Student’s name Ludmila Luciano

Student number 201904428

Name of
Mowbray campus
Campus

Year of Study 1Fst Year Semester 2nd semester

Programme Diploma In Business Management

Module
Module Name Business Ethics ETH120
Code

Lecturer Ruvimbo Nahanda

Date
Due date 6th september 2023 submitted 6th september 2023
 DECLARATION BY STUDENT

I, the undersigned declare that:

• I have retained a copy of this assessment.

• I understand what plagiarism is and are aware of the Damelin’s policy in this regard.
• The work hereby submitted is my original work, gathered and utilised to fulfil the
requirements of this assignment except for source material explicitly acknowledged.
• I have not used work previously produced by another student or any other persons to hand
in as my own.
• I have not allowed, and will not allow, anyone to copy my work with the intention of passing
it off as their own work.

Signature of Student Ludmila Luciano 6th september

Date 2023
Table of Contents

QUESTION 1: Identify and explain any five (05) major benefits of whistleblowing in
South African Organizations.
..................................................................................................................................3
Introduction...............................................................................................................3
Body part..................................................................................................................3
Conclusion ...............................................................................................................5

QUESTION 2: Fully discuss the dimensions of corporate responsibility

operations................................................................................................................6
Introduction..............................................................................................................6
Body part.................................................................................................................6
Conclusion ..............................................................................................................7
Reference List..........................................................................................................8
 QUESTION 1: Identify and explain any five (05) major benefits of whistleblowing in
South African Organizations.

Since the new companies Act provides improved protection for whistle blowers, it's
been observed that different matters have been arising from the presence of whistle
blowing within the organization, particularly its importance among irregularity and
malpractices of corporates. In 2022 the Government of South Africa define
whistleblowing on their homepage as: A “term that is used by law enforcement
agencies when a person passes on relevant and reliable information concerning
wrongdoing, such as fraud and corruption to a person/ organization they trust”. The
main interest of our study lies within the benefit of whistleblowing and as we are
moving forward, the researcher will identify and explain five (05) major benefits of
whistleblowing in South African organizations.

It is well known that various scholars and practitioners have tried to articulate and
promote their own preferred definitions of whistleblowing; yet a clear, fixed, and
immutable meaning remains elusive. There is no such universal definition fixed to the
concept of whistleblowing. Nevertheless, it depends on the context in which it is used,
different views on what the term means, and the various meanings accredited to it
have been proposed. The International Labour Organization sees whistleblowing as
‘the reporting by employees or former employees of illegal, irregular or dangerous
practices by employers, while Hendrickse and Hefer(2019:101) argued that whistle
blowing is a mechanism to protect, support and allow the full and open communication
of individuals who wish to inform the community of decisions and matters that are
against the public interest. Below are some of the benefits provided by the act of
whistleblowing:

• Whistleblowing helpfully enables the company to address the problem before it

worsens or else to mitigate the damages that may lead to damaging consequences
(Cassim, 2023:303).For instance, an employee who notifies appropriate authorities of
a defect product before it is introduced to consumers, will definitely help the
corporation to avoid unnecessary court cases and a maligned reputation (Nwoke,
2019:429).
• Prevent fraudulent activities: According to Sebake and Mudau (2020:499),
compelling cases have been presented of how corruption became rampant during the
Covid-19 pandemic, which ultimately justified the need to revamp whistleblowing in its
current form. For instance, in 2020 during the pandemic, the Audit General forwarded
a list of fraudulent cases to multi-agency fusion centers inter alia, which ultimately led
the enforcement agencies and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), to go for follow up
and prosecution. Thus, these reports of the Audit General adequately proved the
rampant corruption during Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa (Sebake and Mudau,
2020:498-499).

• Effective compliance with relevant laws: Sebake and Mudau (2020:499) argued,
The South African public service is declared to be run by persons who aim at paying
due diligence to the rule of law ushered in by democracy. Thus, whistleblowing serves
as an important tool that reaffirms participatory democracy against the assumption that
society only takes part in democracy and nothing tangible beyond that. A typical
example of this will be of a case where wrongdoings are happening or about to
happen, and this positions whistleblowing as internal machinery, against the notion
that it reflects an instrument of public confidence in defending the growing South
African democracy (Sebake and Mudau, 2020:499).

• Additionally, an effective whistleblowing program can lead to a more efficient fiscal

management of the organization through, for example, the reporting of waste and
improper tendering practices (Hendrickse and Hefer, 2019:101).

• A healthier and safer work environment through the reporting of unsafe practices
(Hendrickse and Hefer, 2019:101).

It seems clear that the presence of whistleblowing among the organization plays a
huge part in promoting a good governance in such a way the checks and balances of
honest business is in assisting and protecting individuals who wish to report any
unethical conducts with the organization. As this, signals the end of our essay, what
we can conclude is that the presence of whistleblowing among organizations
contribute positively to the benefit of stakeholders, the business in such a way it
assures good conduct and integrity.
 QUESTION 2: Fully discuss the dimensions of corporate responsibility.

Having an effective corporate responsibility program can contribute positively to all

stakeholders and the organization. Since companies have a big impact on the society,
corporations are trying to find themselves in relationships of responsibility with the
society in which they operate. Different matters arose about corporate responsibility,
particularly its dimensions which lie within the primary interest of this whole essay.
Given this, in the following sections we will discuss the dimensions of in which
corporate responsibility has its impacts.

According to Rossouw and Van Vuuren (2017:30), there are four (04) broad areas in
which corporations have responsibilities: The economy, the workplace, social
environment and natural environment.

• Economy: Carroll (2021:319-320) noted, this area highlights the responsibility of

corporation of making decisions, strategies that interrelate with continuing to provide
the goods, services and jobs that consumers and employees need. Thus, it is
imperative for a business to reconsider the impact that it has on economy in which its
operations are conducted. Since the economic, or financial, responsibility of the firm
is typically associated with sound strategic decision-making emanating from the board
of directors and top-level executives, it is imperative that governance responsibilities
be addressed (Carroll, 2021:319-320).

• Social environment: De Wit (2019:23) argued, the social environment dimension

captures the responsibility of promoting a healthy and safe environment for the
community in which the organization operates, such as a cleaner production
technology, minimizing pollution, minimizing waste streams, recycling and reuse of
materials and education on sustainability. For example, the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has authority and responsibility to protect and promote the public
health by, among other things, ensuring the safety and effectiveness of human and
veterinary drugs, biological products, and medical devices; and ensuring the safety
and security of our nation’s food supply (Carroll, 2021:322). To fulfil such
responsibilities, businesses will need to be attentive to the regulations and laws that
are declared by these and other authorized government bodies.
• Workplace: Acording to Abu Zayyad, Obeidat, Alshurideh, Abuhashesh,
Maqableh,and Masa’deh (2021:514-515), this dimension captures the notion that
corporations should be able to perceive corporate social responsibility activities and
efforts directed toward its stakeholders which includes both its customers and its
employees. Generally, customers may perceive a company’s CSR activities as a
promise that creates an expectation that the company will make and deliver services
in an appropriate way. This will result in a positive attitude held by stakeholders
regarding the company’s impact which will ultimately affect perceptions of employee
behaviour. This in turn, positively reflects on the company’s overall employee attitude,
affecting the quality of productivity which directly impacts customers (Abu Zayyad et
al. 2021:514-515).

• Natural environment:According to Rossouw and Van Vuuren (2017:31), the fourth

area of responsibility concerns the nature of the company's impact on the natural
environment. The company needs to consider how its operation impact on the
conservation and the sustainability of the environment. Does it pollute the environment
by the way in which it disposes its waste? Does it invest environmentally sound
technology and infrastructure? Does it play its part in protecting non-renewable natural
resources?

In conclusion, corporations are subjective to reconsider the impact they have within
the four dimensions discussed above before framing any decisions. Therefore, it is
suggested for corporations to act not only in the best interest of the company but also
in the best interest of the society in such a way it promotes cooperation between the
organization, stakeholders and the community in which the business operates.
Reference List:

Abu Zayyad, H.M., Obeidat, Z.M., Alshurideh, M.T., Abuhashesh, M., Maqableh, M.
and Masa’deh, R.E., 2021. Corporate social responsibility and patronage intentions:
The mediating effect of brand credibility. Journal of Marketing Communications, 27(5),
pp.510-533.

Carroll, A.B., 2021. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the COVID-19
pandemic: Organizational and managerial implications. Journal of Strategy and
Management, 14(3), pp.315-330.

Cassim, R., 2023. A Critical Analysis of the Corporate Whistleblowing Provisions of

the South African Companies Act. Journal of African Law, pp.1-19.

De Wit, J., The Dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility and the Acquirer
Announcement Effect: Evidence from Acquisitions.

Hendrickse, J, W., Hefer, L., (2019). Corporate Governance Handbook: principles and
practice, (3Ed). Cape Town: Juta.

Nwoke, U., 2019. Whistle-blowing as a corporate governance mechanism: South

Africa and Nigeria in perspective. Journal of Corporate Law Studies, 19(2), pp.421-
450.

Rossouw, D., Van Vuuren, L., (2017). Business Ethics, (3Ed). Cape Town: Oxford.

Sebake, B.K. and Mudau, J., 2020. Revisiting whistleblowing amid COVID-19
pandemic in South Africa: an ad nauseam problem. Journal of Public Administration,
55(3-1), pp.490-501.