Ethical and Philanthropic Responsibility and Competition Analysis

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of ethical and philanthropic responsibilities within the context of globalization and the competitive business environment. It begins by defining and contrasting ethical responsibility, focusing on business ethics, and philanthropic responsibility, highlightin...Read More

Running head: ETHICAL AND PHILANTHROPIC RESPONSIBILITY AND COMPETITION
Ethical and philanthropic responsibility and competition
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ETHICAL AND PHILANTHROPIC RESPONSIBILITY AND COMPETITION
Introduction
Ethics constitute an important part of human’s life. A set of principles, ethics govern the
way people behave with others. Philanthropy, on the other hand is the desire to invest in other’s
happiness and well-being.
Globalization has taken the economic world by storm and it has influenced almost every
sector of business. The most important aspect of globalization however, is competition. This
shall be discussed broadly in the later sections.
Comparing and contrasting ethical and philanthropic responsibility
Ethical responsibility refers to the morally correct path that people choose to walk on
throughout their lives. In the business sector especially, ethical responsibility holds a vital
importance. This ethical responsibility in business in popularly termed as business ethics or BE.
It emerged after the 1980s and it has since been considered the most important aspect of modern
organizations. Business ethics can be defined as the principles or values adhered to by
companies. It is concerned with the business’s correctness or equality, actions and behaviors
displayed by manager and employee, and the policies undertaken in a commercial framework.
Business owners are ethically responsible to the people who rely on them to do the
correct thing, be it small or big business. However, several factors test businesses to maintain the
ethical standards. In times of financial stress, companies and its employees face the difficulty
whether to put ethics at stake for the sake of profit or whether abide strongly by the ethics. When
a company decides to cut on staff capacity and fires an employee without prior notice is an
example of this. A company has the responsibility to be honest with not only its customers but
also its employees. The employees have all the right to be informed about any decision taken by

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ETHICAL AND PHILANTHROPIC RESPONSIBILITY AND COMPETITION
the company. When an employee is sacked without prior notice, it breaks the very foundation of
ethical responsibility.
Philanthropic responsibility on the other hand, although comes under the umbrella of
ethical responsibility, is a separate entity. It is amongst the corporate social responsibilities
(CSR) that companies maintain. Unlike ethical, philanthropic responsibility is not compelling to
organizations. Businesses do not have to be answerable to anyone for not fulfilling this
responsibility. However, businesses do have the opportunity to contribute to the society and
environment as a whole by fulfilling its philanthropic responsibilities. These could include,
expending money in organizing blood donation camps for the unfortunate, encouraging use of
recyclable materials by organizing events and seminars and so on.
One good example of philanthropic responsibility could be the involvement of a company
in a charitable function that provides shelters to the homeless. The company arranges for the
entire event and invites the local community to engage in this noble activity. In this way, the
company gives an opportunity to the local people to be a part of it. Strategic philanthropy could
also be applied here if the company decides to impose its logo or brand name in the keys or roofs
of the buildings given to the needy.
Competition as an important aspect of globalization
Globalization has probably been the biggest revolutionary incident of the bygone century
that affected not only the then world; it continues to influence the present as well. It has on one
hand, benefitted nations and corporations and on the other; it has proved to be a nightmare for
some. Many aspects of globalization came to the fore, among which competition is possibly the

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ETHICAL AND PHILANTHROPIC RESPONSIBILITY AND COMPETITION
most important. The era prior to globalization witnessed limited access to trade, partial
cooperation between states, and hence, a lack of competition. However, the post-globalization
era has multiplied competition by double to triple fold. It is but true that the increase in
competition did have both advantage and disadvantages.
The pros:
Owing to globalization, competition between countries to expand trade has resulted in
rapid decrease of prices commodities. As a result, people belonging to developing countries have
benefitted from this.
Due to competition, customers around the globe have the chance to grab high quality
products and services. Companies are aware that they could be ousted from the market by their
rivals if they do not produce high quality products and services.
Competition has proved beneficial for millions of unemployed youth worldwide.
Globalization managed to open the gates of opportunity to millions of youth who have been
looking for an ideal job. Increase in competition presented the unemployed class with the chance
to select the ideal company and companies endeavored to move ahead in the ladder by hiring
competent personnel.
Philanthropic responsibilities could be credited to this growing competition between
companies of the global economy.
The cons:
Although globalization brought many opportunities with it, it also created a bridge
between small companies and big brands. The cutthroat competition shunned the doors for small

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ETHICAL AND PHILANTHROPIC RESPONSIBILITY AND COMPETITION
businesses not only in the global but local market as well. Firms like Google; Apple and so on
started penetrating into the markets of different nations and gradually spread their dominance.
Another negative aspect is the unfair advantage of big brands over the market.
Competition in fact, has reached a level that transcends political boundary. Multinational
companies now possess the power to influence even political decisions. This has led to the
shutting down of many smaller firms.
Conglomerations are also a result of competition arising from globalization.
Conglomerations are a result of unequal competition. When smaller firms fail to compete with
big brands, they are left with the choice to either sell their company and leave with a paycheck or
shut it down.
Customers are also troubled by the competition, as they find it difficult to choose
between the best product and service. In addition, they are sometimes fooled by companies into
buying services that are of no value to them. Here, the companies break the ethical code of
conduct in order to stay in the competition. It thus is visible that competition makes companies
go against the moral rules and forget their ethical responsibility as well.
Conclusion
A thorough analysis of the factors of globalization brings forth the fact that market in the
present era is the most dynamic and the most volatile at the same time. Globalization effected
rise in competition and competition gave rise to better ethical and philanthropic responsibilities
maintained by companies. It is because of this competition that organizations around the world
are constantly trying to portray a positive image to the consumers. The essay compares and

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ETHICAL AND PHILANTHROPIC RESPONSIBILITY AND COMPETITION
contrasts ethical and philanthropic responsibilities with examples. In addition, it also relates
these responsibilities to globalization and competition.