Many business owners and shareholders are more interested in profits they get than how the organization impacts other people. However, The Guardian (2019) argues that the responsibilities companies have should go beyond the profits. Once opened, an organization must be liable to all its stakeholders who include the employees, customers, business owners, suppliers, and the community. This means that organizations must act within particular ethical standards to protect all the stakeholders. This is not always the case because of the targets shareholders put to the management. Sometimes, company leaders tend to engage in unethical practices to meet the targets among other demands. The article by the Guardian aimed to address this ethical issue and propose possible solutions. Many organizations engage in unethical dealings and operations to achieve their sales and profit targets at the expense of their obligations to other stakeholders. This is a practice that must be stopped through collaborative efforts of the authorities, business leaders, the courts, and consumers.
The decision by The Guardian (2019) to write this piece was informed by a recent decision by the Oklahoma court to award $572 million against Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Company. The court found the company to be on the wrong in regards to the state’s opioid epidemic. Johnson and Johnson oversold the pills without considering the health impacts it would have on the users. It also aided other sellers by supplying the chemicals used to OxyContin. Several pharmaceutical companies have been scrutinized for not being ethical in their sales and manufacturing process. These are companies dealing with products which can easily harm consumers and should operate within strict ethical demands. However, many choose to look into the profit and sales aspect of their drugs instead of the associated health impacts on consumers. Even though there are organizations such as FDA who ensures that the business maintains basic health standards, there is a need to concentrate more on business ethics by other stakeholders.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Proposed Solutions
Courts should handle ethical business violations with more urgency and strictness. Some victims of unethical practices such as customers, suppliers, and employees go to court to seek justice. Such cases should be given priority and perpetrators punished (The Guardian, 2019). This way, business owners and leaders will be forced to act within the laws and ethical standards. The problem is that many victims, especially employees, opt not to go to the courts out of fear. Such employees fear to lose their jobs and choose to remain quiet amidst mistreatments. Other cases also take long to solve, making the victims opt to discuss their issues with the business leaders who might fail to take action.
The second solution is to teach all the stakeholders about business ethics and its importance. In many instances, victims of illegal business practices do not realize that they have been mistreated out of ignorance and lack of knowledge. Regulatory organizations and the governments should begin by teaching the public about good business dealings and possible sources of unethical dealings (Novoa, 2018). They then need to know how to detect and report the cases so that necessary action can be taken as fast as possible. Business owners and leaders also need constant reminders and updates on the required ethical standards and education on how to avoid unethical practices.
Utilitarian theory is a consequence-based approach to find solutions to ethical dilemmas. The theory was founded by Jeremy Bentham, and it concentrates more on results and consequences. The goal of the utilitarian theory is to minimize suffering and maximize happiness (Novoa, 2018). By considering the principles of this approach, the second solution to educating all the stakeholders would be the best. Business suppliers, customers, shareholders, and the employees will participate in reducing unethical practices and promoting safe business dealings.
References
The Guardian. (2019, September 2). The Guardian view on good business: profit is not enough. The Guardian . Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/02/the-guardian-view-on-good-business-profit-is-not-enough
Novoa, A. J. (2018). Ethical aspects of overdiagnosis: Between the utilitarianism and the ethics of responsibility. Atencion primaria , 50 , 13-19.
