Define Ethics And Social Responsibility And Explain Why They Share Common Characteristics In An Organisational Setting. Identify Recent Examples Where Ethical Practices Or Social Responsibility Have Not Occurred And The Implications For Stakeholders. Fi

Introduction:

As recently as a decade ago, many peoples,companies or organizations viewed ethics,social responsibility,business ethics only in terms of administrative compliance with legal standards and adherence to internal rules and regulations. Today the situation is different. Attention to them is on the rise across the world and many companies or organizations realize that in order to succeed, they must earn the respect and confidence of their customers. Like never before, corporatons are being asked, encouraged and prodded to improve their business practices to emphasize legal and ethical behavior. Companies, professional firms and individuals alike are being held increasingly accountable for their actions, as demand grows for higher standards of corporate social responsibility. This essay will define about ethics,social responsibiliy and show how it is going on and how it is importance to manager and global business.

So `Ethics' or `morality'; some people distinguish between ethics and morality: ethics is a standard of conduct for a particular group; morality is a more general standard) is one of those words in our language that we use every day but we find notoriously hard to define. Webster's Dictionary defines ethics as "1. the study of standards of conduct and moral judgment; 2. the system of morals of a particular person, religion, group, etc..." This definition distinguishes between the study of ethics (otherwise known as moral philosophy) and the subject of that study, i.e. standards of conduct.(www.ethicsinaction.com,retrieved:25/06/06)

In our daily lives, certain words carry the same meaning across all social, economic, racial and spiritual boundaries. We know a dog or cat when we see one, and we know what a spoon is and how to use it. These are words for physical items.

But then there are words that carry individual definitions developed by life experiences. "Ethics" and its companion, "morals," are example of these types of words. The dictionary definitions are ambiguous at best, stating that ethics are a set of values defining right from wrong. The dictionaries further define ethics as a guide to decisions relating to moral duty and obligations.

But even under such strict criteria, ethical behavior is not black or white, right or wrong. Examples of this are shown daily as society struggles with issues pertaining to abortion, religious tolerance, homosexuality, and population growth. Then there are the technology driven issues of cloning, gene therapy and manipulation, and nuclear energy.

Social responsibility is a doctrine that claims that an entity whether it is state, government, corporation, organization or individual has a responsibility to society. This responsibility can be "negative," in that it is a responsibility to refrain from acting, or it can be "positive," meaning a responsibility to act.(www.bitc.org.uk, retrieved:26/06/06)

It also define is the obligation of organization management to make decision and take actions that will enhance the welfare and interests of society as well as the organization. Social responsibility is quit important to the society, organization and human.

There are several reasons to support the importance of social responsibilities. It is related to the ethical responsibility, and differentiates into difference level of social responsibilities, which is economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary responsibilities. There are six main areas of social responsibility, the employees, providers of finance, consumers, community and environment, government, and other organizations or groups.(www.e-businessethics.com/.retrieved:25/06/06)

The advantages and important of social responsibilities are being discussed here. This action would be taken by some organization base on their view. To have social responsibilities, the suppliers, business associates, and customers would be more confidence on the organization. So, the products and services of the organizations increase and lead to maximize profit.

Personally, I believe this model is more sustainable because social responsibility becomes an integral part of the wealth creation process - which if managed properly should enhance the competitiveness of business and maximise the value of wealth creation to society.

There's nothing to say that a company that is highly socially responsible today may not become less so tomorrow. It's a little like physical exercise. If you don't keep pushing yourself, you lose the gains - may even become a little flabby. For example:A true story: A woman puts her umbrella on the floor of her cubicle after returning from lunch. The next day she discovers that the umbrella is gone. Fast forward one week. The woman sees a colleague walking around with her umbrella. When asked about it, the colleague replies, "Well, it didn't have anyone's name on it, so I took it." From some perspectives, this may either be an indicate a significant lack of personal social responsibility.

why they share common characteristics in an organisational setting:

According to Ethics in Action, a Vancouver, BC, organization whose awards program recognizes socially responsible corporations, "Socially responsible companies consider the full scope of their impact on communities and the environment when making decisions, balancing the needs of stakeholders with their need to make a profit." Thus, the success and effect of a socially responsible company is measured according to its whole impact on all who are affected by or involved in its operations (a.k.a. stakeholders), not just by virtue of its size, revenues, profits, returns to financial investors, or social-responsibility campaign budgets.(Singhapakdi, A., "1996", pp.1131-40.)

The organization might actively seek to foster relationships and collaborative partnerships with like-minded organizations and individuals within its community so that it is more likely to have the freedom to adopt and demonstrate such tenets of real social responsibility. It's guiding philosophy would be one of self-responsibility and mutual benefit.

Some common examples of unethical behavior: criminal behavior, lying, sexual harassment, cultural insensitivity, abuse of position

Ethics should not be used to pit one set of dogmatic beliefs against another. The divide created by such practices becomes one of rigid adherence to a set of specific values, and teaches intolerance for differences in another's