Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Responsibility Project
Responsibility in Business: No Bad Brownie
The importance of business ethics has been sharply and repeatedly highlighted by many event s over the past decade or so, from the series of scandals at the turn of the century (Enron, WorldCom, etc.) to the more recent financial meltdown precipitated by nefarious lending practices and trick bookkeeping. While negative outcomes from unethical behaviors seem to be the most headline-grabbing means of encountering ethical dilemmas and decisions in business today, they are far from the only means of investigating such issues. A video on Liberty Mutual's ethics-dedicated website, The Responsibility Project, highlights many different instances of positive ethical outcomes, and of ethical struggles that companies have had to contend with. The brief video of Gresyton Bakery, a commercial brownie manufacturer that is involved in both wholesale and retail distribution, shows how positive ethical choices can also have profound impacts on business and the community n which a business operates.
The Benefits of Ethical Brownies
As the head of Greyston Bakery notes in the film, not only do the company's brownies taste good, but they also provide a means for community improvement. Providing jobs for those with difficulties finding employment, wholesome products for other manufacturers...
These are the kind of efforts that build stronger communities and stronger businesses (French & Granrose, 2004).
Social pressures can have a great deal of influence on influencing business ethics, and perhaps surprisingly these effects can be larger for smaller companies that tend to have more transparency and less name recognition than larger competitors (Kokemuller, 2012). Businesses can create a name for themselves by openly and strongly applying strict business ethics to their operations, achieving above and beyond the expectations of the community in which they operate (Kokemuller, 2012). This does not really appear to be a motivating factor behind Greyston's success or its ethical directives and actions, however; though there is a clear social benefit to the actions and the sheer presence of the bakery, there is also not a strong brand push and indeed most of the company's sales go to manufacturers such as Ben & Jerry's, leaving the company largely anonymous (Liberty Mutual, 2012). In other words, though social pressures might exist, they are not always the primary or the best ethically motivating factor.
While social pressures might not exert…
References
French, W. & Granrose, J. (1994). Practical Business Ethics. New York: Prentice Hall.
Kokemuller, N. (2012). How Can External Social Pressure Influence Business Ethics? Accessed 30 April 2012. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/can-external-social-pressure-influence-business-ethics-43961.html
Liberty Mutual. (2010). Greyston Bakery. Accessed 30 April 2012. http://responsibility-project.libertymutual.com/films/greyston-bakery#fbid=PgTzS3xO3jx
As the proceedings of the past few years have shown, these labors, regrettably, have not prevented companies from engaging in unethical behaviors that lead to larger corporate disgraces. As a result there is augmented force to make accessible more structured power and ethics programs so that companies are more accountable to the societies in which they function. Understanding the setting of business ethics can be very difficult. The field is
Project Management- Natural Soap Project Charter atural Soaps Project> 1. Management - Direct Users or Managers of the System a. Steve Hanely Management Director of Natural Soaps Project 2. < epeat the above list pattern for all management users who are direct users of the system. Next (in item #2 below), list all non-management participants. Non-management participants include clerks, secretaries, office help, administrative assistants, any anybody else who works within the system being studied.>Non-Management - Direct Users
Business Society and Corporate Values There has indeed been a great deal of discussion regarding CEO compensation, which is rightly viewed as being completely out of line. The core problem and cause of inflated CEO salaries cannot be attributed to a single reason, but is rather the result of a range of inter-connected factors. What is definitive is the fact that these salaries have inflated over time; this is in part
Business Ethics - Masters Business Administration Essay - Drawing relevant literature, critically evaluate a position debates firms responsibility maximising shareholder returns. Discuss implications chosen position a manager concerned impact company environment. Business ethics Throughout the past recent decades, the means in which the economic agents conduct their business operations have suffered some notable changes, in the meaning that less apparent emphasis comes to be placed on profits, and more on generating socio-economic
P&G has recognized that there are three pillars needed to support its sustainable development strategy. These include environmental protection, economic development, and social responsibility (MacNealy, 2007). Summary and Future Research Recommendations Procter and Gamble's commitment to sustainability has been shown by its development of new products. Product development is geared towards the preponderance of consumers who would like to improve sustainability outcomes without comprising value or quality. During 2008, Procter and
One set of concepts from each area was utilized to explain how the situation at Grand Bois may have come about. The end goal of the authors was to "provide business practitioners, ethics teachers, and readers interested in corporate conduct with insights useful in understanding why managers may act the way they do." It could be argued, according to Hamilton and Berken (2005), that Exxon managers had made a sound