- Explain the difference between ethics and morality.
Morality refers to a person’s personal set of principles which they adhere to as they conduct themselves each day. These morals may be the result of upbringing, religion, or other personal factors. Ethics also guide a person’s behavior and conduct, but come from a code of conduct prescribed by a larger organization or society. Thus, morals come from internal factors and ethics come from external factors. There may be some overlap between the two. For example, murder is illegal and thus unethical, but can also be immoral if a person believes murder is wrong because it says “thou shalt not kill” in the Bible. Society prescribes the ethics of the issue in this example, and religion prescribes the morality. Ethics and morality can also conflict. If a man’s moral code tells him to feed his family no matter what, he may behave unethically and steal food in order to feed his family.
- Identify and describe two major ethical theories.
Utilitarianism is the theory which prescribes behavior or actions that will create the highest level of happiness overall. A utilitarian would always act in the best interest of the most people in terms of their happiness. An example would be if a person stole from another person to feed a family of five. The person who was stolen from would be unhappy, but the five who were fed would be happy. Thus, the higher number of people involved would be happy, so a utilitarian would find this scenario to be ethical.
Hedonism is the theory which prescribes behavior or actions in terms of either pleasure or pain. Whatever brings the most pleasure is ethical, while actions that cause pain are unethical. If an action causes more pain to others than pleasure to oneself, it is considered unethical. Thus, a woman who does not feed their children because he spent all of her money shopping for herself would be considered unethical, because the pain of her children outweighs her pleasure from shopping.
- Explain the difference between virtue, value, and moral concepts.
Virtues describe the character of a person. Examples of virtues are honesty, bravery, kindness, and loyalty. Values describe things that are important to a person. A person can value many things, including virtues. People have an emotional investment in their personal values. Morals are a person’s belief of right and wrong. Morals and values may overlap and a person may have the same morals and values. However, sometimes a person may value something that they may not see as moral. An excellent example of this is money. A person may value money above many other things, even if morally some of the other things should come first, like family or friends. This person may even act dishonestly if it means he can have more money, making him both immoral and not virtuous. Though he is acting according to his values, it is in direct opposition of his morals and virtues.
- Provide an explanation, and examples regarding the responsibility of individuals to the community.
People must act according to the prescribed ethical code of their community. This is often a combination of societal and religious laws, as well as certain trends within society. For example, environmental concerns in recent years have caused society and government to suggest certain ways to reduce the human impact on the environment. Many communities have started recycling programs, and schools and workplaces have done the same. Thus, a person now has the responsibility of recycling bottles, cans, paper, and other materials in order to be considered a responsible member of the community. Another responsibility would be ensuring that others in the community are safe. Actions such as reckless driving or shooting a gun around other people could potentially put others in harm’s way, and thus would be irresponsible. Individuals have a responsibility to not harm others in the community, so they must behave accordingly and make responsible choices keeping the safety of others in mind.
- Describe some of the ways that an individual can be an influence to their social responsibility within their community.
An individual can be an influence to their social responsibility within their community by utilizing their own moral code. Personal values such as being honest or treating others fairly can have an impact on how they treat others within the community. Social responsibility may dictate that a person keep a secret from another community member, but if the person values honesty above all other things, then the person may go against his social responsibility and tell the secret. Religion can also have an impact on a person’s social responsibility. A person whose religion states that same-sex marriage is wrong will disagree with the legalization of same-sex marriage. He may even speak or act out against these marriages, which goes against the social responsibility of ensuring the happiness of fellow community members. Conversely, a person who is a member of the Catholic church may choose to leave the church because of differences in views on one particular topic, even if they agree on all other topics.
- Explain ways in which external social pressures influence organizational
There are many stakeholders in a business organization, including management, employees, customers, and shareholders. External pressures may be the result of requests or needs of shareholders or customers. For example, management may want to begin a wellness program for their employees because they value health and wellness for their organization. However, shareholders may not want to fund such a program, because they do not share these values with management. Ethically speaking, there are many ways that an organization can be influenced by outside factors. Customers may demand lower prices, causing the company to cut corners in the overall quality of the product. The organization may be considered to be behaving unethically because they are reducing the quality of a product in order to sell more units. Another type of organization, such as a university, may be influenced by rising costs or reduced funding. .This could cause them to raise tuition costs, which may be viewed as unethical by some.
- Describe the factors in an organization that influence social responsibility strategies.
- An organization’s code of ethics prescribes its social responsibility strategies.
This code of ethics is the result of the organization’s purpose and mission. A private sector business corporation would have a different code of ethics than a non-profit organization, because a private sector business’s primary function is to make money while a non-profit organization’s primary function is to raise money or otherwise help a certain cause. Thus, the social responsibility strategies of the corporation would be affected by its desire to make money. The non-profit organization’s social responsibility strategies would be affected by the particular purpose of the organization. Another factor influencing the social responsibility strategies of an organization is the needs of the people served by the organization. The organization’s primary concern should be the people it serves. Customers or clients may have particular needs that the organization must meet, and thus these needs should be incorporated into social responsibility strategies.
- Identify and provide examples describing three social initiatives for an organization.
- Corporate wellness programs have been enacted by many organizations.
These programs may include weight-loss programs, workout facilities being provided in the workplace, and nutritional education. Other elements of such a program may include teaching stress reduction techniques or incorporating healthy choices in the cafeteria.
- Training and education is another social initiative that an organization can introduce.
Learning more about the company, the industry, and particulars of certain positions within the company can keep employees invested and increase employee loyalty and retention. Education can take the form of formal classes, one-on-one instruction, mentoring, or self-paced online learning. Some companies may also offer tuition reimbursement or similar programs so employees may further their formal education.
- A third organizational social initiative is family welfare.
This includes maternity and paternity leave, as well as leaves for child, parent, or spousal illness. Companies may also provide assistance for adoptions and foster-parenting. Larger companies may even provide on-site childcare services.
- Explain the ethical and social responsibility issues that arise as the result of globalization.
- Globalization causes companies and their employees to come into contact with other cultures.
Because of this, it is imperative that companies educate their employees about cultural considerations. There are many differences between cultures that need to be taken into consideration, and employees who may encounter customers, fellow employees, or other stakeholders from other cultures must be aware of these differences. For example, some cultures are uncomfortable with eye contact, and some even find it to be rude and insulting. Should an employee make eye contact with a customer from such a culture, it could offend the customer and cause the company to lose business. Ethically speaking, the company has the responsibility to ensure that no stakeholders are made to feel uncomfortable or offended by the actions of its employees. This is why the company has a responsibility of educating its employees on aspects of the different cultures it may encounter.
- Describe the different ethical perspectives across cultures
- There are many different ethical perspectives across cultures.
These perspectives are influenced by factors such as history, religion, and current political climate. When two countries with differing ethical perspectives come into contact and do not understand or respect the other’s perspective, conflict can occur. Looking back in history, there have been many wars caused by differences in religion. Such conflicts still occur today. The key to reducing such conflicts is knowledge and tolerance of other ethical perspectives. There are also less serious differences in ethical perspectives that do not lead to war. For example, in India the cow is sacred and is not used for food. Conversely, in the United States there are McDonald’s restaurants in nearly every town serving hamburgers to the masses. Americans eat beef regularly and do not share the ethical perspective as the Indians do. This difference in ethics does not lead to war because there is a mutual understanding of these ethical perspectives.
