Ethics and social responsibility in business decision making

Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives

A corporation that responds positively towards social issues is considered socially acceptable. There are some corporate social responsibility initiatives which the firm should take in order to get socially responsible. There are five main corporate social responsibility initiatives: Philanthropy, Work/Life programs, Community redevelopment, Acceptance of whistle blowers and Environmental protection.

Philanthropy

The first way is to donate a lot to charities. These include hospitals, colleges and nursing homes. Many institutions rely on charity from corporations to continue their work. Many corporations strive to make sure that their donations are used for the benefit of the end user and the ones who actually need it. The new generation philanthropists desire maximum social impact in return for their donations. These philanthropists study donation plans as any normal business plan. (Dubrin 74-105)

Work/Life Programs

The corporations can also help their own employees by teaching them to balance their work and lives. In this way, the employees live a more satisfied life and become more productive. Organizations take social action by training the employees about time management. There are different programs that help the employees in this aspect but the most popular one remains to be flextime as it has shown considerable improvements in studies. (Dubrin 74-105)

Community Redevelopment

An organization may also invest in redeveloping distraught communities as a part of a social responsibility initiative. This initiative is sometimes considered a part of philanthropy. Organizations invest in building different houses and companies in a distressed community as an attempt to reclaim it. The corporation may also provide job training to the talented individuals of that community and by doing so it may also help the community get rid of crimes that are committed by frustrated youth. (Dubrin 74-105)

Whistle Blowers

These are people who report the wrong doings of an organization to the parties who can take action. A good social initiative would be accept these whistle blowers so that the immoralities are reduced. The whistle blowers must be patient as it takes years to resolve the issues that are created by corrupt official in an organization. (Dubrin 74-105)

Compassionate Downsizing

This step is taken by organizations to reduce the size of their operations to reduce their costs and boost their profits. By doing so, an organization shows its willingness to benefit the stakeholders and other companies. A negative effect of downsizing is that the employees, that are made redundant, cannot get jobs immediately.

Protecting the Environment

Nowadays, this has become an important dilemma for many corporations. This is considered a giant leap towards getting socially responsible. This environment protection leap requires an organization to go green. It requires them to play their part in creating a sustainable environment for future generations. Technically, it requires any organization to create processes that produce less pollution (Environmental Friendly) and cost lesser (Economically Viable). The initiative also requires the corporation to employ a pragmatic approach rather than thinking of the task as impossible. There are multifarious approaches to create an environmental friendly product that a company can use. The corporation may also invest to employ technology that is environmental friendly. (Dubrin 74-105)

Creation of an Ethical Workplace

Being ethical helps a company in avoiding huge fines related to unethical behavior and actions. There are agencies in different countries that fine corporation for wrongdoings in their premises. In addition to that, talented individuals are attracted towards corporations that have an ethical environment. To exploit the benefits of an ethical workplace, managers strive hard to make a workplace that is socially responsible. A socially responsible workplace is also necessary for the corporation itself to be socially responsible. However, attaining a socially responsible workplace is not just a matter good luck or common sense. Managers strive hard with other relevant officials to attain a work place which is socially acceptable. They may take the following steps. (Dubrin 74-105) (Industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au)

Formal Bodies Monitoring Ethics

The managers can introduce separate bodies to monitor the behavior of employees and penalize the ones who don't comply. These bodies may consist of a high official and other managers that are in the organization. The body may also consist of a specialist in the field of ethics. The monitoring body would have their own set of rules to follow in different situations. These bodies may also conduct audits about ethics in the company and may also analyze complaints about ethics violations (Dubrin 74-105)

Written Codes of Conduct

The managers may also instruct the employees to follow specific codes of conduct in order to make them moral and socially responsible. These codes usually ask the employees to behave with integrity. These codes may cover general or specific aspects such as behavior with colleagues and the highest value of the gifts that one can receive from a vendor. (Dubrin 74-105)

Communication about Ethics

The managers can talk to their employees about ethics and its advantages to the individuals and to the corporation. The top managers may also persuade the employees to think about the helpless people and the corporation's social responsibility towards them. The communication can be done either in one big group discussion or several small team meeting focusing on the social issues and the employees may also suggest solutions to them. (Dubrin 74-105)

Role Models

Another strong step that can be taken by the managers is to be the role models for the employees. This will require the managers to train themselves to be the role models for the employees to follow. To attain that, the managers must themselves react in ethical ways in different situations. Thus making a perspective in the whole corporation that ethical behavior is appreciated. This approach is very likely to have positive results as it uses role models. Most of the employees are influenced by their supervisors and the people they work with. So, if a manager treats everyone fairly and is not biased, then the employees working under him will be like him and morality will prevail all over. (Dubrin 74-105)