Introduction
In the modern business environment, ethics and corporate social responsibility appear to be of great significance to organizations. The idea of the importance of ethical conduct by businesses enterprises originates from the fact that firms have an objective for the community rather than the sole motive of profit maximization. Business’s obligation to the society in which they operate compels organizations to develop business ethics and policies governing their activities. Most companies have been experiencing issues such as dilemmas in implementing corporate social responsibility and business ethics strategies thus calling for a need of a viable course of action to address these challenges.
A. Corporate Policies
A1. Compassion Policy
Compassion policy calls for the need of a business to recognize the importance of the needs of the community and the profit motive for the company (Post et al., 2002). From this view, Techfite Company focuses on serving the interests of the community by getting involved in the activities of the communities in which they operate as well as involving employees to participate in the decision-making process. As a result, they share the available resources such that both company, employees, and the US society benefits. The rationale behind this policy is creating a favorable working environment thus increasing profits in the future. By serving the interests of both the customers and those of the community members, workers increase their productivity while community members show loyalty by shopping in the company.
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Fairness Policy
TechFite practices fairness in its operations because it ensures that all the essential parts of the company's operations are represented in the decision making process. The rationale behind fairness is to ensure that all the company’s stakeholders feel contented with the business thus reducing risks such as strikes may affect the operations of the company.
Promise-keeping
Techfite Corporation is concerned with meeting the promises such as creating employment opportunity, increased weekly working hours, and supporting local youth leadership development programs made to the US society when seeking to extend its activities in the region. The rationale behind this policy is to improve the company’s image in areas where the company operates.
A2: Difference between ethical and legal issues
According to Ferrell & Fraedrich, (2015) ethical issues refer to actions that hinder a business from meeting the expectations of stakeholders such as customers and the community while legal practices refer to activities that business should abide by the law such honesty in the accounting process.
A 3: Ethical Issues in the scenario
TechFite firm experiences misuse of funds as well as conflict of ideas issues. The allocation of excessive benefits and salaries to executive members is the misuse of money because the duties they perform are not worth the money such people earn. Conflict arises from the fact that, the company has to increase working hours to at least 40 hours per week and finance the infrastructural project in the region at the same time.
A 4: Purpose of ethics officer
The purpose for ethics Officer: The ethics officer should monitor and ensure all activities are in line with the ethics code of conduct. In this case, the ethical officer should analyze the company’s ethical issues and provide expert advice on viable strategies that need to be applied in solving the problems.
B. Corporate Social Responsibility and its application in TechFite Company
Corporate social responsibility refers to the strategy that a company applies in an attempt of ensuring that it remains accountable to itself, the public and its stakeholders (Schwartz, 2017). Corporate social responsibility applies in TEchfite Corporation because the company promises to fund youth leadership development program and to fund the construction of infrastructural facilities as ways of improving the appearance of the company in the society in which it operates.
B1. Community Reputation
Ethical Desirability of improving a company's reputation: The ethical desirability for TechFite Company to improve its reputation to the community is to draw the attention of the society thus resulting to profit maximization by increasing sales. For example, Techfite is well recognized for its active involvement in the community in all the areas where it provides, and it has experienced increased profits in such markets. In effect, a majority of the people have been willing to see the presence of the enterprise in the United States. When Techfite expanded its operations to the US, it promised to fund the infrastructural facility and offer full-time employment to people in the US. Since Techfite failed to meet such obligations, the excitement by the society began, and employees started declining.
B2: Course of Action to address the problems
Based on the culture and core values of TechFite Company, the ethical officer should hold a meeting with the employees, executive officers and some community members in an attempt of deciding the viable mechanism to address these challenges. In this case, they may decide to reduce bonuses assigned to executive members by 10% and increase salaries to workers by 5%. Resolving the budget constraint will lead to increased working hours for employees to about 36 working hours per week. The remaining amount can be used to finance youth leadership development programs in the region and promise to fund infrastructural construction in the future.
B 3: Course of Action Explanation
The procedure is ethical, socially and environmentally acceptable because it involves workplace collaboration, leadership development, and exercises employee involvement in the decision-making process. The procedure is fair and compassionate because it reduces the excessive allocation of funds to the management at the expense of the employees thus increasing the working hours to about 36 per week. The process is compassion as it demonstrates recognition of the needs of each stakeholder of the company.
Business ethics and corporate social responsibility are fundamental approaches through which a business can succeed in the competitive business environment. Business ethics considers the responsibilities of an organization to its stakeholders such as employees and the society while corporate social responsibility refers to the extent to which a business is involved in activities conducted by the community to which it operates. In some cases, companies experience ethical and corporate social dilemmas thus calling for a need for ethical officer intervention to provide proper guidance. Intervention mechanisms should be ethical, environmentally, and socially viable.
References
Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases . Nelson Education.
Post, J. E., Lawrence, A. T., Weber, J., & SJ, J. W. (2002). Business and society: Corporate strategy, public policy, ethics . McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Schwartz, M. S. (2017). Corporate social responsibility . Routledge.
