Global and Local Challenges: Ethics, Responsibility, Sustainability

This report analyzes the ethical, sustainable, and responsible business practices of Woolworths, a major Australian retail firm. It introduces the company and explores its initiatives in gender equality, environmental sustainability, and diversity. The report applies the utilitarianism ethical theory to assess Woolworths' actions, highlighting both good practices, such as removing plastic bags and promoting diversity, and bad practices, such as issues with supplier ethics. Recommendations are provided to improve ethical conduct and address supplier issues. The report concludes by emphasizing the crucial role of ethics and sustainability in business success, summarizing key learning points, and offering suggestions for improvement. The assignment also includes references to relevant literature and ethical theories.

Global Local Challenges in Ethics,
Responsibility and Sustainability-1

Table of Contents
Introduction
Introduction Of The Company
Ethics, Sustainability And Responsible Business Practices
Recommendation For The Company
Key Learning Points
Conclusion
References

INTRODUCTION
 Ethics refers to the set of moral values and some standards that provide guidance
in order to conduct the business in ethical manner.
 On the other side, sustainability mainly focus on the meeting the current needs
without comprising the ability of future generations.
 In the same current presentation main aim is to develop the deep understanding
of ethics and sustainability in a business.
 The presentation is based upon the case study of Woolworths that is big retail
firm in Australia and provide all groceries and clothes to the customers at
reasonable rates.
 Current presentation provide introduction of an organization and using relevant
theories it helps to understand ethics sustainability and responsible business
practice.
 Lastly it recommended some changes that Woolworths may be applied.

Introduction of the company
 Woolworths is top retail firm in Australia which specialises in selling groceries
such as vegetables, fruits, meat and packaged food.
 On the other side, it also sell magazines, different household products,
stationery products and currently the quotes firm operates more than 100 stores
across Australia with its online presence.
 The company also follow the ethics such that it mainly promotes gender
equality which clearly reflect from its management position such that 40% of
the management position are occupied by women.
 Further, it also makes its initiatives to make planet a healthy environment that
is why it starts towards zero food waste and also raise awareness of sustainable
sources products.

Ethics, sustainability and responsible
business practices
 Utilitarianism Ethical Theory:
 It is an ethical theory which determine the right from wrong by focusing on the
results and that is why, it is one of the most favourable theory by the company
and in the same, Woolworths also uses the same.
 The theory also state to offer the greatest good at greatest quality and it state
about right and wrong action done in an organization. Further, the author state
that morally the best action should be take that makes the overall happiness or
usefulness.

Ethics, sustainability and responsible
business practices
 Utilitarianism Ethical Theory:
 It is an ethical theory which determine the right from wrong by focusing on the
results and that is why, it is one of the most favourable theory by the company
and in the same, Woolworths also uses the same.
 The theory also state to offer the greatest good at greatest quality and it state
about right and wrong action done in an organization. Further, the author state
that morally the best action should be take that makes the overall happiness or
usefulness.

Continued..
Good practice: A healthy planet for customers
 Woolworths follows its business practice in ethical manner such that it remove
single use of plastic bags in its store that helps them to moving to a circular
economy. On the other side, to make it more affordable, the company offer their
customers free cotton bags as well.
 In this strategy, quoted firm offers them reusable bags and they can used it until
it wears out, and then they bring it back to stores. Further, the company will
replace the bag free of cost in order to promote healthy environment. As per the
Utilitarianism ethical theory, it state that using good practice help the
environment to be protective and harmless.

Continued....
 Good practice: Promoting the gender equality
 The company has a strong representation of the women to its business for support as well
as operational roles because it has around 40% of the employees are female.
 On the other side, its board state that gender is not the factor when company make any
decision with regard to rewarding.
 For example, as per the tradition, Winemaking is consider a male dominated industry but
Woolworths rise female winemaker in Australia. Therefore, it clearly reflect that the
business does not discriminate their employees on the basis of gender. Thus using
Utilitarianism as an ethical theory, company determine what is right for the success of
business.

Continued...
Good practice: Embracing the diversity
 The company provide effective leadership training programs and also commit
that it provide different opportunities to their team members in order to achieve
their goals. Therefore, it develop strategies as well as action in order to help
leverage diversity in teams.
 Further, the company also introduce the Refugee employment programs in order
to reflect the culturally diverse communities which Woolworths serve. Such that
it provide employment opportunities for displaced refugees from Syria and
Middle East people in order to contribute towards successful settlement.
 In addition to this, Woolworths also support the aboriginals and Torres Strait
Islander by providing them employment opportunities. From the company's
report, it is analysed that it recruit 1600 new indigenous team members across its
stores that helps to provide better diversity to their peoples.

Continued...
Bad practice: Unethical behaviour conducted by Woolworths suppliers
 Company's supplier Zerella claim issues such that it provide minimum wages to
some of their employees and even the working environment of the company is
also poor and as a result, it creates wrong impact upon the company's overall
reputation. Even I also analysed that this bad practice is consider under
unethical behaviour.
 As a result, its supplier affect the most especially, Zerella which is a leading
supplier of Australia and because of this unethical practice, Its chain also affect
that create heavy loss in its sales.
 Basically this is done due to greed of the companies ranking officials and that is
why the employees working so long because they have a fear of being jobless
and that is why, they did not report such condition to their authorities.

Recommendation for the company
 It is recommended to the Woolworths to follow all the ethical practices into the working places
especially fairness because the company faces issue related to not treating ethically to their
employees. That is why, the executives of the company should be fair and do not exercise arbitrarily.
Therefore, they should be treat their employees equally throughout their life long.
 On the other hand, it is also recommended to follow all the prescribe laws that are develop by
Australian government. It is so because it helps the company to reduce unethical practice pertain by
the Woolworths.
 Woolworths ethical executives must have to accept the personal accountability for the ethical quality
in order to take better decision for the welfare of a firm so that it will assist them to sustain the brand
image in the market.

Key learning points
 While going through the entire project, we have learn that ethics and
sustainability have their own importance in the success of a business. Because
our team learn the role of ethics and sustainability in the business and
determine that if the business comply with ethics and sustainability then it will
be beneficial to create trust among people.
 On the other side, another members of my team learn that there are different
theories related to ethics such that Utilitarianism ethics, Deontological ethics,
Virtue ethics etc. and further, its helps the business to take better decision for
the welfare of the company.
 Moreover, another members of the team learn through an entire project that if
the firm is following any unethical practice then it should be strictly restricted
because it somehow affect the brand recognition of the firm at global level.
 Even we all also enhance our presentation skills , research skills that helps us to
meet our future research projects as well. Moreover, I also found that I learn
different terms that further help me in my routine life as well.