Reflective Journal: Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility

This reflective journal entry examines the ethical dilemmas presented by the Ford Pinto case and the ethical decisions of The Body Shop regarding animal testing. The student analyzes these cases through the lens of business ethics, exploring the conflicts between profit maximization and ethical considerations, particularly focusing on consequentialist and rule-based ethical approaches. The journal also reflects on the importance of workplace sustainability, drawing from personal experiences and advocating for corporate social responsibility to enhance employee loyalty and productivity. The student emphasizes the significance of ethical practices and sustainable workplaces in attracting and retaining employees, ultimately linking these aspects to improved business performance and consumer loyalty. The paper also recommends incorporating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for sustainable workplaces. The student's reflections also highlight the importance of creating a healthy work environment and the impact of workplace ethics on employee well-being and organizational success.

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Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Reflection on ethical dilemma of Ford Pinto and discussion of animal testing of the
Bodyshop Company
Business ethics plays a highly crucial role in any business since it has direct relation with
attracting the consumers to the product of an organization and thereby enhances its consumer
base, revenue and reputation (Hooker 2018). In the fowling paragraph, I will discuss about the
ethical issues faced by ford Pinto. Along with this, I will also analyse the decision taken by
Bodyshop of not testing its products on animals.
In terms of ethics, the ford pinto dilemma can be regarded from different theoretical angles
(Haghighattalab et al. 2019). We see a conflict here between two opposite cultural views: that of
a mindset of corporate culture that prioritizes profit as the greatest value as well as that of an
ethical view in which it is viewed as a social norm that values human life above economic gain
(Smith 2016). On the one side, value each one of our own lives and therefore have a obligation to
respect each other's lives in order to maintain our own right.
On the other side, we have intended an economic system that encourages social progress through
private benefit and rivalry, distinguishing our job values from our private values (Haghighattalab
et al. 2019). We accept the corporate value of maximizing profit in order to support the
corporations that provide us with regulations, disregarding private beliefs that contradict many
choices taken as profit.
The utilitarian theory can have a look at the situation of Ford from several angles, depending on
one's perspective as to what would generate "the biggest happiness or good for the biggest
amount of individuals" (Chun 2016). It could be asserted that the decision for maximizing profit

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while disrespecting safety issues would generate the biggest good because more individuals will
own a cheaper car with higher usefulness because of it.
When it comes to testing of skin care and cosmetic products on animals, as per my opinion, body
shop has made an ethical decision (Painter-Morland et al. 2016). This is because, in this era of
modernization, a good number of alternatives are present that can replace killing innocent
animals (Chun 2016). Considering the fact that these measures of testing products are more
expensive compared to animal testing majority of the skin care products manufacturing
organization opts for the later.
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People are found to spend majority of their time at work. It can even be concluded that some
individual spend more time at their workplace compared to their home (Painter-Morland et al.
2016). Provision of a sustainable and healthy work environment enhances the interest of the
employees to work in the organization. A favorable environment possess the potential to enhance
the productivity of the employees by reducing work related illness as well as accidents, this in
turn denotes greater profit for the organization
I used to work in an organization where, I had experienced huge pressure of work and unethical
demand from the management for working overtime without incentive. This in turn had resulted
in deterioration of my work life balance and eventual lost of interest to work for the organization.
I had finally left the job. This made me realize the importance of sustainability in workplace. In
future, I definitely want to work in an organization that practices sustainable working culture.
In this era of high competition between the organizations for skilled labour, it is highly crucial to
change our thoughts from traditional profit enhancing technique (Rezaee, Rezaee and

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HOMAYOUN 2016). Incorporating small changes like ensuring a yearly monetary appraisal or
monthly fun sessions will enhance the loyalty of the company (Rezaee, Rezaee and
HOMAYOUN 2016). This in turn will be beneficial for the company since enhanced employee
loyalty means less employee attrition and thus lower investment cost. Along with this, I belief
that incorporating Corporate social responsibility is highly crucial for an organization. Recent
studies show that businesses that invest in sustainable workplaces are doing better than
businesses that don't. There is a correlation between inventory performance and efficiency of
corporate social responsibility (CSR), according to scientists. The study surveyed 1,254 senior
business executives and determined that the greatest share-price development in businesses that
paid more attention to sustainability problems from 2005 to 2007.Consumers prefer socially
sustainable products. In this era of internet, consumers are well aware of the compare that are
socially enhanced and are producing their product in a sustainable manner. They does care about
the impact, be it environmental or social, of the product they purchase from an organization.
Thus it can be said that social and environmentally sustainable organizations are not only able to
obtain the good will of the consumers but also enjoys enhanced revenue due to increased
consumer loyalty and profit.

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Reference List
Chun, R., 2016. What holds ethical consumers to a cosmetics brand: The Body Shop
case. Business & Society, 55(4), pp.528-549.
Haghighattalab, S., Chen, A., Fan, Y. and Mohammadi, R., 2019. Engineering ethics within
accident analysis models. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 129, pp.119-125.
Hooker, J., 2018. Taking Ethics Seriously: Why Ethics is an Essential Tool for the Modern
Workplace. Productivity Press.
Painter-Morland, M., Sabet, E., Molthan-Hill, P., Goworek, H. and de Leeuw, S., 2016. Beyond
the curriculum: Integrating sustainability into business schools. Journal of Business
Ethics, 139(4), pp.737-754.
Rezaee, Z., Rezaee, N.I.C.K. and HOMAYOUN, S., 2016. Integration of business sustainability
education into the business curriculum. International Journal of Finance & Managerial
Accounting, 1(2), pp.1-8.
Smith, B.W., 2016. The Trolley and the Pinto: Cost-Benefit Analysis in Automated Driving and
Other Cyber-Physical Systems. Tex. A&M L. Rev., 4, pp.197.