Ethics
Ethics
MGT/498
September 26, 2013
Ethics
In business there will always be the line to act with integrity or to lie, cheat, and steal. Famous author Douglas Adams once said, “To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity” (Heathfield, n.d). The priority of any business is to serve the needs and wants of the customer and more important his or her stakeholders. Any business decision made in major corporations must line up with stakeholder’s interests, but more important stakeholders have the social responsibility to represent in the best interest of the entire corporation. The prevalence of so many major scandals with corporations caught in the public is drawing much needed attention on concepts of ethic, and social responsibility. Ethics and corporate responsibility is a direct application of the ideas of in business practice. This papers purpose is to explain the role of ethics and social responsibility in building a strategic plan while incorporating the stakeholder interests. Business execs have the responsibility to adhering to the unspoken ethics they have only not taught but also have enforced by society and the law. Ethics are inherently common sense decisions made by those in authority with the power to affect an entire organization. When, business executives make decisions they must consider business ethics and the organizations (stakeholders) values. Once the essential questions ask is, “Do the organization’s values reflect accepted society values? (Young, 2004) Business executives must execute strategic business plans where they take into account not only each value associated with each choice, but the consequences of each choice. The interests of the stakeholder are one of the prime obligations of an organization. The demands of the stakeholders are generally to increase profits; this is echoed by economist Milton Friedman, the “one and only one social
MGT/498
September 26, 2013
Ethics
In business there will always be the line to act with integrity or to lie, cheat, and steal. Famous author Douglas Adams once said, “To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity” (Heathfield, n.d). The priority of any business is to serve the needs and wants of the customer and more important his or her stakeholders. Any business decision made in major corporations must line up with stakeholder’s interests, but more important stakeholders have the social responsibility to represent in the best interest of the entire corporation. The prevalence of so many major scandals with corporations caught in the public is drawing much needed attention on concepts of ethic, and social responsibility. Ethics and corporate responsibility is a direct application of the ideas of in business practice. This papers purpose is to explain the role of ethics and social responsibility in building a strategic plan while incorporating the stakeholder interests. Business execs have the responsibility to adhering to the unspoken ethics they have only not taught but also have enforced by society and the law. Ethics are inherently common sense decisions made by those in authority with the power to affect an entire organization. When, business executives make decisions they must consider business ethics and the organizations (stakeholders) values. Once the essential questions ask is, “Do the organization’s values reflect accepted society values? (Young, 2004) Business executives must execute strategic business plans where they take into account not only each value associated with each choice, but the consequences of each choice. The interests of the stakeholder are one of the prime obligations of an organization. The demands of the stakeholders are generally to increase profits; this is echoed by economist Milton Friedman, the “one and only one social
References: Ferrall, O. C. (2004). Business ethics and customer stakeholders. Academy of Management Executive, 18(2), retrieved from http://danielsethics.mgt.unm.edu/pdf/Customer Stakeholders.pdf. Bigelow, L. (2013). What are the social responsibilities of a company to its stakeholders? Hearst Newspapers, Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com Heathfield, S. (n.d.). Inspirational quotes for business and work: Integrity. Retrieved from http://humanresources.about.com Young, P. (2004). Ethics and risk management: Building a framework. Risk Management, 6(3), 23-34. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org “The Laws That Govern the Securities Industry.” (2012). SEC. Retrieved from http://www.irmi.com/expert/articles/2005/head02.aspx