Polytechnic University of the Philippines

College of Business Administration – Graduate Studies

Master in Business Administration

Corporate Social Responsibility

and Good Governance

Insights/Reflection on Chapter 6: The Global

Businessplace as a Field of Applied Ethics

Dr. Samuel Mejia Salvador

Regala, Ma. Yvonne J.

1MBA652 | SAT | 7:30-10:30 AM
 Insights/Reflection on Chapter 6: The Global Businessplace as a Field of Applied Ethics

1. Key words
 Corporate Social Responsibility  Global Businessplace
(CSR)  Ethics
 Economic Globalization  Principles

2. Key concepts
a. One has to investigate and account for not only economic activities and their impact but
also the institutions and the rules (or “the system”) that govern and should govern these
activities and consequences to understand and evaluate economic globalization.
b. Global institutions should not only enhance freedom, efficiency, and economic growth
but also promote sustainability and distributive justice, provide international public goods
that are essential for living and collaborating in the “global village”, strengthen fairness
in labor markets and ensure basic health care and education.
c. There are three qualitatively different levels of acting namely: micro, meso and macro
levels.
d. There are two-legged approaches to business ethics: 1. To formulate absolute ethical
principles and implement them on business practices and 2. Business ethics has its own
imperatives that are distinct from high ethical requirements.
e. Reporting on and monitoring of corporate responsibilities have gained momentum which
is greatly facilitated by the internet.
f. Businessmen who aspire to operate on a high ethical plane should articulate and embrace
a core set of ethical principles.

3. Insights/Reflection
One of the concepts that I have come across in Chapter 6, to which I strongly agree, is that
ethical business puts people first. I firmly believe that if business owners are to place people
as the central point of their activities, they will certainly be successful.

I have also learned about a core set of ethical principles which should be articulated and
embraced by business owners who aspire to operate on a high ethical plane. These principles
shall be able to address ethical issues concerning the rightness or fairness of various business
strategies. The first principle states that businessmen should never knowingly do harm when
discharging business duties. The area of product safety shall be devoted with great attention
above anything else. The second principle asserts that businessmen shall never intentionally
mislead or unfairly manipulate consumers. This is consistent with the perspective of giving
people with utmost respect. Safeguarding vulnerable segments represents the third principle.
Business owners shall not take advantage of customers who lack education or sophistication
in the workings of the businessplace. The fourth principle suggests that business
organizations are obligated to assess the fairness of businessplace consequences flowing
from their collective business practices. Stewardship is the fifth principle. This should be a
reminder that business owners shall perform their social duties for the common good. This
principle also addresses environmental/ecological responsibilities of businessmen.

Having known of these principles, I believe that I will be able to apply them effectively in the
future when I get to carry out my own business. Through them, I will be strongly guided
most specially with the ethical and social dimensions of business decision-making.