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Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

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Carter McNamara
Carter McNamara MBA, PhD
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Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

Sections of This Topic Include
About Ethics, Principles and Moral Values
What is Business Ethics?

Managing Ethics in the Workplace

- - - Managing Ethics Programs in the Workplace
- - - Developing Codes of Ethics
- - - Developing Codes of Conduct
- - - Resolving Ethical Dilemmas and Making Ethical Decisions
- - - Ethics Training
Assessing Culture and Cultivating Ethical Culture
Some Contemporary (Arguably) Ethical Issues
General Resources for Managing Ethics in the Workplace
Social Responsibility
Boards and Corporate Social Responsibility
General Resources for Social Responsibility
Also see
Related Library Topics
Also See the Library's Blog Related to Ethics and Social Responsibility
In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blog th
at has posts related to Ethics and Social Responsibility. Scan down the blog's p
age to see various posts. Also see the section "Recent Blog Posts" in the sideba
r of the blog or click on "next" near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog
also links to numerous free related resources.
Library's Business Ethics Blog

About Ethics, Principles and Moral Values

Simply put, ethics involves learning what is right or wrong, and then doing the
right thing -- but "the right thing" is not nearly as straightforward as conveye
d in a great deal of business ethics literature. Most ethical dilemmas in the wo
rkplace are not simply a matter of "Should Bob steal from Jack?" or "Should Jack
lie to his boss?"
(Many ethicists assert there's always a right thing to do based on moral princip
le, and others believe the right thing to do depends on the situation -- ultimat
ely it's up to the individual.) Many philosophers consider ethics to be the "sci
ence of conduct." Twin Cities consultants Doug Wallace and John Pekel (of the Tw
in Cities-based Fulcrum Group; 651-714-9033; e-mail at jonpekel@atti.com) explai
n that ethics includes the fundamental ground rules by which we live our lives.
Philosophers have been discussing ethics for at least 2500 years, since the time
of Socrates and Plato. Many ethicists consider emerging ethical beliefs to be "
state of the art" legal matters, i.e., what becomes an ethical guideline today i
s often translated to a law, regulation or rule tomorrow. Values which guide how
we ought to behave are considered moral values, e.g., values such as respect, h
onesty, fairness, responsibility, etc. Statements around how these values are ap
plied are sometimes called moral or ethical principles. (Extracted from Complete
(Practical) Guide to Managing Ethics in the Workplace.)
Ethics
Ethics
Value at Work ... and at Play
The Six Pillars of Character
Why Integrity Is Never Easy
What are Values, Morals, and Ethics?

What is Business Ethics?

The concept has come to mean various things to various people, but generally it'
s coming to know what it right or wrong in the workplace and doing what's right
-- this is in regard to effects of products/services and in relationships with s
takeholders. Wallace and Pekel explain that attention to business ethics is crit
ical during times of fundamental change -- times much like those faced now by bu
sinesses, both nonprofit or for-profit. In times of fundamental change, values t
hat were previously taken for granted are now strongly questioned. Many of these
values are no longer followed. Consequently, there is no clear moral compass to
guide leaders through complex dilemmas about what is right or wrong. Attention
to ethics in the workplace sensitizes leaders and staff to how they should act.
Perhaps most important, attention to ethics in the workplaces helps ensure that
when leaders and managers are struggling in times of crises and confusion, they
retain a strong moral compass. However, attention to business ethics provides nu
merous other benefits, as well (these benefits are listed later in this document
).
Note that many people react that business ethics, with its continuing attention
to "doing the right thing," only asserts the obvious ("be good," "don't lie," et
c.), and so these people don't take business ethics seriously. For many of us, t
hese principles of the obvious can go right out the door during times of stress.
Consequently, business ethics can be strong preventative medicine. Anyway, ther
e are many other benefits of managing ethics in the workplace. These benefits ar
e explained later in this document. (Extracted from Complete (Practical) Guide t
o Managing Ethics in the Workplace.)
Business Ethics (Wikipedia)
What is Business Ethics?
Values and Morals, Guidelines for Living
Ethics at a Cross Roads
Ethics is More Than Compliance
Taking the Ethical High Road Is Good for Business
The Best Ways to Discuss Ethics
Students Teach Business Ethics
Transparency is a key to performance
Choices Make all the Difference

Managing Ethics in the Workplace

Managing Ethics Programs in the Workplace
Organizations can manage ethics in their workplaces by establishing an ethics ma
nagement program. Brian Schrag, Executive Secretary of the Association for Pract
ical and Professional Ethics, clarifies. "Typically, ethics programs convey corp
orate values, often using codes and policies to guide decisions and behavior, an
d can include extensive training and evaluating, depending on the organization.
They provide guidance in ethical dilemmas." Rarely are two programs alike.
"All organizations have ethics programs, but most do not know that they do," wro
te business ethics professor Stephen Brenner in the Journal of Business Ethics (
1992, V11, pp. 391-399). "A corporate ethics program is made up of values, polic
ies and activities which impact the propriety of organization behaviors."
Bob Dunn, President and CEO of San Francisco-based Business for Social Responsib
ility, adds: "Balancing competing values and reconciling them is a basic purpose
of an ethics management program. Business people need more practical tools and

information to understand their values and how to manage them." (Extracted from
Complete (Practical) Guide to Managing Ethics in the Workplace.)
Ethics Management Programs: An Overview
Is It Time for a Unified Approach to Business Ethics?
10 Benefits of Managing Ethics in the Workplace
8 Guidelines for Managing Ethics in the Workplace
6 Key Roles and Responsibilities in Ethics Management
Organizational Character and Leadership Development
Developing Codes of Ethics
According to Wallace, "A credo generally describes the highest values to which t
he company aspires to operate. It contains the `thou shalts.' A code of ethics s
pecifies the ethical rules of operation. It's the `thou shalt nots." In the latt
er 1980s, The Conference Board, a leading business membership organization, foun
d that 76% of corporations surveyed had codes of ethics.
Some business ethicists disagree that codes have any value. Usually they explain
that too much focus is put on the codes themselves, and that codes themselves a
re not influential in managing ethics in the workplace. Many ethicists note that
it's the developing and continuing dialogue around the code's values that is mo
st important. (Extracted from Complete (Practical) Guide to Managing Ethics in t
he Workplace.)
Creating a Code of Ethics for Your Organization
Can You Improve Your Code of Ethics?
Developing Codes of Conduct
If your organization is quite large, e.g., includes several large programs or de
partments, you may want to develop an overall corporate code of ethics and then
a separate code to guide each of your programs or departments. Codes should not
be developed out of the Human Resource or Legal departments alone, as is too oft
en done. Codes are insufficient if intended only to ensure that policies are leg
al. All staff must see the ethics program being driven by top management.
Note that codes of ethics and codes of conduct may be the same in some organiza
tions, depending on the organization's culture and operations and on the ultimat
e level of specificity in the code(s). (Extracted from Complete (Practical) Guid
e to Managing Ethics in the Workplace.)
Effective Methods of Employee Code of Conduct Training
Rethinking Codes of Conduct
Establishing a Code of Business Ethics
Codes of Conduct in Light of Sarbanes-Oxley
7 Rules for Avoiding Conflicts of Interest in a Family Business
Resolving Ethical Dilemmas and Making Ethical Decisions
Perhaps too often, business ethics is portrayed as a matter of resolving conflic
ts in which one option appears to be the clear choice. For example, case studies
are often presented in which an employee is faced with whether or not to lie, s
teal, cheat, abuse another, break terms of a contract, etc. However, ethical dil
emmas faced by managers are often more real-to-life and highly complex with no c
lear guidelines, whether in law or often in religion.
As noted earlier in this document, Doug Wallace, Twin Cities-based consultant,
explains that one knows when they have a significant ethical conflict when there

is presence of a) significant value conflicts among differing interests, b) rea

l alternatives that are equality justifiable, and c) significant consequences on
"stakeholders" in the situation. An ethical dilemma exists when one is faced wi
th having to make a choice among these alternatives.
What's an Ethical Dilemma?
Some Contemporary (Arguably) Ethical Issues
General Resources Regarding Managing Ethics in the Workplace
Social Responsibility (social responsibility is but one aspect of overall busine
ss ethics)
General Resources Regarding Social Responsibility
Lessons in Ethics from Richard Branson
Assessing and Cultivating Ethical Culture
Culture is comprised of the values, norms, folkways and behaviors of an organiza
tion. Ethics is about moral values, or values regarding right and wrong. Therefo
re, cultural assessments can be extremely valuable when assessing the moral valu
es in an organization.
Assessing Corporate Culture - Part 1
Assessing Corporate Culture - Part 2
How to Create An Ethical Work Environment
How a Company Develops & Maintains an Ethical Environment
Culture Saves Lives
Combating the Hero Worship Culture at Penn State: the NCAA Got It Exactly Right
Also see
Organizational Culture
Organizational Assessments
Ethics Training
The ethics program is essentially useless unless all staff members are trained a
bout what it is, how it works and their roles in it. The nature of the system ma
y invite suspicion if not handled openly and honestly. In addition, no matter ho
w fair and up-to-date is a set of policies, the legal system will often interpre
t employee behavior (rather than written policies) as de facto policy. Therefore
, all staff must be aware of and act in full accordance with policies and proced
ures (this is true, whether policies and procedures are for ethics programs or p
ersonnel management). This full accordance requires training about policies and
procedures.
Do the Right Thing -- Ethics Training Programs Help Employees Deal With Ethical
Dilemmas
Ethics Training and Development in the Military
Does Your Ethics and Compliance Training Meet the Standard?
Teaching Right and Wrong
Ethics Training: New Needs, New Times

Some Contemporary (Arguably) Ethical Issues

Banana Logic
Toyota Ethics: Questions to get to Answers
OK, Mr. Blankfein, How are you going to put ethics first?
Ethics Lessons in a New Era
The Fragility of Transparency

The Bloom is off the Tylenol Rose

Why Leaders have Trouble Restoring Trust
The Power of the Lowly Expense Report
Why it's so Hard to get Safety Right
Ethics Practices that Could Have Prevented the Shirley Sherrod Debacle
Insignificance of Ethics in Leadership
Ethics of Whistleblowing
J&J Accused of Ignoring Red Flags
J&J Dig Deeper!
How not to change a safety culture
Is Saying No to $12 million ethical, or unethical?
The Cost of Values
Charlie Sheen's Business Ethics
Are companies responsible for how countries use their products?
Is Free Really Free?
Is News Corp Past the Tipping Point?
Cost of a Culture of Fear? $500 million for starters

General Resources Regarding Managing Ethics in the Workplace

Ethical Leadership Group's articles
General site for ethics on the Web
Business Ethics
Business Ethics
Resource Renewal Institute
Legal Ethics - Focusing on the ethical issues associated with the use of technol
ogy by legal professionals
Business Ethics Information & Resources
Business Ethics References in 200 Years of Books
Ethics 2012
The Forecast is Cloudy
Get to the Start of the Slippery Slope

Social Responsibility
Social responsibility and business ethics are often regarding as the same concep
ts. However, the social responsibility movement is but one aspect of the overall
discipline of business ethics. The social responsibility movement arose particu
larly during the 1960s with increased public consciousness about the role of bus
iness in helping to cultivate and maintain highly ethical practices in society a
nd particularly in the natural environment.
Business for Social Responsibility (click on "Intro to Corporate Social Responsi
bility")
Business of Social Responsibility
Global Green Standards
"Winning with Integrity" - Business Impact Task Force Report Launched
Profit Versus Social Responsibility
Debate Social Responsibility -- a newsletter
Corporate Social Responsibility: An Insider's View

Responding to "The Case Against Social Responsibility"

Mother Theresa- An Inspiration For Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility: How Can Learning Contribute?
Four CSR Trends to Watch in 2011
Investing in Corporate Social Responsibility to Enhance Customer Value
Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Socia
l Responsibility
Boards and Corporate Social Responsibility
2012 Trends for Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics and Compliance
The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility
The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights
Investing in Corporate Social Responsibility to Enhance Customer Value
Organizing for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability
Chief Sustainability Officer
Sustainability Matters: For Directors, it s all in the Framework
Sustainability in the Boardroom
Corporate Social Responsibility
What Is Wrong with This Picture?
Deconstructing Sustainability
Nasdaq Hacking a Wake-Up Call for Boards
6 Criteria for Selecting a CSR Consultant
General Resources Regarding Social Responsibility
There are many online resources in regard to social responsibility. The followin
g will help to get your started.
Business for Social Responsibility
Educators for Social Responsibility
Behaviorists for Social Responsibility
Center for Computing and Social Responsibility
Business Ethics and Leadership Blog

Submit a link
For the Category of Ethics:
To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some r
elated topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics include
s free, online resources.
Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for thei
r relevance and highly practical nature.
Related Library Topics
Recommended Books
Business Ethics
Social Responsibility

Business Ethics

The following books are recommended because of their highly practical nature and
often because they include a wide range of information about this Library topic
. To get more information about each book, just click on the image of the book.
Also, a "bubble" of information might be displayed. You can click on the title o
f the book in that bubble to get more information, too.

Social Responsibility
The following books are recommended because of their highly practical nature and
often because they include a wide range of information about this Library topic
. To get more information about each book, just click on the image of the book.
Also, a "bubble" of information might be displayed. You can click on the title o
f the book in that bubble to get more information, too.

Also see
Social Enterprise -- Recommended Books

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