BUSINESS ETHICS

Module 14

Target
Congratulations! You have reached the last learning material in
Business Ethics.
Now that you’re equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge in
business ethics and social responsibility, you are now ready to take it into a higher
level – which is putting it into real life.
After going through this learning material, you are expected to:
1. prepare and implement a proposed personal action plan to assist an existing
small business enterprise to practice ethics and social responsibility in their
business operation (ABM_ESR12-IVm-p-4.2) and (ABM_ESR12-IVm-p-4.3)
 Jumpstart
Before discussing the steps in developing a personal action plan, let’s
do some recall activity. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the activity
Direction: Read each item carefully and choose the best answer.
Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Ace believes that in social responsibility, the company should do the right
thing and not because of obligation. What social responsibility does she
believes in?
A. Economic B. Ethical C. Legal D. Philanthropic
2. Glaiza was tasked to report the financial statement of Bira Corporation and
she accurately reported it to the investors and provided a complete list of
expenses of the company. What core principle of in business did she
practice? A. Accountability B. Fairness
C. Respect for other’s property D. Transparency
3. Which of the following social responsibilities of entrepreneurs refers to the
preserving and maintaining the balance of nature?
A. Community B. Environment C. Social D. Suppliers
4. The head of the Marketing Department, Carl, developed and executed a
strategy to outsource the processes to a partner company. Carl said that if
this strategy fails to achieve the benefits outlined in its business plan, he is
to be blamed. What core principle did he practice?
A. Accountability B. Fairness
C. Respect for other’s property D. Transparency
5. The officer-in-charge of the bidding process, Bernadette, informs all the
bidders on how does the process go and all its advantages and disadvantages
of winning the bid. Which of the following core principle did she showed? A.
Accountability B. Fairness
C. Transparency D. Trustworthiness
Discover
Action plan is a sequence of steps that must be taken, or activities that must
be performed well, for a strategy to succeed (Business Dictionary, 2020). It is
needed in business because it serves as a guide on what an entrepreneur needed to
achieve on a specific time and how he should achieve it. Here are the different steps
in developing an action plan for small businesses.
1. DEFINE YOUR GOAL
Being clear with what you want to achieve for your business is the
start of developing your action plan. Then write down your goal and run your goal
through the SMART criteria.
• Specific – your goal should be well-defined and clear. You should consider
the following questions:
o What should be achieved? o Who are involved in the
implementation of the action plan? o Where should it be
implemented?
Example: To be able to follow the health standard set by the
Inter-Agency Task Force and employees being tested negative for CoViD-19.
• Measurable – it should be measurable indicators to track the progress of
your goal. It could be an analytical data, performance measures, or direct
revenue, ensuring that your goal is quantifiable.
• Attainable – it should be realistic and achievable within the resources,
time, money, experience, etc. you have.
• Relevant – it should be aligned with your other goals.
• Timely – there should be a specific deadline in reaching your goal. Having
a timeframe for your goal will create a sense of urgency – which you need
to achieve it on or before the deadline you set.
 To make it easier to understand, here is an example of what has been
discussed on the last page.
To sell basic needs to the consumers while
GOAL IN MIND following the health standard set by the IATF due
to COVID-19 pandemic from August to December
2020.
What should To serve the consumers in buying their needs while be
achieved? following the health standard set by the IATF
Where should it be At their own business establishment.
implemented?
Who are involved? All employees
What is my indicator of -No one from the enterprise will be
tested positive
progress? from COVID-19
-Still in operation during Community Quarantine.
Is it attainable with the Yes, to follow the health standard set
by IATF, the resources that you employees’ time of work will be
adjusted
have?
Is it aligned with the Yes, the enterprise can still sell commodities
enterprise’s previous needed by people. goals?
When is it going to During the COVID-19 pandemic,
specifically from happen? August to December of 2020

Now that there is an example that you can follow, it is now your turn
to think of your own goal by completing the activity found in the next page.
Activity No. 1: Generating your Goal.
Direction: Suppose you are the owner of a Milk Tea Shop and you
need to come up with a goal on how your shop will thrive during the General
Quarantine. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering and copy the template
below.
Note: Keep your answer sheet because it will be needed on the next
activities to come.
 2. LIST DOWN THE STEPS TO BE FOLLOWED
Now that your goal is clear, the next phase is to create a list of the
steps that needs to be followed in achieving your goal. You can make a rough draft
just like on the example below.
TASK DUE DATE/DEADLINE
- Creating signage for the procedures to be - Before August 1, 2020
performed before the consumers enter the grocery
store.
- Setting up disinfecting stalls for the consumers. - Before August 1, 2020
- Buying non-contact infrared thermometer and - After August 1, 2020
other items needed in disinfecting stalls.
- Orienting the employees for the health standard - Before August 1, 2020
set by IATF.
- Assigning an employee to assist the consumers in - Everyday starting
following the procedure. from
August 1 to December 31,
- Conducting rapid tests for the employees. 2020
- Every two weeks
starting from July 30, 2020
 Activity No. 2: Listing your Tasks
Direction: Bring out your answer sheet on Activity No. 1. Now that
you already have your goal, you can now start listing the tasks needed by basing it
from your goal. Use a clean sheet of paper in listing your tasks and their deadline
and copy the template below.
TASK DUE DATE/DEADLINE

3. PRIORITIZE TASKS AND ADD DEADLINES

Now that you already have your tasks together with the time for it to
be accomplished, this is now the step in reorganize those tasks because some tasks
should be prioritized first. You can also add other tasks and adjust the deadline
that you think that can’t be attained with the date you specified. The example
below is the revised list for step number 2.
TASK DUE DATE/DEADLINE
- Orienting the employees for the health standard - Two weeks before
set by IATF. August
- Conducting rapid tests for the employees. 1, 2020
- Every two weeks
- Setting up disinfecting stalls for the consumers. starting from July 30, 2020 -
- Buying non-contact infrared thermometer and Before August 1, 2020
other items needed in disinfecting stalls. - Before August 1, 2020
- Creating signage for the procedures to be
performed before the consumers enter the grocery - Before August 1, 2020
store.
- Assigning an employee to assist the consumers in
following the procedure. - Everyday starting
from
August 1 to December 31,
2020
 Activity No. 3: Tidying up your List
Direction: Using your answer on activity number 2, reorganize your
list and assess if the deadline you specified for the certain task is attainable. Use a
separate sheet for this activity.
4. IDENTIFY THE RESOURCES NEEDED
Before starting your action plan, it is important to make sure that all
the needed resources at hand to complete the goal. And if they are not currently
available, you need to make a plan on how to acquire it. These resources should be
included in your budget.
5. VISUALIZE YOUR ACTION PLAN
Now that you have the necessary elements needed in an action plan, it
is now time to create something that everyone can understand. It could be in the
form of a flow chart (the most common form), Gantt chart, or table. Make sure that
your visualized action plan has the elements from the previous pages are all
included.
6. MONITOR, EVALUATE AND UPDATE
In creating an action plan, implementing your action plan is not the
end of the process. It needs some monitoring in order to see if your plan has no
loopholes. Once you monitored the implemented plan, you need to evaluate its
progress. You can mark the tasks that are completed as done. You can also see the
tasks that are delayed or still pending which in case, you need to think why it is
being delayed and can finally find an appropriate solution for it. And lastly, you can
now update your plan according to what you have revised.

Explore
Activity No. 4: Visualize me now!
 Direction: Using your answers on activity 1, 2 and 3, create your own
visualized action plan using a flow chart. Use a separate sheet of paper in creating
your action plan. You can use the template below in creating your own flow chart.

Rubric in scoring the output for Activity 4

CATEGORY EXCELLENT – 5 SATISFACTORY – 3 POOR – 1
The elements are All the elements are Some of the
all present and present but did not elements of the
Content follows the follow the proper action plan are
sequence on when sequencing. missing and are
it should be interchanged.
executed
The flow chart is The flow chart is The flow chart is
systematic and can be understood confusing and
Layout easy to but has difficulty in difficult to locate
understand. locating the the elements.
elements.
 Activity No. 5: Develop me now
Direction: Choose one of the small business enterprises within your
town and prepare an action plan that can assist them in their business operation
while practicing ethics and social responsibility during the “New Normal”
Rubric for Scoring the Action plan
CATEGORY POOR – 1 SATISFACTORY – 3 EXCELLENT – 5
Stated the goal Stated the goal of Stated goal and
without the action plan but answered all the
Goal answering the does not answer questions under
questions under all the questions the SMART
the SMART under the SMART Criteria.
Criteria. Criteria.
Tasks are listed Tasks are listed and Tasks are
but not have specified a organized
Tasks specified the deadline for each. according to the
deadline for each date of deadline
set.
The flow chart is The flow chart is The flow chart is
cluttered looking easy to understand easy to understand
Visualized Action or confusing. It is but lacks some and has all the
Plan difficult to locate important elements. important
important elements.
elements.

References
Websites:
Athuraliya, Amanda. “How to Write an Action Plan: Step-by-Step Guide with
Templates.” Creately
Blog, July 13, 2020. https://creately.com/blog/diagrams/how-to-write-an-action-plan/.
Lu, Eva. “How to Create a Personal Development Plan.” Mind of a Winner, January 13, 2015.
http://www.mindofwinner.com/create-personal-development-plan/.
Mulder, Patty. “What Are SMART Goals? The Theory, Examples and Template.” toolshero, July 17,
2020. https://www.toolshero.com/personal-development/smart-goals/.
 Proctor, Patrick. “10 SMART Goals Examples for Small Businesses in 2020.” Fit
Small Business, June 4, 2020. https://fitsmallbusiness.com/smart-goals-examples/. Sun, Leo.
“Developing an Action Plan.” BusinessDictionary.com, 2019.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/article/600/developing-an-action-plan/.
Team, Editorial. “How to Write an Action Plan to Help You Achieve Your Goals.” Indeed Career Guide,
October 7, 2019.
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-writeanaction-plan.
Team, Editorial. “SMART Goal - Definition, Guide, and Importance of Goal Setting.” Corporate Finance
Institute, June 17, 2020.
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/other/smart-goal/.
Woodruff, Jim. “How to Write a Business Action Plan.” Small Business - Chron.com. Chron.com,
February 6, 2019. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/write-business-action-plan-2750.html.