The Role of Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility in Business Management Essay Example
INTRODUCTION It is important to note that business ethics and CSR go hand in hand. In order to understand CSR, one must also understand ethics. Also, a socially responsible firm should also be an ethical firm and an ethical firm should also be a socially responsible firm. However, one might wonder as to why business ethics and CSR receive so much importance. Researchers are making it increasingly clear that the two concepts are essential for long term sustainability of an organisation. In today’s highly competitive business environment, business ethics and CSR are no more an option but a necessary practice activity for all organisations. Therefore, business ethics and CSR continue to be important to organisations and strong ethical value shall take a organisation a long way forward.
2.1 INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS ETHICS
* 2.*1.1 DEFINITION OF BUSINESS ETHICS
Definitions of ethics abound. These include among others: The discipline dealing with what is good and bad and right and wrong or with moral duty and obligation (Hurn, 2008). Hurn (2008) testifies that ethics is also considered as the study of “human duty in its wider sense”, underlining the common thread of the recognition of obligation and acceptance of responsibility for how one's actions would impact on other people. However, Seital (2001) as cited by (Papasolomou-Doukakis et al., 2005) defines ethics as the values that guide a person, organization, or society and the differences between right and wrong, fairness and unfairness, honesty and dishonesty. From another point of view Sutherland and Canwell (1997) as cited by (Papasolomou-Doukakis et al., 2005) define ethics as “ a particular code of behaviour, which to most people is considered to be a morally correct approach”. Cutlip et al. (2001) propose that an individual’s conduct is not only measured against ones conscious but also against some norm of acceptability that has been determined by the society, the profession or the
2.1 INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS ETHICS
* 2.*1.1 DEFINITION OF BUSINESS ETHICS
Definitions of ethics abound. These include among others: The discipline dealing with what is good and bad and right and wrong or with moral duty and obligation (Hurn, 2008). Hurn (2008) testifies that ethics is also considered as the study of “human duty in its wider sense”, underlining the common thread of the recognition of obligation and acceptance of responsibility for how one's actions would impact on other people. However, Seital (2001) as cited by (Papasolomou-Doukakis et al., 2005) defines ethics as the values that guide a person, organization, or society and the differences between right and wrong, fairness and unfairness, honesty and dishonesty. From another point of view Sutherland and Canwell (1997) as cited by (Papasolomou-Doukakis et al., 2005) define ethics as “ a particular code of behaviour, which to most people is considered to be a morally correct approach”. Cutlip et al. (2001) propose that an individual’s conduct is not only measured against ones conscious but also against some norm of acceptability that has been determined by the society, the profession or the