Qur'anic Guided Business Ethics: Lessons from Surah Al Baqarah

Content Page

CHAPTER 1 1
Employer Responsibility towards Employees in Working Condition
Tuan Muhd Ameruddin Bin Tuan Mustafa

CHAPTER 2 16
Health and Safety in Work Place
Muhammad Husmar Zariq B. Husin

CHAPTER 3 31
Downsizing
Muhammad Asyaari Bin Md Arif

CHAPTER 4 49
Issues on Employment at Will, Justice or Injustice
Muhammad Farid Bin Bahrudin, Marwan Hadiid Bin Aris Fadzalah

PREFACE This book comprise the argument, confer and examine and analyze what criterions are most essential for employer towards providing employee the best in their working condition. The employee has their rights to have good and reliable working condition in every company. Both employer and employees have mutual benefit from each other. Here we highlight the role of employer as the high position in the company giving their workers as they should receive. Mostly in the real world, this not always happen due reason minimize cost from the employer. But then, here we rose up for the employee rights. After all, a company without employee is company at loss. This book also, briefly explains about health and safety are actually plays important role in workplace and even doing a business. It supported with different hadits and surah based on the topic. Readers can find that god created us to live with health and safe. Therefore, after revise this chapter, if god will, we can learn a lot about proper health and better safe workplace. This book also explained the importance of the social and ethical issues in business strategies by studying the case of corporate downsizing. The chapter is based on a theoretical foundation comprising Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) models as well as downsizing theories. The methods of the system approach were used. The concentration on the economical responsibilities and the underestimation of the ethical and social concerns during downsizing processes lead to destructive consequences. Therefore considering downsizing as a last option after the inspection of all the possible strategic alternatives is necessary. This book also will explain what Employment at Will (EAW) is all about and identify whether it is justice or injustice as employers to their employees. How EAW is being used at organization or company? And why EAW can be injustice towards employees? What are the consequences to the employees when EAW is use to them? We will look at business ethics theories and also the relation with the verses in Surah Al- Baqarah. The concept uses in the Quran; "`adl" and "ihsan" to justified justice.

CHAPTER 1

Qur’anic Guided Business Ethics:
Lessons from Surah Al Baqarah
(Employer Responsibility towards Employees in Working Condition)

Tuan Muhd Ameruddin Bin Tuan Mustafa

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to argue, confer and examine and analyze what criterions are most essential for employer towards providing employee the best in their working condition. The employee has their rights to have good and reliable working condition in every company. Both employer and employees have mutual benefit from each other. Here we highlight the role of employer as the high position in the company giving their workers as they should receive. Mostly in the real world, this not always happen due reason minimize cost from the employer. But then, here we rose up for the employee rights. After all, a company without employee is company at loss. With that light, I shall discuss on the matter of essential providing good working condition for employee.

Keywords: working condition, employers’ responsibility, and employees rights, ethical decision making,

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, when we talk about employee rights in working world life, many of the rights have been rose up among the employee and the non-government organisation. They already take this things up to upper level of the government to revise back the law and regulation and take an action toward irresponsible employer that do not serve the employee by right. But then, there are a lot of red tape problem, before the issues meet the upper level of government. This situation give the employees at disadvantage and keep been oppressed by the spiteful employer.

In this paper, we take the consideration from the Islamic perspectives, that is from the lesson of the surah Al-Baqarah in the view of employer responsibility towards employee. From the certain ayah in the verse of Al-Baqarah, we relate it to the working condition for the employee. As we know, there are a lot of ethics teaching in the this surah. On top of that, the employers responsibility also includes in this surah. the scope of this paper would in the range of Islamic perspective based on the Surah Al-Baqarah.

On top of that, the question is whether the company should serve good working condition for the employees or not. These all question and suggestion will be discussed in the rest of these reviews.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The scope of the duty of employers extends to all employees while they are at work. The phrase “at work” is therefore a very important concept since it defines the scope of the duty. Employees are at work whenever they are performing work in the course of their employment or arising from their employment. That is, the obligation extends to any place where work activities require the employee to be. It includes any part of premises which an employee might use in performing acts normally and reasonably incidental to her or his work duties. It may include an office, a factory, a construction site, a client site, a road, railway track, a shop or a temporary stand

On the other hands, it’s also employee’s safety and health that should be considered by the employer. Occupational health should aim at: the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; the prevention amongst workers of departures from health caused by their working conditions; the protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to health; the placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational environment adapted to his physiological and psychological capabilities; and, to summarize, the adaptation of work to man and of each man to his job.

The employer also has a duty to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that persons at or near a workplace under their control, who are not their employees or contractors, are not exposed to risk to their health or safety arising from the conduct of their undertaking. The duty is concerned with risks to health and safety. The mere exposure of an employee to a risk to their health and safety is sufficient. The same applies for non-employees at or near the workplace.

The scope of the duty at least requires employers to:
• provide and maintain a safe working environment;
• provide and maintain plant that is safe and free from risks to health;
• provide and maintain safe systems of work;
• provide and maintain a working environment that provides adequate facilities for the welfare of employees at work;
• ensure the workplace under their control is safe for the employees and without risk to their health;
• provide and maintain a safe means of access to, and exit from, the workplace under their control;
• ensure safety in the use, handling, storage or transport of plant or substances at work;
• provide employees, in appropriate languages, the information, instruction, supervision and training necessary to enable them to perform their work in a manner that is safe and without risk to their health;
• take appropriate action to monitor the employees’ health and safety at work, and the conditions of the workplaces under the employer’s control;
• maintain appropriate information and records relating to the employees’ health and safety; and • provide appropriate medical and first aid services for their employees.

The concept of working culture is intended in this context to mean a reflection of the essential value systems adopted by the undertaking concerned. Such a culture is reflected in practice in the managerial systems, personnel policy, principles for participation, training policies and quality management of the undertaking.

METHODOLOGY

In investigating the employer’s duty about the employee’s working condition, all the authors employs a combination of several methodologies; such as observations, discussions, consultations, questionnaires and analytical experiments.

We have approached several means in getting appropriate data for our research. The articles we obtained from online databases are not from IIUM Library, as it could not cater to our research needs. We used search engines in the Web to find journals that suits the given topic.

FINDINGS
The results of the paper suggest that working condition has a great impact on the society, economy and morality of human beings. Based on the transalation of the Surah Al-Baqarah, we managed extract some of ayah that can be related to the employer’s responsibility towards employees. By referring to the ayah, we could make an explanations, judgements, and moral value that can be apply to the employer of a company.

In facts, the finding based on the Islamic point of view is more convincing rather than conventional point of view. May this paperwork gives benefit and some knowledge on the religious side, so that we do not go far from our beloved prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h teaching.

1. Employer responsibility towards employees

From this ayah,( Al-baqarah : 43) we can say that the employer should be truthful to the employees about anything that relates to them. This is because they are also a part of the company. In addition, the employer should not keep the secret to the employees the information they deserve to know. For example, the employer keep a secret about the source of the company income is from the bribery gain making. This is unbearable action as a employer in a company. He should be keep away from those haram things and be a good and ethical employer.

In the second part of the ayah Allah tells them not to cover the truth while they know. They know what the truth is, they know that it is in their books and they know that they have a responsibility to disclose it. How unjust are a people who knowingly hide the truth away?. Another strong ayah that give warning to those are keep hiding the truth is (Al-Baqarah:78)

Knowing you those who are hiding the truth or any information from other, that Allah is know what they are conceal and they proclaim. Thus they can’t hide the truth and information for ever. For someday the truth will comes and people will know it later or sooner.

The ayah also told that, do not mix the truth and the falsehood. The employer should not make the company operating with the haram and halal things mix together. For example, the company operating make a beers and a goods under same company organisation. The employer should not process a unlawful and haram thing. This is because it is a sin for the employer and the employee to do the haram things. So, the employer is responsible in making the decision that the production is not on the haram things.

If the employer are keep the haram and unlawful production in the company, then Allah has give His word in ayah (Al-Baqarah: 82)

Everybody that make the haram things is surrounded by their sins, and these are the companion of the fire. Same to those employer and employees that keep produce the haram things to the people. This haram things will give effect to the people and that make the worst happen in the society. So, here the responsibility of the employer to ensure every production of the company made by the employee is halal and does not give bad effect to the society.

This ayah (Al-Baqarah: 82) also remind that, the employer can’t do harm to the employee by taking advantage at employee loss. This is prohibited by Allah and there are punishment for those oppressed others.

2. Employer does provide employee a good working condition.

Based on the ayah (Al-Baqarah : 149) employer should compete with other company to give their best for their employee. So that, they would be loved by the employee and Allah. It is because the employer have done the right things to the employee. Employer has always to treat them in the best way possible. So , in return the employee would love and respect their employer and more hardworking in their work.

In the view of Islamic perspective, Every person has a direction towards which they orient their lives and focus their attention. Every person has a certain viewpoint that they have in life. Some people turn towards their desires, some people turn towards wealth, some people turn towards their family, some people turn towards power, some people turn towards sex, some people turn towards fame and recognition, and some people are constantly turning in different directions for every day of their lives.

Everyone’s life has a direction and they are constantly turning towards that direction. However in this ayah Allah (swt) is telling us that the one true direction for everyone should be Him (swt). He (swt) should be the goal of our lives. He (swt) should be the destination that we are traveling towards. But how can we do that? How is that we should turn to Allah (swt)? How is it that we should approach Him (swt)? He (swt) explains this in the next part of the ayah.

Allah (swt) says “so compete with each other in good deeds”. Every nation has a direction of prayer and every person has a direction in life. For us as a Muslim community, our direction of prayer is the Kabbah but the direction in life for us is Allah (swt). Each and every one of us should set Allah (swt) as our goal and we should journey towards Him (swt). How is it that we travel towards Allah (swt)? As Allah (swt) tells us in this ayah, it is by striving with each other in good deeds. We should be competing with each other in doing the deeds that are pleasing to Allah (swt).

This is how we journey towards Allah (swt). By competing with each other in trying to do more and more of the deeds that Allah (swt) is pleased with. This should not be a competition of jealousy but it should be a competition of love. Our focus should not be on each other, but it must be on Allah (swt). For every moment of our lives, we must strive to remember Allah (swt) and to do the actions that are pleasing to Him (swt). This is the way in which we journey towards Him (swt). So from this first part of the ayah we see that the direction of the Kabbah as a qibla is how our community is identified, but more importantly the “direction” of Allah (swt) is how each of our lives are defined.

We are constantly journeying towards Him (swt) through the good deeds that we perform for His (swt)’s sake. We must always remember that this journey will only end on the Day of Judgment when we meet Allah (swt), until that Day comes we must be striving to reach Him (swt). Allah (swt) is our destination and our life is a journey towards Him (swt) through the good deeds that we do.

On the other hand, if the employer have done the good deed to their employee, Allah will make easy for the employer business whenever they having any difficulties. As stated in the ayah (Al-Baqarah : 153)

When the employer have making a lot of profit, he or she should be thankful to Allah and keep doing a good deeds. If he or she grateful to Allah, then Allah will add more good things to the employer. But, if they do not grateful, there will be punishment for them.

The meaning of this ayah is so simple and so straightforward that it hardly seems to need any explanation. Yet this ayah gives us the foundation of our Din and on this ayah alone, one could write volumes and volumes of books. Our Din when it comes down to it is nothing but the remembrance of Allah (swt). You and the universe around you were created by Allah (swt).

You and the universe around you are being sustained at this moment by Allah (swt). Everything that happens for every moment of your life is only because of Allah (swt). But Allah (swt) is hidden behind this world that we see around us. We can see His (swt)’s Signs in everything around us, but we cannot perceive Him (swt) directly. So how then can we know of Him (swt), how then can we come closer to Him (swt), how then can we remember Him (swt) all the time.

This Din is what helps us to remember Allah (swt) all of the time. Allah (swt) sent this
Din to us to help us to remember Him (swt). Fourteen hundred years ago, Allah (swt) sent an angel to a man in Arabia. Allah (swt) gave this man a Message to give to all mankind. This
Message is a code of living that if any human being would live it properly, he would be remembering Allah (swt) all of the time. In doing so that human being would be fulfilling the existence for which Allah (swt) created him.

The Prophet (saw) was the one who was always remembering Allah (swt) all of the time. He (saw) remembered Allah (swt) with every step that he walked and with every breath that he (saw) took. He (saw) was the perfect example of the code of life that this Message teaches to mankind. So in this ayah, Allah (swt) commands us to remember Him (swt). The way that we remember Him (swt) is by living this Message that He (swt) gave us.

The way that we remember Him (swt) is by following the Messenger that He (swt) sent to us. The way we that We remember Him (swt) is by thinking about Him (swt) in our hearts, by mentioning Him (swt) with our tongues, and we remember Him (swt) with our limbs by doing the actions that He (swt) is pleased with and staying away from the actions He (swt) is displeased with.

This is the command that Allah (swt) gives us in this ayah. The most simple of commands. Just to remember Him (swt). To live our entire lives in remembrance of Him (swt).

What is it that we will get in return if we remember Allah (swt)? As Allah (swt) tells us in this ayah, He (swt) will remember us. Allah (swt) will remember you. Can you even begin to imagine how wonderful that would be? What Allah (swt) means by remembering you is that He
(swt) will look after you. He (swt) will keep you safe wherever you go. He (swt) will provide for you from His (swt)’s sustenance.

He (swt) will take care of your family and your wealth. But most importantly He (swt) will guide you closer to Him (swt). He (swt) will make you love Him (swt) and fear Him (swt) even more. All of this is what you will get in the short life of this world, but in the Hereafter Allah (swt) will reward you by saving you from the blazing Fire, by admitting you into the Garden full of pleasures, by allowing you to behold Him (swt) and by giving you His (swt)’s Contentment. What could be more wonderful than that? Allah (swt) created us to know Him (swt), if we can do that then He (swt) will give us fulfillment for the purpose of our existence.

In the second part of this ayah Allah (swt) tells us to be grateful to Him (swt). This command is directly connected with the command in the previous part of the ayah to remember
Allah (swt). Part of being grateful to Allah (swt) is constantly striving to remember Him (swt). Now some fools may raise the question as to why we need to remember Allah (swt)? Why is it so important that you remember Allah (swt)? As Allah (swt) tells us in this ayah, it only so that you could be grateful to Him (swt).

As Allah (swt) has told us in other ayahs of the Quran, if we were to try and count the number of favors and blessings that He (swt) has bestowed upon us we would not be able to. Just imagine, if you locked yourself in a room and all that you did with your time was to count the favors of Allah (swt) one by one. Even if you spent your whole life doing this, you will not be able to number all of the favors of Allah (swt). Even if you lived the longest life that a human could live.

This is the extent to which your Lord has favored and blessed you. Should you then not even try to show your gratitude to Allah (swt) for all that He (swt) has given you? Of course you will not be able to, but Allah (swt) has been so Generous to you that you should at least try. That is the very least that you can do. If you do not, then you are the worst of creation.

You are a creature that is deserving of the Fire. The worst of creation are the ungrateful that is why Allah (swt) tells us clearly that we should be grateful to Him (swt) and that we should not be among the ungrateful. May Allah (swt) allow us all to thank Him (swt) as best we can!

3. Employer as a protector to the employee

Sometimes the company would having loss and having a lot of difficulties to sustain their employees. But then, the employer and employees should be patient and still positive about the future. It’s the test from Allah to them.
Even though they are having the great at loses, the employer should not take the right of the employee. For example, cut of the cost of wages, fired the employee and others. The employer should find another alternative to solve the problem. Only those whose iman is strong and who are completely attached to Allah would be able to bear these test and trials.
In this ayah, Allah (swt) tells us of the various tests and trials that we would need to endure if we want to be a part of this Ummah. This is what makes us worthy of the great reward. The reward of being in the Ummah of the Prophet (saw). The reward of being near to Allah (swt). The reward of the Garden. Only those whose Iman is strong and who are completely attached to Allah (swt) would be able to bear these tests and trials. But for ones who do, Allah (swt) also shows us how even in these tests there is a great blessing and bounty.

Allah (swt) begins this ayah by saying “And surely We will test you with some of fear”. This is the first test that those in this Ummah would need to endure. They will have to experience some degree of fear. Now Allah (swt) has told us in previous ayahs that those who follow this guidance would have no fear upon them. But this is a high level of Iman that many Muslims do not immediately attain.

Before the Iman has seeped deep into your heart, you would have some fear from the things of this world. This is a natural fear that Allah (swt) has placed inside every human being. But once that Iman enters deeper and deeper into your heart, you begin to realize the true reality of this universe. You realize that there is none who can hurt you except by the permission of Allah (swt). You realize that only Allah (swt) is deserving of your fear.

You also realize that only Allah (swt) can save you from everything else and everyone else that might cause you fear. So you turn to Allah (swt) because you know that He (swt) is your Guardian and your Protector. This is the perfection of Iman that you should always be striving to reach.

If the employer or employee have doing wrong in their life, they should ask forgiveness from Allah. Allah would forgive them as Allah is At-Tawab and Ar-Rahim. And also if employer have done injustice to the employee, he should not same to ask forgiveness to the employee as those whose are humble ask forgiveness from others, Allah put him/her in the high level of his sight.

However in this ayah, Allah (swt) shows us that even for a people who are as evil as this, He (swt) still shows them Mercy. Even a sin as terrible as this He (swt) is willing to pardon and forgive. There is no crime that is greater than hiding the knowledge that Allah (swt) has revealed. You have to think that if Allah (swt) is willing to pardon such people for a sin as terrible as this, then He (swt) can forgive you as well. All that you have to do is fulfill the conditions that He (swt) gives you in this ayah. So realize from this ayah the kind of Rabb that you have.

How Merciful and Forgiving He (swt) is, how Loving and Compassionate He (swt) is. This is and of itself should be a reason for you to love Him (swt). For you to strive to worship Him (swt). Allah (swt) begins the ayah by saying “Except those who make Tawbah”. Recall from the previous ayah how Allah (swt) told us that the ones who concealed the guidance and clear evidences that He (swt) had revealed were cursed by Him (swt) and cursed by all those who curse. In this ayah, Allah (swt) shows us that there is an exception to this rule. There is a group of people who commit this terrible sin of hiding knowledge from Allah (swt) but they do not receive this curse. In this ayah, Allah (swt) tells us who such people are. In this ayah, Allah (swt) tells us what is the condition that such people must fulfill. There are three conditions that need to be fulfilled and the first of those conditions is Tawbah.

Tawbah linguistically means “to return”, and when Allah (swt) uses it here it means to return to the purpose of creation. It means to return from a state of disobedience and sin to a state of submission. To return to the purpose for which Allah (swt) created the human being. There are four conditions that are required for the correct Tawbah.

First you have to stop the sin that you are committing. You cannot make Tawbah to Allah (swt) while you are still committing the sin. Then you must have a deep regret for the evil that you have done. You must feel remorseful for what you have done and you should wish that you would have never done it. Then you must beg and plead Allah (swt) for Forgiveness.

You must get down on your knees and beg like a beggar for Allah (swt) to forgive you. Finally you have to resolve not to commit that evil again. The next time Shaitan prompts you to commit that sin you have to resolve to fight him with every ounce of strength that you have. This is what it means to make Tawbah. If you can do all of these four, then Insha Allah, Allah (swt) will accept your Tawbah. He (swt) will allow you to return to Him (swt).

Based on the ayah, the employer should not ask the employee to do an unlawful things in order to gain profit. For example, ask the employee give or receive bribery, cheating the customer, and manipulating the price.
Other than that, employer should not give the employee their wages from the unlawful resources. For example, the employer pay the wages from the money they got from gambling at casino. The employer should take responsibility towards their employees in term of their goodness and human rights.
Allah (swt) begins by saying “O mankind! Eat of what is lawful and wholesome on the earth”. There are two meaning that the Arabic verb kulu gives in this ayah. One meaning is the literal meaning which means “to eat”, and the other meaning is “to consume” or “to partake in”. The second of these meanings includes the first one within it, but it is more comprehensive in that it includes more than food.

Since the second meaning is more general than the first, and since it includes the first within it we will take the second meaning for our understanding of this ayah. So from this ayah we see that Allah (swt) is telling us to eat from the foods of this world, to drink from the drinks of this world, to use and consume the things of this world like clothing, houses, cars, furniture, electronics and whatever else the earth produces for us.

As we learned from ayah 30 of this Surah, Allah (swt) created every single thing on this earth for the human being, and in this ayah Allah (swt) commands us to partake in it, to consume that which He (swt) has created for us.

However we must note that Allah (swt) does put a condition on what is of the earth that we can consume. It can only be that which “lawful and good”. By “lawful” we know that it means everything that has not been prohibited in the Law of Allah (swt). Concerning the word tayyib which we have translated here as “good”, some scholars have said it is an emphasis of the word lawful since what is lawful is only what is good and what is good is only what is lawful.

This is because only Allah (swt) Knows what is good, and He (swt) in His Mercy has made everything that is good as lawful for us. Other scholars have said it is those of the lawful things that we find appealing and that we desire. In other words tayyib means those lawful things that we desire.

Both opinions give the same basic Message, Allah (swt) is telling us to eat and partake in those things that we desire from what He (swt) has made permissible for us. So for example, Allah (swt) has made seafood permissible. But not all of us may like seafood, so Allah (swt) is not telling us that we all have to eat seafood. We should only eat the foods that we like from what He (swt) has made permissible.

Now of course from this ayah we can see that we cannot eat or partake in anything that is unlawful. We have to study the other text of the Quran and the Sunnah to find out what is it that is lawful for us and what is not. May Allah (swt) aid us in that! May Allah (swt) guide us to eat and consume only what He (swt) is pleased with us eating and consuming.

4. Employer ‘s treat towards employee Employer should treat the employee as a human being, not as a tools to gain wealth benefit. Employer should do ihsan towards the employee, by treating them the right way. Based on the ayah, employer need to manage the company wealth towards the halal way that permissible by Allah and shariah. Do not extravagance in spending and use the wealth toward haram things. Both employer and employee should be aware of what they are doing, because it would give effect to the others. If they do the wrong doing, certainly the bad effect will spread to others and vice versa. Allah (swt) begins this ayah by saying “And spend in the way of Allah”. Notice the word “and” with which Allah (swt) begins this ayah. This word shows that this is not simply a general command to spend but it is directly connected to the commands given in the previous ayahs. We know that the commands given in the previous ayah were those for jihad in the path of Allah (swt), so the command to spend here is a command to spend for jihad.

So this ayah must be understood in the context of jihad. Allah (swt) had told us previously about spending for our parents, for the orphans, for the needy, for the travelers, and for the freeing of slaves. But here Allah (swt) is telling us to spend for jihad. Insha Allah that is how we must understand this ayah.

Yet another meaning that these words give is that we must not give up on the Mercy of
Allah (swt). This is because to give up on the Mercy of Allah (swt) would be to throw ourselves into destruction. No matter how great a sin you may have committed, you must never give up on the Mercy of Allah (swt) because to do so would be in fact a greater evil than whatever evil it is that you may have done.

Some people may have done great evil, and they keep thinking about this evil that they have done and they tell themselves that they are doomed because Allah (swt) would never forgive them. Allah (swt) tells us in this ayah that such thinking is wrong, we must never destroy ourselves by thinking that we are doomed, rather we must always have a hope in the Mercy of the Ar-Rahman. No matter how many sins we have committed we must never destroy ourselves by giving up on Allah (swt)’s Mercy.

We must never destroy ourselves by continuing on the sin that we are doing while thinking that we will never be forgiven. Rather we must pray to Allah (swt) to guide us and we must make our best effort to refrain from the sin that we are doing. We can also note that one of the best ways to make up for the sins that you have done in the past is by spending your wealth in the way of Allah (swt). Because the Prophet (saw) has told us that charity is like water that puts outs the fire of our sins. So the more sins that you have done, the more the evil that you have done, the more that you must spend to gain the Pleasure of Allah (swt).

Think of every penny that you spend as another drop of water that is putting out the fire of your sins. If you do not have enough money to spend then you can spend from your time and your efforts. If you do not have even this then spend with your dua. Pray to Allah (swt) to bring back the Islamic State, to forgive the Muslims and have mercy on them, and to guide all the sincere people who not received the Message yet.

DISCUSSIONS

Issues on employer responsibility towards employee by giving them the good working condition are being debated whether it can be accepted or rejected. In order to make decision for this question we had discuss previously the benefits of it. The employers and employees should not just considered the cost of to implement this matter only but must do considerate others factors such as welfare and the future.

We should compare with others country which had apply this principle such as Singapore and do comparison about it.

Having a good working condition is one of important asset to the employee because they work for the company. Therefore, they will want to be treated as best as for gives their services. They will want their welfare is being concerned good as well in order for them gives their services. If they company provide and compulsory good working condition, they will feel like them being appreciated. Therefore, we highly recommended this principle be applied for all company because it can give more benefits rather than harm.

CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, this literature is discussing benefits which the employee and employer will get if the company is being practise good working condition for employees. These all benefits actually indirectly will give the country, company, employers, employees and also employees family. Furthermore, this kind of practice is one of a way to appreciate their employee. As we know, accident and unwanted incident cannot be predicted and avoided. Therefore, we as a human must be prepared to face with this all matter with the best working condition. Besides, the employee will feel more secure and feel more comfortable if they are work in best working place.

REFERENCES

1. www.comcare.gov.au
2. http://www.ilo.org/safework_bookshelf/english?content&nd=857170174
3. Quran-Tafsir.org Surah Al-Baqarah By Abdur Raheem CHAPTER 2
Qur’anic Guided Business Ethics:
Lessons from Surah Al Baqarah
(HEALTH AND SAFETY IN WORKPLACE)

Muhammad Husmar Zariq B. Husin

Abstract

In this chapter, basically we will learn health and safety are actually plays important role in workplace and even doing a business. It supported with different hadits and surah based on the topic. Readers can find that god created us to live with health and safe. Therefore, after revise this chapter, if god will, we can learn a lot about proper health and better safe workplace.
Keyword: health and safety, benefit from prayer, health and safety in workplace and business.

INTRODUCTION First and foremost, a highly important factor of health promotion is proper nutrition. Choosing wholesome food and avoiding what is unwholesome are essential to health.
Allah Almighty says in the Quran: “Eat of the good things which we have provided for you.” (Al-Baqarah: 173).
He Almighty also says, “Eat of what is lawful and wholesome on the earth. (Al-Baqarah: 168).
Muslims believe that God created them to worship Him and lead a life of righteousness and piety. They also believe that Islam is not only about religious affairs. Islam is a complete way of life. In their endeavours to lead their life, they, as humans, aspire to attain wealth, health, social position; etc. It is not prohibited in Islam to seek a good job, a good social position, good health, etc. The difference between Muslims and people of other faith communities is that Muslims are guided in every aspect of life by the teachings of both the Quran and the Sunnah (Prophetic tradition).
The Prophet, peace and blessings are upon him, is reported to have said: “When filled with food, the belly becomes the worst container for the son of Adam. It is sufficient for a human being to have a few bites to keep him fit (which means that it is sufficient to have only what one needs to maintain strength and well-being). If one must eat, then let him use one-third for food, one-third for drink and one-third for breathing."
Of Prophet 's Ibrahim 's prayer for the people of Makkah: {O my Sustainer! Make this a land secure, and grant its people fruitful sustenance.} (Al-Baqarah 2: 126)
The meaning of safety is not limited to the literal meaning of feeling secure. The meaning is much wider. Safety means to be secure, to make others secure, to create safety, to be entrusted with safety and to have peace of mind. All these meanings are derived from the Arabic word Mu 'min, a believer. The feeling of safety is a gift from God that He bestows on those who worship Him.
Enjoying a Healthy Body
As long as you have the necessary food for one day, then do not worry about tomorrow. This is the second worldly possession. There are many prophetic guidelines on how to maintain good health. Seeking medicine is highly recommended in Islam when one falls ill. The Prophet said: "Seek medical treatment." (Abu Dawud) "God has not created a disease without creating a cure for it." (Al-Bukhari)
Because our health is a gift from God, God has put much emphasis on the prohibition of drinking alcohol and eating pork for their possible harm on our health. Our responsibility is to avoid such prohibitions.
When we have a good health, we will be able to serve God in the best way. Therefore, it is very important to have this intention (serving God well) while eating and drinking. In this case, we will be rewarded greatly for things we do as a habit.

Moderation in eating and drinking is the key of good health. We should leave one third of the stomach empty.
God says in the Quran what means: {O you who have attained to faith! Partake of the good things which we have provided for you as sustenance, and render thanks unto God, if it is [truly] Him that you worship.} (Al-Baqarah 2: 172)
Therefore, consuming lawful food helps we build strong bodies so that we will be able to perform the rituals with concentration.
Practicing sports is very good for our health. The Prophet used to walk at a fast pace and race with his wife Aisha.
Islam made physical cleanness a condition for performing the five daily prayers. This is an indication of the importance attached to our health.
On the other hand, falling ill has a positive aspect in Islam. The Prophet said: "No Muslim is afflicted with any harm, even if it was the prick of a thorn, but that God expiates his sins because of that, as a tree sheds its leaves." (Al-Bukhari) When you are sick, do not be sad. God will expiate your sins.
Since 1950, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have shared a common definition of occupational health. It was adopted by the Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health at its first session in 1950 and revised at its twelfth session in 1995.

The definition reads:
"Occupational health should aim at: the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; the prevention amongst workers of departures from health caused by their working conditions; the protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to health; the placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational environment adapted to his physiological and psychological capabilities; and, to summarize, the adaptation of work to man and of each man to his job
The main focus in occupational health is on three different objectives: (i) the maintenance and promotion of workers’ health and working capacity; (ii) the improvement of working environment and work to become conducive to safety and health and (iii) development of work organizations and working cultures in a direction which supports health and safety at work and in doing so also promotes a positive social climate and smooth operation and may enhance productivity of the undertakings. The concept of working culture is intended in this context to mean a reflection of the essential value systems adopted by the undertaking concerned. Such a culture is reflected in practice in the managerial systems, personnel policy, principles for participation, training policies and quality management of the undertaking.
In another authentic Hadith, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is also quoted to have said:
“The food of one person will be sufficient for two, and the food of two people will be sufficient for four, and the food of four will be sufficient for eight.”
In addition, as we all know, health and safety plays important roles in our lives. The most important thing that related to this topic is patience. What is patience? Patience means when a person restrains himself from being fearful during difficult of time. Moreover, a person who is patient restrains himself from doing prohibited acts and does what is obligated and righteous.
There are three types of patience:
Firstly: practicing patience to fulfil the obligations and to do righteous.
Secondly: abstaining from evil and prohibited acts.
Thirdly: practicing patience during times of hardship without complaints.
In addition, it is a well-known fact that most of the ailments and diseases are somewhat related to stress according to medical science. It can be solved by patience. This is what the holy Qur 'an stresses in this particular ayat and repeated several times as well as other ayat too.

"And seek assistance through patience and prayer, and most surely it is a hard thing except for the humble ones”.
(SURAH AL-BAQRAH2:45)

In other ayat, Allah also reminds us about patient repeatedly. As Al-Qur’an stated that Allah said in Surah Al-Baqarahayat 153:

(١٥٣) الصَّابِرِينَمَعَاللَّـهَإِنَّۚ وَالصَّلَاةِبِالصَّبْرِاسْتَعِينُواآمَنُواالَّذِينَأَيُّهَايَا
“O you who believe! Seek assistance through patience and prayer; surely Allah is with the patient”. From this ayat, it can clearly be seen that patience are really important in our lives due to increase our faith and behaviour. Furthermore, from this ayat, basically we can get many advantages from doing patient. First, I want to describe it in terms of psychology. Based on this topic (psychology), I will elaborate my view into three important subtopics which are:

1) Relaxation response as a self-care technique.

Dr. Benson found that the common characteristics of these interventions was a focus of attention on something of neutral or positive value, and the passive disregard for the normal thought that would arise. By training your internal attention to focus away from the mental and physical patterns of stress and move towards something of neutral or positive valued the pattern of the stress response was broken and a relaxation response would develop. Benson coined the term Relaxation Response to describe this self-care technique.

2) Self-recognition

Since our mind is a survival mechanism, it naturally seems to focus on danger and problems, often to the exclusionof what is going well! This tendency is called negative selection in cognitive psychology.Life brings us negative, neutral, and positive moments of experience. Our daily lives are a combination of thesemoments of experience, although they may feel to be mainly negative. By taking time to recognize positive momentsof experience we can change the perception of our lives without the circumstances being different.Since many of us are now focusing on fear and a lack of safety, it could be helpful to begin to recognize moments of happiness to counter this negative focus.

3) Physical Exercise

Physical exercise can help prevent stress from becoming chronic or severe. It gives an outlet for the energy produced by the body in the stress response, and can also be a relaxation response. So remember to stay active and design an exercise program that honors your physical capacities and conditions.

To make it more clearly, I will explain it in medical aspect as well.

Medical benefits of Prostration

Basically when we stand erect, blood does flow into the brain but it is not sufficient for a healthy brain. During Salah when you go into sujood (prostration), extra blood flows into the brain, which is very important for a healthy brain. When we do sujood, this extra blood supply to the skin on the face [helps] prevent diseases such as chilblain etc. When we do sujood, there is drainage of sinuses and there are fewer chances that a person will have sinusitis, that is inflammation of the sinus, this drainage of module sinus, of the frontal sinus, and a person has less chances of having inflammation of the sinus, that is sinusitis. When a person doessujood even the bronchitis 's, the secretion of the bronchitis, they get drained, there are less chances of having bronchitis. Therefore, patient is vital in our daily lives.

In Malaysia, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) under the Ministry of Human Resource is responsible to ensure that the safety, health and welfare of workers in both the public and private sector is upheld. DOSH is responsible to enforce the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994.

On the other hand, another ayat that related to this topic is in Al-Baqarah: 45. As Allah said:

(٤٥) الْخَاشِعِينَعَلَىإِلَّالَكَبِيرَةٌوَإِنَّهَا ۚ وَالصَّلَاةِبِالصَّبْرِوَاسْتَعِينُوا

“And seek assistance through patience and prayer, and most surely it is a hard thing except for the humble ones" (SURAH BAQARAH2:45)”.

The word الصَّلَاةِ has been used about 67 times in the holy Qur 'an. It is because of these great spiritual and medical benefits, that ALLAH stresses so much on prayers in the holy Qur 'an and orders us to perform prayer properly to derive full benefit from it.

Research at a Malaysian University
News result from a research project by University Malaya 's biomedical engineering department reveals that the Muslim style of praying benefits the heart and spine, while increasing the capacity for memory and attention. To support this idea, as we all know that Muslims pray five times a day, with each salat beginning in a standing posture, followed by a deep bow and then progressing to a sitting position on knees. The person then touches their forehead to the ground, sits up and repeats the process before finally standing again. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that the study affirmed the power of prayer in a person 's life, the New Straits Times reported:
"The study investigates the physiological interactions and effects of the salat postures on the human body," said Abdullah, who likened salat postures to those practiced in yoga.
He also comments that:
"Since the majority of our population is Muslims, it is both of interest and importance that we not only understand the spiritual benefits of salat, but also ... its biological and medical effects," he said.

Other Benefits of Prayer
Prayer is a divine exercise for a healthy body. Pose and Posturea book written by Dr. Khurshid Hussainis a good book written on medical ethics of prayers. Prayer is an important source of physical fitness, mental peace, spiritual bliss and it acts as a remedy for all evils. It acts as a recharger of belief. It has a positive effect on the functioning of many organs and the skeletal system. The different postures of prayer have hidden physiological benefits in them. Physiological and biological rhythms are also important features of the prayers. There are social advantages as well of praying in congregation. Physiotherapy and prayer is a separate topic. Psychotherapy and prayer is another important feature. Ashraf Nizami wrote in his book Namaz (Prayer) the Yogaof Islam
“Some Yogacharyas to whom the offering of prayer was explained, expressed the view that prayer consists short simplified and concise postures of the 84 yogaasans”

Health and safety in businesses
Is health and safety are related in doing business? The answer is definitely yes! From the definition, health and safety are preventing people from being harmed by work or becoming ill by the right precautions and providing a satisfactory working environment. Additionally, when companies do some businesses, most of them are really aware about health and safe. Implementing health and safety measures does not have to be expensive or time consuming. In fact, safer and more efficient working practices can often save money but most importantly, they can help to save our lives.

Why are there health and safety laws?
From my opinion, this is very important because there are rules which require all of us not to put ourselves or other in danger. Moreover, the law is also to protect the public from workplace dangers such as sudden accident. Therefore, to establish this law, definitely we need a policy. Why we need policy? A policy states clearly that employer intends to do commitment and support for health and safety in the workplace. A policy commits the whole organization to instill a safe workplace. This is exactly to encourages both human and financial resources ensure that safety is the most important part of doing business.
Under health and safety laws, the other important thing is the Policy.

What should be included in the Policy?
1) Firstly, clear commitment to provide healthy and safe workplace to worker and how it can related into the daily work activities.

2) A statement that reflecting employer (boss) that awareness to their employee (worker). Therefore, employer must take all responsibility to take care of their worker from illness and injury. This can be supported by giving a lot of training to worker and supplying proper supervision and enforcement of safe work practice.

3) Senior management should sign the policy.

4) A statement that demonstrate how the commitment work in all level of organization.

5) Lastly, a statement that enforce for everyone who work in the organization to take responsibility for developing and maintaining a health and safety workplace.

Our statement of general policy is:
1) To provide adequate control of the health and safety risk arising from our work activities.

2) To consult with our employees on what is the matter that affecting their health and safety.

3) To provide and maintain the plant and equipment.

4) To ensure the using of substances is safe or not.

5) To provide information, instruction, and supervision to worker.

6) To ensure that all workers are competent to do their work and give them proper training.

7) To prevent an accident (ill health) to the employees.

8) To maintain health and safety working conditions

9) To review and revise this policy as necessary at regular intervals.

Managing health and safety
Safety management system As an employer, it is your responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy workplace. A safety and health management system, or safety program, can help you focus your efforts at improving your work environment. Whatever you call it, your plan describes what the people in your organization do to prevent injuries and illnesses at your workplace.Managing health and safety are little different from managing any other aspect of your business. We need to do a risk assessment to find out about the risks in our workplace. We can put sensible measures in place to control them and make sure they are under controlled.
Your organization will have its own unique system, reflecting your way of doing business, the hazards of your work, and how you manage the safety and health of your employees. Moreover, the calculation of risk is based on the likelihood or probability of the harm being realized and the severity of the consequences. This can be expressed mathematically as a quantitative assessment (by assigning low, medium and high likelihood and severity with integers and multiplying them to obtain a risk factor), or qualitatively as a description of the circumstances by which the harm could arise.
The assessment should be recorded and reviewed periodically and whenever there is a significant change to work practices. The assessment should include practical recommendations to control the risk. Once recommended controls are implemented, the risk should be re-calculated to determine of it has been lowered to an acceptable level. Generally speaking, newly introduced controls should lower risk by one level, i.e., from high to medium or from medium to low.

A risk assessment can be done by three steps.
1) It should be practical exercise.

2) Aimed at getting the right controls in place.

3) Try to keep it simple and put the result into practice.

According to idea of risk assessment, I will elaborate more about it. As we all know, risk assessment helps us protect our workers and our business as well as comply it with the law.
Moreover, it can help us to focus on the risks that can be potential to harm our business. In addition, it is simply examination of what is dangerous thing that can harm our employees in a workplace. The law does not expect us to eliminate all the risk but we are to make sure that all workers are health and safe.

REMEMBER!!!!
• A hazard is anything that can cause harm to us. For instance, chemicals, electricity, working from ladders or an open drawer.
• The risk is a chance weather that is high or low. Therefore, somebody could be harmed by these hazards.
These are the steps to analyze and solve the problem regarding hazard.
Step 1: identify the hazards
Firstly, we have to find out how people can be harmed.
Step2: decide who might be harmed and how?
Identify groups of people who might be harmed and how they might be harmed.
Step 3: evaluate the risks and decide on precautions

When controlling risks, we can apply these principles:
 Try a less risky option.
 Prevent access to the hazard.
 Organize work so that can reduce possibility to be harmed.
 Issue personal protective equipment.
 Provide welfare facilities.

Step 4: record your findings and implement them
-If we employ more workers to run our business or company, try to record all your findings as simple as you can.
-If there are a lot of improvements that you can make, do not try to do everything at once. However, make a plan of the action to deal with the most important things first.
Step5: review your assessment and update if necessary
Review is important to ensure that what you are doing is still improving or at least not sliding back.

What makes a successful system?
A successful system will be part of your overall business operation, as important as the other things you do to succeed in business.
Successful safety and health systems have the following in place:
-Managers committed to making the program work.
-Employees involved in the program.
-A system to identify and control hazards.
-Compliance with OSHA regulations.
-Training on safe work practices.
-Mutual respect, caring and open communication in a climate conducive to safety.
-Continuous improvement.

Take a look at your safety and health system. Some components may be strong and others may need to be strengthened. The following sections describe these key factors and give ideas about how to make them part of your program. And remember, if you operate one of many thousands of small businesses in Maine, your system can be simple and largely informal.
Use the following as a practical guide and adapt it to your needs. Because small businesses often cannot afford in-house safety and health professionals, you might need help setting up your system. You can call Safety Works! Our services are free and confidential. Your workers ' compensation insurance provider, your industry organization, or a private consultant may also be able to help.

1) Make a commitment
Put as much energy into your commitment to safety and health as you put into any other important part of your business. Make sure to include workplace safety and health in your business plan and integrate it into all facets of the business.
-Write a policy that emphasizes the importance you place on workplace safety and health.
-Commit the resources (time, money, personnel) needed to protect your employees.
-Begin meetings with a safety topic.
-Encourage employee participation in safety and health.
-Let employees know they will be expected to follow safe work practices if they work for your business and follow them yourself.
-Respond to all reports of unsafe or unhealthy conditions or work practices.
-If injuries or illnesses occur, make it your business to find out why.
-Go beyond the regulations; address all hazards, whether or not they are covered by laws.

2) Involve employees
In a safe and healthy workplace, employees have a stake in the success of the program --- safety and health is everyone 's responsibility. Actively encourage employee involvement if you want your program to succeed. Hold people accountable and makes sure everyone does their part.
-Establish an active workplace safety and health safety committee.
-Make daily safety inspections part of some employees ' jobs.
-Keep employees informed about safety inspections, injury and illness statistics, and other safety-related issues.
-Give everyone a meaningful activity that supports safety.
-Value employee input and feedback. Employees often know more about safety problems and solutions than managers do.
-Make sure employees help review and improve the program.
-Hold employees accountable
-Include safety and health responsibilities in job descriptions. Make following safe work practices part of performance evaluation.
-Set safety goals and hold everyone accountable.
-Discipline employees who behave in ways that could harm themselves or other.
-Establish a clear system for reporting hazards, injuries, illnesses and close calls.
-Recognize employees who contribute to keeping the workplace safe and healthy.

3) Continually improve your system

Review your program 's strengths and weaknesses. Does it accurately reflect how you want to manage safety and health?

-Use OSHA 's Safety and Health Program Assessment Worksheet to find out how you 're doing.

-Review annually and as needed

-Investigate accidents, injuries, illnesses and close calls as they occur.

-Conduct frequent (daily, weekly as needed) inspections of specific equipment and processes.

-Evaluate your injury and illness statistics

-Document all your safety efforts.

-Change analysis: Review new and changed processes, materials, facilities and equipment for hazards

-Ensure hazard correction systems are in place and working

-Evaluate effectiveness of training

-Listen to your staff: Do employees know the hazards of their jobs and how to work safely? Are managers enforcing safe work practices and praising safe behavior?

4) Support a culture of safety
Workers hold safety as a value; they actively care about themselves and others. Mutual respect is the norm.
-Establish effective two-way communication. Respond to the needs and concerns of workers.
-Make sure management goes beyond the regulations to ensure a safe workplace.
-Encourage workers to go "beyond the call of duty" to ensure a safe workplace.
-Support a work environment that fosters trust, creativity, and general well-being.
-Celebrate your success with SHARP or other recognition programs.

5) Train Employees
Train personnel about the hazards they may be exposed to at work and how to protect themselves. Keep records of all training. Provide:
- Safety orientation for new employees and employees starting new jobs, including company safety regulations and emergency procedures.
-Specific training on the hazards of their jobs and how to do their jobs safely. (Many OSHA standards include specific training requirements)
-Retraining
-As required by the standards
-When jobs change
-When employees return from long absence
-As needed to ensure employees know how to do their jobs safely.

Future Risk
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is another example of a new technology with few studies available that access the risks to human health. A Swiss survey of one hundred thirty eight companies using or producing Nano particulate matter in 2006, resulted in forty completed questionnaires. Sixty five per cent of respondent companies stated they did not have a formal risk assessment process for dealing with Nano particulate matter.
Nanotechnology in the near future presents unique challenges for occupational health and safety professionals to anticipate and control, this will only become more difficult as nanostructures become more complex. The size of the particles renders most containment and personal protective equipment ineffective. The toxicology values for macro sized industrial substances are rendered inaccurate due to the unique nature of Nano particulate matter. As Nano particulate matter decreases in size its relative surface area increases dramatically, increasing any catalytic effect or chemical reactivity substantially versus the known value for the macro substance. This presents a new set of challenges in the near future to rethink contemporary measures to safeguard the health and welfare of employees against a Nano particulate substance that most conventional controls were not designed to manage.

Relationship to Occupational Health Psychology
Occupational health psychology (OHP), a related discipline, is a relatively new field that combines elements of occupational health and safety, industrial/organizational psychology, and health psychology. The field is concerned with identifying work-related psychosocial factors that adversely affect the health of people who work. OHP is also concerned with developing ways to effect change in workplaces for the purpose of improving the health of people who work. For more detail on OHP, see the section on occupational health psychology.

Conclusion This is a lesson for contentment. As long as you have the necessary food for one day, then do not worry about tomorrow. You do not know if you will live to witness it or not. Its knowledge is in God 's hand only.Do not think much of the future. Rest assured that you will not die before you receive all the provisions that God has ordained for you. The Prophet is reported to have said: "No one will depart from this world until he takes all his provisions that are assigned to him…" (IbnMajah). The Prophet was very careful in choosing his words as he sums up the elements of happiness and makes them only three worldly possessions which have been explained above.
We pray to God to make us content with what we have due to enjoy a good health and have provision for one day. Thanks.

REFERENCES
1. http://www.scribd.com/doc/19233452/Surah-Al-Baqarah-2153-Medical-and-Psychological- benefits-of-Salat-and-Sabr
2. http://www.wcb.pe.ca/DocumentManagement/Document/pub_guidetoworkplacehealthandsafetypolicy.pdf
3. https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg259.pdf
4. http://www.huda.tv/articles/what-is-islam/683-safety-health-a-a-days-provision-dont-worry

CHAPTER 3
ETHICAL DECISION MAKING: EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES AND EMPLOYEE RIGHTS- DOWNSIZING

Muhammad Asyaari Bin Md Arif

ABSTRACT
"This chapter explains and understands the importance of the social and ethical issues in business strategies by studying the case of corporate downsizing. The chapter is based on a theoretical foundation comprising Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) models as well as downsizing theories. The methods of the system approach were used. The concentration on the economical responsibilities and the underestimation of the ethical and social concerns during downsizing processes lead to destructive consequences. Therefore considering downsizing as a last option after the inspection of all the possible strategic alternatives is necessary. The chapter views downsizing, principally, from an ethical perspective. However some financial and managerial aspects are taken in account".

Keywords – Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Downsizing, Leadership, Management.

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays most of the business schools are emphasizing on the managerial aspects that allow the potential leaders to generate profit and manage companies successfully but there is a remaining underestimation of Business Ethics in the academic programs. This lack of interest in the field is confirmed by our personal experiences, as business students we have been studying in Business Schools and Universities. We followed various programs in which the focus was different. Marketing, Management, Leadership, Finance, Auditing etc. were the principal options and in all of them there was no specific course dealing with Business Ethics or Social Responsibility.

The Muslim conduct in business affairs is seen as an integral part of religious observance. Therefore business life is part of a Muslim’s everyday life without any difference between the two. In contrast to the Western neo-classical economics, which makes very little or no reference at all to the Biblical teachings, Islamic economics is based on the teachings of the Holy Quran. Do business in Islam also to generate profit but it cannot bring harmful towards people. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was very much concerned with economic justice and rights of the individuals. In Quran, over 1400 verses refer to the business issues. Quran is not only concerned about the duties and obligations of Muslims but is also concerned about their economic rights and just entitlements to the resources. Interest therefore is not allowed for an activity in which an investor does not actively participate and is regarded as unjust because there is no effort is involved in achieving its dividends.

According to Quranic spirit any interest charged represents a redistribution of wealth from the poor to the rich which results in the inequalities of wealth to the detriment of the poor. Further, riba discourages consumption that takes money out of circulation. It is therefore seen as unjust and inappropriate. The Quran prohibits riba very clearly and compares this unfavorably with rewards from desirable activities such as trade:

‘They say that trade is like usury, but God hath permitted trade and forbidden usury.’ (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:275)

Islam ordains its followers that debtors should be treated with leniency rather than exploited:

‘If the debtor is in a difficulty, grant him time till it is easy for him to repay. If ye remit it by way of charity that is best for you if ye only knew.’ (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:280)

The act of charging interest discourages almsgiving. This is because the moneylenders accumulate money by charging interest and keep it for themselves rather than spending on almsgiving.

The importance of Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility in the managerial processes, we also display the negative consequences that a negligence of these issues engenders.
To this aim we examine one of the situations in which the social and ethical issues are at stake. In fact we dwell on the downsizing strategies involving massive layoffs, these cases are very relevant today and benefit from intensive Media coverage, every time a firm conducts a downsizing action it finds itself in the spotlight and each abuse or violation leads to a deterioration of its reputation and to several other damages.

Defining Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR)

If social issues are very relevant and have always been surrounding business activities, the concept of corporate social responsibility is perceived differently from one person to another. There is a lack of common definition in the literature and it makes the discussion about the importance of the concept and its significance in the decision making process very complicated and confusing. Consequently it is necessary to first agree about the understanding of CSR and its meaning before going deeper into the subject.

One of the most relevant definitions of CSR claims that corporate social responsibility concerns the treatment of the firm 's stakeholders in an ethical or responsible way. This one consists of economical and environmental responsibilities and intends to offer better conditions of living for people in general whereas maintaining the profitability of the company. Every organization influences both its stakeholders and the society in which it performs, thus considering them at the strategic level and taking their needs in account is necessary. In fact CSR do not only concern the investments of companies in the social issues and problems of a community, it is more about the integrity and sincerity of the corporation, the way this one embodies its values, achieves its objectives and accomplishes its mission. Another definition that we find pertinent, very simple and complementary to the first one is that CSR incorporates the responsibilities that organizations have to the society in which they perform. Practically CSR concerns the identification of the different stakeholders and the incorporation of their necessities and needs in the company strategies. To give a better explanation of CSR and its different components, it is judicious to analyze the existing theories and frame the concept. In our review of the literature we identified a model that we can consider as the starting point of the debate concerning the composition of CSR. In fact Archie. B. Carroll separates the social responsibilities of a corporation in four parts, the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. In addition to the definition of each category Carroll represent the different components in a pyramid.

Personal Values and Personality. An individual’s values and morals will also influence his or her ethical standards. A person who stresses honesty will behave very differently from another who does not respect other people’s property. Interestingly, in Islam, the decay and eventual disappearance of honesty is a sign of the imminence of the Day of Judgment. Abu Hurayrah reports:
"While the Prophet (peace be upon him) was saying something n a gathering, a Bedouin came and asked him, “When would the Hour (Doomsday) take place?” Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) continued his talk, so some people said that Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) had heard the question, but did not like what that Bedouin had asked. Some of them said that Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) had not heard it."

When the Prophet (peace be upon him) finished his speech, he said, “Where is the questioner, who inquired about the Hour (Doomsday)?” The Bedouin said, “I am here, O Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him).” Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “When honesty is lost, then wait for the Hour (Doomsday).” The Bedouin said, “How will that be lost?” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “When the power or authority comes in the hands of unfit persons, then wait for the Hour (Doomsday).”

A key personality variable which may affect the ethical behavior of an individual is his/her locus of control. The locus of control of an individual affects the degree to which he perceives his behavior as influencing his life. An individual has an internal locus of control if he/she believes that he/she can control the events in his/her life. As a result, internals are likely to take responsibility for the outcomes of their behavior. Conversely, an individual with an external locus of control believes that fate or luck or other people affect his life. Such an individual is likely to believe that external forces cause him to behave either ethically or unethically. Overall, internals are more likely than externals to make ethical decisions, are less willing to cave in to pressure to behave unethically, and will resist hurting others, even when ordered to do so by a superior.

Defining Business Ethics

If the importance of the ethical issues as well as their significance in corporate social responsibilities have been covered, and if we are cognizant of the origin of ethics and how it became relevant in the practice of business, it is time for us to provide definitions of business ethics as an own concept to clarify it and determine its real meaning. Ethics is the code of conduct directing a person or a group, it is the study of the individual or collective principles and moral standards. Within an Islamic context, the term most closely related to ethics in the
Qur’an is khuluq. The Qur’an also uses a whole array of terms to describe the concept of goodness: khayr (goodness), birr (righteousness), qist (equity), ‘adl (equilibrium and justice), haqq (truth and right), ma‘ruf (known and approved), and taqwa (piety). Pious actions are described as salihat and impious actions are described as sayyi’at.

In Business, ethics emphasis on the moral standards related to the policies, organizations and behaviors. It is a sort of practical ethics that includes the examination of the moral values and norms and aspires to apply the result of this examination to institutions, technological innovations and all the business operations and activities. Business ethics are structured around values as fairness and honesty, they emphasis on issues that concerns the different stakeholders such as the quality standards, the clients‟ satisfaction, the workers‟ salaries and conditions, the environmental issues and every aspect which is likely to influence the community. Ethics in the practice of business determines how companies incorporate their principal values such as fairness, respect, equality and sincerity into their strategies and decisions. It also defines how firms adhere to the general standards and internal regulations.

Business ethics examines three particular subjects: the systemic issues that are considered as the ethical concerns focusing on the economic, legal, politic and social structures in which companies perform, the corporate issues which are particular to a specific company and the individual issues which refer to the concerns of an individual working in a specific company. In the last years, business ethics were viewed as codes to which employees adhere, those define in depth what they can or cannot do regarding conflicts and their use of the company facilities. Nowadays firms tend to create reliable programs focused on values in order to provide employees a certain level of ethical comprehension that helps them to decide rightfully in all the kind of situations that they may face, simultaneously the field of business ethics enlarged to include, in addition to the treatment of the employees and obedience of laws, the actions that companies undertake to maintain and improve their relations with the different stakeholders. We mention the clients, suppliers, business collaborators, the society in general, the environment and even the next generations.

Factors Influencing Ethical Behavior in Islam

What is considered ethical behavior may depend on the factors that define and affect ethical behavior.

Legal Interpretations-In secular societies, legal interpretations are based upon contemporary and often transient values and standards; in an Islamic society, these values and standards are guided by the Shari‘ah and the collection of previous fiqh judgments. The result of these divergent approaches is amazing: at one time, it was legal and ethical in the United States to discriminate against women and minorities in hiring; now, affirmative action laws make it illegal to discriminate against these groups. By contrast, Islam has given women permanent and unalienable rights, and has never discriminated against minorities on any basis. For example, Abu Dharr reported that the Prophet(saw) said to him :

"You are not better than people with red or black skins unless you excel them in piety"

The Islamic ethical system does not endorse the caveat emptor concept that many Western courts have considered valid in several shadowy cases. Thus, Anas Ibn Malik reports the following hadith:

"Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) forbade the sale of fruits till they are almost ripe. Anas was asked what is meant by “are almost ripe.” He replied, “Till they become red.”
Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) further said, “If Allah spoiled the fruits, what right would one have to take the money of one’s brother (i.e., other people)?”

The Hanafis’ interpretation of Islamic law reinforces this emphasis on equity and fairness:

"If the vendor sells property as possessing a certain desirabl equality and such property proves to be devoid of such quality, the purchaser has the option of either canceling the sale, or ofaccepting the thing sold for the whole of the fixed price. This is called option for misdescription".

Individual Factors-Individuals come to work with different values. Factors affecting one’s ethical behavior include: stages of moral development, personal values and morals, family influences, peer influences, and life experiences.

Stages of Moral Development. The Prophet (saaw) suggested that individuals undergo two stages of moral development: the minor or prepubescent stage and the adulthood stage. In a hadith narrated by Aisha (rah), she narrated that:

"The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: ‘There are three (persons) whose actions are not recorded: a sleeper till he awakes, an idiot till he is restored to reason, and a boy till he reaches puberty."

From the above hadith, two facts can be inferred. First, certain types of people are not responsible for their behavior: the sleeper, the lunatic and the child before puberty. Second, an individual is not responsible for his actions until the age of reason.

In addition to physical and mental development, Islamic scholars have suggested that there are three states or stages of the development of the human soul or nafs: (1) ammara (12:53), which is prone to evil, and, if not checked and controlled, will lead to perdition; (2) lawwama, (75:2), which feels consciousness of evil, and resists it, asks for Allah’s grace and pardon after repentance and tries to amend; it hopes to reach salvation; (3) mutma’inna (89:27), the highest stage of all, when the soul achieves full rest and satisfaction after ‘aql (intellect) has checked the evil tendencies of man. If a Muslim persists in behaving unethically, he is succumbing to the ammara; if he is behaving Islamically, he is fighting the evil impulses of the ammara, and responding to the directions of the lawwama and the mutma’inna. Of course, what will govern his ethical behavior and the interaction among these three states of the soul is his level of taqwa or piety. Depending on which level his nafs is at and whether he is winning or losing the battle against temptation and evil, he may be more or less prone towards behaving ethically.

CSR and Downsizing

Corporate social responsibility is composed of four main parts that are in a regular interaction with each other, Carroll argues that the main reason of the existence of firms is to be economically beneficial. This ultimate necessity is the main foundation of each organization and no one evokes any other occupation if this one is in play, however it is vital for corporations to consider all the responsibilities coming after profit. The legal responsibilities are the laws and norms regulating the activities of companies and the context in which they occur, hence it is necessary to take them in account before the decision making. The ethical responsibilities are the base of the legal responsibilities, it is the moral standards that role the conduct of the company and the way this one treats its different stakeholders. They make the corporations perform with higher standards than what is expected by the law. Another element to consider here is the philanthropy which is considered as an influent plus that can make the difference for every company. In our context the ethical responsibilities are the most relevant, the way in which a company incorporates its values and interacts with its stakeholders is very sensitive especially in the critical situations. One of the most supervised events by the stakeholders is downsizing, this strategic activity is characterized by a diminution of the workforce to optimize company operations. The layoff of employees occurring here creates an immense debate and influences the company performance, structure, reputation, staff» In these situations numerous abuses are committed and employees find themselves in critical situations, ethically speaking firms are jammed in a position when they have to fulfill the economic responsibilities of their shareholders while acting honorably with the employees. Unfortunately numerous firms fail in the management of this operation and undergo negative consequences because of their ethical conduct. Before the analysis of this situation we introduce, in the next chapter, downsizing by reviewing the conditions generating its emergence, defining its real meaning, its causes and the results that company expect as well as its positive outcomes.

Defining Downsizing

Ethics in the employment context is perhaps the universal topic in business ethics since nearly every person will have the experience of being employed. While legislators and the courts have addressed many aspects of the working environment, countless ethical issues remain that these regulatory and judicial bodies have left unresolved. The law provides guidance for thinking about ethical issues in the workplace, but such issues go well beyond legal consideration. So we explores areas of ethical decision making in the workplace where the law remain relatively fluid and where answers are not easily found by simply calling the company lawyer. Issues may also arise where the law does seem clear but for one reason one another, it is insufficient to protect the interests of all stakeholder. We will examine various ethical challenges that face the employee, whether that employee is a worker on an assembly line, the manager of a restaurant, or the CEO of a large corporation, and the nature of employer responsibilities. While individual perspective may change, similar conflicts and stakeholders present themselves across business settings.

Though using the ethical decision making process may seem cumbersome at the outset, once the process become embedded in the professional landscape and culture, its effectiveness and efficiency in resolving these issues will become apparent. In fact, utilizing an ethical decision making process will avoid later hurdles, thus removing barriers to progress and momentum. Let us consider the issues that exist in the current workplace environment to test the effectiveness of the ethical decision making process. One of the most emotional issues for both employees and corporate decision-making is the challenge not only of a single termination but of letting many employees go when a firm makes a decision to "downsize". Terminating workers whether one or one hundred is not necessarily an unethical decision. However, the decision itself raises ethical quandaries since alternatives may be available to an organization in financial difficulty. Several definitions have been developed to operationally define the phenomenon of downsizing. Cascio (1993) defined downsizing as the planned elimination of positions or jobs. Another definition of organizational downsizing is described as management’s efforts to reduce their organization’s use of human and capital resources to correct misalignment and improve performance. Cameron (1994) stated that downsizing represents a strategy managers implement that affects the size of the firm’s workforce, its costs, and the work processes. The underlying similarities of these definitions are that downsizing, in general, enables organizations to save money on wages, retirement benefits, healthcare benefits, and other costs associated with hiring employees. Recent trends indicate this phenomenon to be a necessary part of business, particularly during times of an economic recession. Overall, the intent is to place an organization in a position to increase levels of sustainability and competitiveness.

There are others who view the phenomenon of downsizing to be detrimental. Gross (2001) stated the following regarding downsizing: The fact that downsizing is a bad decision for all affected is coupled with a level of responsibility that the corporation has to two key environments – the employees affected and the society in which the corporation operates. People who are productive employees with years of tenure and education lose their jobs, with seemingly little regard for the disruption of their lives by the corporations that employed them. The financial impact is obvious, but what about the psychological and social implications this action caused? There is a clear and reasonable argument that exists between organizations, the employees who are affected by downsizing, and even those who remain after downsizing has taken place. In many situations, the need to downsize is irrefutable. However, what can be questioned is the procedure by which organizations downsize.

Downsizing in and of itself has negative implications from the perspective of lost wages and benefits for employees. What is more detrimental is the treatment of those who are released and those who remain within organizations. Organizations that provide little or no rationale as to why downsizing has taken place, those who display poor communication practices in terms of who is released, the poor treatment of those who are dismissed, and the poor treatment of those who remain within the organization has a significant impact on individuals both internally and externally. If not handled properly, those who are released could project a negative opinion of those organizations to society. Those who remain could become intrinsically demotivated and negatively affect productivity.

In many cases, organizational downsizing is unavoidable. However, when downsizing occurs, several ethical questions automatically appear to surface. What responsibility does an organization have to its employees to inform them of such an event? What are the perceptions of those employees who are affected and how will they communicate those perceptions to society. How will the morale of those who remain be affected? According to Hopkins & Hopkins (1999), when top management makes the strategic decision to downsize, two ethics-related issues arise: (a) the moral obligation of top management to act in the best interest of the firm and (b) the legal obligation of the firm not to violate the rights of employees. (A Family Duty, 2006) has presented a clear recommendation to address this ethical dilemma. The author states the HR employee’s obligation is to the employer and the HR department. If an HR employee cannot keep confidential information, then he or she should not be in the HR department.” This philosophy could explain why many leaders within organizations choose not to communicate with their employees about the need for downsizing. It is believed that the primary loyalty is to the shareholder and the organization at large.

Those who are downsized as well as those who remain within organizations after this event have a contrasting viewpoint as it relates to this behavior. Conrad (1985) stated that one of the most consistent findings in research on organizational communications is that employees feel that they receive too little relevant and useful information about events which directly affect them and their jobs. Feldman and Leana, (1989) concluded that there are instances of less reported stress and anger toward the organization when employees are made aware of downsizing prior to the incident. (How Employers Can Ease Pain, 2007) indicates that Anger at what has happened to former colleagues or a “Could we be next?” feeling are not the sort of reactions which should be left to fester and are ones which could indirectly hamper or interfere with future work performance and other organizational activities. The positions of both the employer and employees clearly differ and may also remain consistent as long as the behaviors of the organization remain unchanged.

The causes of Downsizing

Now that we know the meaning of downsizing and the features of the concept, it is pertinent to analyze the motivations of the companies practicing this strategic action and the causes of their choices. If downsizing is always characterized by a need to improve the firms‟ efficiency, the reasons that make the management team chooses this strategy instead of others diverge and vary in a different way, in this part of our thesis we identify the most relevant.

Nowadays companies are facing numerous challenges and an incredible level of competition, they must be very creative and innovative in order to survive and make benefits. In fact most of them encounter a lot of problems because of the crisis and the high level of debts characterizing their financial structure. To go through these difficult times and remain competitive in this global economy, several firms downsize with the intention of reducing costs, they see no other alternatives allowing them to survive. Islam teaches us to work in an ethical manner. In business to achieve the goal we must get the higher profit but not charging the interest in our businesses. Interest (riba) is haram in Islam, it is unethical behavior. What we want to do is based on the shariah. In the Qura 'n says :

"Those who consume interest cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity. That is because they say, "Trade is [just] like interest." But Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with Allah . But whoever returns to [dealing in interest or usury] - those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein." (Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 275)

He who claimed that this verse is abstract did not understand the clear and confident affirmation of the harj 'ah because Allah Almighty sent His messenger to a people of whom he was one, sent him (speaking) in their language, revealed His Book to hirn so that they comprehend it easily in their language, and in their language the word rib; means 'increase '; and in the verse, it means the increase that has no financial consideration agalnst it, (but simply time). In addition the downsizing is one of the ethical decision making that can bring the benefit to the organization.

Michra and Michra (1994) argue that the downsizing of the early eighties was principally an attempt to reduce the number of employees with the purpose of remaining profitable. This tendency continued in the following decade and companies kept reducing their costs so that they can stay competitive. This penchant to downsize in time of crisis was not expected to diminish in our time and in fact many companies are still practicing downsizing for different reasons. The technological progresses are another reason that makes companies downsize. Some new innovations and equipments increase the productivity without any intervention of the staff members. However if some scholars argue that the new technologies lead to a reduction of jobs and downsizings, other believe that they create new jobs and make companies employ further workers. Nevertheless if we consider the last years we notice that new innovations caused the layoff of an important number of workers especially middle managers who were in charge of the collection, analysis and transmission of information, those are not as needed as before. If we view the causes of the phenomenon from a social angle we can indentify three main social forces leading to downsizing: constraining, cloning and learning.
- Constraining is principally the pressures that companies undergo to respect the organizational regulations and laws aiming to legitimate the management decisions and the structures. In fact companies tend, more and more, to follow a specific model that they consider as perfect, they realize this objective thanks to downsizing.
- Cloning is defined as the pressure that companies are subjected to in order to imitate and become similar to the prestigious and excellent leading firms. Therefore companies downsize even if they are not sure of the benefits that this strategic shift is capable to generate, they just follow their model and believe that it is the best way to become successful. - Learning is the process allowing companies to discover experiences and new thoughts coming from the discussions occurring in the academic circles such as universities and business schools or from professional associations. This process legitimates downsizing, in fact all the different theories and models explaining the functions of downsizing makes it normal and more acceptable.

The expected results and positive outcomes of Downsizing

The firms resorting to downsizing expect positive financial and organizational outcomes and believe that firms aim to improve their effectiveness and productivity. They become capable to create more value for the investors and shareholders, moreover if the management predicts the costs easily, the future outcomes are more difficult to estimate. Therefore the reduction of the workforce allows the augmentation of the remunerations and the price of the companies‟ shares. Some believes that at the financial level downsizing allows the diminution of the hierarchical levels, inferior cost ratios, superior profits, share prices and return on investments. Whereas from an organizational angle, better communication, more initiatives and improved productivity are expected. The inferior labor costs generated by downsizing allow a control of the prices, it is expected to make companies stay competitive in their market segment.

Now if we examine the real results of companies after downsizing operations and compare them with their expectations, we notice that this phenomenon leads to different consequences and that most of the scholars are mitigated when it comes to the efficiency of this strategic action and its results. As far as we are concerned, in this part of the thesis we focus on the positive anticipated outcomes. We come back later to analyze deeply the other face of the coin. Habitually when a downsizing is announced, the stock exchange receives this news optimistically and positive effects follow. The table bellow illustrates the changes following the announcement of an important downsizing in numerous famous companies‟ stock prices one day after the declaration.

The Downside of Downsizing

There are very few decisions that managers find harder to make than downsizing and dismissing people. Several business leaders recognize that this activity is particularly hard especially when the principal motivation of the organization is cost cutting. It is for example easier to fire an employee because of his performances, however when a company is downsizing and dismissing an important number of workers the decision is harder because it is almost never due to their performances. The complexity of this kind of decisions comes from the fact that they involve, in addition tolaws and regulations, ethical and social aspects. In fact in business circles one cannot perform without values and ethical principles, those become very problematical particularly in downsizing situations. Several scholars classify downsizing and its restructuring strategies that includes factory closing as well as job exporting as the most complex and dramatic issue in human resources management, especially when we view it from an ethical angle. Furthermore downsizing is considered as a direct conflict of interests between the different stakeholders, this situation is characterized by a high level of stress and inconsistency that diminishes considerably the resources of companies and biases the decisions of its leaders. Therefore it is habitually the most powerful interests that triumph whereas the right considerations are ignored, it engenders considerable ethical consequences and harm innocent people.

If several business leaders and specialists argue that this strategic action present an important ensemble of opportunities, one must know that on the other hand, it leads to unexpected repercussions that are in most of the cases more consequent. In fact a considerable number of scholars associate to downsizing and massive layoffs numerous that affect companies and all their stakeholders. They question the effectiveness of this strategic shift and have doubts concerning its appropriateness and justifications. In this chapter we identify the principal destructive effects of downsizing. As explained before this one affects all the stakeholders, therefore we first consider the consequences that the companies suffer. We believe that it is judicious to start by the analysis of the consequences that the deciding part undergo, in fact and as detailed later most of the organizations leading downsizing operations face additional internal and external problems, they do not succeed in the realization of their strategic objectives and experience important losses at different levels. Then we take in account the workforce which is the other principal part concerned by downsizings. In fact all the workers of an organization are influenced, directly or indirectly, by this kind of decisions. In this thesis we consider differently three categories of employees:
- The downsizing victims: It is the employees who lost their jobs consequently to the layoffs that the downsizing companies conduct.
- The downsizing survivors: It is the employees who are still working for the company after the downsizing. This category can be divided in two sub-categories, the employees were subject to downsizing, it is those who were menaced to lose their jobs. employees who were sure to keep their positions and did not face the doubt of losing job.
- The decision makers: It is the managers, the executors. Those implement downsizing. These three categories of employees are concerned by the downsizing. Even if their positions and situations before and after the restructuration are different, they all suffer considerable monsequences particularly at the psychological level. In addition to the company and its employees, we consider the effects of downsizing other stakeholders. In fact the phenomenon provokes an important number of consequences touching the shareholders, the environment, the local populations, the policies etc.

The destructive effects of downsizing on the individuals

When companies announce downsizings all their employees are involved in this process, the managers take the decision and implement it, the dismissed workers lose their jobs and find themselves in critical situations while the remaining workforce is asked to assure the same level of productivity or improve it with less resources. Therefore all the components of the company are affected and undergo different consequences.

Downsizing effects on the decision makers If the employees are directly affected by downsizing and endure its variant consequences,n one must know that the executors of this strategic action are also concerned. In fact even if they do not undergo any significant material losses, the psychological and morale repercussions are very considerable. Burke and Cooper (2000) argue that the high level of stress reining the organization during downsizings influences the managers as well. Usually they express an overwork and loneliness within the organization, they constantly question themselves and look for meaning. In some cases their reactions become extreme, they tend to be aggressive with their coworkers and inferiors, they isolate themselves and depress. In fact this hostility in the managers‟ reactions is amplified when downsizing is conducted for internal reasons. The stress and depression that managers express during downsizing is also due to their feeling of culpability for the creation of unemployment. They are the executors of the downsizing, they are responsible for its planning, implementation and communication.
Therefore they feel responsible for the layoffs and it affects considerably their morale as well as self-confidence.

In fact and as explained before, this situation is extremely complicated. The managers find themselves in a position in which they have to choose between the duties toward the employees and the obligation toward the shareholders. Consequently they experience a feeling of loneliness and isolate themselves, it usually generates depression and influences the performances of the company, the psychological costs and unexpected outcomes are usually underestimated and ignored by the different parts intervening on the decision making process.

Conclusion

The social and ethical issues have always been accompanying the exercise of business, however the concept of CSR itself arose in the 1950s. Since this time the importance of its different components did not cease to grow and today all the companies are taking them in consideration in their strategies. If different definitions of the concept exist, they all agree about the fact that CSR includes the various responsibilities that companies have to the society, in practice CSR identifies the organization‟ stakeholders and incorporates their needs in the organizational strategy. Those responsibilities are well defined by Carroll (1991) who distinguishes the economical responsibilities which represent the profit obligation that every company is required to assure, the legal responsibilities that embody the ensemble of laws and regulations ruling the organizations‟ activities, the ethical responsibilities which refer to the principles and values that the companies integrate in their strategies, it is the different behaviors to adopt when treating the different stakeholders. The last kind of responsibilities is the philanthropic, it represents the corporate achievements allowing the company to respond to society‟ expectations. The classification of these responsibilities according to their importance show that the companies are required to be profitable more than everything else, however while achieving their financial objectives the firms are also required to respect the legislations and treat their stakeholders in an ethical and responsible way. Their contribution to society is necessary but it does not mean that a social responsible behavior decreases the profitability.

Islamic context, the term most closely related to ethics in the Qur’an is khuluq. The Qur’an also uses a whole array of terms to describe the concept of goodness: khayr (goodness), birr (righteousness), qist (equity), ‘adl (equilibrium and justice), haqq (truth and right), ma‘ruf (known and approved), and taqwa (piety). Pious actions are described as salihat and impious actions are described as sayyi’at.

This thesis focuses in the ethical responsibilities of the companies and shows their importance in the managerial processes. The consideration of the Downsizing case illustrates perfectly how important the fair treatment of the stakeholders, and especially the employees, is. In fact downsizing refers to a set of actions conducted by the managers to improve the productivity, competitiveness and efficiency of an organization. This strategy is intentional and aims to reduce the size of the workforce, it affects the costs and reshapes the work processes.

References
1. Ambrosi (2008), “Lenoir et Mernier en liquidation judiciaire”, L‟usine Nouvelle,12/02. [Online], http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/lenoir-et-mernier-en liquidationjudiciaire.130844 [11 Avr 2010].
2. Andersen (2004), “Turning Policy into Ethically Founded Remedial, Internal, and Operational Practices”, Bringing business ethics to life: achieving corporate social responsibility.
3. Appelbaum, Close & Klasa (1999), “Downsizing: an examination of some successes and more failures”, Management Decision.
4. Appelbaum, Everard & Hung (1999), “Strategic downsizing: critical success factors”, Management Decision.
5. Arbnor & Bjerke (1997), Methodology for Creating Business Knowledge, pp. 81-210. Asongu (2007), “The History of Corporate Social Responsibility”, Journal of Business and Public Policy.
6. Atwood, Coke, Cooper & Loria (1995), “A review of the history and results of downsizing”, Has downsizing gone too far?. Band & Tustin (1995), “Strategic downsizing”, Management decision.
7. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Mass Layoffs – February 2010”, News Release, 23/03, [Online], Available: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/mmls.pdf [1 Avr 2010].
8. Burke & Cooper (2000), “Ethical problems in Downsizing”, The organization in crisis: downsizing, restructuring, and privatization.
9. Chapra, M. Umer, Islam and the Economic Challenge, Islamic Foundation, Leicester, 1992.
10. Nash, Laura, ‘Ethics without the sermon’, in Andrews and Kay, Ethics in Practice.

CHAPTER 4

Qur’anic Guided Business Ethics:
Lessons from Surah Al Baqarah
ISSUES OF EMPLOYMENT AT WILL (EAW): JUSTICE OR INJUSTICE?
Muhammad Farid Bin Bahrudin
Marwan Hadiid Bin Aris Fadzalah
This chapter will explain what Employment at Will (EAW) is all about and identify whether it is justice or injustice as employers to their employees. How EAW is being used at organization or company? And why EAW can be injustice towards employees? What are the consequences to the employees when EAW is use to them? We will look at business ethics theories and also the relation with the verses in Surah Al- Baqarah. The concept uses in the Quran; "`adl" and "ihsan" to justified justice.
Keywords: Employment at Will (EAW), justice or injustice, ‘Adl
Introduction
Releasing employees from their work duties without a practical reason is becoming very common in society today. Some employers have dismissed their employees because the Employment at will clause states that employers can terminate “employees at any time for any reason or for no reason at all, as long as no agreement existed to prohibit such an action” and employee may opt to leave a job at any time for any reason, without offering notices at all.
While this may be reasonable to some degree, employers may want to consider informing their employees by giving rational reasons for discharging them from their duties. Nevertheless, employers may choose to terminate employees because the positions the employees occupy, may change over time. Employees may act in a manner that is unacceptable or employees may not contribute to the betterment of an organization. Whatever the case may be, employees and employers must act as in a manner that is ethical and appropriate. Giving employees reasons for termination may result in employees to be understanding of the situation.
Problem Statement
It such a good effort to work on “Employers Duties and Responsibilities” regarding on the ethical issues of Employment at Will (EAW). This edited book may look why EAW is injustice prove by some verses from Al-Baqarah. In addition employers right to be justice, why to make EAW become justice and ‘Adl on termination process are being considered as ethical issues involved on those matter. Reason Why EAW Is Injustice EAW is lead to injustice when employees are terminated without been notifying or they are terminated without valid reason. Sometimes employee is terminated because; employee may not have been on the job long enough because they took a leave of absence to take care of a sick parent, employee may also be absent because they had to travel due to family emergencies and employee may be terminated for reasons that do not go against an organization’s policies. If we look through the termination of the employee doesn’t follow action’s morality or fairness, informed observers constitute a valuable source of advice for the parties involved. They are many consequences may occur firstly injustice to the employee itself. They feel injustice because they don’t do anything that harms the company. We made an assumption that the employee has work for 2 years, have a family to support and have made loan for housing and car. According to AKPK Talk held in Lecture Theater 2, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) on 20 April 2012 if someone made a budget on income, expenses and saving for himself about 10 percent it may last longer for six months only. Perhaps with the budget can at least less the burden of the employee before find a new job.
Salary per month for manager is RM 3,000 and 10 percent is save for the emergencies cases equal to RM 300 an times with 24 months equal to RM 7,200. How about when there is difficulty to find a new job, with the bad of economy of country. It is very crucial to employees to continue have a better life after six months. Recently the current rate of unemployment in Malaysia is 3.2 percent as February 2012 Figure 1.2, and company rather want to have outsource worker and fresh graduate workers.
Expenses RM
Education RM 200
Utility Bills RM 100
Food RM 400
Housing and Car Loans RM 900
Other expenses RM 200
Total Expenses RM 1,800
Figure 1.1
For example when someone is terminated from his job, he can’t afford to support their family and to cover the expenses. Such as utility bills, food, housing and car loan, and other expenses. We have made a table to show that EAW can be injustice to employees. Base on the calculation above a monthly employee to support his family is RM 1,200 and Figure 1.1 shows that employees must have RM 1,800 to maintain their family, it shows a deficit of RM 600 on his account. From this situation, employee can only maintain their family for only approximately 4 months. It is very injustice because unemployment can give bad impact on the life to the employees. Secondly, it is very injustice to the families of employees because they don’t receive what actually they get before the EAW took place. For example, education for employees’ children maybe employees allocated the big amount for their children extra additional references book or tuition fees. Employee as a parent wants their children have a better and conducive education. Because seek a knowledge is an Ibadah, and with the knowledge also their children can know what is true and wrong and become a good ummah for the generation of Malaysia generally for the sake of Islam. So when EAW took place, it is very injustice to the employee and also to their children. Figure 1.2

We can see the relation the injustice of EAW done by employer to employee from verse 84 from Al-Baqarah. This verse advice us not to be injustice between the members of the community or in company. The meaning of this verse is; And (remember the time) when we Took a covenant from you will not shed your own blood, and you will not drive yourselves out of your land. Then you confirmed it and you were a witness to it. In this verse Allah (swt) brings our attention to another contract that He (swt) took with the children of Israil. But our concern is about the EAW become injustice. Once again as we read these verses we have to remind ourselves that this contract applies to us today just as much as it applied to the children of Israil then. Allah (swt) tells them, as He (swt) tells us, “you will not shed your own blood, and you will not drive yourselves out of your land”. In the verse 83 the verse briefly explained the terms of the contract that established the foundation of the Din. But the Din is always implemented by people. The people come together to make up the community. It is the strength of the bond between the members that determines the strength of the community. The strength of the Din itself rests on the strength of the bond between the members of the community. That is why it is imperative that there not be violence of any kind between members of the community. They must not hurt each other, they must not kill each other, and they must not drive each other out of the land. They must not cause injustice to each other in any way whatsoever. In addition they must also all see each other as part of one body. Employer Right to Be Justice The Qur 'an puts great emphasis on the right to seek justice and the duty to do justice. As an employer’s they should give an explanations to the employees about their terminated as they do have rights to know the reason why their job is terminated, including contract rights, company policy, and statutory rights provided by federal and state law. Employer has become injustice toward their employees. In the context of justice, the Qur 'an uses two concepts: "`adl" and "ihsan." Both are enjoined, and both are related to the idea of "balance," but they are not identical in meaning. "`Adl" is defined by A.A.A. Fyzee, a well known scholar of Islam, as "to be equal, neither more nor less." Explaining this concept, Fyzee wrote: "in a court of Justice the claims of the two parties must be considered evenly, without undue stress being laid upon one side or the other. Justice introduces the balance in the form of scales that are evenly balanced." Recognizing individual merit is a part of "`adl," the Qur 'an teaches that merit is not determined by lineage, sex, wealth, worldly success, or religion, but by righteousness. Righteousness consists of both right "belief" ("iman") and just "action" ("`amal") as clearly indicated by Surah 2: Al-Baqarah: 177, which states: The meaning of the verse above is; It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces towards East or West; but it is righteousness to believe in God and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the God-fearing. From the verse above, Islam asks an every slave “to fulfill the contracts which ye have made”. In the Company, when the Manager (employer) hired a Clerk (employee), the clerk has been given a contract to sign. A contract that included about the wage receives by the Clerk, duration of probationary period and others. In this situation if he or she can be terminated according to Atty.Fred he wrote on Article 281 states that a probationary employee can be legally terminated: (1) for a just cause; or (2) when the employee fails to qualify as a regular employee in accordance with the reasonable standards made known to him by the employer at the start of the employment. The limitations in dismissing a probationary employee are: first, this power must be exercised in accordance with the specific requirements of the contract. Second, the dissatisfaction on the part of the employer must be real and in good faith, not feigned so as to circumvent the contract or the law; third, there must be no unlawful discrimination in the dismissal. So the Manager can’t implement EAW as it not follow the contract was sign before unless the Clerk has broke several rules that makes the contract void. While constantly enjoining "`adl," the Qur 'an goes beyond this concept to "ihsan," which literally means, "restoring the balance by making up a loss or deficiency." In order to understand this concept, it is necessary to understand the nature of the ideal society or community ("ummah") envisaged by the Qur 'an. The word "ummah" comes from the root "umm" or "mother." The symbols of a mother and motherly love and compassion are also linked with the two attributes most characteristic of God, namely, "Rahim" and "Rahman," both of which are derived from the root "rahm," meaning "womb." The ideal "ummah" cares about all its members just as a good employer cares about all employees, knowing that all are equal and that each has different needs. While showing undue favor to any employee would be unjust, an employee who gives to a more holidays to employee that having a emergencies cases is not acting unjustly but exemplifying the spirit of "ihsan" by helping to make up the deficiency of a employee who is need in life. Thus "ihsan" shows God 's sympathy for the "disadvantaged" segments of human society (such as employee want to take leave to send their children to boarding school, employee want to make long holiday to perform Umrah and Hajj and others). Way to Make EAW Become Justice EAW is good but it is injustice. There is a way or recommendation to the employer, to the practices or policy makers. As we know EAW employers have right to terminate employees at any time and for any reason and employee may opt to leave a job at any time for any reason, without offering any notices at all. But employer can be justice if he changes the concept of how the termination takes place. Firstly, employers should terminate employee base on the valid reason only. According to Robbi Erickson there are three legal reasons for terminating an employee when;
1. The employee violated a known company rule
2. The employee is not able to perform the job adequately
3. The company is reducing its workforce for economic reasons
As mentioned above employer has the right to terminate the employee if he or she cause any harm to the company. For example employee made the speculation that company will goes bankrupt, employee reveal the secret information to the competitor, employee take a leave without employer consent and other violated actions. In order for this reason to be upheld in a court of law employer will need to prove that: the rule actually exist, the employee knew that it existed, the rule was violated, other employees were terminated for the same infarction and the termination was reasonable punishment for the infraction. The rule can be refer as Code of Ethics of the company or ethical codes; are adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between 'right ' and 'wrong ' and in applying that understanding to their decisions. An ethical code generally implies documents at three levels: codes of business ethics, codes of conduct for employees, and codes of professional practice. Many employers get into legal trouble when they terminated employee because they broke an “unwanted but known” rule. If it is not in writing, it may not be defensible in a court of law, and most likely the judge will rule in favor of the employee. To protect yourself against this, have ALL of your company rules written and have ALL of your employees sign a copy of these rules stating that they have received a copy, read, understood, and agree to abide by the rules. This signed document will help prove that the company’s rules exist and that the employees are aware of them, and that they agree to abide by them. Every of the company instruct their employee to take an oath or sign the contract. So it doesn’t the problem if employers want to bring this to court of law. Allah also mentioned in the same verse 84 from Al-Baqarah “Then you confirmed it and you were a witness to it”. Here Allah (swt) makes it clear to us that the children of Israil confirmed this contract and they were a witness to it. They made a promise to Allah (swt) to abide by this contract and they were a witness to themselves making this promise. Once again this shows the enormity of the sin that they committed. They went back on a promise to Allah (swt)! This is the truly shocking part; they made this promise and they confirmed it with their own tongues. They were a witness to it with their own eyes and their own ears. Still they went back on it. They knew that Allah (swt) sees all that they do and that He (swt) hears everything that they say, and they still went back on their promise. This behaviour on their part is totally unacceptable. They knew what their responsibilities were, so they should have been on their guard. When you make a contract, when you confirm it with your tongue, then you have to always be aware of your responsibilities. You have put yourself in a position of responsibility by making this contract with Allah (swt) and so it is something that you always have to be aware of. We have to always remember that this is a contract that we have entered into with Allah (swt) as well. The contract we can refer as company rules written between the employer and employees. Employer should bear with the responsibility when the contract has been agreed, which is they can’t terminated employee without any valid reason and at any time. Documentation will also help defend employer position and prove that the employee broke the rule and that the infraction was serious enough to necessitate termination. Here witness reports, video recordings from security cameras, and job samples may all be gathered and used to defend employer position. But in Islam, Qur 'an recognizes the need for privacy as a human right and lays down rules for protecting an individual 's life in the home from undue intrusion from within or without. We can’t put every angle in workplace with the cameras.
When deciding if employers termination was legal and warranted, the courts will also look at employers past reactions to similar infractions. If in the past another employee has been fired for breaking the same rule, the court will see that you are fairly and equally applying your rules and disciplinary actions to all of his employees and should rule in your favor. However, if employer did not terminate an employee who broke the same law in the past, then the court will probably rule in favor of the employee.
For example employer terminated employee A because he doesn’t doing well performance but employer not terminated employee B because he doesn’t doing well performance. It shows the favoritism there and it is not ‘Adl in term of Islamic Perspective.
Past precedents of employer reactions to rule infractions will determine the legality of employer termination policies in the future. Because of this, many lawyers and legal advisors suggest that employer terminate every employee that breaks a rule in order to preserve his legal right to terminate employees in the future.
The final factor that courts take into consideration when determining if a termination due to a rule infraction is legal is if the termination is an appropriate reprimand for the rule that was broken. This not only takes into consideration the type of rule that was broken but also the length of time that the employee has been employed. As a general rule the longer that the employee has worked for employer, the more corrective or disciplinary steps he have to take before terminating their employment.
For example, an employee who is still in their six month probationary period can be fired for breaking a rule immediately. However, an employee with tenure can only be fired after you have made "reasonable attempts" to correct their behavior or to correct the situation. These attempts may include verbal and written warnings, demotion, reduction in pay, and even counseling.
While these steps are required before terminating a tenured employee in most cases, certain situations necessitate immediate dismissal including: stealing money from the company, displaying violent behavior, endangering employees and customers, and any other unlawful behaviors and actions are all reasonable grounds for immediate dismissal without other disciplinary steps.
The second legal reason to terminate an employee is if they are not able to perform their job adequately. To be able to defend this reason for termination in a court of law the employer must be able to prove that the employee was incompetent, that the employer took reasonable steps to try and improve the employees performance, and that the employer had addressed the issue in several instances before terminating the employee. To prove that the employer’s position in this kind of situation they will need documented evidence.
First, employers need to prove that their expectations for work standards were reasonable and that an average employee is able to perform at your set standards. To prove this, employers need to provide documents that detail the minimum work standards for the job such as a job analysis, and/or a job description. To prove that an average employee is capable of meeting these standards, they should also provide the performance records of other employees who have the same job responsibilities as the terminated employee. The comparison of many employees’ performance records to the terminated employee’s performance record can be used as proof that indeed it is possible and common for employees to meet or exceed the standards set out and that the terminate employee was well below what is normal.
The next pieces of evidence that employers need to produce are evaluations of the employee in question that document consistent failures to meet the job’s performance standards and that disciplinary actions were taken to address the issue in several instances. Evidence to prove this can include: critical incident reports, employee evaluation forms, feedback forms, signed disciplinary actions, notes made by the employer in regards to the employee’s performance, etc. The key to defending your position in this situation is a properly formatted and current performance-appraisal system. It should include a job analysis and contain specific and concrete standards that employees have been made aware of. This should be set out in a writing signed by the employees. It will affirm that they understand and agree to meet the standards. This system should also include provisions that address behavior measurements, and all evaluations should be carried out by a number of reviewers to rule out any chance that any decision was biased by a personal distaste for the employee. The system should also provide employees with the opportunity to appeal the findings. Without this documentation, employers are relatively powerless it defend themselves.
The final legal reason for terminating an employee is if it is in the best economic interest of the company in question. Layoffs are common reasons for terminations, especially in larger corporations that are downsizing or restructuring. Here, courtesy is expected, and employees who are involved in a large-scale layoff need to be given at least 60 days notice of the layoff. This courtesy is required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN). See Figure 1.2 Documentation is employer key to protect him from wrongful-termination lawsuits. To make sure that employer has all of the documentation that he need, keep employer personnel files current and complete. Try to keep the following items on hand, either in every employee’s file or in a clearly labeled personnel file:
1. Employee evaluations
2. Job analysis of all jobs
3. List of rules, signed by each employee
4. Employment-at-will doctrine signed by each employee
5. Employee complaint from customer
These is the most important document should employer have about their employee. Employee evaluations are form that been filled by the upper manager of the company about the employee. Job analysis of jobs, form that show how the credibility of the employee handle a task given. A contract that contains list of rules that has been prescribed by the company sign by the employee is the important documents that can be bring to court of law. Employee complaint from customer sometimes is a positive or negative feedback about them can be count also.
In relation EAW to this statement; if one member of the community is injured or hurt, everyone must feel the sorrow and the pain because of that. This is the attitude between the members of the Muslim community that Allah (swt) commands to be established in this verse. As we read about this covenant, we should think about how we can implement this in our community are when employee is terminated his co-worker should feel sorrow or sympathy on his fate.

Figure 1.2

‘Adl on Termination Process As an employer you should ‘Adl on the termination process in relation in verse 84 from Al-Baqarah, this is a command not to kill or hurt members of your own community. So for us this would be a command not kill or hurt our Muslim brothers and sisters. This is because the members of the Muslim community are like one body. As we know from the hadith of the Prophet (saw) where he said, “The Muslim Ummah is like one body. If one part of it is in pain, the rest of the body suffers from sleeplessness and sorrow”. So if we kill another Muslim, or even if we hurt another Muslim, it is not only a great sin, but it is like we are killing or hurting our own selves. Not only must we not hurt them with our hands but we must also not hurt them with our tongues. So that, employer must ‘Adl in order to not hurt the employees. First you need to give the valid reason for terminating employee to make it legally defensible reason as been discussed above. Secondly employer has to make sure all documentation that he needs will support his decision. For example, evidence that employee was aware of the code of ethics or ethical codes that they disregard, proof that rule was broken and the standard were not met and others. Thirdly, employee will need to decide whether to give the employee a severance package or not. The severance package is not only a courteous option to offer an employee who is being laid-off, but it can also be used as a way to avoid being sued for wrongful termination. Finally, after employer has prepared a documentation and severance package, employee need to schedule the meeting. On the termination meeting, it is going to be stressful and uncomfortable involved. In order to reduce the amount of stress, keep it brief and to the point. Don’t try to sugar coat things because most likely the employee is already know why there are there, so employee should get to the point right away and make it quick as possible. As an ethical employer, give the reason s why they are terminated, express your gratitude toward them what have them contributed to your company or organization. Offer the severance package company have prepared for them if applicable. After finished those entire thing, employer should meet with the company’s other employees to let them know what exactly happened without divulging private information. This information meeting will help reduce employee anxiety, and it will help to reduce rumors and misinformation from being spread.
Conclusion
EAW do create injustice towards the employees. Employer should not use their power beyond the boundary. Yes they may terminate employees at any time without any reason, but it may suitable when the employees violated the company rules. From the Islamic perspective employer or employee cannot break the promise (signing of contract) or fulfill the contract has been made. The Quran also, asked the employer to become justice or ‘Adl in doing termination process, decision to terminate or to giving severance package. Therefore EAW should change the concept that can terminate employees at any time but with the valid reason. We just change the concept and it just make employer doing justice or ‘Adl in duties and responsibilities. Perhaps employer can have the pleasure of Allah by doing all those things.
REFERENCES
1. http://www.googobits.com/articles/p0-2259-how-to-legally-terminate-an-employee.html
2. http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/labor/at-will-employment-exceptions-by-state.aspx
3. http://www.doleta.gov/layoff/pdf/WorkerWARN2003.pdf
4. http://www.slideshare.net/Will1945/the-history-of-employment-at-will
5. http://www.tradingeconomics.com/malaysia/unemployment-rate
6. http://quran.com/
7. http://jlp-law.com/blog/probationary-employment-employee/

BIOGRAPHY
Tuan Muhd Ameruddin Bin Tuan Mustafa
Tuan Muhd Ameruddin Bin Tuan Mustafa is student in establish International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). Furthering Bachelor in major Business and Administration study, he following the Business ethics class and give full commitment to the ethics. Background from Islamic school, he keep the track in the Islamic environment study in IIUM. He also active in the social responsibility works inside and outside the IIUM. Based on the principle of doing good deeds to all humankind, he contributes his works and ideas for the sustainable of goodness in this world. He had experience study in IIUM for 3 years.
Muhammad Farid Bin Bahrudin
Muhammad Farid Bin Bahrudin is an undergraduate student of Kuliiyah Economy at IIUM currently pursuing his 2nd year of study. In other to this finish this edited book on chapter Ethical Issues on Employment at Will in relation with Al-Baqarah , the author use Quran Tafsir by Abdur Raheem Al-Saranbi in order to understand better story line and what Allah said in surah. The author also seeks help from his fellow friend to understand better what is Justice and Injustice in their point of view. The 4 months research has made the author completely do analysis of this issue.
Marwan Hadiid Bin Aris Fadzalah
Marwan Hadiid Bin Aris Fadzalah is an undergraduate student of Kuliiyah Economy at IIUM currently pursuing his 2nd year of study on Bachelor of Economic. He is the co-author of this chapter. He is more concentrated on the economic theory which is he explained and do graph about the unemployment rate in Malaysia and what the effect to the employee. He also gives an opinion why every human being in this world should be Justice. The background on Islamic Teaching experienced from his secondary help to understand the Arabic term in the Quran and help in the analysis of the issue.
Muhammad Husmar Zariq Bin Husin
It is a great pleasure for our department especially for my beloved group members of Business Ethics to announce the release of this first version of the “Reciting of Al-Baqarah verses”. Firstly, I want to congratulate our beloved lecture Dr. Suhaimi for provide the students with this assignment that could enhance general learning. I am of the opinion that we should be creative enough to come up with more booklets or monographs of the kind that would enhance student knowledge. This step taken by the department of KENMS, I hope will motivate other departments to venture the same. I hope that our students would give more priority to research as it is the backbone of their educational uplifting and the key factor for their overall intellectual progress.

Muhammad Asyaari bin Md Arif Muhammad Asyaari bin Md Arif was the name given. He is from Kajang, Selangor. Currently studying in International Islamic University Malaysia at main campus Gombak. He is taking Bachelor of Business Administration. Actually, this is first book written by him and the title is Ethical Decision Making: Employer Responsibilities and Employee rights- Downsizing. He following the business ethics class and realize about ethics. He always participating our Mahallah As-Siddiq programme and also hold the position as Head of Art & Culture.

INDEX
Chapter 1
Employers’ Duties
Employers’ responsibility
Employees’ rights
Ethical decision making
Working condition

Chapter 2
Benefit from prayer
Health and safety
Nanotechnology
Risk Assessment
Workplace

Chapter 3
Business Ethics Corporate Social Responsibility Downsizing Leadership Management

Chapter 4
‘Adl
Employment at Will (EAW)
Justice or injustice
Severance
Termination

Campaign
New in our First Edition.
Our goal for this first edition is: to provide “a comprehensive yet accessible introduction to the ethical issues arising in business”. We have retained the focus on decision making as well as the emphasis on both personal and policy-level perspectives on ethics. We continue to provide educational support through text. The most interesting part in this edition is that, we have take the unique approach that is Qur’anic Guided Business Ethics: Lessons from Surah Al Baqarah . This is a new technique taken from the Islamic perspectives rather than conventional approach. The up-to-date related issues have been discussed in context of Islamic Perspective, so that the readers can see a different ideology in certain business ethics issues.

Synopsis of the Qur’anic Guided Business Ethics: Lessons from Surah Al Baqarah
Employers Duties and Responsibilities

The summary of this book is summarized about the business ethics in the Islamic paradigm as well as conventional view. This book comprises of lesson from Surah Al-Baqarah about the employer’s duty towards employee. As employer, we should fulfil our right and responsibility towards the employee, such a providing a good working condition, that include the working place, wages, working hour and others. As a employer we should observer our decision making made by us are justice toward the employee. We should treat employee as human being not as a tool to gain profit. Employer should consider the health and safety of their employee. As they are catalyst in make the profit of the company. Company is nothing without the employee. Therefore company should provide the working place that safe and secure from any harm and dangerous. In order to save the company it is must to do downsizing but it must follow ethically in order to justice toward them. Lastly employer should make the ethical codes provided followed by the employee. So the employer can do EAW as they want because all the process has been taken
It is good book to follow by the new manager in order to understand all the simple right and duties in business ethics or on the point of view Islamic Perspective.
Content Page

CHAPTER 1 1
Employer Responsibility towards Employees in Working Condition
Tuan Muhd Ameruddin Bin Tuan Mustafa

CHAPTER 2 16
Health and Safety in Work Place
Muhammad Husmar Zariq B. Husin

CHAPTER 3 31
Downsizing
Muhammad Asyaari Bin Md Arif

CHAPTER 4 49
Issues on Employment at Will, Justice or Injustice
Muhammad Farid Bin Bahrudin, Marwan Hadiid Bin Aris Fadzalah

PREFACE This book comprise the argument, confer and examine and analyze what criterions are most essential for employer towards providing employee the best in their working condition. The employee has their rights to have good and reliable working condition in every company. Both employer and employees have mutual benefit from each other. Here we highlight the role of employer as the high position in the company giving their workers as they should receive. Mostly in the real world, this not always happen due reason minimize cost from the employer. But then, here we rose up for the employee rights. After all, a company without employee is company at loss. This book also, briefly explains about health and safety are actually plays important role in workplace and even doing a business. It supported with different hadits and surah based on the topic. Readers can find that god created us to live with health and safe. Therefore, after revise this chapter, if god will, we can learn a lot about proper health and better safe workplace. This book also explained the importance of the social and ethical issues in business strategies by studying the case of corporate downsizing. The chapter is based on a theoretical foundation comprising Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) models as well as downsizing theories. The methods of the system approach were used. The concentration on the economical responsibilities and the underestimation of the ethical and social concerns during downsizing processes lead to destructive consequences. Therefore considering downsizing as a last option after the inspection of all the possible strategic alternatives is necessary. This book also will explain what Employment at Will (EAW) is all about and identify whether it is justice or injustice as employers to their employees. How EAW is being used at organization or company? And why EAW can be injustice towards employees? What are the consequences to the employees when EAW is use to them? We will look at business ethics theories and also the relation with the verses in Surah Al- Baqarah. The concept uses in the Quran; "`adl" and "ihsan" to justified justice.

CHAPTER 1

Qur’anic Guided Business Ethics:
Lessons from Surah Al Baqarah
(Employer Responsibility towards Employees in Working Condition)

Tuan Muhd Ameruddin Bin Tuan Mustafa

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to argue, confer and examine and analyze what criterions are most essential for employer towards providing employee the best in their working condition. The employee has their rights to have good and reliable working condition in every company. Both employer and employees have mutual benefit from each other. Here we highlight the role of employer as the high position in the company giving their workers as they should receive. Mostly in the real world, this not always happen due reason minimize cost from the employer. But then, here we rose up for the employee rights. After all, a company without employee is company at loss. With that light, I shall discuss on the matter of essential providing good working condition for employee.

Keywords: working condition, employers’ responsibility, and employees rights, ethical decision making,

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, when we talk about employee rights in working world life, many of the rights have been rose up among the employee and the non-government organisation. They already take this things up to upper level of the government to revise back the law and regulation and take an action toward irresponsible employer that do not serve the employee by right. But then, there are a lot of red tape problem, before the issues meet the upper level of government. This situation give the employees at disadvantage and keep been oppressed by the spiteful employer.

In this paper, we take the consideration from the Islamic perspectives, that is from the lesson of the surah Al-Baqarah in the view of employer responsibility towards employee. From the certain ayah in the verse of Al-Baqarah, we relate it to the working condition for the employee. As we know, there are a lot of ethics teaching in the this surah. On top of that, the employers responsibility also includes in this surah. the scope of this paper would in the range of Islamic perspective based on the Surah Al-Baqarah.

On top of that, the question is whether the company should serve good working condition for the employees or not. These all question and suggestion will be discussed in the rest of these reviews.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The scope of the duty of employers extends to all employees while they are at work. The phrase “at work” is therefore a very important concept since it defines the scope of the duty. Employees are at work whenever they are performing work in the course of their employment or arising from their employment. That is, the obligation extends to any place where work activities require the employee to be. It includes any part of premises which an employee might use in performing acts normally and reasonably incidental to her or his work duties. It may include an office, a factory, a construction site, a client site, a road, railway track, a shop or a temporary stand

On the other hands, it’s also employee’s safety and health that should be considered by the employer. Occupational health should aim at: the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; the prevention amongst workers of departures from health caused by their working conditions; the protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to health; the placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational environment adapted to his physiological and psychological capabilities; and, to summarize, the adaptation of work to man and of each man to his job.

The employer also has a duty to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that persons at or near a workplace under their control, who are not their employees or contractors, are not exposed to risk to their health or safety arising from the conduct of their undertaking. The duty is concerned with risks to health and safety. The mere exposure of an employee to a risk to their health and safety is sufficient. The same applies for non-employees at or near the workplace.

The scope of the duty at least requires employers to:
• provide and maintain a safe working environment;
• provide and maintain plant that is safe and free from risks to health;
• provide and maintain safe systems of work;
• provide and maintain a working environment that provides adequate facilities for the welfare of employees at work;
• ensure the workplace under their control is safe for the employees and without risk to their health;
• provide and maintain a safe means of access to, and exit from, the workplace under their control;
• ensure safety in the use, handling, storage or transport of plant or substances at work;
• provide employees, in appropriate languages, the information, instruction, supervision and training necessary to enable them to perform their work in a manner that is safe and without risk to their health;
• take appropriate action to monitor the employees’ health and safety at work, and the conditions of the workplaces under the employer’s control;
• maintain appropriate information and records relating to the employees’ health and safety; and • provide appropriate medical and first aid services for their employees.

The concept of working culture is intended in this context to mean a reflection of the essential value systems adopted by the undertaking concerned. Such a culture is reflected in practice in the managerial systems, personnel policy, principles for participation, training policies and quality management of the undertaking.

METHODOLOGY

In investigating the employer’s duty about the employee’s working condition, all the authors employs a combination of several methodologies; such as observations, discussions, consultations, questionnaires and analytical experiments.

We have approached several means in getting appropriate data for our research. The articles we obtained from online databases are not from IIUM Library, as it could not cater to our research needs. We used search engines in the Web to find journals that suits the given topic.

FINDINGS
The results of the paper suggest that working condition has a great impact on the society, economy and morality of human beings. Based on the transalation of the Surah Al-Baqarah, we managed extract some of ayah that can be related to the employer’s responsibility towards employees. By referring to the ayah, we could make an explanations, judgements, and moral value that can be apply to the employer of a company.

In facts, the finding based on the Islamic point of view is more convincing rather than conventional point of view. May this paperwork gives benefit and some knowledge on the religious side, so that we do not go far from our beloved prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h teaching.

1. Employer responsibility towards employees

From this ayah,( Al-baqarah : 43) we can say that the employer should be truthful to the employees about anything that relates to them. This is because they are also a part of the company. In addition, the employer should not keep the secret to the employees the information they deserve to know. For example, the employer keep a secret about the source of the company income is from the bribery gain making. This is unbearable action as a employer in a company. He should be keep away from those haram things and be a good and ethical employer.

In the second part of the ayah Allah tells them not to cover the truth while they know. They know what the truth is, they know that it is in their books and they know that they have a responsibility to disclose it. How unjust are a people who knowingly hide the truth away?. Another strong ayah that give warning to those are keep hiding the truth is (Al-Baqarah:78)

Knowing you those who are hiding the truth or any information from other, that Allah is know what they are conceal and they proclaim. Thus they can’t hide the truth and information for ever. For someday the truth will comes and people will know it later or sooner.

The ayah also told that, do not mix the truth and the falsehood. The employer should not make the company operating with the haram and halal things mix together. For example, the company operating make a beers and a goods under same company organisation. The employer should not process a unlawful and haram thing. This is because it is a sin for the employer and the employee to do the haram things. So, the employer is responsible in making the decision that the production is not on the haram things.

If the employer are keep the haram and unlawful production in the company, then Allah has give His word in ayah (Al-Baqarah: 82)

Everybody that make the haram things is surrounded by their sins, and these are the companion of the fire. Same to those employer and employees that keep produce the haram things to the people. This haram things will give effect to the people and that make the worst happen in the society. So, here the responsibility of the employer to ensure every production of the company made by the employee is halal and does not give bad effect to the society.

This ayah (Al-Baqarah: 82) also remind that, the employer can’t do harm to the employee by taking advantage at employee loss. This is prohibited by Allah and there are punishment for those oppressed others.

2. Employer does provide employee a good working condition.

Based on the ayah (Al-Baqarah : 149) employer should compete with other company to give their best for their employee. So that, they would be loved by the employee and Allah. It is because the employer have done the right things to the employee. Employer has always to treat them in the best way possible. So , in return the employee would love and respect their employer and more hardworking in their work.

In the view of Islamic perspective, Every person has a direction towards which they orient their lives and focus their attention. Every person has a certain viewpoint that they have in life. Some people turn towards their desires, some people turn towards wealth, some people turn towards their family, some people turn towards power, some people turn towards sex, some people turn towards fame and recognition, and some people are constantly turning in different directions for every day of their lives.

Everyone’s life has a direction and they are constantly turning towards that direction. However in this ayah Allah (swt) is telling us that the one true direction for everyone should be Him (swt). He (swt) should be the goal of our lives. He (swt) should be the destination that we are traveling towards. But how can we do that? How is that we should turn to Allah (swt)? How is it that we should approach Him (swt)? He (swt) explains this in the next part of the ayah.

Allah (swt) says “so compete with each other in good deeds”. Every nation has a direction of prayer and every person has a direction in life. For us as a Muslim community, our direction of prayer is the Kabbah but the direction in life for us is Allah (swt). Each and every one of us should set Allah (swt) as our goal and we should journey towards Him (swt). How is it that we travel towards Allah (swt)? As Allah (swt) tells us in this ayah, it is by striving with each other in good deeds. We should be competing with each other in doing the deeds that are pleasing to Allah (swt).

This is how we journey towards Allah (swt). By competing with each other in trying to do more and more of the deeds that Allah (swt) is pleased with. This should not be a competition of jealousy but it should be a competition of love. Our focus should not be on each other, but it must be on Allah (swt). For every moment of our lives, we must strive to remember Allah (swt) and to do the actions that are pleasing to Him (swt). This is the way in which we journey towards Him (swt). So from this first part of the ayah we see that the direction of the Kabbah as a qibla is how our community is identified, but more importantly the “direction” of Allah (swt) is how each of our lives are defined.

We are constantly journeying towards Him (swt) through the good deeds that we perform for His (swt)’s sake. We must always remember that this journey will only end on the Day of Judgment when we meet Allah (swt), until that Day comes we must be striving to reach Him (swt). Allah (swt) is our destination and our life is a journey towards Him (swt) through the good deeds that we do.

On the other hand, if the employer have done the good deed to their employee, Allah will make easy for the employer business whenever they having any difficulties. As stated in the ayah (Al-Baqarah : 153)

When the employer have making a lot of profit, he or she should be thankful to Allah and keep doing a good deeds. If he or she grateful to Allah, then Allah will add more good things to the employer. But, if they do not grateful, there will be punishment for them.

The meaning of this ayah is so simple and so straightforward that it hardly seems to need any explanation. Yet this ayah gives us the foundation of our Din and on this ayah alone, one could write volumes and volumes of books. Our Din when it comes down to it is nothing but the remembrance of Allah (swt). You and the universe around you were created by Allah (swt).

You and the universe around you are being sustained at this moment by Allah (swt). Everything that happens for every moment of your life is only because of Allah (swt). But Allah (swt) is hidden behind this world that we see around us. We can see His (swt)’s Signs in everything around us, but we cannot perceive Him (swt) directly. So how then can we know of Him (swt), how then can we come closer to Him (swt), how then can we remember Him (swt) all the time.

This Din is what helps us to remember Allah (swt) all of the time. Allah (swt) sent this
Din to us to help us to remember Him (swt). Fourteen hundred years ago, Allah (swt) sent an angel to a man in Arabia. Allah (swt) gave this man a Message to give to all mankind. This
Message is a code of living that if any human being would live it properly, he would be remembering Allah (swt) all of the time. In doing so that human being would be fulfilling the existence for which Allah (swt) created him.

The Prophet (saw) was the one who was always remembering Allah (swt) all of the time. He (saw) remembered Allah (swt) with every step that he walked and with every breath that he (saw) took. He (saw) was the perfect example of the code of life that this Message teaches to mankind. So in this ayah, Allah (swt) commands us to remember Him (swt). The way that we remember Him (swt) is by living this Message that He (swt) gave us.

The way that we remember Him (swt) is by following the Messenger that He (swt) sent to us. The way we that We remember Him (swt) is by thinking about Him (swt) in our hearts, by mentioning Him (swt) with our tongues, and we remember Him (swt) with our limbs by doing the actions that He (swt) is pleased with and staying away from the actions He (swt) is displeased with.

This is the command that Allah (swt) gives us in this ayah. The most simple of commands. Just to remember Him (swt). To live our entire lives in remembrance of Him (swt).

What is it that we will get in return if we remember Allah (swt)? As Allah (swt) tells us in this ayah, He (swt) will remember us. Allah (swt) will remember you. Can you even begin to imagine how wonderful that would be? What Allah (swt) means by remembering you is that He
(swt) will look after you. He (swt) will keep you safe wherever you go. He (swt) will provide for you from His (swt)’s sustenance.

He (swt) will take care of your family and your wealth. But most importantly He (swt) will guide you closer to Him (swt). He (swt) will make you love Him (swt) and fear Him (swt) even more. All of this is what you will get in the short life of this world, but in the Hereafter Allah (swt) will reward you by saving you from the blazing Fire, by admitting you into the Garden full of pleasures, by allowing you to behold Him (swt) and by giving you His (swt)’s Contentment. What could be more wonderful than that? Allah (swt) created us to know Him (swt), if we can do that then He (swt) will give us fulfillment for the purpose of our existence.

In the second part of this ayah Allah (swt) tells us to be grateful to Him (swt). This command is directly connected with the command in the previous part of the ayah to remember
Allah (swt). Part of being grateful to Allah (swt) is constantly striving to remember Him (swt). Now some fools may raise the question as to why we need to remember Allah (swt)? Why is it so important that you remember Allah (swt)? As Allah (swt) tells us in this ayah, it only so that you could be grateful to Him (swt).

As Allah (swt) has told us in other ayahs of the Quran, if we were to try and count the number of favors and blessings that He (swt) has bestowed upon us we would not be able to. Just imagine, if you locked yourself in a room and all that you did with your time was to count the favors of Allah (swt) one by one. Even if you spent your whole life doing this, you will not be able to number all of the favors of Allah (swt). Even if you lived the longest life that a human could live.

This is the extent to which your Lord has favored and blessed you. Should you then not even try to show your gratitude to Allah (swt) for all that He (swt) has given you? Of course you will not be able to, but Allah (swt) has been so Generous to you that you should at least try. That is the very least that you can do. If you do not, then you are the worst of creation.

You are a creature that is deserving of the Fire. The worst of creation are the ungrateful that is why Allah (swt) tells us clearly that we should be grateful to Him (swt) and that we should not be among the ungrateful. May Allah (swt) allow us all to thank Him (swt) as best we can!

3. Employer as a protector to the employee

Sometimes the company would having loss and having a lot of difficulties to sustain their employees. But then, the employer and employees should be patient and still positive about the future. It’s the test from Allah to them.
Even though they are having the great at loses, the employer should not take the right of the employee. For example, cut of the cost of wages, fired the employee and others. The employer should find another alternative to solve the problem. Only those whose iman is strong and who are completely attached to Allah would be able to bear these test and trials.
In this ayah, Allah (swt) tells us of the various tests and trials that we would need to endure if we want to be a part of this Ummah. This is what makes us worthy of the great reward. The reward of being in the Ummah of the Prophet (saw). The reward of being near to Allah (swt). The reward of the Garden. Only those whose Iman is strong and who are completely attached to Allah (swt) would be able to bear these tests and trials. But for ones who do, Allah (swt) also shows us how even in these tests there is a great blessing and bounty.

Allah (swt) begins this ayah by saying “And surely We will test you with some of fear”. This is the first test that those in this Ummah would need to endure. They will have to experience some degree of fear. Now Allah (swt) has told us in previous ayahs that those who follow this guidance would have no fear upon them. But this is a high level of Iman that many Muslims do not immediately attain.

Before the Iman has seeped deep into your heart, you would have some fear from the things of this world. This is a natural fear that Allah (swt) has placed inside every human being. But once that Iman enters deeper and deeper into your heart, you begin to realize the true reality of this universe. You realize that there is none who can hurt you except by the permission of Allah (swt). You realize that only Allah (swt) is deserving of your fear.

You also realize that only Allah (swt) can save you from everything else and everyone else that might cause you fear. So you turn to Allah (swt) because you know that He (swt) is your Guardian and your Protector. This is the perfection of Iman that you should always be striving to reach.

If the employer or employee have doing wrong in their life, they should ask forgiveness from Allah. Allah would forgive them as Allah is At-Tawab and Ar-Rahim. And also if employer have done injustice to the employee, he should not same to ask forgiveness to the employee as those whose are humble ask forgiveness from others, Allah put him/her in the high level of his sight.

However in this ayah, Allah (swt) shows us that even for a people who are as evil as this, He (swt) still shows them Mercy. Even a sin as terrible as this He (swt) is willing to pardon and forgive. There is no crime that is greater than hiding the knowledge that Allah (swt) has revealed. You have to think that if Allah (swt) is willing to pardon such people for a sin as terrible as this, then He (swt) can forgive you as well. All that you have to do is fulfill the conditions that He (swt) gives you in this ayah. So realize from this ayah the kind of Rabb that you have.

How Merciful and Forgiving He (swt) is, how Loving and Compassionate He (swt) is. This is and of itself should be a reason for you to love Him (swt). For you to strive to worship Him (swt). Allah (swt) begins the ayah by saying “Except those who make Tawbah”. Recall from the previous ayah how Allah (swt) told us that the ones who concealed the guidance and clear evidences that He (swt) had revealed were cursed by Him (swt) and cursed by all those who curse. In this ayah, Allah (swt) shows us that there is an exception to this rule. There is a group of people who commit this terrible sin of hiding knowledge from Allah (swt) but they do not receive this curse. In this ayah, Allah (swt) tells us who such people are. In this ayah, Allah (swt) tells us what is the condition that such people must fulfill. There are three conditions that need to be fulfilled and the first of those conditions is Tawbah.

Tawbah linguistically means “to return”, and when Allah (swt) uses it here it means to return to the purpose of creation. It means to return from a state of disobedience and sin to a state of submission. To return to the purpose for which Allah (swt) created the human being. There are four conditions that are required for the correct Tawbah.

First you have to stop the sin that you are committing. You cannot make Tawbah to Allah (swt) while you are still committing the sin. Then you must have a deep regret for the evil that you have done. You must feel remorseful for what you have done and you should wish that you would have never done it. Then you must beg and plead Allah (swt) for Forgiveness.

You must get down on your knees and beg like a beggar for Allah (swt) to forgive you. Finally you have to resolve not to commit that evil again. The next time Shaitan prompts you to commit that sin you have to resolve to fight him with every ounce of strength that you have. This is what it means to make Tawbah. If you can do all of these four, then Insha Allah, Allah (swt) will accept your Tawbah. He (swt) will allow you to return to Him (swt).

Based on the ayah, the employer should not ask the employee to do an unlawful things in order to gain profit. For example, ask the employee give or receive bribery, cheating the customer, and manipulating the price.
Other than that, employer should not give the employee their wages from the unlawful resources. For example, the employer pay the wages from the money they got from gambling at casino. The employer should take responsibility towards their employees in term of their goodness and human rights.
Allah (swt) begins by saying “O mankind! Eat of what is lawful and wholesome on the earth”. There are two meaning that the Arabic verb kulu gives in this ayah. One meaning is the literal meaning which means “to eat”, and the other meaning is “to consume” or “to partake in”. The second of these meanings includes the first one within it, but it is more comprehensive in that it includes more than food.

Since the second meaning is more general than the first, and since it includes the first within it we will take the second meaning for our understanding of this ayah. So from this ayah we see that Allah (swt) is telling us to eat from the foods of this world, to drink from the drinks of this world, to use and consume the things of this world like clothing, houses, cars, furniture, electronics and whatever else the earth produces for us.

As we learned from ayah 30 of this Surah, Allah (swt) created every single thing on this earth for the human being, and in this ayah Allah (swt) commands us to partake in it, to consume that which He (swt) has created for us.

However we must note that Allah (swt) does put a condition on what is of the earth that we can consume. It can only be that which “lawful and good”. By “lawful” we know that it means everything that has not been prohibited in the Law of Allah (swt). Concerning the word tayyib which we have translated here as “good”, some scholars have said it is an emphasis of the word lawful since what is lawful is only what is good and what is good is only what is lawful.

This is because only Allah (swt) Knows what is good, and He (swt) in His Mercy has made everything that is good as lawful for us. Other scholars have said it is those of the lawful things that we find appealing and that we desire. In other words tayyib means those lawful things that we desire.

Both opinions give the same basic Message, Allah (swt) is telling us to eat and partake in those things that we desire from what He (swt) has made permissible for us. So for example, Allah (swt) has made seafood permissible. But not all of us may like seafood, so Allah (swt) is not telling us that we all have to eat seafood. We should only eat the foods that we like from what He (swt) has made permissible.

Now of course from this ayah we can see that we cannot eat or partake in anything that is unlawful. We have to study the other text of the Quran and the Sunnah to find out what is it that is lawful for us and what is not. May Allah (swt) aid us in that! May Allah (swt) guide us to eat and consume only what He (swt) is pleased with us eating and consuming.

4. Employer ‘s treat towards employee Employer should treat the employee as a human being, not as a tools to gain wealth benefit. Employer should do ihsan towards the employee, by treating them the right way. Based on the ayah, employer need to manage the company wealth towards the halal way that permissible by Allah and shariah. Do not extravagance in spending and use the wealth toward haram things. Both employer and employee should be aware of what they are doing, because it would give effect to the others. If they do the wrong doing, certainly the bad effect will spread to others and vice versa. Allah (swt) begins this ayah by saying “And spend in the way of Allah”. Notice the word “and” with which Allah (swt) begins this ayah. This word shows that this is not simply a general command to spend but it is directly connected to the commands given in the previous ayahs. We know that the commands given in the previous ayah were those for jihad in the path of Allah (swt), so the command to spend here is a command to spend for jihad.

So this ayah must be understood in the context of jihad. Allah (swt) had told us previously about spending for our parents, for the orphans, for the needy, for the travelers, and for the freeing of slaves. But here Allah (swt) is telling us to spend for jihad. Insha Allah that is how we must understand this ayah.

Yet another meaning that these words give is that we must not give up on the Mercy of
Allah (swt). This is because to give up on the Mercy of Allah (swt) would be to throw ourselves into destruction. No matter how great a sin you may have committed, you must never give up on the Mercy of Allah (swt) because to do so would be in fact a greater evil than whatever evil it is that you may have done.

Some people may have done great evil, and they keep thinking about this evil that they have done and they tell themselves that they are doomed because Allah (swt) would never forgive them. Allah (swt) tells us in this ayah that such thinking is wrong, we must never destroy ourselves by thinking that we are doomed, rather we must always have a hope in the Mercy of the Ar-Rahman. No matter how many sins we have committed we must never destroy ourselves by giving up on Allah (swt)’s Mercy.

We must never destroy ourselves by continuing on the sin that we are doing while thinking that we will never be forgiven. Rather we must pray to Allah (swt) to guide us and we must make our best effort to refrain from the sin that we are doing. We can also note that one of the best ways to make up for the sins that you have done in the past is by spending your wealth in the way of Allah (swt). Because the Prophet (saw) has told us that charity is like water that puts outs the fire of our sins. So the more sins that you have done, the more the evil that you have done, the more that you must spend to gain the Pleasure of Allah (swt).

Think of every penny that you spend as another drop of water that is putting out the fire of your sins. If you do not have enough money to spend then you can spend from your time and your efforts. If you do not have even this then spend with your dua. Pray to Allah (swt) to bring back the Islamic State, to forgive the Muslims and have mercy on them, and to guide all the sincere people who not received the Message yet.

DISCUSSIONS

Issues on employer responsibility towards employee by giving them the good working condition are being debated whether it can be accepted or rejected. In order to make decision for this question we had discuss previously the benefits of it. The employers and employees should not just considered the cost of to implement this matter only but must do considerate others factors such as welfare and the future.

We should compare with others country which had apply this principle such as Singapore and do comparison about it.

Having a good working condition is one of important asset to the employee because they work for the company. Therefore, they will want to be treated as best as for gives their services. They will want their welfare is being concerned good as well in order for them gives their services. If they company provide and compulsory good working condition, they will feel like them being appreciated. Therefore, we highly recommended this principle be applied for all company because it can give more benefits rather than harm.

CONCLUSION

As a conclusion, this literature is discussing benefits which the employee and employer will get if the company is being practise good working condition for employees. These all benefits actually indirectly will give the country, company, employers, employees and also employees family. Furthermore, this kind of practice is one of a way to appreciate their employee. As we know, accident and unwanted incident cannot be predicted and avoided. Therefore, we as a human must be prepared to face with this all matter with the best working condition. Besides, the employee will feel more secure and feel more comfortable if they are work in best working place.

REFERENCES

1. www.comcare.gov.au
2. http://www.ilo.org/safework_bookshelf/english?content&nd=857170174
3. Quran-Tafsir.org Surah Al-Baqarah By Abdur Raheem CHAPTER 2
Qur’anic Guided Business Ethics:
Lessons from Surah Al Baqarah
(HEALTH AND SAFETY IN WORKPLACE)

Muhammad Husmar Zariq B. Husin

Abstract

In this chapter, basically we will learn health and safety are actually plays important role in workplace and even doing a business. It supported with different hadits and surah based on the topic. Readers can find that god created us to live with health and safe. Therefore, after revise this chapter, if god will, we can learn a lot about proper health and better safe workplace.
Keyword: health and safety, benefit from prayer, health and safety in workplace and business.

INTRODUCTION First and foremost, a highly important factor of health promotion is proper nutrition. Choosing wholesome food and avoiding what is unwholesome are essential to health.
Allah Almighty says in the Quran: “Eat of the good things which we have provided for you.” (Al-Baqarah: 173).
He Almighty also says, “Eat of what is lawful and wholesome on the earth. (Al-Baqarah: 168).
Muslims believe that God created them to worship Him and lead a life of righteousness and piety. They also believe that Islam is not only about religious affairs. Islam is a complete way of life. In their endeavours to lead their life, they, as humans, aspire to attain wealth, health, social position; etc. It is not prohibited in Islam to seek a good job, a good social position, good health, etc. The difference between Muslims and people of other faith communities is that Muslims are guided in every aspect of life by the teachings of both the Quran and the Sunnah (Prophetic tradition).
The Prophet, peace and blessings are upon him, is reported to have said: “When filled with food, the belly becomes the worst container for the son of Adam. It is sufficient for a human being to have a few bites to keep him fit (which means that it is sufficient to have only what one needs to maintain strength and well-being). If one must eat, then let him use one-third for food, one-third for drink and one-third for breathing."
Of Prophet 's Ibrahim 's prayer for the people of Makkah: {O my Sustainer! Make this a land secure, and grant its people fruitful sustenance.} (Al-Baqarah 2: 126)
The meaning of safety is not limited to the literal meaning of feeling secure. The meaning is much wider. Safety means to be secure, to make others secure, to create safety, to be entrusted with safety and to have peace of mind. All these meanings are derived from the Arabic word Mu 'min, a believer. The feeling of safety is a gift from God that He bestows on those who worship Him.
Enjoying a Healthy Body
As long as you have the necessary food for one day, then do not worry about tomorrow. This is the second worldly possession. There are many prophetic guidelines on how to maintain good health. Seeking medicine is highly recommended in Islam when one falls ill. The Prophet said: "Seek medical treatment." (Abu Dawud) "God has not created a disease without creating a cure for it." (Al-Bukhari)
Because our health is a gift from God, God has put much emphasis on the prohibition of drinking alcohol and eating pork for their possible harm on our health. Our responsibility is to avoid such prohibitions.
When we have a good health, we will be able to serve God in the best way. Therefore, it is very important to have this intention (serving God well) while eating and drinking. In this case, we will be rewarded greatly for things we do as a habit.

Moderation in eating and drinking is the key of good health. We should leave one third of the stomach empty.
God says in the Quran what means: {O you who have attained to faith! Partake of the good things which we have provided for you as sustenance, and render thanks unto God, if it is [truly] Him that you worship.} (Al-Baqarah 2: 172)
Therefore, consuming lawful food helps we build strong bodies so that we will be able to perform the rituals with concentration.
Practicing sports is very good for our health. The Prophet used to walk at a fast pace and race with his wife Aisha.
Islam made physical cleanness a condition for performing the five daily prayers. This is an indication of the importance attached to our health.
On the other hand, falling ill has a positive aspect in Islam. The Prophet said: "No Muslim is afflicted with any harm, even if it was the prick of a thorn, but that God expiates his sins because of that, as a tree sheds its leaves." (Al-Bukhari) When you are sick, do not be sad. God will expiate your sins.
Since 1950, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have shared a common definition of occupational health. It was adopted by the Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health at its first session in 1950 and revised at its twelfth session in 1995.

The definition reads:
"Occupational health should aim at: the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; the prevention amongst workers of departures from health caused by their working conditions; the protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to health; the placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational environment adapted to his physiological and psychological capabilities; and, to summarize, the adaptation of work to man and of each man to his job
The main focus in occupational health is on three different objectives: (i) the maintenance and promotion of workers’ health and working capacity; (ii) the improvement of working environment and work to become conducive to safety and health and (iii) development of work organizations and working cultures in a direction which supports health and safety at work and in doing so also promotes a positive social climate and smooth operation and may enhance productivity of the undertakings. The concept of working culture is intended in this context to mean a reflection of the essential value systems adopted by the undertaking concerned. Such a culture is reflected in practice in the managerial systems, personnel policy, principles for participation, training policies and quality management of the undertaking.
In another authentic Hadith, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is also quoted to have said:
“The food of one person will be sufficient for two, and the food of two people will be sufficient for four, and the food of four will be sufficient for eight.”
In addition, as we all know, health and safety plays important roles in our lives. The most important thing that related to this topic is patience. What is patience? Patience means when a person restrains himself from being fearful during difficult of time. Moreover, a person who is patient restrains himself from doing prohibited acts and does what is obligated and righteous.
There are three types of patience:
Firstly: practicing patience to fulfil the obligations and to do righteous.
Secondly: abstaining from evil and prohibited acts.
Thirdly: practicing patience during times of hardship without complaints.
In addition, it is a well-known fact that most of the ailments and diseases are somewhat related to stress according to medical science. It can be solved by patience. This is what the holy Qur 'an stresses in this particular ayat and repeated several times as well as other ayat too.

"And seek assistance through patience and prayer, and most surely it is a hard thing except for the humble ones”.
(SURAH AL-BAQRAH2:45)

In other ayat, Allah also reminds us about patient repeatedly. As Al-Qur’an stated that Allah said in Surah Al-Baqarahayat 153:

(١٥٣) الصَّابِرِينَمَعَاللَّـهَإِنَّۚ وَالصَّلَاةِبِالصَّبْرِاسْتَعِينُواآمَنُواالَّذِينَأَيُّهَايَا
“O you who believe! Seek assistance through patience and prayer; surely Allah is with the patient”. From this ayat, it can clearly be seen that patience are really important in our lives due to increase our faith and behaviour. Furthermore, from this ayat, basically we can get many advantages from doing patient. First, I want to describe it in terms of psychology. Based on this topic (psychology), I will elaborate my view into three important subtopics which are:

1) Relaxation response as a self-care technique.

Dr. Benson found that the common characteristics of these interventions was a focus of attention on something of neutral or positive value, and the passive disregard for the normal thought that would arise. By training your internal attention to focus away from the mental and physical patterns of stress and move towards something of neutral or positive valued the pattern of the stress response was broken and a relaxation response would develop. Benson coined the term Relaxation Response to describe this self-care technique.

2) Self-recognition

Since our mind is a survival mechanism, it naturally seems to focus on danger and problems, often to the exclusionof what is going well! This tendency is called negative selection in cognitive psychology.Life brings us negative, neutral, and positive moments of experience. Our daily lives are a combination of thesemoments of experience, although they may feel to be mainly negative. By taking time to recognize positive momentsof experience we can change the perception of our lives without the circumstances being different.Since many of us are now focusing on fear and a lack of safety, it could be helpful to begin to recognize moments of happiness to counter this negative focus.

3) Physical Exercise

Physical exercise can help prevent stress from becoming chronic or severe. It gives an outlet for the energy produced by the body in the stress response, and can also be a relaxation response. So remember to stay active and design an exercise program that honors your physical capacities and conditions.

To make it more clearly, I will explain it in medical aspect as well.

Medical benefits of Prostration

Basically when we stand erect, blood does flow into the brain but it is not sufficient for a healthy brain. During Salah when you go into sujood (prostration), extra blood flows into the brain, which is very important for a healthy brain. When we do sujood, this extra blood supply to the skin on the face [helps] prevent diseases such as chilblain etc. When we do sujood, there is drainage of sinuses and there are fewer chances that a person will have sinusitis, that is inflammation of the sinus, this drainage of module sinus, of the frontal sinus, and a person has less chances of having inflammation of the sinus, that is sinusitis. When a person doessujood even the bronchitis 's, the secretion of the bronchitis, they get drained, there are less chances of having bronchitis. Therefore, patient is vital in our daily lives.

In Malaysia, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) under the Ministry of Human Resource is responsible to ensure that the safety, health and welfare of workers in both the public and private sector is upheld. DOSH is responsible to enforce the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994.

On the other hand, another ayat that related to this topic is in Al-Baqarah: 45. As Allah said:

(٤٥) الْخَاشِعِينَعَلَىإِلَّالَكَبِيرَةٌوَإِنَّهَا ۚ وَالصَّلَاةِبِالصَّبْرِوَاسْتَعِينُوا

“And seek assistance through patience and prayer, and most surely it is a hard thing except for the humble ones" (SURAH BAQARAH2:45)”.

The word الصَّلَاةِ has been used about 67 times in the holy Qur 'an. It is because of these great spiritual and medical benefits, that ALLAH stresses so much on prayers in the holy Qur 'an and orders us to perform prayer properly to derive full benefit from it.

Research at a Malaysian University
News result from a research project by University Malaya 's biomedical engineering department reveals that the Muslim style of praying benefits the heart and spine, while increasing the capacity for memory and attention. To support this idea, as we all know that Muslims pray five times a day, with each salat beginning in a standing posture, followed by a deep bow and then progressing to a sitting position on knees. The person then touches their forehead to the ground, sits up and repeats the process before finally standing again. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that the study affirmed the power of prayer in a person 's life, the New Straits Times reported:
"The study investigates the physiological interactions and effects of the salat postures on the human body," said Abdullah, who likened salat postures to those practiced in yoga.
He also comments that:
"Since the majority of our population is Muslims, it is both of interest and importance that we not only understand the spiritual benefits of salat, but also ... its biological and medical effects," he said.

Other Benefits of Prayer
Prayer is a divine exercise for a healthy body. Pose and Posturea book written by Dr. Khurshid Hussainis a good book written on medical ethics of prayers. Prayer is an important source of physical fitness, mental peace, spiritual bliss and it acts as a remedy for all evils. It acts as a recharger of belief. It has a positive effect on the functioning of many organs and the skeletal system. The different postures of prayer have hidden physiological benefits in them. Physiological and biological rhythms are also important features of the prayers. There are social advantages as well of praying in congregation. Physiotherapy and prayer is a separate topic. Psychotherapy and prayer is another important feature. Ashraf Nizami wrote in his book Namaz (Prayer) the Yogaof Islam
“Some Yogacharyas to whom the offering of prayer was explained, expressed the view that prayer consists short simplified and concise postures of the 84 yogaasans”

Health and safety in businesses
Is health and safety are related in doing business? The answer is definitely yes! From the definition, health and safety are preventing people from being harmed by work or becoming ill by the right precautions and providing a satisfactory working environment. Additionally, when companies do some businesses, most of them are really aware about health and safe. Implementing health and safety measures does not have to be expensive or time consuming. In fact, safer and more efficient working practices can often save money but most importantly, they can help to save our lives.

Why are there health and safety laws?
From my opinion, this is very important because there are rules which require all of us not to put ourselves or other in danger. Moreover, the law is also to protect the public from workplace dangers such as sudden accident. Therefore, to establish this law, definitely we need a policy. Why we need policy? A policy states clearly that employer intends to do commitment and support for health and safety in the workplace. A policy commits the whole organization to instill a safe workplace. This is exactly to encourages both human and financial resources ensure that safety is the most important part of doing business.
Under health and safety laws, the other important thing is the Policy.

What should be included in the Policy?
1) Firstly, clear commitment to provide healthy and safe workplace to worker and how it can related into the daily work activities.

2) A statement that reflecting employer (boss) that awareness to their employee (worker). Therefore, employer must take all responsibility to take care of their worker from illness and injury. This can be supported by giving a lot of training to worker and supplying proper supervision and enforcement of safe work practice.

3) Senior management should sign the policy.

4) A statement that demonstrate how the commitment work in all level of organization.

5) Lastly, a statement that enforce for everyone who work in the organization to take responsibility for developing and maintaining a health and safety workplace.

Our statement of general policy is:
1) To provide adequate control of the health and safety risk arising from our work activities.

2) To consult with our employees on what is the matter that affecting their health and safety.

3) To provide and maintain the plant and equipment.

4) To ensure the using of substances is safe or not.

5) To provide information, instruction, and supervision to worker.

6) To ensure that all workers are competent to do their work and give them proper training.

7) To prevent an accident (ill health) to the employees.

8) To maintain health and safety working conditions

9) To review and revise this policy as necessary at regular intervals.

Managing health and safety
Safety management system As an employer, it is your responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy workplace. A safety and health management system, or safety program, can help you focus your efforts at improving your work environment. Whatever you call it, your plan describes what the people in your organization do to prevent injuries and illnesses at your workplace.Managing health and safety are little different from managing any other aspect of your business. We need to do a risk assessment to find out about the risks in our workplace. We can put sensible measures in place to control them and make sure they are under controlled.
Your organization will have its own unique system, reflecting your way of doing business, the hazards of your work, and how you manage the safety and health of your employees. Moreover, the calculation of risk is based on the likelihood or probability of the harm being realized and the severity of the consequences. This can be expressed mathematically as a quantitative assessment (by assigning low, medium and high likelihood and severity with integers and multiplying them to obtain a risk factor), or qualitatively as a description of the circumstances by which the harm could arise.
The assessment should be recorded and reviewed periodically and whenever there is a significant change to work practices. The assessment should include practical recommendations to control the risk. Once recommended controls are implemented, the risk should be re-calculated to determine of it has been lowered to an acceptable level. Generally speaking, newly introduced controls should lower risk by one level, i.e., from high to medium or from medium to low.

A risk assessment can be done by three steps.
1) It should be practical exercise.

2) Aimed at getting the right controls in place.

3) Try to keep it simple and put the result into practice.

According to idea of risk assessment, I will elaborate more about it. As we all know, risk assessment helps us protect our workers and our business as well as comply it with the law.
Moreover, it can help us to focus on the risks that can be potential to harm our business. In addition, it is simply examination of what is dangerous thing that can harm our employees in a workplace. The law does not expect us to eliminate all the risk but we are to make sure that all workers are health and safe.

REMEMBER!!!!
• A hazard is anything that can cause harm to us. For instance, chemicals, electricity, working from ladders or an open drawer.
• The risk is a chance weather that is high or low. Therefore, somebody could be harmed by these hazards.
These are the steps to analyze and solve the problem regarding hazard.
Step 1: identify the hazards
Firstly, we have to find out how people can be harmed.
Step2: decide who might be harmed and how?
Identify groups of people who might be harmed and how they might be harmed.
Step 3: evaluate the risks and decide on precautions

When controlling risks, we can apply these principles:
 Try a less risky option.
 Prevent access to the hazard.
 Organize work so that can reduce possibility to be harmed.
 Issue personal protective equipment.
 Provide welfare facilities.

Step 4: record your findings and implement them
-If we employ more workers to run our business or company, try to record all your findings as simple as you can.
-If there are a lot of improvements that you can make, do not try to do everything at once. However, make a plan of the action to deal with the most important things first.
Step5: review your assessment and update if necessary
Review is important to ensure that what you are doing is still improving or at least not sliding back.

What makes a successful system?
A successful system will be part of your overall business operation, as important as the other things you do to succeed in business.
Successful safety and health systems have the following in place:
-Managers committed to making the program work.
-Employees involved in the program.
-A system to identify and control hazards.
-Compliance with OSHA regulations.
-Training on safe work practices.
-Mutual respect, caring and open communication in a climate conducive to safety.
-Continuous improvement.

Take a look at your safety and health system. Some components may be strong and others may need to be strengthened. The following sections describe these key factors and give ideas about how to make them part of your program. And remember, if you operate one of many thousands of small businesses in Maine, your system can be simple and largely informal.
Use the following as a practical guide and adapt it to your needs. Because small businesses often cannot afford in-house safety and health professionals, you might need help setting up your system. You can call Safety Works! Our services are free and confidential. Your workers ' compensation insurance provider, your industry organization, or a private consultant may also be able to help.

1) Make a commitment
Put as much energy into your commitment to safety and health as you put into any other important part of your business. Make sure to include workplace safety and health in your business plan and integrate it into all facets of the business.
-Write a policy that emphasizes the importance you place on workplace safety and health.
-Commit the resources (time, money, personnel) needed to protect your employees.
-Begin meetings with a safety topic.
-Encourage employee participation in safety and health.
-Let employees know they will be expected to follow safe work practices if they work for your business and follow them yourself.
-Respond to all reports of unsafe or unhealthy conditions or work practices.
-If injuries or illnesses occur, make it your business to find out why.
-Go beyond the regulations; address all hazards, whether or not they are covered by laws.

2) Involve employees
In a safe and healthy workplace, employees have a stake in the success of the program --- safety and health is everyone 's responsibility. Actively encourage employee involvement if you want your program to succeed. Hold people accountable and makes sure everyone does their part.
-Establish an active workplace safety and health safety committee.
-Make daily safety inspections part of some employees ' jobs.
-Keep employees informed about safety inspections, injury and illness statistics, and other safety-related issues.
-Give everyone a meaningful activity that supports safety.
-Value employee input and feedback. Employees often know more about safety problems and solutions than managers do.
-Make sure employees help review and improve the program.
-Hold employees accountable
-Include safety and health responsibilities in job descriptions. Make following safe work practices part of performance evaluation.
-Set safety goals and hold everyone accountable.
-Discipline employees who behave in ways that could harm themselves or other.
-Establish a clear system for reporting hazards, injuries, illnesses and close calls.
-Recognize employees who contribute to keeping the workplace safe and healthy.

3) Continually improve your system

Review your program 's strengths and weaknesses. Does it accurately reflect how you want to manage safety and health?

-Use OSHA 's Safety and Health Program Assessment Worksheet to find out how you 're doing.

-Review annually and as needed

-Investigate accidents, injuries, illnesses and close calls as they occur.

-Conduct frequent (daily, weekly as needed) inspections of specific equipment and processes.

-Evaluate your injury and illness statistics

-Document all your safety efforts.

-Change analysis: Review new and changed processes, materials, facilities and equipment for hazards

-Ensure hazard correction systems are in place and working

-Evaluate effectiveness of training

-Listen to your staff: Do employees know the hazards of their jobs and how to work safely? Are managers enforcing safe work practices and praising safe behavior?

4) Support a culture of safety
Workers hold safety as a value; they actively care about themselves and others. Mutual respect is the norm.
-Establish effective two-way communication. Respond to the needs and concerns of workers.
-Make sure management goes beyond the regulations to ensure a safe workplace.
-Encourage workers to go "beyond the call of duty" to ensure a safe workplace.
-Support a work environment that fosters trust, creativity, and general well-being.
-Celebrate your success with SHARP or other recognition programs.

5) Train Employees
Train personnel about the hazards they may be exposed to at work and how to protect themselves. Keep records of all training. Provide:
- Safety orientation for new employees and employees starting new jobs, including company safety regulations and emergency procedures.
-Specific training on the hazards of their jobs and how to do their jobs safely. (Many OSHA standards include specific training requirements)
-Retraining
-As required by the standards
-When jobs change
-When employees return from long absence
-As needed to ensure employees know how to do their jobs safely.

Future Risk
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is another example of a new technology with few studies available that access the risks to human health. A Swiss survey of one hundred thirty eight companies using or producing Nano particulate matter in 2006, resulted in forty completed questionnaires. Sixty five per cent of respondent companies stated they did not have a formal risk assessment process for dealing with Nano particulate matter.
Nanotechnology in the near future presents unique challenges for occupational health and safety professionals to anticipate and control, this will only become more difficult as nanostructures become more complex. The size of the particles renders most containment and personal protective equipment ineffective. The toxicology values for macro sized industrial substances are rendered inaccurate due to the unique nature of Nano particulate matter. As Nano particulate matter decreases in size its relative surface area increases dramatically, increasing any catalytic effect or chemical reactivity substantially versus the known value for the macro substance. This presents a new set of challenges in the near future to rethink contemporary measures to safeguard the health and welfare of employees against a Nano particulate substance that most conventional controls were not designed to manage.

Relationship to Occupational Health Psychology
Occupational health psychology (OHP), a related discipline, is a relatively new field that combines elements of occupational health and safety, industrial/organizational psychology, and health psychology. The field is concerned with identifying work-related psychosocial factors that adversely affect the health of people who work. OHP is also concerned with developing ways to effect change in workplaces for the purpose of improving the health of people who work. For more detail on OHP, see the section on occupational health psychology.

Conclusion This is a lesson for contentment. As long as you have the necessary food for one day, then do not worry about tomorrow. You do not know if you will live to witness it or not. Its knowledge is in God 's hand only.Do not think much of the future. Rest assured that you will not die before you receive all the provisions that God has ordained for you. The Prophet is reported to have said: "No one will depart from this world until he takes all his provisions that are assigned to him…" (IbnMajah). The Prophet was very careful in choosing his words as he sums up the elements of happiness and makes them only three worldly possessions which have been explained above.
We pray to God to make us content with what we have due to enjoy a good health and have provision for one day. Thanks.

REFERENCES
1. http://www.scribd.com/doc/19233452/Surah-Al-Baqarah-2153-Medical-and-Psychological- benefits-of-Salat-and-Sabr
2. http://www.wcb.pe.ca/DocumentManagement/Document/pub_guidetoworkplacehealthandsafetypolicy.pdf
3. https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg259.pdf
4. http://www.huda.tv/articles/what-is-islam/683-safety-health-a-a-days-provision-dont-worry

CHAPTER 3
ETHICAL DECISION MAKING: EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES AND EMPLOYEE RIGHTS- DOWNSIZING

Muhammad Asyaari Bin Md Arif

ABSTRACT
"This chapter explains and understands the importance of the social and ethical issues in business strategies by studying the case of corporate downsizing. The chapter is based on a theoretical foundation comprising Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) models as well as downsizing theories. The methods of the system approach were used. The concentration on the economical responsibilities and the underestimation of the ethical and social concerns during downsizing processes lead to destructive consequences. Therefore considering downsizing as a last option after the inspection of all the possible strategic alternatives is necessary. The chapter views downsizing, principally, from an ethical perspective. However some financial and managerial aspects are taken in account".

Keywords – Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Downsizing, Leadership, Management.

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays most of the business schools are emphasizing on the managerial aspects that allow the potential leaders to generate profit and manage companies successfully but there is a remaining underestimation of Business Ethics in the academic programs. This lack of interest in the field is confirmed by our personal experiences, as business students we have been studying in Business Schools and Universities. We followed various programs in which the focus was different. Marketing, Management, Leadership, Finance, Auditing etc. were the principal options and in all of them there was no specific course dealing with Business Ethics or Social Responsibility.

The Muslim conduct in business affairs is seen as an integral part of religious observance. Therefore business life is part of a Muslim’s everyday life without any difference between the two. In contrast to the Western neo-classical economics, which makes very little or no reference at all to the Biblical teachings, Islamic economics is based on the teachings of the Holy Quran. Do business in Islam also to generate profit but it cannot bring harmful towards people. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was very much concerned with economic justice and rights of the individuals. In Quran, over 1400 verses refer to the business issues. Quran is not only concerned about the duties and obligations of Muslims but is also concerned about their economic rights and just entitlements to the resources. Interest therefore is not allowed for an activity in which an investor does not actively participate and is regarded as unjust because there is no effort is involved in achieving its dividends.

According to Quranic spirit any interest charged represents a redistribution of wealth from the poor to the rich which results in the inequalities of wealth to the detriment of the poor. Further, riba discourages consumption that takes money out of circulation. It is therefore seen as unjust and inappropriate. The Quran prohibits riba very clearly and compares this unfavorably with rewards from desirable activities such as trade:

‘They say that trade is like usury, but God hath permitted trade and forbidden usury.’ (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:275)

Islam ordains its followers that debtors should be treated with leniency rather than exploited:

‘If the debtor is in a difficulty, grant him time till it is easy for him to repay. If ye remit it by way of charity that is best for you if ye only knew.’ (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:280)

The act of charging interest discourages almsgiving. This is because the moneylenders accumulate money by charging interest and keep it for themselves rather than spending on almsgiving.

The importance of Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility in the managerial processes, we also display the negative consequences that a negligence of these issues engenders.
To this aim we examine one of the situations in which the social and ethical issues are at stake. In fact we dwell on the downsizing strategies involving massive layoffs, these cases are very relevant today and benefit from intensive Media coverage, every time a firm conducts a downsizing action it finds itself in the spotlight and each abuse or violation leads to a deterioration of its reputation and to several other damages.

Defining Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR)

If social issues are very relevant and have always been surrounding business activities, the concept of corporate social responsibility is perceived differently from one person to another. There is a lack of common definition in the literature and it makes the discussion about the importance of the concept and its significance in the decision making process very complicated and confusing. Consequently it is necessary to first agree about the understanding of CSR and its meaning before going deeper into the subject.

One of the most relevant definitions of CSR claims that corporate social responsibility concerns the treatment of the firm 's stakeholders in an ethical or responsible way. This one consists of economical and environmental responsibilities and intends to offer better conditions of living for people in general whereas maintaining the profitability of the company. Every organization influences both its stakeholders and the society in which it performs, thus considering them at the strategic level and taking their needs in account is necessary. In fact CSR do not only concern the investments of companies in the social issues and problems of a community, it is more about the integrity and sincerity of the corporation, the way this one embodies its values, achieves its objectives and accomplishes its mission. Another definition that we find pertinent, very simple and complementary to the first one is that CSR incorporates the responsibilities that organizations have to the society in which they perform. Practically CSR concerns the identification of the different stakeholders and the incorporation of their necessities and needs in the company strategies. To give a better explanation of CSR and its different components, it is judicious to analyze the existing theories and frame the concept. In our review of the literature we identified a model that we can consider as the starting point of the debate concerning the composition of CSR. In fact Archie. B. Carroll separates the social responsibilities of a corporation in four parts, the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. In addition to the definition of each category Carroll represent the different components in a pyramid.

Personal Values and Personality. An individual’s values and morals will also influence his or her ethical standards. A person who stresses honesty will behave very differently from another who does not respect other people’s property. Interestingly, in Islam, the decay and eventual disappearance of honesty is a sign of the imminence of the Day of Judgment. Abu Hurayrah reports:
"While the Prophet (peace be upon him) was saying something n a gathering, a Bedouin came and asked him, “When would the Hour (Doomsday) take place?” Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) continued his talk, so some people said that Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) had heard the question, but did not like what that Bedouin had asked. Some of them said that Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) had not heard it."

When the Prophet (peace be upon him) finished his speech, he said, “Where is the questioner, who inquired about the Hour (Doomsday)?” The Bedouin said, “I am here, O Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him).” Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “When honesty is lost, then wait for the Hour (Doomsday).” The Bedouin said, “How will that be lost?” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “When the power or authority comes in the hands of unfit persons, then wait for the Hour (Doomsday).”

A key personality variable which may affect the ethical behavior of an individual is his/her locus of control. The locus of control of an individual affects the degree to which he perceives his behavior as influencing his life. An individual has an internal locus of control if he/she believes that he/she can control the events in his/her life. As a result, internals are likely to take responsibility for the outcomes of their behavior. Conversely, an individual with an external locus of control believes that fate or luck or other people affect his life. Such an individual is likely to believe that external forces cause him to behave either ethically or unethically. Overall, internals are more likely than externals to make ethical decisions, are less willing to cave in to pressure to behave unethically, and will resist hurting others, even when ordered to do so by a superior.

Defining Business Ethics

If the importance of the ethical issues as well as their significance in corporate social responsibilities have been covered, and if we are cognizant of the origin of ethics and how it became relevant in the practice of business, it is time for us to provide definitions of business ethics as an own concept to clarify it and determine its real meaning. Ethics is the code of conduct directing a person or a group, it is the study of the individual or collective principles and moral standards. Within an Islamic context, the term most closely related to ethics in the
Qur’an is khuluq. The Qur’an also uses a whole array of terms to describe the concept of goodness: khayr (goodness), birr (righteousness), qist (equity), ‘adl (equilibrium and justice), haqq (truth and right), ma‘ruf (known and approved), and taqwa (piety). Pious actions are described as salihat and impious actions are described as sayyi’at.

In Business, ethics emphasis on the moral standards related to the policies, organizations and behaviors. It is a sort of practical ethics that includes the examination of the moral values and norms and aspires to apply the result of this examination to institutions, technological innovations and all the business operations and activities. Business ethics are structured around values as fairness and honesty, they emphasis on issues that concerns the different stakeholders such as the quality standards, the clients‟ satisfaction, the workers‟ salaries and conditions, the environmental issues and every aspect which is likely to influence the community. Ethics in the practice of business determines how companies incorporate their principal values such as fairness, respect, equality and sincerity into their strategies and decisions. It also defines how firms adhere to the general standards and internal regulations.

Business ethics examines three particular subjects: the systemic issues that are considered as the ethical concerns focusing on the economic, legal, politic and social structures in which companies perform, the corporate issues which are particular to a specific company and the individual issues which refer to the concerns of an individual working in a specific company. In the last years, business ethics were viewed as codes to which employees adhere, those define in depth what they can or cannot do regarding conflicts and their use of the company facilities. Nowadays firms tend to create reliable programs focused on values in order to provide employees a certain level of ethical comprehension that helps them to decide rightfully in all the kind of situations that they may face, simultaneously the field of business ethics enlarged to include, in addition to the treatment of the employees and obedience of laws, the actions that companies undertake to maintain and improve their relations with the different stakeholders. We mention the clients, suppliers, business collaborators, the society in general, the environment and even the next generations.

Factors Influencing Ethical Behavior in Islam

What is considered ethical behavior may depend on the factors that define and affect ethical behavior.

Legal Interpretations-In secular societies, legal interpretations are based upon contemporary and often transient values and standards; in an Islamic society, these values and standards are guided by the Shari‘ah and the collection of previous fiqh judgments. The result of these divergent approaches is amazing: at one time, it was legal and ethical in the United States to discriminate against women and minorities in hiring; now, affirmative action laws make it illegal to discriminate against these groups. By contrast, Islam has given women permanent and unalienable rights, and has never discriminated against minorities on any basis. For example, Abu Dharr reported that the Prophet(saw) said to him :

"You are not better than people with red or black skins unless you excel them in piety"

The Islamic ethical system does not endorse the caveat emptor concept that many Western courts have considered valid in several shadowy cases. Thus, Anas Ibn Malik reports the following hadith:

"Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) forbade the sale of fruits till they are almost ripe. Anas was asked what is meant by “are almost ripe.” He replied, “Till they become red.”
Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) further said, “If Allah spoiled the fruits, what right would one have to take the money of one’s brother (i.e., other people)?”

The Hanafis’ interpretation of Islamic law reinforces this emphasis on equity and fairness:

"If the vendor sells property as possessing a certain desirabl equality and such property proves to be devoid of such quality, the purchaser has the option of either canceling the sale, or ofaccepting the thing sold for the whole of the fixed price. This is called option for misdescription".

Individual Factors-Individuals come to work with different values. Factors affecting one’s ethical behavior include: stages of moral development, personal values and morals, family influences, peer influences, and life experiences.

Stages of Moral Development. The Prophet (saaw) suggested that individuals undergo two stages of moral development: the minor or prepubescent stage and the adulthood stage. In a hadith narrated by Aisha (rah), she narrated that:

"The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) said: ‘There are three (persons) whose actions are not recorded: a sleeper till he awakes, an idiot till he is restored to reason, and a boy till he reaches puberty."

From the above hadith, two facts can be inferred. First, certain types of people are not responsible for their behavior: the sleeper, the lunatic and the child before puberty. Second, an individual is not responsible for his actions until the age of reason.

In addition to physical and mental development, Islamic scholars have suggested that there are three states or stages of the development of the human soul or nafs: (1) ammara (12:53), which is prone to evil, and, if not checked and controlled, will lead to perdition; (2) lawwama, (75:2), which feels consciousness of evil, and resists it, asks for Allah’s grace and pardon after repentance and tries to amend; it hopes to reach salvation; (3) mutma’inna (89:27), the highest stage of all, when the soul achieves full rest and satisfaction after ‘aql (intellect) has checked the evil tendencies of man. If a Muslim persists in behaving unethically, he is succumbing to the ammara; if he is behaving Islamically, he is fighting the evil impulses of the ammara, and responding to the directions of the lawwama and the mutma’inna. Of course, what will govern his ethical behavior and the interaction among these three states of the soul is his level of taqwa or piety. Depending on which level his nafs is at and whether he is winning or losing the battle against temptation and evil, he may be more or less prone towards behaving ethically.

CSR and Downsizing

Corporate social responsibility is composed of four main parts that are in a regular interaction with each other, Carroll argues that the main reason of the existence of firms is to be economically beneficial. This ultimate necessity is the main foundation of each organization and no one evokes any other occupation if this one is in play, however it is vital for corporations to consider all the responsibilities coming after profit. The legal responsibilities are the laws and norms regulating the activities of companies and the context in which they occur, hence it is necessary to take them in account before the decision making. The ethical responsibilities are the base of the legal responsibilities, it is the moral standards that role the conduct of the company and the way this one treats its different stakeholders. They make the corporations perform with higher standards than what is expected by the law. Another element to consider here is the philanthropy which is considered as an influent plus that can make the difference for every company. In our context the ethical responsibilities are the most relevant, the way in which a company incorporates its values and interacts with its stakeholders is very sensitive especially in the critical situations. One of the most supervised events by the stakeholders is downsizing, this strategic activity is characterized by a diminution of the workforce to optimize company operations. The layoff of employees occurring here creates an immense debate and influences the company performance, structure, reputation, staff» In these situations numerous abuses are committed and employees find themselves in critical situations, ethically speaking firms are jammed in a position when they have to fulfill the economic responsibilities of their shareholders while acting honorably with the employees. Unfortunately numerous firms fail in the management of this operation and undergo negative consequences because of their ethical conduct. Before the analysis of this situation we introduce, in the next chapter, downsizing by reviewing the conditions generating its emergence, defining its real meaning, its causes and the results that company expect as well as its positive outcomes.

Defining Downsizing

Ethics in the employment context is perhaps the universal topic in business ethics since nearly every person will have the experience of being employed. While legislators and the courts have addressed many aspects of the working environment, countless ethical issues remain that these regulatory and judicial bodies have left unresolved. The law provides guidance for thinking about ethical issues in the workplace, but such issues go well beyond legal consideration. So we explores areas of ethical decision making in the workplace where the law remain relatively fluid and where answers are not easily found by simply calling the company lawyer. Issues may also arise where the law does seem clear but for one reason one another, it is insufficient to protect the interests of all stakeholder. We will examine various ethical challenges that face the employee, whether that employee is a worker on an assembly line, the manager of a restaurant, or the CEO of a large corporation, and the nature of employer responsibilities. While individual perspective may change, similar conflicts and stakeholders present themselves across business settings.

Though using the ethical decision making process may seem cumbersome at the outset, once the process become embedded in the professional landscape and culture, its effectiveness and efficiency in resolving these issues will become apparent. In fact, utilizing an ethical decision making process will avoid later hurdles, thus removing barriers to progress and momentum. Let us consider the issues that exist in the current workplace environment to test the effectiveness of the ethical decision making process. One of the most emotional issues for both employees and corporate decision-making is the challenge not only of a single termination but of letting many employees go when a firm makes a decision to "downsize". Terminating workers whether one or one hundred is not necessarily an unethical decision. However, the decision itself raises ethical quandaries since alternatives may be available to an organization in financial difficulty. Several definitions have been developed to operationally define the phenomenon of downsizing. Cascio (1993) defined downsizing as the planned elimination of positions or jobs. Another definition of organizational downsizing is described as management’s efforts to reduce their organization’s use of human and capital resources to correct misalignment and improve performance. Cameron (1994) stated that downsizing represents a strategy managers implement that affects the size of the firm’s workforce, its costs, and the work processes. The underlying similarities of these definitions are that downsizing, in general, enables organizations to save money on wages, retirement benefits, healthcare benefits, and other costs associated with hiring employees. Recent trends indicate this phenomenon to be a necessary part of business, particularly during times of an economic recession. Overall, the intent is to place an organization in a position to increase levels of sustainability and competitiveness.

There are others who view the phenomenon of downsizing to be detrimental. Gross (2001) stated the following regarding downsizing: The fact that downsizing is a bad decision for all affected is coupled with a level of responsibility that the corporation has to two key environments – the employees affected and the society in which the corporation operates. People who are productive employees with years of tenure and education lose their jobs, with seemingly little regard for the disruption of their lives by the corporations that employed them. The financial impact is obvious, but what about the psychological and social implications this action caused? There is a clear and reasonable argument that exists between organizations, the employees who are affected by downsizing, and even those who remain after downsizing has taken place. In many situations, the need to downsize is irrefutable. However, what can be questioned is the procedure by which organizations downsize.

Downsizing in and of itself has negative implications from the perspective of lost wages and benefits for employees. What is more detrimental is the treatment of those who are released and those who remain within organizations. Organizations that provide little or no rationale as to why downsizing has taken place, those who display poor communication practices in terms of who is released, the poor treatment of those who are dismissed, and the poor treatment of those who remain within the organization has a significant impact on individuals both internally and externally. If not handled properly, those who are released could project a negative opinion of those organizations to society. Those who remain could become intrinsically demotivated and negatively affect productivity.

In many cases, organizational downsizing is unavoidable. However, when downsizing occurs, several ethical questions automatically appear to surface. What responsibility does an organization have to its employees to inform them of such an event? What are the perceptions of those employees who are affected and how will they communicate those perceptions to society. How will the morale of those who remain be affected? According to Hopkins & Hopkins (1999), when top management makes the strategic decision to downsize, two ethics-related issues arise: (a) the moral obligation of top management to act in the best interest of the firm and (b) the legal obligation of the firm not to violate the rights of employees. (A Family Duty, 2006) has presented a clear recommendation to address this ethical dilemma. The author states the HR employee’s obligation is to the employer and the HR department. If an HR employee cannot keep confidential information, then he or she should not be in the HR department.” This philosophy could explain why many leaders within organizations choose not to communicate with their employees about the need for downsizing. It is believed that the primary loyalty is to the shareholder and the organization at large.

Those who are downsized as well as those who remain within organizations after this event have a contrasting viewpoint as it relates to this behavior. Conrad (1985) stated that one of the most consistent findings in research on organizational communications is that employees feel that they receive too little relevant and useful information about events which directly affect them and their jobs. Feldman and Leana, (1989) concluded that there are instances of less reported stress and anger toward the organization when employees are made aware of downsizing prior to the incident. (How Employers Can Ease Pain, 2007) indicates that Anger at what has happened to former colleagues or a “Could we be next?” feeling are not the sort of reactions which should be left to fester and are ones which could indirectly hamper or interfere with future work performance and other organizational activities. The positions of both the employer and employees clearly differ and may also remain consistent as long as the behaviors of the organization remain unchanged.

The causes of Downsizing

Now that we know the meaning of downsizing and the features of the concept, it is pertinent to analyze the motivations of the companies practicing this strategic action and the causes of their choices. If downsizing is always characterized by a need to improve the firms‟ efficiency, the reasons that make the management team chooses this strategy instead of others diverge and vary in a different way, in this part of our thesis we identify the most relevant.

Nowadays companies are facing numerous challenges and an incredible level of competition, they must be very creative and innovative in order to survive and make benefits. In fact most of them encounter a lot of problems because of the crisis and the high level of debts characterizing their financial structure. To go through these difficult times and remain competitive in this global economy, several firms downsize with the intention of reducing costs, they see no other alternatives allowing them to survive. Islam teaches us to work in an ethical manner. In business to achieve the goal we must get the higher profit but not charging the interest in our businesses. Interest (riba) is haram in Islam, it is unethical behavior. What we want to do is based on the shariah. In the Qura 'n says :

"Those who consume interest cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity. That is because they say, "Trade is [just] like interest." But Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with Allah . But whoever returns to [dealing in interest or usury] - those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein." (Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 275)

He who claimed that this verse is abstract did not understand the clear and confident affirmation of the harj 'ah because Allah Almighty sent His messenger to a people of whom he was one, sent him (speaking) in their language, revealed His Book to hirn so that they comprehend it easily in their language, and in their language the word rib; means 'increase '; and in the verse, it means the increase that has no financial consideration agalnst it, (but simply time). In addition the downsizing is one of the ethical decision making that can bring the benefit to the organization.

Michra and Michra (1994) argue that the downsizing of the early eighties was principally an attempt to reduce the number of employees with the purpose of remaining profitable. This tendency continued in the following decade and companies kept reducing their costs so that they can stay competitive. This penchant to downsize in time of crisis was not expected to diminish in our time and in fact many companies are still practicing downsizing for different reasons. The technological progresses are another reason that makes companies downsize. Some new innovations and equipments increase the productivity without any intervention of the staff members. However if some scholars argue that the new technologies lead to a reduction of jobs and downsizings, other believe that they create new jobs and make companies employ further workers. Nevertheless if we consider the last years we notice that new innovations caused the layoff of an important number of workers especially middle managers who were in charge of the collection, analysis and transmission of information, those are not as needed as before. If we view the causes of the phenomenon from a social angle we can indentify three main social forces leading to downsizing: constraining, cloning and learning.
- Constraining is principally the pressures that companies undergo to respect the organizational regulations and laws aiming to legitimate the management decisions and the structures. In fact companies tend, more and more, to follow a specific model that they consider as perfect, they realize this objective thanks to downsizing.
- Cloning is defined as the pressure that companies are subjected to in order to imitate and become similar to the prestigious and excellent leading firms. Therefore companies downsize even if they are not sure of the benefits that this strategic shift is capable to generate, they just follow their model and believe that it is the best way to become successful. - Learning is the process allowing companies to discover experiences and new thoughts coming from the discussions occurring in the academic circles such as universities and business schools or from professional associations. This process legitimates downsizing, in fact all the different theories and models explaining the functions of downsizing makes it normal and more acceptable.

The expected results and positive outcomes of Downsizing

The firms resorting to downsizing expect positive financial and organizational outcomes and believe that firms aim to improve their effectiveness and productivity. They become capable to create more value for the investors and shareholders, moreover if the management predicts the costs easily, the future outcomes are more difficult to estimate. Therefore the reduction of the workforce allows the augmentation of the remunerations and the price of the companies‟ shares. Some believes that at the financial level downsizing allows the diminution of the hierarchical levels, inferior cost ratios, superior profits, share prices and return on investments. Whereas from an organizational angle, better communication, more initiatives and improved productivity are expected. The inferior labor costs generated by downsizing allow a control of the prices, it is expected to make companies stay competitive in their market segment.

Now if we examine the real results of companies after downsizing operations and compare them with their expectations, we notice that this phenomenon leads to different consequences and that most of the scholars are mitigated when it comes to the efficiency of this strategic action and its results. As far as we are concerned, in this part of the thesis we focus on the positive anticipated outcomes. We come back later to analyze deeply the other face of the coin. Habitually when a downsizing is announced, the stock exchange receives this news optimistically and positive effects follow. The table bellow illustrates the changes following the announcement of an important downsizing in numerous famous companies‟ stock prices one day after the declaration.

The Downside of Downsizing

There are very few decisions that managers find harder to make than downsizing and dismissing people. Several business leaders recognize that this activity is particularly hard especially when the principal motivation of the organization is cost cutting. It is for example easier to fire an employee because of his performances, however when a company is downsizing and dismissing an important number of workers the decision is harder because it is almost never due to their performances. The complexity of this kind of decisions comes from the fact that they involve, in addition tolaws and regulations, ethical and social aspects. In fact in business circles one cannot perform without values and ethical principles, those become very problematical particularly in downsizing situations. Several scholars classify downsizing and its restructuring strategies that includes factory closing as well as job exporting as the most complex and dramatic issue in human resources management, especially when we view it from an ethical angle. Furthermore downsizing is considered as a direct conflict of interests between the different stakeholders, this situation is characterized by a high level of stress and inconsistency that diminishes considerably the resources of companies and biases the decisions of its leaders. Therefore it is habitually the most powerful interests that triumph whereas the right considerations are ignored, it engenders considerable ethical consequences and harm innocent people.

If several business leaders and specialists argue that this strategic action present an important ensemble of opportunities, one must know that on the other hand, it leads to unexpected repercussions that are in most of the cases more consequent. In fact a considerable number of scholars associate to downsizing and massive layoffs numerous that affect companies and all their stakeholders. They question the effectiveness of this strategic shift and have doubts concerning its appropriateness and justifications. In this chapter we identify the principal destructive effects of downsizing. As explained before this one affects all the stakeholders, therefore we first consider the consequences that the companies suffer. We believe that it is judicious to start by the analysis of the consequences that the deciding part undergo, in fact and as detailed later most of the organizations leading downsizing operations face additional internal and external problems, they do not succeed in the realization of their strategic objectives and experience important losses at different levels. Then we take in account the workforce which is the other principal part concerned by downsizings. In fact all the workers of an organization are influenced, directly or indirectly, by this kind of decisions. In this thesis we consider differently three categories of employees:
- The downsizing victims: It is the employees who lost their jobs consequently to the layoffs that the downsizing companies conduct.
- The downsizing survivors: It is the employees who are still working for the company after the downsizing. This category can be divided in two sub-categories, the employees were subject to downsizing, it is those who were menaced to lose their jobs. employees who were sure to keep their positions and did not face the doubt of losing job.
- The decision makers: It is the managers, the executors. Those implement downsizing. These three categories of employees are concerned by the downsizing. Even if their positions and situations before and after the restructuration are different, they all suffer considerable monsequences particularly at the psychological level. In addition to the company and its employees, we consider the effects of downsizing other stakeholders. In fact the phenomenon provokes an important number of consequences touching the shareholders, the environment, the local populations, the policies etc.

The destructive effects of downsizing on the individuals

When companies announce downsizings all their employees are involved in this process, the managers take the decision and implement it, the dismissed workers lose their jobs and find themselves in critical situations while the remaining workforce is asked to assure the same level of productivity or improve it with less resources. Therefore all the components of the company are affected and undergo different consequences.

Downsizing effects on the decision makers If the employees are directly affected by downsizing and endure its variant consequences,n one must know that the executors of this strategic action are also concerned. In fact even if they do not undergo any significant material losses, the psychological and morale repercussions are very considerable. Burke and Cooper (2000) argue that the high level of stress reining the organization during downsizings influences the managers as well. Usually they express an overwork and loneliness within the organization, they constantly question themselves and look for meaning. In some cases their reactions become extreme, they tend to be aggressive with their coworkers and inferiors, they isolate themselves and depress. In fact this hostility in the managers‟ reactions is amplified when downsizing is conducted for internal reasons. The stress and depression that managers express during downsizing is also due to their feeling of culpability for the creation of unemployment. They are the executors of the downsizing, they are responsible for its planning, implementation and communication.
Therefore they feel responsible for the layoffs and it affects considerably their morale as well as self-confidence.

In fact and as explained before, this situation is extremely complicated. The managers find themselves in a position in which they have to choose between the duties toward the employees and the obligation toward the shareholders. Consequently they experience a feeling of loneliness and isolate themselves, it usually generates depression and influences the performances of the company, the psychological costs and unexpected outcomes are usually underestimated and ignored by the different parts intervening on the decision making process.

Conclusion

The social and ethical issues have always been accompanying the exercise of business, however the concept of CSR itself arose in the 1950s. Since this time the importance of its different components did not cease to grow and today all the companies are taking them in consideration in their strategies. If different definitions of the concept exist, they all agree about the fact that CSR includes the various responsibilities that companies have to the society, in practice CSR identifies the organization‟ stakeholders and incorporates their needs in the organizational strategy. Those responsibilities are well defined by Carroll (1991) who distinguishes the economical responsibilities which represent the profit obligation that every company is required to assure, the legal responsibilities that embody the ensemble of laws and regulations ruling the organizations‟ activities, the ethical responsibilities which refer to the principles and values that the companies integrate in their strategies, it is the different behaviors to adopt when treating the different stakeholders. The last kind of responsibilities is the philanthropic, it represents the corporate achievements allowing the company to respond to society‟ expectations. The classification of these responsibilities according to their importance show that the companies are required to be profitable more than everything else, however while achieving their financial objectives the firms are also required to respect the legislations and treat their stakeholders in an ethical and responsible way. Their contribution to society is necessary but it does not mean that a social responsible behavior decreases the profitability.

Islamic context, the term most closely related to ethics in the Qur’an is khuluq. The Qur’an also uses a whole array of terms to describe the concept of goodness: khayr (goodness), birr (righteousness), qist (equity), ‘adl (equilibrium and justice), haqq (truth and right), ma‘ruf (known and approved), and taqwa (piety). Pious actions are described as salihat and impious actions are described as sayyi’at.

This thesis focuses in the ethical responsibilities of the companies and shows their importance in the managerial processes. The consideration of the Downsizing case illustrates perfectly how important the fair treatment of the stakeholders, and especially the employees, is. In fact downsizing refers to a set of actions conducted by the managers to improve the productivity, competitiveness and efficiency of an organization. This strategy is intentional and aims to reduce the size of the workforce, it affects the costs and reshapes the work processes.

References
1. Ambrosi (2008), “Lenoir et Mernier en liquidation judiciaire”, L‟usine Nouvelle,12/02. [Online], http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/lenoir-et-mernier-en liquidationjudiciaire.130844 [11 Avr 2010].
2. Andersen (2004), “Turning Policy into Ethically Founded Remedial, Internal, and Operational Practices”, Bringing business ethics to life: achieving corporate social responsibility.
3. Appelbaum, Close & Klasa (1999), “Downsizing: an examination of some successes and more failures”, Management Decision.
4. Appelbaum, Everard & Hung (1999), “Strategic downsizing: critical success factors”, Management Decision.
5. Arbnor & Bjerke (1997), Methodology for Creating Business Knowledge, pp. 81-210. Asongu (2007), “The History of Corporate Social Responsibility”, Journal of Business and Public Policy.
6. Atwood, Coke, Cooper & Loria (1995), “A review of the history and results of downsizing”, Has downsizing gone too far?. Band & Tustin (1995), “Strategic downsizing”, Management decision.
7. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Mass Layoffs – February 2010”, News Release, 23/03, [Online], Available: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/mmls.pdf [1 Avr 2010].
8. Burke & Cooper (2000), “Ethical problems in Downsizing”, The organization in crisis: downsizing, restructuring, and privatization.
9. Chapra, M. Umer, Islam and the Economic Challenge, Islamic Foundation, Leicester, 1992.
10. Nash, Laura, ‘Ethics without the sermon’, in Andrews and Kay, Ethics in Practice.

CHAPTER 4

Qur’anic Guided Business Ethics:
Lessons from Surah Al Baqarah
ISSUES OF EMPLOYMENT AT WILL (EAW): JUSTICE OR INJUSTICE?
Muhammad Farid Bin Bahrudin
Marwan Hadiid Bin Aris Fadzalah
This chapter will explain what Employment at Will (EAW) is all about and identify whether it is justice or injustice as employers to their employees. How EAW is being used at organization or company? And why EAW can be injustice towards employees? What are the consequences to the employees when EAW is use to them? We will look at business ethics theories and also the relation with the verses in Surah Al- Baqarah. The concept uses in the Quran; "`adl" and "ihsan" to justified justice.
Keywords: Employment at Will (EAW), justice or injustice, ‘Adl
Introduction
Releasing employees from their work duties without a practical reason is becoming very common in society today. Some employers have dismissed their employees because the Employment at will clause states that employers can terminate “employees at any time for any reason or for no reason at all, as long as no agreement existed to prohibit such an action” and employee may opt to leave a job at any time for any reason, without offering notices at all.
While this may be reasonable to some degree, employers may want to consider informing their employees by giving rational reasons for discharging them from their duties. Nevertheless, employers may choose to terminate employees because the positions the employees occupy, may change over time. Employees may act in a manner that is unacceptable or employees may not contribute to the betterment of an organization. Whatever the case may be, employees and employers must act as in a manner that is ethical and appropriate. Giving employees reasons for termination may result in employees to be understanding of the situation.
Problem Statement
It such a good effort to work on “Employers Duties and Responsibilities” regarding on the ethical issues of Employment at Will (EAW). This edited book may look why EAW is injustice prove by some verses from Al-Baqarah. In addition employers right to be justice, why to make EAW become justice and ‘Adl on termination process are being considered as ethical issues involved on those matter. Reason Why EAW Is Injustice EAW is lead to injustice when employees are terminated without been notifying or they are terminated without valid reason. Sometimes employee is terminated because; employee may not have been on the job long enough because they took a leave of absence to take care of a sick parent, employee may also be absent because they had to travel due to family emergencies and employee may be terminated for reasons that do not go against an organization’s policies. If we look through the termination of the employee doesn’t follow action’s morality or fairness, informed observers constitute a valuable source of advice for the parties involved. They are many consequences may occur firstly injustice to the employee itself. They feel injustice because they don’t do anything that harms the company. We made an assumption that the employee has work for 2 years, have a family to support and have made loan for housing and car. According to AKPK Talk held in Lecture Theater 2, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) on 20 April 2012 if someone made a budget on income, expenses and saving for himself about 10 percent it may last longer for six months only. Perhaps with the budget can at least less the burden of the employee before find a new job.
Salary per month for manager is RM 3,000 and 10 percent is save for the emergencies cases equal to RM 300 an times with 24 months equal to RM 7,200. How about when there is difficulty to find a new job, with the bad of economy of country. It is very crucial to employees to continue have a better life after six months. Recently the current rate of unemployment in Malaysia is 3.2 percent as February 2012 Figure 1.2, and company rather want to have outsource worker and fresh graduate workers.
Expenses RM
Education RM 200
Utility Bills RM 100
Food RM 400
Housing and Car Loans RM 900
Other expenses RM 200
Total Expenses RM 1,800
Figure 1.1
For example when someone is terminated from his job, he can’t afford to support their family and to cover the expenses. Such as utility bills, food, housing and car loan, and other expenses. We have made a table to show that EAW can be injustice to employees. Base on the calculation above a monthly employee to support his family is RM 1,200 and Figure 1.1 shows that employees must have RM 1,800 to maintain their family, it shows a deficit of RM 600 on his account. From this situation, employee can only maintain their family for only approximately 4 months. It is very injustice because unemployment can give bad impact on the life to the employees. Secondly, it is very injustice to the families of employees because they don’t receive what actually they get before the EAW took place. For example, education for employees’ children maybe employees allocated the big amount for their children extra additional references book or tuition fees. Employee as a parent wants their children have a better and conducive education. Because seek a knowledge is an Ibadah, and with the knowledge also their children can know what is true and wrong and become a good ummah for the generation of Malaysia generally for the sake of Islam. So when EAW took place, it is very injustice to the employee and also to their children. Figure 1.2

We can see the relation the injustice of EAW done by employer to employee from verse 84 from Al-Baqarah. This verse advice us not to be injustice between the members of the community or in company. The meaning of this verse is; And (remember the time) when we Took a covenant from you will not shed your own blood, and you will not drive yourselves out of your land. Then you confirmed it and you were a witness to it. In this verse Allah (swt) brings our attention to another contract that He (swt) took with the children of Israil. But our concern is about the EAW become injustice. Once again as we read these verses we have to remind ourselves that this contract applies to us today just as much as it applied to the children of Israil then. Allah (swt) tells them, as He (swt) tells us, “you will not shed your own blood, and you will not drive yourselves out of your land”. In the verse 83 the verse briefly explained the terms of the contract that established the foundation of the Din. But the Din is always implemented by people. The people come together to make up the community. It is the strength of the bond between the members that determines the strength of the community. The strength of the Din itself rests on the strength of the bond between the members of the community. That is why it is imperative that there not be violence of any kind between members of the community. They must not hurt each other, they must not kill each other, and they must not drive each other out of the land. They must not cause injustice to each other in any way whatsoever. In addition they must also all see each other as part of one body. Employer Right to Be Justice The Qur 'an puts great emphasis on the right to seek justice and the duty to do justice. As an employer’s they should give an explanations to the employees about their terminated as they do have rights to know the reason why their job is terminated, including contract rights, company policy, and statutory rights provided by federal and state law. Employer has become injustice toward their employees. In the context of justice, the Qur 'an uses two concepts: "`adl" and "ihsan." Both are enjoined, and both are related to the idea of "balance," but they are not identical in meaning. "`Adl" is defined by A.A.A. Fyzee, a well known scholar of Islam, as "to be equal, neither more nor less." Explaining this concept, Fyzee wrote: "in a court of Justice the claims of the two parties must be considered evenly, without undue stress being laid upon one side or the other. Justice introduces the balance in the form of scales that are evenly balanced." Recognizing individual merit is a part of "`adl," the Qur 'an teaches that merit is not determined by lineage, sex, wealth, worldly success, or religion, but by righteousness. Righteousness consists of both right "belief" ("iman") and just "action" ("`amal") as clearly indicated by Surah 2: Al-Baqarah: 177, which states: The meaning of the verse above is; It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces towards East or West; but it is righteousness to believe in God and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the God-fearing. From the verse above, Islam asks an every slave “to fulfill the contracts which ye have made”. In the Company, when the Manager (employer) hired a Clerk (employee), the clerk has been given a contract to sign. A contract that included about the wage receives by the Clerk, duration of probationary period and others. In this situation if he or she can be terminated according to Atty.Fred he wrote on Article 281 states that a probationary employee can be legally terminated: (1) for a just cause; or (2) when the employee fails to qualify as a regular employee in accordance with the reasonable standards made known to him by the employer at the start of the employment. The limitations in dismissing a probationary employee are: first, this power must be exercised in accordance with the specific requirements of the contract. Second, the dissatisfaction on the part of the employer must be real and in good faith, not feigned so as to circumvent the contract or the law; third, there must be no unlawful discrimination in the dismissal. So the Manager can’t implement EAW as it not follow the contract was sign before unless the Clerk has broke several rules that makes the contract void. While constantly enjoining "`adl," the Qur 'an goes beyond this concept to "ihsan," which literally means, "restoring the balance by making up a loss or deficiency." In order to understand this concept, it is necessary to understand the nature of the ideal society or community ("ummah") envisaged by the Qur 'an. The word "ummah" comes from the root "umm" or "mother." The symbols of a mother and motherly love and compassion are also linked with the two attributes most characteristic of God, namely, "Rahim" and "Rahman," both of which are derived from the root "rahm," meaning "womb." The ideal "ummah" cares about all its members just as a good employer cares about all employees, knowing that all are equal and that each has different needs. While showing undue favor to any employee would be unjust, an employee who gives to a more holidays to employee that having a emergencies cases is not acting unjustly but exemplifying the spirit of "ihsan" by helping to make up the deficiency of a employee who is need in life. Thus "ihsan" shows God 's sympathy for the "disadvantaged" segments of human society (such as employee want to take leave to send their children to boarding school, employee want to make long holiday to perform Umrah and Hajj and others). Way to Make EAW Become Justice EAW is good but it is injustice. There is a way or recommendation to the employer, to the practices or policy makers. As we know EAW employers have right to terminate employees at any time and for any reason and employee may opt to leave a job at any time for any reason, without offering any notices at all. But employer can be justice if he changes the concept of how the termination takes place. Firstly, employers should terminate employee base on the valid reason only. According to Robbi Erickson there are three legal reasons for terminating an employee when;
1. The employee violated a known company rule
2. The employee is not able to perform the job adequately
3. The company is reducing its workforce for economic reasons
As mentioned above employer has the right to terminate the employee if he or she cause any harm to the company. For example employee made the speculation that company will goes bankrupt, employee reveal the secret information to the competitor, employee take a leave without employer consent and other violated actions. In order for this reason to be upheld in a court of law employer will need to prove that: the rule actually exist, the employee knew that it existed, the rule was violated, other employees were terminated for the same infarction and the termination was reasonable punishment for the infraction. The rule can be refer as Code of Ethics of the company or ethical codes; are adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between 'right ' and 'wrong ' and in applying that understanding to their decisions. An ethical code generally implies documents at three levels: codes of business ethics, codes of conduct for employees, and codes of professional practice. Many employers get into legal trouble when they terminated employee because they broke an “unwanted but known” rule. If it is not in writing, it may not be defensible in a court of law, and most likely the judge will rule in favor of the employee. To protect yourself against this, have ALL of your company rules written and have ALL of your employees sign a copy of these rules stating that they have received a copy, read, understood, and agree to abide by the rules. This signed document will help prove that the company’s rules exist and that the employees are aware of them, and that they agree to abide by them. Every of the company instruct their employee to take an oath or sign the contract. So it doesn’t the problem if employers want to bring this to court of law. Allah also mentioned in the same verse 84 from Al-Baqarah “Then you confirmed it and you were a witness to it”. Here Allah (swt) makes it clear to us that the children of Israil confirmed this contract and they were a witness to it. They made a promise to Allah (swt) to abide by this contract and they were a witness to themselves making this promise. Once again this shows the enormity of the sin that they committed. They went back on a promise to Allah (swt)! This is the truly shocking part; they made this promise and they confirmed it with their own tongues. They were a witness to it with their own eyes and their own ears. Still they went back on it. They knew that Allah (swt) sees all that they do and that He (swt) hears everything that they say, and they still went back on their promise. This behaviour on their part is totally unacceptable. They knew what their responsibilities were, so they should have been on their guard. When you make a contract, when you confirm it with your tongue, then you have to always be aware of your responsibilities. You have put yourself in a position of responsibility by making this contract with Allah (swt) and so it is something that you always have to be aware of. We have to always remember that this is a contract that we have entered into with Allah (swt) as well. The contract we can refer as company rules written between the employer and employees. Employer should bear with the responsibility when the contract has been agreed, which is they can’t terminated employee without any valid reason and at any time. Documentation will also help defend employer position and prove that the employee broke the rule and that the infraction was serious enough to necessitate termination. Here witness reports, video recordings from security cameras, and job samples may all be gathered and used to defend employer position. But in Islam, Qur 'an recognizes the need for privacy as a human right and lays down rules for protecting an individual 's life in the home from undue intrusion from within or without. We can’t put every angle in workplace with the cameras.
When deciding if employers termination was legal and warranted, the courts will also look at employers past reactions to similar infractions. If in the past another employee has been fired for breaking the same rule, the court will see that you are fairly and equally applying your rules and disciplinary actions to all of his employees and should rule in your favor. However, if employer did not terminate an employee who broke the same law in the past, then the court will probably rule in favor of the employee.
For example employer terminated employee A because he doesn’t doing well performance but employer not terminated employee B because he doesn’t doing well performance. It shows the favoritism there and it is not ‘Adl in term of Islamic Perspective.
Past precedents of employer reactions to rule infractions will determine the legality of employer termination policies in the future. Because of this, many lawyers and legal advisors suggest that employer terminate every employee that breaks a rule in order to preserve his legal right to terminate employees in the future.
The final factor that courts take into consideration when determining if a termination due to a rule infraction is legal is if the termination is an appropriate reprimand for the rule that was broken. This not only takes into consideration the type of rule that was broken but also the length of time that the employee has been employed. As a general rule the longer that the employee has worked for employer, the more corrective or disciplinary steps he have to take before terminating their employment.
For example, an employee who is still in their six month probationary period can be fired for breaking a rule immediately. However, an employee with tenure can only be fired after you have made "reasonable attempts" to correct their behavior or to correct the situation. These attempts may include verbal and written warnings, demotion, reduction in pay, and even counseling.
While these steps are required before terminating a tenured employee in most cases, certain situations necessitate immediate dismissal including: stealing money from the company, displaying violent behavior, endangering employees and customers, and any other unlawful behaviors and actions are all reasonable grounds for immediate dismissal without other disciplinary steps.
The second legal reason to terminate an employee is if they are not able to perform their job adequately. To be able to defend this reason for termination in a court of law the employer must be able to prove that the employee was incompetent, that the employer took reasonable steps to try and improve the employees performance, and that the employer had addressed the issue in several instances before terminating the employee. To prove that the employer’s position in this kind of situation they will need documented evidence.
First, employers need to prove that their expectations for work standards were reasonable and that an average employee is able to perform at your set standards. To prove this, employers need to provide documents that detail the minimum work standards for the job such as a job analysis, and/or a job description. To prove that an average employee is capable of meeting these standards, they should also provide the performance records of other employees who have the same job responsibilities as the terminated employee. The comparison of many employees’ performance records to the terminated employee’s performance record can be used as proof that indeed it is possible and common for employees to meet or exceed the standards set out and that the terminate employee was well below what is normal.
The next pieces of evidence that employers need to produce are evaluations of the employee in question that document consistent failures to meet the job’s performance standards and that disciplinary actions were taken to address the issue in several instances. Evidence to prove this can include: critical incident reports, employee evaluation forms, feedback forms, signed disciplinary actions, notes made by the employer in regards to the employee’s performance, etc. The key to defending your position in this situation is a properly formatted and current performance-appraisal system. It should include a job analysis and contain specific and concrete standards that employees have been made aware of. This should be set out in a writing signed by the employees. It will affirm that they understand and agree to meet the standards. This system should also include provisions that address behavior measurements, and all evaluations should be carried out by a number of reviewers to rule out any chance that any decision was biased by a personal distaste for the employee. The system should also provide employees with the opportunity to appeal the findings. Without this documentation, employers are relatively powerless it defend themselves.
The final legal reason for terminating an employee is if it is in the best economic interest of the company in question. Layoffs are common reasons for terminations, especially in larger corporations that are downsizing or restructuring. Here, courtesy is expected, and employees who are involved in a large-scale layoff need to be given at least 60 days notice of the layoff. This courtesy is required by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN). See Figure 1.2 Documentation is employer key to protect him from wrongful-termination lawsuits. To make sure that employer has all of the documentation that he need, keep employer personnel files current and complete. Try to keep the following items on hand, either in every employee’s file or in a clearly labeled personnel file:
1. Employee evaluations
2. Job analysis of all jobs
3. List of rules, signed by each employee
4. Employment-at-will doctrine signed by each employee
5. Employee complaint from customer
These is the most important document should employer have about their employee. Employee evaluations are form that been filled by the upper manager of the company about the employee. Job analysis of jobs, form that show how the credibility of the employee handle a task given. A contract that contains list of rules that has been prescribed by the company sign by the employee is the important documents that can be bring to court of law. Employee complaint from customer sometimes is a positive or negative feedback about them can be count also.
In relation EAW to this statement; if one member of the community is injured or hurt, everyone must feel the sorrow and the pain because of that. This is the attitude between the members of the Muslim community that Allah (swt) commands to be established in this verse. As we read about this covenant, we should think about how we can implement this in our community are when employee is terminated his co-worker should feel sorrow or sympathy on his fate.

Figure 1.2

‘Adl on Termination Process As an employer you should ‘Adl on the termination process in relation in verse 84 from Al-Baqarah, this is a command not to kill or hurt members of your own community. So for us this would be a command not kill or hurt our Muslim brothers and sisters. This is because the members of the Muslim community are like one body. As we know from the hadith of the Prophet (saw) where he said, “The Muslim Ummah is like one body. If one part of it is in pain, the rest of the body suffers from sleeplessness and sorrow”. So if we kill another Muslim, or even if we hurt another Muslim, it is not only a great sin, but it is like we are killing or hurting our own selves. Not only must we not hurt them with our hands but we must also not hurt them with our tongues. So that, employer must ‘Adl in order to not hurt the employees. First you need to give the valid reason for terminating employee to make it legally defensible reason as been discussed above. Secondly employer has to make sure all documentation that he needs will support his decision. For example, evidence that employee was aware of the code of ethics or ethical codes that they disregard, proof that rule was broken and the standard were not met and others. Thirdly, employee will need to decide whether to give the employee a severance package or not. The severance package is not only a courteous option to offer an employee who is being laid-off, but it can also be used as a way to avoid being sued for wrongful termination. Finally, after employer has prepared a documentation and severance package, employee need to schedule the meeting. On the termination meeting, it is going to be stressful and uncomfortable involved. In order to reduce the amount of stress, keep it brief and to the point. Don’t try to sugar coat things because most likely the employee is already know why there are there, so employee should get to the point right away and make it quick as possible. As an ethical employer, give the reason s why they are terminated, express your gratitude toward them what have them contributed to your company or organization. Offer the severance package company have prepared for them if applicable. After finished those entire thing, employer should meet with the company’s other employees to let them know what exactly happened without divulging private information. This information meeting will help reduce employee anxiety, and it will help to reduce rumors and misinformation from being spread.
Conclusion
EAW do create injustice towards the employees. Employer should not use their power beyond the boundary. Yes they may terminate employees at any time without any reason, but it may suitable when the employees violated the company rules. From the Islamic perspective employer or employee cannot break the promise (signing of contract) or fulfill the contract has been made. The Quran also, asked the employer to become justice or ‘Adl in doing termination process, decision to terminate or to giving severance package. Therefore EAW should change the concept that can terminate employees at any time but with the valid reason. We just change the concept and it just make employer doing justice or ‘Adl in duties and responsibilities. Perhaps employer can have the pleasure of Allah by doing all those things.
REFERENCES
1. http://www.googobits.com/articles/p0-2259-how-to-legally-terminate-an-employee.html
2. http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/labor/at-will-employment-exceptions-by-state.aspx
3. http://www.doleta.gov/layoff/pdf/WorkerWARN2003.pdf
4. http://www.slideshare.net/Will1945/the-history-of-employment-at-will
5. http://www.tradingeconomics.com/malaysia/unemployment-rate
6. http://quran.com/
7. http://jlp-law.com/blog/probationary-employment-employee/

BIOGRAPHY
Tuan Muhd Ameruddin Bin Tuan Mustafa
Tuan Muhd Ameruddin Bin Tuan Mustafa is student in establish International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). Furthering Bachelor in major Business and Administration study, he following the Business ethics class and give full commitment to the ethics. Background from Islamic school, he keep the track in the Islamic environment study in IIUM. He also active in the social responsibility works inside and outside the IIUM. Based on the principle of doing good deeds to all humankind, he contributes his works and ideas for the sustainable of goodness in this world. He had experience study in IIUM for 3 years.
Muhammad Farid Bin Bahrudin
Muhammad Farid Bin Bahrudin is an undergraduate student of Kuliiyah Economy at IIUM currently pursuing his 2nd year of study. In other to this finish this edited book on chapter Ethical Issues on Employment at Will in relation with Al-Baqarah , the author use Quran Tafsir by Abdur Raheem Al-Saranbi in order to understand better story line and what Allah said in surah. The author also seeks help from his fellow friend to understand better what is Justice and Injustice in their point of view. The 4 months research has made the author completely do analysis of this issue.
Marwan Hadiid Bin Aris Fadzalah
Marwan Hadiid Bin Aris Fadzalah is an undergraduate student of Kuliiyah Economy at IIUM currently pursuing his 2nd year of study on Bachelor of Economic. He is the co-author of this chapter. He is more concentrated on the economic theory which is he explained and do graph about the unemployment rate in Malaysia and what the effect to the employee. He also gives an opinion why every human being in this world should be Justice. The background on Islamic Teaching experienced from his secondary help to understand the Arabic term in the Quran and help in the analysis of the issue.
Muhammad Husmar Zariq Bin Husin
It is a great pleasure for our department especially for my beloved group members of Business Ethics to announce the release of this first version of the “Reciting of Al-Baqarah verses”. Firstly, I want to congratulate our beloved lecture Dr. Suhaimi for provide the students with this assignment that could enhance general learning. I am of the opinion that we should be creative enough to come up with more booklets or monographs of the kind that would enhance student knowledge. This step taken by the department of KENMS, I hope will motivate other departments to venture the same. I hope that our students would give more priority to research as it is the backbone of their educational uplifting and the key factor for their overall intellectual progress.

Muhammad Asyaari bin Md Arif Muhammad Asyaari bin Md Arif was the name given. He is from Kajang, Selangor. Currently studying in International Islamic University Malaysia at main campus Gombak. He is taking Bachelor of Business Administration. Actually, this is first book written by him and the title is Ethical Decision Making: Employer Responsibilities and Employee rights- Downsizing. He following the business ethics class and realize about ethics. He always participating our Mahallah As-Siddiq programme and also hold the position as Head of Art & Culture.

INDEX
Chapter 1
Employers’ Duties
Employers’ responsibility
Employees’ rights
Ethical decision making
Working condition

Chapter 2
Benefit from prayer
Health and safety
Nanotechnology
Risk Assessment
Workplace

Chapter 3
Business Ethics Corporate Social Responsibility Downsizing Leadership Management

Chapter 4
‘Adl
Employment at Will (EAW)
Justice or injustice
Severance
Termination

Campaign
New in our First Edition.
Our goal for this first edition is: to provide “a comprehensive yet accessible introduction to the ethical issues arising in business”. We have retained the focus on decision making as well as the emphasis on both personal and policy-level perspectives on ethics. We continue to provide educational support through text. The most interesting part in this edition is that, we have take the unique approach that is Qur’anic Guided Business Ethics: Lessons from Surah Al Baqarah . This is a new technique taken from the Islamic perspectives rather than conventional approach. The up-to-date related issues have been discussed in context of Islamic Perspective, so that the readers can see a different ideology in certain business ethics issues.

Synopsis of the Qur’anic Guided Business Ethics: Lessons from Surah Al Baqarah
Employers Duties and Responsibilities

The summary of this book is summarized about the business ethics in the Islamic paradigm as well as conventional view. This book comprises of lesson from Surah Al-Baqarah about the employer’s duty towards employee. As employer, we should fulfil our right and responsibility towards the employee, such a providing a good working condition, that include the working place, wages, working hour and others. As a employer we should observer our decision making made by us are justice toward the employee. We should treat employee as human being not as a tool to gain profit. Employer should consider the health and safety of their employee. As they are catalyst in make the profit of the company. Company is nothing without the employee. Therefore company should provide the working place that safe and secure from any harm and dangerous. In order to save the company it is must to do downsizing but it must follow ethically in order to justice toward them. Lastly employer should make the ethical codes provided followed by the employee. So the employer can do EAW as they want because all the process has been taken
It is good book to follow by the new manager in order to understand all the simple right and duties in business ethics or on the point of view Islamic Perspective.

References: 1. Ambrosi (2008), “Lenoir et Mernier en liquidation judiciaire”, L‟usine Nouvelle,12/02. [Online], http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/lenoir-et-mernier-en liquidationjudiciaire.130844 [11 Avr 2010]. 2. Andersen (2004), “Turning Policy into Ethically Founded Remedial, Internal, and Operational Practices”, Bringing business ethics to life: achieving corporate social responsibility. 3. Appelbaum, Close & Klasa (1999), “Downsizing: an examination of some successes and more failures”, Management Decision. 4. Appelbaum, Everard & Hung (1999), “Strategic downsizing: critical success factors”, Management Decision. 5. Arbnor & Bjerke (1997), Methodology for Creating Business Knowledge, pp. 81-210. Asongu (2007), “The History of Corporate Social Responsibility”, Journal of Business and Public Policy. 6. Atwood, Coke, Cooper & Loria (1995), “A review of the history and results of downsizing”, Has downsizing gone too far?. Band & Tustin (1995), “Strategic downsizing”, Management decision. 8. Burke & Cooper (2000), “Ethical problems in Downsizing”, The organization in crisis: downsizing, restructuring, and privatization. 9. Chapra, M. Umer, Islam and the Economic Challenge, Islamic Foundation, Leicester, 1992.