Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics

What is one criticism of virtue based ethics?

It can overemphasise the importance of the individual, either by praising heroic individuals or blaming bad apples for immoral actions

List a popular example of an organisation that was brought into the limelight with regards to sustainability

Nestle kitkats- the palm oil they use means tress home to orangutans are destroyed- Greenpeace released an advert which after 3 months led to Nestle promising to change

What is the aim of ethical within capitalism organisations?

Not only driven by social purpose but also run in a different way- usually their key principles include running in a non hierarchical way and increase participation in decisions

Who was R. Edward Freeman?

One of the leading proponents of stakeholder theory, which argues that successful businesses nuild their strategy around their relationships with key stakeholders

Define philanthropy

Originally meaning "for the love of humanity", it is now taken as meaning the giving of time or more commonly money for good causes

Define the triple bottom line

The idea that instead of the view of shareholder capitalism that the bottom line is profit, it should extend, including economic, environmental and people

What does virtue based ethics focus on?

The individual, particularly their personal character, how it is formed and develops to achieve "eudaimonia" (life long development of well being)

Give a quote by Milton Friedman from an article (1970) about shareholder capitakism

There is one and only one social responsibility of business- to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud

Define managing ethics

They are ways in which companies aim to manage the behaviour of their staff, through mission statements, code of practices

What is the ideas behind ethical against capitalism?

They believe capitalism is the issue and should be overthrown completely- it breeds inequality, exploitation and social division and holds us back from reaching our full potential

What do Wilkinson and Pickett (2010) argue should be the goal of society?

To increase equality rather than focus on economic growth

List the 2 frameworks of ethical action that challenge capitalism

-Ethical within capitalism -Ethical against capitalism

Describe the tragedy of the commons (Hardin 1968)

-An argument against shareholder capitalism -If a farmer were to add another cow to the grazing herd it would benefit him but would ruin the land

List the 5 benefits of the enlightened self interest model

-Attracting better employees -Gaining more affluent customers -Attracting shareholders -Building long term reputations -Avoiding legislation

List the 2 problems with ethical within capitalism

-Can fail to live up to expectations/produce the same result -Organic/fair trade/local products are often more expensive and so only available to those with more money

List 5 of the ethical dilemmas in the workpllace

-Cheating on the company- leaving work early, stealing -Misleading the clients as to the quality of a product -Working in unethical industries -Turning a blind eye to coworkers unethical acts -Selling products that are bad for the planet or people

According to King and Lawley (2016) what are the 2 main forms of enlightened self interest?

-Damage limitation model- CSR is a way of limiting negative side effects of a firms activity -Ethical capitalism- CSR should be integrated into the heart of the firms activities

List 5 of the stakeholders of an organiswiyon

-Government -Local communities -Suppliers of capital -Employees -Pressure groups

List the 4 categories of corporate social responsibility in the news

-Harm to workers -Suicidal workers -Harm to customers -Harm to animals

What are 2 key criticisms of deontological ethics?

-It is very rigid- e.g. what if you had to lie to save someone's life, which duty should come first, lying or saving the life -It is difficult to come up with a set of universal laws that fit all circumstances

List the 3 key areas if business ethics

-Normative ethics -Descriptive ethics -Managing ethics

What were the 8 aims (BBC Manchester 2010) of the Rochdale Pioneers, a group of textile workers?

-Open membership -Democratic control -Dividend on purchase -Limited interest on capital -Political and religious neutrality -Cash trading -Promotion of education -Sale of pure, unadulterated goods

List Carrols (1991) 4 levels of CSR in order

-Philanthropic responsibilities -Ethical responsibilities -Legal responsibilities -Economic responsibilities

List the 4 assumptions that are also issues with the shareholder capitalism model

-Self interest is good for all -Individuals should be free to pursue their own interests -Economic growth is good for all -Shareholders' interests are the only important ones

List the 3 frameworks of ethical action that accept capitalism

-Shareholder capitalism -Stakeholder capitalism -Ethical capitalism

List the 5 frameworks of ethical action

-Shareholder capitalism -Stakeholder capitalism -Ethical capitalism -Ethical within capitalism -Ethical against capitalism

What 2 key principles did Andrew Carnegie believe had to be in place in order for business to be a positive force in increasing societies wealth?

-The charitable principle- the more fortunate give to the less fortunate -The stewardship principle- the rich hold the wealth "in trust" for the rest of society

Describe the base and superstructure model based on Marx (1859/2012)

-The superstructure sits on the base -The base consists of relations of production (elite exploit workers) and means of production (materials to produce machines, factories)- the base shapes the superstructure -The superstructure consists of education, family, religion, politics and mass media- the superstructure maintains and legitimises the base

Who was Milton Friedman?

A Nobel prize winning economist who famously argued that corporate social responsibility is unethical

Define sustainability

A complex term that often stresses the long term viability of the environment and/or the corporation

What is "ethics of care"?

A concept related to virtue based ethics which argues most philosophy (and therefore ethics) are written by and based on male ideas

Define corporate social responsibility

A perspective which stresses the responsibilities that corporations have towards society and other stakeholders

Define free market

A philosophy and economic system which argues that business works at its most efficient when open exchange can happen between businesses with minimal government interference

What is Tumin's (1964) principle of least morality?

A term that describes how companies that apply some CSR in their practices do better than both those who apply none and those who try much harder

Describe the rising tide thesis

Although capitalism might produce more inequality, it will "drag up the poor people, because there are the resources to do so" (Robinson 2012)

Define ethical capitalism

An approach which seeks to integrate CSR into the heart of an organisations activities and purpose

Define deontological ethics

Asks whether the action is right, fair and honest- it is not concerned with the consequences of the action, but the reasons behind it Looks to create a set of universal rules

What is the second individual growth perspective?

Communitarianism- this argues that the community should be considered more important than individuals or the state

Give an example of an argument for "ethics of care"

Gilligan (1982) argues women demonstrate a different way of moral reasoning, tending to seek compromise and ways of avoiding blaming one side exclusively

Describe a criticism of Hardin's (1968) work

Historical inaccuracies (Hawkshaw et al. 2012)

Give an example of corporate social responsibility in the news

In 2013 an 8 storey building in Bangladesh collapsed, killing 1100 workers, although the owner and workers knew it was unsafe- the owner and 40 others were charged with murder

Define priori

Independent of experience- when something exists independently of the particular circumstance or the outcome

Define normative ethics

Tells us what we should do- aims to separate good from bad practice and make moral judgements on how people should act

What does the first individual growth perspective focus on?

It emphasises the importance of learning and development as part of ethical development- focussing on how to be more effective in ones job whilst developing an ethical character

What does the social justice view of the deontological perspective argue?

Key person John Rawls asks people to imagine what a just society would look like if we didn't know our position- Rawl believes we are risk averse, and would design a world of fairness based upon the same civil and political rights

Define ethical egosim

People acting in their own best interest is the best way to get a good society

Describe Adam Smiths (1776/2012) invisible hand

Self interest supports society as a whole, "led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention... By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it"

Define stakeholder

Someone who has an interest or claim in the activities of an organisation

Define teleological ethics

States that an action can only be judged by its consequences

Give a popular example of the first individual growth perspective

Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (2004)- is a time management and self help book but also asks the reader to define what they consider being successful, selling 15 million copies

Define descriptive ethics

Tells us what people actually do and seeks to provide an explanation of why they do it

Define business ethics

The application of ethical principles to organisations to either understand, judge or direct individual and organisational ethical decision making

Define capitalism

The dominant economic system, which is based on private ownership of the means of production of goods and services for the purposes of making profit

What does the libertarian view of the deontological perspective argue?

The essential right people have is freedom, particularly freedom from government interference and property rights

List the issue with ethical against capitalism

The overthrowing of capitalism is extremely unlikely

What do economists mean by externalities, or spillover costs?

The positive or negative costs on society or other people, who have had no part in the decision making process

Describe the third assumption/problem with the shareholder capitalism nodel

Wilkinson and Pickett (2010) looked at physical and mental health, drug abuse, imprisonment, obesity etc. and found countries with highest social inequality fared worse e.g. Infant deaths compared to income equality appears to show a positive correlation, with Sweden, Norway and Finland low but Portugal and the US high