency in
business operations is vital. The exposure in terms of unethical conduct has the power to ruin the
name and fame of the organization beyond repair.
It is crucial for small business owners to realize that the right way of doing business is by
following ethics. The stakeholders demand business, even if it is at a small level. The main focus
of the stakeholders is to demand business which is ethical, shows responsibility, and has a
concern for the environment (Cant, 2012). Ethical reasoning is an important part of any business.
It involves identifying the ethical issue, selection of the ethical solution, and applying the
solution. The process should also have proper assessment and review of the outcomes. For small
ventures, ethics mainly matter in these four aspects- trust, reputation, law, and financial
performance.
Trust is the foundation of every business. Customers want to deal with an organization
that maintains trust (Egri, 2013). Similarly, stakeholders engage in deals with the business
owners who are fair, just and reliable. For example- customers buy products of the brand they
trust is serving them good quality and stakeholders invest with the trust of getting high returns.
The second aspect of ethics is reputation. For retaining the existing clients and attracting more
customers, the company needs a good reputation. Any unethical behavior or a black mark on the
business reputation proves fatal to the success and existence of that business. The third aspect is
the law. The customers and the stakeholders automatically prefer the organization that abides by
the law. Lastly, the financial performance of the company is also a vital factor. Researchers
believe that the ethical company is more likely to do financially well. Therefore, ethics are
crucial for the survival of the business, be it big or small (Goswami and Mittal, 2012).

Relevancy of Ethics in Business Decisions 10
Conclusion
In general, consumers prefer those organizations that are honest and ethical. An unethical
business loses its authenticity and trust among its customers. As for small-scale business, this is
equally damaging. They do not have the financial backing and the legal teams like that of the
huge business. The loss of reputation will be the end for them. Therefore, ethics are important for
small businesses to establish themselves. Business ethics represent the right thing to do and are
necessary to survive in the industry. Therefore, ethics are important for all organizations
irrespective of their size. An organization that follows ethics is trustworthy, reputable and does
financially well.

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References
Cant, M. (2012). Small Business Attitudes Towards Ethical Issues: Survival Or Ethically
Correct?. International Business & Economics Research Journal (IBER), 11(12), p.1347.
Downe, J., Cowell, R. and Morgan, K. (2016). What Determines Ethical Behavior in Public
Organizations: Is It Rules or Leadership?. Public Administration Review, 76(6), pp.898-909.
Egri, C. (2013). Introduction: Challenging Times for Business Ethics Education. Academy of
Management Learning & Education, 12(1), pp.70-70.
Goswami, B. and Mittal, V. (2012). Understanding ethical values and economic value. Values-
Based Management, 2(2), p.43.
Gregory, L. (2017). Sony’s Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy & Stakeholders - Panmore
Institute. [online] Panmore Institute. Available at: http://panmore.com/sony-corporate-social-
responsibility-strategy-stakeholders [Accessed 24 Mar. 2019].
Joseph, F. (2014). Balancing Outcomes: How Sony Corporation is leveraging its Competencies,
Strategy and Ethics policies to attain its Corporate Goals. [online] Academia. Available at:
https://www.academia.edu/9926291/Balancing_Outcomes_How_Sony_Corporation_is_leveragi
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24 Mar. 2019].
Marmat, G., Jain, P. and Mishra, P. (2016). Ethical Behaviour in Organizations: A Literature
Review. Journal of Research in Business and Management, [online] 4(1), pp.1-6. Available at:
http://www.questjournals.org/jrbm/papers/vol4-issue1/A410106.pdf [Accessed 24 Mar. 2019].

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Nganga, J. (2012). The Ethical Dilemma in Globalizing Small Businesses. Journal of Business
Systems, Governance and Ethics, 7(1), p.19.
Rozuel, C. (2015). Challenging the ‘Million Zeros’: The Importance of Imagination for Business
Ethics Education. Journal of Business Ethics, 138(1), pp.39-51.
Shand, R. (2017). The Role of Ethics and Targets in Environmental Governance and the
Enduring Importance of New Public Management. Political Studies Review, 16(3), pp.230-239.
Shuck, B. (2011). Integrative Literature Review: Four Emerging Perspectives of Employee
Engagement: An Integrative Literature Review. Human Resource Development Review, 10(3),
pp.304-328.
Snyder, R. (2013). Book Review: The Ethical Vision of Clint Eastwood. Christianity &
Literature, 62(4), pp.626-630.
Sonydadc.com. (2018). SONY GROUP CODE OF CONDUCT. [online] Available at:
https://www.sonydadc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/SonyGroupCodeOfConduct.pdf
[Accessed 24 Mar. 2019].
Ten Have, H. (2016). Ethics education: global, inspiring and challenging. International Journal
of Ethics Education, 1(1), pp.1-6.
Viviers, S., Krüger, J. and Venter, D. (2014). The relative importance of ethics, environmental,
social and governance criteria. African Journal of Business Ethics, 6(2), pp.1-14.
Sony.net. (2019). Sony Global - Ethics and Compliance. [online] Available at:
https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/csr_report/compliance/ [Accessed 22 Mar. 2019].

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Image References:
Sony.net. (2019). [online] Available at:
https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/csr_report/compliance/hkrfmg00000086hd-img/C01_CoC_E.jpg
[Accessed 24 Mar. 2019].
Sony.net. (2019). [online] Available at:
https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/csr_report/compliance/hkrfmg000000871a-img/C02e02.jpg
[Accessed 24 Mar. 2019].