or more people share ownership of a single
BSR Reviewer
NATURE AND FORMS OF BUSINESS & CORE PRINCIPLES IN
BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Ethics
 is a set of moral principles and values that we
use to answer questions of right and wrong.
 can also be defined as the study of the
general nature of morals and the moral
choices made by individuals in their
relationships with others.
Business ethics or corporate ethics
 a form of applied ethics or professional
ethics that examines ethical principles and
moral or ethical problems that arise in a
business environment.
 It applies to all aspects of business conduct
and is relevant to the conduct of individuals
and the entire organization.
Social Responsibility
 like ethics, means distinguishing right from
wrong and going right.
Business
 an organization or economic system where
goods and services are exchanged for one
another or for money.
BASIC FORMS OF BUSINESS ORGANIZATION
1. Sole Proprietorship - also known as a sole
trader, is owned by one person and operates
for their benefit. The owner may operate the
business alone or with other people.
2. Partnership - a business owned by two
people. In most forms of partnership, each
partner has unlimited liability for the debts
incurred by the business. In partnership, two
business.
TYPES OF PARTNERSHIP
a)
- “Limited” means
that most of the partners have limited
liability (to the extent of their investment)
as well as limited input regarding
management decisions, which generally
encourages investors to invest in short-term
projects, or capital assets.
b) - Partners divide
responsibility for management and liability,
as well as the shares of profit or loss,
according to their internal agreement.
Equal shares are assumed unless there is a
written agreement that states.
c) - Acts like general
partnership, but is clearly for a limited
period of time or a single project.
3. Corporation - The owners of a corporation
have limited liability, and the business has a
separate legal personality from its owner
a) - are considered
separate tax-paying entities.
b) - are pass-through
entities, meaning that their income, losses,
deductions, and credit passes through the
corporation’s earnings to yourself.
4. Limited liability companies (LLCs) in the USA -
are hybrid forms of business that have
characteristics of both a corporation and a
partnership.
5. Cooperative organizations - are different from
the rest, as they are formed not for the purpose
of making profit but to provide goods and
services to their members at reasonable rates.
BASIC CLASSIFICATION OF BUSINESS
1. Service Businesses - offer intangible goods or
services and typically charge for labor or other
 services provided to government, to consumers, Justice - means giving each person what he or she
or to other businesses. deserves or giving each person his or her due.
a) - companies that
generate profits through investment and  Justice is the standard or rightness, while
management of capital. fairness is regard to as the ability to judge
b) - deliver without reference to one’s feelings or
goods and individuals to their destinations interest.
for a fee.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF JUSTICE
c) - produce public services such as
electricity or sewage treatment, usually a) - the extent to which
under a government. society’s institutions ensure that benefits
and burdens are distributed in ways that
2. Manufacturing Businesses - buys products with are fair and just.
the intention of using them as materials in making b) - the
a new product. extent to which punishments are fair and
a) - just.
produce raw materials c) – the extent to which
b) - produce products, people are fairly compensated for their
either from raw materials or from injuries by those who have injured them
component parts, then sell their products
at a profit, for example cars, clothing or 2. Accountability - is the obligation of an individual
pipes. or organization to account for its activities
c) - sell, rent, and 3. Transparency - the lack of hidden agendas and
develop properties conditions, accompanied by the availability of full
d) - generate information
profits primarily from the sale of 4. Stewardship - Was originally made up of the
intellectual property tasks of a domestic steward. In the beginning, is
referred to as the household servant’s duties for
3. Merchandising Businesses bringing food and drink to the castle’s dining hall.
a) - act as
middleman and get goods produced by
manufacturers to the intended consumers; Week 2
they make their profits by marking up their
prices. COMMON PRACTICES IN BUSINESS ORGANIZATION

4. Hybrid businesses - are companies that may be A. DECORUM - Adherence to the proper etiquette for a
classified into more than one type of business. business meeting establishes respect among meeting
participants, helps the meeting begin and end on
time, and fosters an atmosphere of cooperation.

CORE PRINCIPLES IN BUSINESS OPERATIONS 1. On-Time and Promptness - easiest way to

exhibit professionalism is to consistently be
1. Fairness - the level of even-handedness in punctual.
dispensing justice whereby claims are recognized
in the order of their legal and contractual
priority.
 2. On Preparation - an individual must be
prepared to conduct the business at hand. He
must have all resources ready for use
3. On Agenda - The chairperson of the meeting
should circulate a meeting agenda to each
participant at least one week in advance.
4. On Attire and Appearance – dressing
appropriately. Dressing well is a vital part of
earning respect in the Philippines.
5. On Decorum - Excessive use of slang,
profanity, and other offensive language is an
immediate sign of unprofessionalism.
6. On Basic Courtesy and Respect – showing
respect not only to your superiors but also to
your peers and subordinates; in other words,
to everyone
7. On Greetings - Standard greetings are an
exchange of handshakes and a smile. In
formal situations, the oldest or most important
person is greeted first.
8. On Handshakes - The rules on handshakes
are about the same in the West, although
Filipinos may use a little more contact (a pat
on the side of the arm as a gesture of
hospitality or friendship).
9. On Body Language - Filipinos have
fascinating nonverbal language, much of it
involving facial expressions. Lifting the
eyebrows without smiling means no - but
lifting the eyebrows while smiling is used to
greet a friend.
10. On Formal and Informal Address
 addressing a new business acquaintance
by his or her family name. “Mister” or
“Miss”
 married Filipinas prefer “Mrs.”
 Filipinos are status conscious, so be quick
to use formal titles: Doctor Aquino
11. On Speaking in Meetings - Keep the meeting
organized by only speaking when you have
the floor. Do not interrupt someone while they
are speaking or asking a question.
12. On Listening - many of the questions you are
answered by the content of the meeting, Listen
attentively to the meeting and take notes.
13. On Business or Visiting Cards - It is advisable
to present your business or visiting card with
both hands, and take others with both hands, It
show consideration
14. On Breaks - Meetings should have a 20 mins
break every 2 hours, and meal breaks should be
30 minutes long
15. On Appropriate Communication –
communicate effectively, always return emails
and phone calls, always identify yourself and
your department in phone calls and speak
politely and in considerate manner
16. On Bargaining – Bargaining is part of Filipino
life. Do not get angry and avoid shouting or
imposing unreasonable deadlines for decision-
making when bargaining with other businessmen
17. On Bringing in Guest - Do not bring
unannounced guests to meetings. Contact the
chairperson first for permission to bring your
guest.
18. On Building Relationships - Show others that
you value their work by taking the time to visit
and talk with them.
19. On Business Meals and Recreation - The
person who issues the invitation is the one who
pays.
20. On Gift Giving - If you are given a small gift,
accept it amiably, but do not open it in front of
other guests or only do so after you have left.
Imported brandy and whiskey are prized gifts,
even if the recipient does not drink alcohol.
B. PROTOCOL
1. The purpose of business protocol
 is to encourage all employees in a company
to act in a uniform manner.
 It helps to ensure that all employees
understand their role in the company, the
task and challenges they face, and how to
execute them as quickly and accurately as
possible.
2. Training in Protocol  defines the scope or spheres within which
decisions can be taken by subordinates in an
 Etiquette Expert notes that an increasingly
organization. It permits lower-level
diverse workforce requires such training to
management to deal with problems and issues
help people from all walks of life
without consulting top-level management
communicate with each other and work
every time for a decision.
together.
Features of Business Policy
3. Benefits of Protocol
A. SPECIFIC
 Business protocol helps present a uniform,
B. CLEAR
professional face to the public, partners, and
C. RELIABLE/ UNIFORM
donors
D. APPROPRIATE
 Business protocol may unite employees under
E. SIMPLE
common goals and ensure that tasks are
F. INCLUSIVE/ COMPREHENSIVE
executed to the preference of the company’s
G. FLEXIBLE
owners
H. STABLE
 Employees who are presented with a
business’s protocol and etiquette up front will Difference between Policy and Strategy
be able to make informed decisions about
whether the company is right for them.  Policy is a blueprint of the organizational
activities which are repetitive/routine in
4. International Protocol nature. While strategy is concerned with
 Greetings and Introduction those organizational decisions which have
 Names and Titles not been dealt with/faced before in the same
 Organizing Meetings form.
 Punctuality and Time  Policy formulation is the responsibility of top-
 Business Cards level management. While strategy
 Preliminary Conversations formulation is basically done by middle-level
 Verbal Communication management.
 Non-verbal Communication
D. ADVERTISING -is how a company encourages people
 Business Meals
to buy its products, services, or ideas
 Gift Giving
 Tipping Tips E. MARKETING - refers to the process of product
 Business Attire development as well as sales, promotion, and
distribution. It is often confused with promotion or
5. Examples of Protocol
advertising. The whole concept of marketing
a) Filipino Family-Modeled Business revolves around the customer.
b) Business is Personal
c) Status-Consciousness F. BOOKEEPING- Accounting, simply put, is keeping
d) Politeness and Ambiguity track of money. This applies to an individual’s
personal finances as well as a huge firm’s
accounting books

C. BUSINESS POLICY
 1. - is an accounting
system under which every transaction is
recorded on a single line.
2. - is a kind of
accounting system that ensures that each
transaction that takes place is reflected in
two separate accounts.
G. REPORTORIAL REQUIREMENTS - Business or enterprise
reporting is “the public reporting of operating and
financial data by a business enterprise.
1. - is a comprehensive report
on a company’s activities throughout the
preceding year. Are intended to give
shareholders and other interested people
information about the company’s activities
and financial performance
2. - is
a formal record of the financial activities and
position of a business, person, or entity.
H. DOCUMENTATION – the processes and items that
serve as evidence for the validity or truth of a
certain claim or statement.
WHY IS A CODE OF ETHICS IMPORTANT?
-It is to know what the company considers ethical or
unethical and if without id the company has no
ethics or there are different ethical codes that are
based on our own perception. It is also important so
that employees can live by and make decisions with
while at work.
Week 4
THE CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHIES AND THEIR IMPLICATION ON
BUSINESS
Business ethics - is part of the philosophy of
economics, the branch of philosophy that deals with
the philosophical, political, and ethical underpinnings
of business and economics
SOCRATES: THE GAD-FLY AT THE MARKETPLACE -
conducted his philosophical activity by means of
question and answer. His answer will be base on
your answer.
One way of defining the Socratic Method is as “a
systematic process for examining the ideas,
questions, and answers that form the basis of human
belief. It involves recognizing that all new
understanding is linked to prior understanding, that
thought itself is a continuous thread woven
throughout lives rather than isolated sets of
questions and answers.”
The Socratic Method and Entrepreneurial
Learning
 It provides a focus through clarity of
purpose.
 Used to develop and reinforce an
entrepreneurial mindset.
Dare to disagree - Socrates warned that humans
sleepwalk through life, simply going along with the
crowd. This is dangerous for morality, particularly in
corporate governance. When corruption is
uncovered, too often people say, “Everyone else
was doing it.” But characters are our responsibility.
“The unexamined life is not worth living” – Socrates
PLATO: THE PHILOSOPHER-KING (427-347 B.C.E.) - is one
of the world’s best-known and most widely read and
studied philosophers.
Combating the Relativism of the Sophists
Plato could see the danger this moral relativism
posed for the state and for the people who lived in
it, and his attacks on the sophists showed up their
hollow bravado that so many took for wisdom.
The Theory of Forms - represents Plato’s attempt
to cultivate our capacity for abstract thought.
ex. Friendship/ what is the ideal friendship? love/
what is the ideal love?
Theory of the Tripartite Soul
 Plato describes the soul as divided into
three parts, labeled;
a) -desires of what we want to do.
b) -part of souls who feels different
kind of emotions
c) -conscious about everything what
you about to do or what you did (give you
realization if it's worth it or not)
Plato’s Education for the Health of the State
 Identifies education as one of the most
important aspects of a healthy state
 The need to teach children from a young age
to live virtuous lives and seek wisdom.
ARISTOTLE: ALL OR NOTHING (384-322 B.C.E.)
- is a towering figure in ancient Greek
philosophy, making contributions to logic,
metaphysics, mathematics, physics, biology,
botany, ethics, politics, agriculture, medicine,
dance, and theater.
Virtue and Happiness
 1. Am I behaving in a virtuous way?
- is because
they have imperfect view of good life.
 - will
show confidence in the face of fear and also
think of this courage as a good thing.
Moral Education
 Aristotle’s think that virtue cannot be taught
in classroom.
 His ethics, then, is not designed to make
people good, but rather to explain what is
good, why it is good, and how might set
about building societies and institutions that
might inculcate this goodness.
The Doctrine of the Mean
 Aristotle’s claim that virtue can be learned
only through constant practice implies that
there are no set rules we can learn and then
obey.
 Virtue consists of learning through
experience what the mean path is, relative to
ourselves, between the vices we may be
liable to stumble into.
The Unity of the Virtues
 All the virtues spring from a unified
character
 No good person can exhibit some virtues
without exhibiting them all - if one has
possession of one of the virtues, she will
necessarily possess them all
The Life of Contemplation
 The activity of wisdom is contemplation
 Contemplation (observation) must be the
highest activity of human life.
Implications to Business
Aristotle did raise a set of ethical questions that are
relevant to corporate leaders who wish to behave in
ethical ways.
2. How would I want to be treated if I were a
member of this organization?
3. What form of social contract would allow all
our members to develop their full potential in
order that they may each make their greatest
contribution to the good of the whole?
4. To what extent are the real opportunities for
all employees to develop their talents and their
potential?
5. To what extent do employees participate in
decisions that affect their work?
6. To what extent do all employees participate in
the financial gain resulting from their own
ideas and efforts?
IMMANUEL KANT: DUTY-BASED ETHICS (1724-1804)
 is one of the most influential philosophers in
the history of Western philosophy.
The Categorical Imperative – commands or moral
laws all persons must follow, regardless of their
desires or extenuating circumstances. These
imperatives are binding on everyone
Two types of duties
a) - perform a certain
action in order to achieve the desired end
result.
b) - performing a
certain action as compulsory regardless of
the end result or away from any personal
influence.
JEREMY BENTHAM AND JOHN STUART MILL: UTILITARIANISM
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) - was an English
philosopher and political radical.
Utilitarianism - It believes that outcomes are
outcomes that result from an action has a greater
value compared to the latter.
Two Types of Utilitarianism
a) -is put in place to benefit
the most people by using the fairest methods
possible.
b) -makes the most ethical
actions possible for the benefit of the people
Week 5
THE IMPACT OF BELIEF SYSTEM IN THE BUSINESS SETTING
RELIGIOUS ETHICS - provide a set of consistent and
reasonable statements regarding business. It’s a
different approach that provides new horizons for
thinking
 Encourages tolerance and understanding.
 It can also facilitate a more intense dialogue
between different religions and philosophical
religions.
The World’s Eight Major Religions.
1. Judaism: Jewish Business Ethics
The Torah itself teaches, for example, “You shall not
falsify measures of length, weight, or volume. You
must pay [a laborer] his wages on the same day,
before the sun sets. You shall not deduct interest
from loans to your countrymen.”
2. Christianity: Crucial Principles
Jesus enunciated it in these terms: “Do to others as
you would have them to do to you” (Bible, Luke
6:27; Matthew 7:12).
3. Islam: Ethics from the Q’ran
He emphasized that honesty and kind dealings with
customers are the secrets of success in business.
4. Hinduism: Non-Violence
outline five social restraints and
moralcodes known as the yamas
a) Non-Violence (Ahimsa)
b) Truthfulness (satya)
c) Not to steal (asteya)
d) Sexual Moderation (brahmacarya)
e) Non-possession (aparigraha)
Niyama is Sanskrit for “rules, guidelines,
or observances.”
a) Purity (shauca)
b) Satisfaction (santosa)
c) Self-knowledge (svadhyaya)
d) Surrendering to God (Ishvarapranidhana)
e) Austerity / Self-discipline (tapas)
5. Buddhism: Maxims for Business
 emphasizes the cultivation of mindfulness and
values a spiritually minimalistic worldview,
eschewing dependence and worldly
attachment
 1. Work Hard, No Excuses
2. Work Hard but Rest Well
3. Be Mindful
4. Follow the Eightfold Path
6. Taoism: Action without Action
Taoism, or Daoism, is a spiritual, philosophical, and
religious tradition of Chinese origin that emphasizes
living in harmony with the Tao. The term Tao means
"way," "path," or "principle,"
7. Shintoism: The Way of the Gods
Shinto (way of the gods) also called kami-nomichi is
an ethnic religion of the people of Japan. If focuses
on ritual practices to be carried out diligently, to a
connection between present day Japan and its
ancient past
Week 6
THE FILIPINO VALUE SYSTEM AND ITS EFFECTS ON BUSINESS
FILIPINO VALUE SYSTEM, OR FILIPINO VALUES
 set of values or the value system that a
majority of Filipinos have historically held
important in their
 The values that an individual holds sacred
differ on the basis of religion, upbringing,
and other factors.
A. Utang na loob - Debt of gratitude means that
one does not forget the good deeds that others
may have done to him or her, especially in times
of great needs.
B. Filial Piety - a virtue to have respect for one’s
parents elders, and ancestors. Filipinos are
family-centered.
C. Padrino - is the value system where one gains
favor, promotion, or political appointment
through family affiliation or friendship, as
opposed to one’s merit.
D. Suki - A Filipino term that means “loyal
customer. ”This so-called “market-exchange
partnership” can be developed into a regular
customer and supplier.
E. Bahala na - “come what may” it is referred to
as the Filipino version of fatalism, that is, leaving
everything in the hands of fate.
F. Mañana Habit - Spanish word of tomorrow.
Refers to procrastination or putting off for
tomorrow what can be done today.
G. Amor Propio - a person’s feeling of self-
respect and personal worth or the quality of
being worthy of esteem or respect.
FILIPINO FAMILY VALUES
A. Hospitality - the friendly and generous
reception and entertainment of guests,
visitors, and strangers.
B. Humor, Adaptability, And Creativity - The
ability to laugh at themselves and their
predicament.
C. Resilience, Resourcefulness, And Ability To
Survive - Filipinos have the extraordinary
ability to make something out of basically
nothing for the sake of survival.
D. Faith And Religiosity - a reflection of the
Filipinos' strong faith in God
E. Hard Work And Industry - Filipinos are
universally regarded as excellent workers
who perform well
NEGATIVE FILIPINO TRAITS
A. Bribery - the practice of offering something,
usually money, to gain an illicit advantage.
B. Double Standards - can be described as a
biased or morally unfair application of the
principle that all are equal in their freedoms.
C. General disregard for rules - a look at
everyday life in the country shows Filipinos
from the entire social strata nonchalantly
breaking the rules.
D. Pagtakpan - the covering-up of the
shortcomings or wrongdoings of another
person.
E. Gossiping - is unethical in business and in the
workplace. It inflicts others and destroys the
reputation and relationships of those who are
involved