Understanding Business: Chapter 4
Corporate Responsibility
The dimension of social responsibility that includes everything from hiring minority workers to making safe products
Corporate policy
The dimension of social responsibility that refers to the position a firm takes on social and political issues
Corporate social responsibility
The term that describes a businesses concern for the welfare of society that is based on a commitment to integrity, fairness, and respect. Includes corporate responsibility, social initiatives, corporate policy, and corporate philanthropy.
Social Audit
A systematic evaluation of an organizations progress toward implementing socially responsible and responsive programs
Insider Trading
An unethical activity in which insiders use private company information to further their own fortunes or those of their families and friends.
Difference between ethics and legality
Define: Ethics goes beyond obeying laws to include abiding by the moral standards accepted by society. Legality is more limiting; it refers only to laws written to protect people from fraud, theft, and violence.
Corporate social initiatives
Enhanced forms of corporate philanthropy directly related to the companies competencies
integrity-based ethics codes
Ethical standards that define the organizations guiding values, create an environment that supports ethically sound behavior, and stress a shared accountability among employees
Compliance-based ethics codes
Ethical standards that emphasize preventing unlawful behavior by increasing control and by penalizing wrong doers
Is it legal, balanced, and how will it make me feel?
How can we tell if our business decisions are ethical?
Whistleblowers
Insiders who report illegal or unethical behavior
Socially conscious investors
Investors who insist that a company extend its own high standards to its suppliers
Ethics
Standards of moral behavior, that is, behavior accepted by society as right versus wrong
Corporate philanthropy
The dimension of social responsibility that includes charitable donations (to non profits)
5 Ethical "watchdogs"
What are (in business ethics), socially conscious investors, social conscious research organizations, environmentalists, union officials, and customers?
Social conscious research organizations
Who analyzes and reports on corporate social responsibility efforts?
Environmentalists
Who applies pressure by naming companies that don't abide by environmentalists standards?
Union officials
Who hunts down violations and forces companies to comply to avoid negative publicity?