Social implications of business ethics free essay sample

In this task I have been asked to describe the social implications of business ethics facing a selected business in its different areas of activity and I have to assess the social implications of business ethics facing a selected business in its different areas of activity. The business that I will be linking it to British Airways. Human Resources Ethical issues relating to human resources are to confirm that discriminations is not a part of the selecting process. Value is what this should be encountered as it is important. Nationality, race, religion and age should not be based on in a negative way. British Airways should be very careful otherwise they will in trouble with the law and they will get a bad reputation. For example in 2012, a Christian woman felt discriminated against as BA told her to not wear her cross which gave BA a bad reputation with the Christian community. We will write a custom essay sample on Social implications of business ethics or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Ethics in Finance Lobbying means to approach an MP or minister, with requests for actions or information. The idea is to convince politicians to approve a particular cause or concern, in order to benefit it. This is an outward appearance of corruption. Moreover, another ethical issue is insider training, as this refers to illegal use of confidential information in dealing on a stock exchange. Executive pay is another problem that arises in the ethics of finance. The people who are executives receive high pay from the organisation, due to the anxiety of the public. The public were troubled as this used to be a concern because they seemed aware that the executives were getting paid high but not necessarily for doing their work well. In addition, if BA do not overlook on their financial statements linking to pay, other employees will feel unhappy due to the reason that the executives are getting high pay. The company ensures to adhere to corporate governance laws which aim to reduce fraud, corruption, and bribery and increased transparency. Not doing so would mean a threat to British Airways’ reputation and shareholders’ displeasure, which would have a negative impact on its share value and sales. Another ethics issue is the customers and the local community have not got so much money as they used to and the people are struggling to pay for holiday because of the economy. The air transport industry has faced major challenges in recent times the worst economic recession in 80 years. BA has had to adapt to the economic environment and has have to reduce the cost of goods otherwise they wouldnt meet their aims and objectives. Ethics in sales and marketing The pressure on businesses to improve profits through bigger sales often leads to instances where businesses employ unethical means to try to increase sales. An example of which a business can do this is spoofing, spamming and raising their own status. Spamming refers to sending emails to thousands of users similar to a chain letter. Spamming through email may be linked to spoofing as it would make it difficult to see who the originator of the email is. Raising their own status occurs when businesses place fake recommendations which may be coming from paid individuals. For example, a company paying the press to make them give the impression of being superior and could increase the reputation of the business. Firms may use its financial muscle power to run a heavy advertising schedule, this could be seen as a big competitive edge whether ethical or not. Others areas in which the company will maximize the exposure of its products are through sponsored corporate events and offering ‘freebies’. Whether this could be construed as bribes is a matter of opinion, but incentives can be used to persuade shopkeepers or other selling outlets to favour one company’s products over others. Ethics in intellectual property This allows people to own their creative work in the same way that they can own physical property. Rewards may be offered to the owner for their use. This motivates additional improvement and creativity to benefit everyone. There are four main types of IP, like trade marks for brand identity, for example Apple have their logo of an apple to give themselves an easy identify so that it would help people remember. Another implication of intellectual property is copyright for materials and their logo. This means that those other companies that are in the same business as British Airways cannot steal their ideas. British Airways lays out in its contract of employment to employees, the employee’s responsibility not to discuss any confidential information with any third party, and that any breaches in doing so could lead to instant dismissal. This is also communicated in regular employee meetings and on the company’s intranet. British Airways also has a legal and patents department to control and check for anyone deemed to be stealing the company’s intellectual property. Ethics in Competitiveness, reputation and public image The impact of these for British Airways could be the increase in shares. For example, due to the good and stable reputation that they have, the public would have a positive image of their business. As a result this would lead to an increase in shares as more customers would be purchasing their products. These factors are important as they help the business’s growth. If this was not the case for the British Airways, then they may lose customers. If these factors were not kept in practise, then it would have a negative impact on the business as well as stakeholders. For example customers would not be happy and the shareholders would not be satisfied because, customers may not purchase their products. This means that there would not be a huge increase on shares, so this effects the shareholders revenue. Ethics in environment Local air quality is a significant issue for people living in urban areas. It is often a limiting factor in any new development, including the growth of airports. British Airways are put under pressure by different pressure groups for polluting the local air quality around so they have to improve on the following areas: take off, new aircrafts, New Technology and Equipment. By doing this the local area will respect them more and pressure groups will not lay too much pressure on them. British Airways’ runs project called One Destination Carbon Fund which customer donations and uses them to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in communities up and down the UK. In conclusion I feel that this shows to me that BA has shown in all their operations that they would have to be careful in what they do. The depleting supplying of the world’s resources and the increasing ethical concerns of society means businesses and governments have an on-going challenge of addressing the social and business implications of the way they operate. For businesses to have a chance of continuing successful, they have to address these ethical demands. BA is a good example of how a company can address such issues. From looking at the business ethics, BA has revealed they are careful and aware of what they do and that they have offered protection under health and safety guidelines and employee regulations. BA has shown that they take business ethics seriously and is important for customers and shareholders. BA take these seriously as they have strict control over how it disposes rubbish and ensures that they find use in the production in which where they try to manage packaging where possible to decrease the level of wastage and pollution.