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Chapter 9: Ethical Business Strategies, Social Responsibility, and Environmental Sustainability
Chapter 9: Ethical Business Strategies, Social Responsibility, and Environmental Sustainability
McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter Learning Objectives
1. Understand why business conduct is judged according to
the ethical standards of society at large rather than a
special set of ethical standards for businesses only.
2. Understand the principal drivers of unethical strategies
and business behavior.
3. Learn why unethical business conduct can be very costly
for a company’s shareholders.
4. Become familiar with the various approaches to
managing a company’s ethical conduct.
5. Gain an understanding of the concepts of corporate
social responsibility, corporate citizenship, and
environmental sustainability.
6. Become familiar with both the moral case and the
business case for ethical business conduct and socially
responsible business behavior.
9-2
Chapter Roadmap
What Do We Mean by Business Ethics?
Where Do Ethical Standards Come From – Are They
Universal or Dependent on Local Norms and
Situational Circumstances?
The Three Categories of Management Morality
Drivers of Unethical Strategies and Business
Behavior
Why Ethical Strategies Matter
Approaches to Managing a Company’s Ethical
Conduct
Social Responsibility and Corporate Citizenship
Strategies
9-3
Linking Strategy to Ethics
and Social Responsibility
Key Issues
Should there be a link between a company’s
efforts to craft and execute a winning
strategy and its duties to
Conduct activities in an ethical manner?
Demonstrate socially responsible behavior by
Being a committed corporate citizen?
Attending to needs of
non-owner stakeholders?
Limit its strategic initiatives to those meeting
needs of consumers without depleting
resources needed by future generations
9-4
What Is Business Ethics?
Ethical Universalism
Ethical Relativism
Integrative
Integrative Social
Social Contracts
Contracts Theory
Theory
9-7
Concept of Ethical Universalism
Immoral
Results of recent issues of the Global
Corruption Report indicate corruption is
widespread across the world
Corruption extends beyond bribes and
kickbacks
9-22
Table 9.1: Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), Selected Countries, 2007
9-23
What Are the Drivers of Unethical
Strategies and Business Behavior?
Company
Company cultures
cultures that
that place
place profits
profits and
and
good
good performance
performance ahead
ahead of
of ethical
ethical behavior
behavior
9-24
Overzealous Pursuit of Personal Gain,
Wealth, and Selfish Interests
People obsessed with wealth accumulation,
greed, power, status, and other self-interests
often
Push ethical principles aside in their
quest for self gain
9-26
Company Cultures that Put Bottom
Line Ahead of Ethical Behavior
In an ethically corrupt or amoral work
climate, people have a company-approved
license to
Ignore “what’s right”
Engage in most any behavior or employ most
any strategy they think they can get away with
Pressures to conform to cultural norms
can prompt otherwise honorable people to
Make ethical mistakes
Succumb to the many opportunities
to engage in unethical practices
9-27
Why Ethical Strategies Matter
An unethical strategy
Is morally wrong
An ethical strategy is
Good business
9-30
Test Your Knowledge
Which one of the following is false when it comes to
making a case for why a company’s strategy should be
ethical?
A. An unethical strategy can put a company’s reputation at
risk and do lasting damage, especially when the
misdeeds get into the public spotlight and make media
headlines.
B. An ethical strategy is in the best interest of shareholders.
C. An unethical strategy reflects badly on the character of
the company personnel involved.
D. Shareholders profits are not greatly reduced by using
ethical strategies.
E. A strategy that is unethical in whole or in part is morally
wrong.
9-31
Approaches to Managing a
Company’s Ethical Conduct
Compliance Approach
Ethical
Ethical Culture
Culture Approach
Approach
9-32
Table 9.2: Four Approaches to Managing Business Ethics
9-33
What Is Corporate Social Responsibility?
9-34
What Does Acting in a Socially
Responsible Manner Entail?
The consensus view is that acting in a
socially responsible manner means that a
company should
Operate in an ethical and honorable manner
Provide good working conditions for employees
Be a good steward of the environment
Actively work to better quality of life in
Local communities where it operates and
Society at large
9-35
Figure 9.2: Demonstrating a Social Conscience: The Five
Components of Socially Responsible Business Behavior
9-36
What Is a Social Responsibility Strategy?