Majority of businesses if not all undertake their activities with the aim of making profits as well as growing the enterprise; this is the primary reason why companies are established. However, it is morally upright for organizations to function while contributing positively to the world. As a result, these motives might be considered to be conflicting. Nonetheless, businesses can perform exemplary financially and still do good to the society, or the world as a whole. Consequently, the intersection between the two, moral imperatives and profit motives; this is termed as ethical responsibility where a company is deemed to be ethically responsible. This paper seeks to deliberate on ethical responsibility and how their substantial impact on multicultural working environments. Also, this paper will discuss ethical concepts and standards which act as a guideline in enterprises daily activities in the workplace.
Concerning ethical responsibility movement, today, many companies have embraced the fact that they can operate responsibly and ethically. Where the responsibility movement entails maintaining or increasing a business bottom line, while at the same time contributing positively to the society (Arnold, 2014). An excellent example is where the employees in a business are encouraged to function towards environmental excellence objectively. In such a case, the employees derive their motivation from the shareholders, consumers and investors’ expectations as well as the public which maintain that companies should focus beyond profits.
Social responsibility has been established to be among the primary aspects of ethically and responsibly run businesses. Mostly, social responsibility entails developing strategies which lessen negative social impacts across its supply chains (Arnold, 2014). In other words, social responsibility implies organizations are avoiding functions or association with a probable adverse impact. For instance, avoiding products which do not correlate with a firm’s objectives and stipulated rules as well as suppliers who illegally procure raw materials underline aspects that ensure a company operates responsibly and ethically.
Environmental responsibility is also a key pillar in ethical responsibility. A good illustration of ecological accountability is an enterprise prioritizing strategies which are environmentally friendly, avoiding the use of toxic chemicals, or minimizing greenhouse gas emission (Arnold, 2014). Similarly, a business can also set goals which ensure they learn about their source of raw materials. As such, companies are encouraged to consider the whole development of their products, and if they adhere to environmental concerns (Arnold, 2014).
Similarly, community and workplace responsibility ensure businesses operate in compliance with the standards which governs its workplace environment and the community. Organizations should ensure that employees undertake their routine duties in a safe and conducive environment which respects individuals’ dignity and growth (Arnold, 2014). Workers should also enjoy opportunities allowing professional advancements and suitable wages. Therefore, business facilities, as well as those of their corresponding suppliers, should be wary of local community welfare regarding customs and culture together with other interactions like pollution, noise or traffic resulting from the company’s functions.
Employee relationship can be described as the legal link through which employers and their employees relate in the workplace. For a business to run smoothly, both the stakeholders in a firm must ensure there exists an ethically sound association driven by the urge to realize success (Ferrell " Fraedrich, 2015). With regards to the scenario, a marketing firm which prides its success in ethical business functioning; the workers have a right to ensure they comprehend the ethical policy governing the corporate institution. Moreover, the employees have a right to attend the training set by the firm. Also, the employees are responsible for practicing and maintaining the outlined ethical standards. Consequently, the human resource department has a responsibility of maintaining ethical standards through employee training.
Employer responsibilities are mirrored through the relationship linking the employer to its employees. Nevertheless, it is the employers’ responsibility to ensure all its stakeholders are operating in a sound and ethical workplace (Ferrell " Fraedrich, 2015). Moral responsibilities mandate employers to protect the health of its workers through sound business decisions which uphold safety in the workplace. Indeed, the marketing firm should ensure an adequate renumeration along with excellent working conditions reinforced with health benefits provided by the corporate. Also, the company supports its ethics standards by treating its employees with dignity, maintaining that they are essential stakeholders.
Openness entails a conducive working environment where workers do not feel intimidated by their superiors. Instead, the management advocates for an open relationship between the two parties. For example, this year, the HR department has emphasized maintaining a high level of ethics and moral standards not only among the employees but also in the firm as a whole. Furthermore, hypothetical ethical instances have been formulated to assist the HR in evaluating the business’ ethical standards, ethics in its decision-making process and action plans. However, the employees are not aware of how they should undertake their duties to ensure they are consistent with the expectations of the firm.
The company ought to ensure employees understand the firm’s ethical standards. As a result, the firm should ensure the workers undertake an ethics training to give them an insight on how to conduct themselves in accordance to the firm’s expectations. The workers, regardless of the hierarchy level, must attend ethics training every year. These programs should be formulated by the ethics officers, in the HR department to ensure the moral standard are upheld while conducting business operations.
According to utilitarian philosophy in the ethical context, ethical course of actions, such as the compulsory training in this case study; are only justifiable if they are established to increase utility. These actions should be objected judgment of activities regarding the associated consequences rather than the integral moral values (Ramasastry, 2015). On the other hand, relativism is not comparable to utilitarianism, as it focuses on the disagreement on what is right or wrong. All in all, unethical behavior is considered to be an immoral act in any corporate and non-corporate setting (Ramasastry, 2015). Hence, the HR can be said to be correct in ensuring the firms performs ethically.
The firm's course of action which reflects on its ethics and responsibility towards the employees; is the move to cultivate a joint development session where the training sessions deliberated on employees’ duties and rights. The session should discuss how both the two parties are responsible for each other in the workplace. The predicament, in this case, was the duties which involved the stakeholders. For instance, openness entailed that no worker should be intimidated by his or her superior. Conversely, the management to some extent felt like they were being robbed of their elements of superiority. Also, use of hypothetical ethical scenarios is a dilemma which outrightly represents ethical concerns within the working environment. In the sessions, the use of hypothetical situations is a controversial move, since the method of practical example stirred contradiction on dignity grounds.
References
Arnold, D. G. (2014). Ethical theory and business. T. L. Beauchamp, " N. E. Bowie (Eds.). Pearson.
Ferrell, O. C., " Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making " cases. Nelson Education.
Ramasastry, A. (2015). Corporate social responsibility versus business and human rights: Bridging the gap between responsibility and accountability. Journal of Human Rights, 14(2), 237-259.
