Mid term Assignment of

Business Ethics
Program:

BS Aviation Management
6th Semester Course Instructor:

Miss Farzeen
Submitted by:

Aasmaan Group
Group members:

Mohsin Azhar Shah Saqib Mehmood Saad Shoaib Arslan Aslam

BAM-9205 BAM-9207 BAM-9210 BAM-9234

Question # 1

Define nature of business ethics, consider five views of business ethics and explain their merits and demerits? Answer:

Nature of Business Ethics

Business ethics concentrates on the moral standards as they apply to business policies, institutions, and behavior. Business ethics, in other words, is a form of applied ethics. It includes not only the analysis of moral norms and moral values, but also attempts to apply the conclusions of this analysis to that assortment of institutions, technologies, transactions, activities, and pursuits that we call business. As we consider the nature of business ethics, we have two aspects; Specific situations (areas) of business in which ethical issues arise and Principles of behavior. Advertising, accounting, employee relations and environmental protection; these areas are commonly familiar due to arising ethical controversies in them and on the other side principles of behavior (Ethical theory) guide us that how we should act in particular situations. We can judge whether an act is right or wrong on the basis of principles.

Diagram defining the nature of business ethics Five views of business ethics
1) Business is Business 2) Act consistently with law 3) Good ethics mean good business 4) Conventional morality 5) Universal morality

Business is Business

This view of business ethics based on maxim Business is business and cup of tea is a cup of tea informs us that a business man should only focus on his business activities to maximize profits and no moral responsibility is taken. It has some merits and demerits:

Decisio n Making

Merits:
More job opportunities for people No sexual harassment and colour discrimination Purely fair selection of applicants for jobs No nepotism (favoritism) Hiring intelligence from designated positions of other organizations

Demerits:
Poor quality goods (shoddy goods) Having unnecessary staff Not customer oriented (customer not satisfied)

Adverse advertising (telling a lie) Market share in risk Inappropriate turnover

Act Consistently with Law

This view of business ethics believes that people do business by keeping in mind that they are doing wrong but they wait for legislation. People generally think about legal activity or illegal but not about ethical or unethical.

Merits:
Better quality products Making respect in front of regulatory authorities Customer satisfaction Showing social interest Having competitive advantage against ones competitors

Demerits:
Lack of intrinsic ethical behavior. Such companies may behave unethically (for their business) if not forced to behave ethically, by enforcing legal restrictions to do so. Safety and security issues regarding personnel (workers) health

Good Ethics mean Good Business

This view of business ethics believes that good ethics has instrumental value for good business; that has intrinsic value. It is also called Coincidence theory.

Merits:
Best products quality Treating all employees equally; no sexual harassment and colour discrimination Employee satisfaction Most of the time high production and sales and market share may increase. Good relations with stakeholders. Market leadership

Demerits:
Selfishness (ones eye on profits by some managers in particular ethical dilemmas.) This view (coincidence theory) is not proven suitable in every business environment.

Conventional Morality
This view of business ethics holds that people do business in accordance with prevailing standards of their culture (convention). Conventionalism explicitly states that "an act is morally right if and only if it is permitted by the conventions of its society"

Merits:

 Business activity suitable with the local culture of that particular region; country. An advantage of conventional morality is its consideration of the wide variety of situations in different societies around the world.

Demerits:
Not suitable with standards in another culture. (no universal standards) Need more investment to target new market; globalization; advertising and launching new products according to local area culture.

Universal Morality
No difference theory supports this view that a business man should act in same way in business environment as he does in his private life. The universal morality only supplies the core moral concepts and principles on the basis of which we can and should reflect on problems in many areas of the moral life including business ethics. To be a practical, action guiding morality, the common morality needs to be molded to capture the complexities and realities of business situations.

Merits:
Fulfilling social environmental responsibility

Demerits:
Smaller profits Wasted time Increasing cost Creating context sensitive problems (for example, human treatment of animals vary from society to society and even person to person)

Universal morality believes that right thing is right at all times and in all places but there is a contradiction in this view when we move from one culture to another culture.

Question # 2 What do you think of the idea of having business ethics consultancies, are there people who are better qualified in business ethics then others or is each persons opinion equally valid on such matters? Answer: Running a business requires adequate consideration to a number of issues outside the traditional scope of making money, of which ethics is most certainly one. As our business grows and becomes more significant, we impact on the lives and circumstances of people in ways we can only imagine - through bringing jobs, creating wealth and inspiring others to grow their businesses. An important part of engaging in this process is, understanding your business ethics, which if not up to scratch can leave you with a bad reputation and can even ruin your business, not to mention alienating employees, suppliers and the local community. Ethics is something of a subjective topic, but it is nevertheless of immense importance across all areas of business. From the way in which sales and marketing is handled through to product development and customer service, and even to some extent finance, ethics has a significant role to play in ensuring business success and ultimately living up to the corporate social responsibility. Thus adopting ethics-specific approach to doing business is critical towards

ensuring a legitimate business model with long term potential. Business ethics is especially important in dealing with customers. Ethics is no doubt an important business subject for any entrepreneur to study, but it also has a wider application throughout organizations. One man's concept of what is ethical and for the best may be completely different from another man's concept, and so it's important to establish a collective set of ethics that represent the entire organization rather than just adopting a piecemeal approach. This can be installed through training, through creating business policies and even through careful selection at the HR stage, although it's important that there are also enforcement mechanisms within the business concerned, and that ethics remain a forefront consideration in day-to-day trade to ensure a unified, morally sound approach to doing business. We think that business consultancies should be present in every culture and every environment to realize the importance of business ethics to businessmen. Most of the businessmen in our society do business for achieving maximum profits but dont focus on ethics. For example, Islamic Banking in our society is not based on true Islamic teaching. Islam teaches us to go for trade on the basis of Pure Gold (metal) because it has intrinsic value. It would be ethical to adapt Islamic Banking system from currency (paper) to Gold. It would improve our economy. Another example is that poverty can be removed from our society if every Muslim behave ethically; give Zakat to deserved people. . Bribery is also a major issue especially in Government sector but we can do our work easily without bribery and not to bribe is also a religious morality. No, no! There is no equal validity in opinion between business ethics experts and each persons about business ethics. Those who are better qualified in business ethics than others, are valid in opinion about the application of business ethics. Actually, we have two sides; at one side business ethics (philosophers and sociologists) are there and at other side illiterate people (about business ethics) are there, they dont know how they can make their business good and more successful while implementing the core values of business ethics. It is necessary for business ethics consultants to guide business men towards ethics because a common business man wants to earn maximum profits whether he does ethically or unethically. Thus it is necessary to provide the advisory (or consultancy) services to the entrepreneurs and businessmen.

Question # 3 Consider your own self and determine duties and rights as an employee, as a student, as a friend and as a daughter or a son; Ethical rights and duties Legal rights and duties Role specific (institutional) rights and duties

Answer:

Rights and Responsibilities (duties) of Students:

The rights and duties of the students are expressed as below: Freedom of Expression:

Rights: Students should have the right to express their views and opinions freely, provided they do not violate the rights of others (i.e. abusing or insulting others or causing any physical damage) Responsibilities: Students must respect other individuals freedom of expression Equality: Rights: Students have the right to be free from discrimination and prejudicial treatment because of their race, creed, religion, language, disability, gender and sexual orientation. They have the right to be treated equally and with respect by the academic and administrative staff of the university and by other students. A student should not be subjected to humiliation or offensive treatment. Responsibilities: Students must respect diversity. They must refrain from any form of discrimination against others; they must not subject others to offensive treatment or behavior. Students are responsible for treating other students as well as all academic and administrative staff with due respect. Safe Environment: Rights: A student has the right to a safe environment free from any form of harassment or abuse (physical, emotional, sexual). Allegations of sexual abuse or use of power or influence leading to such abuse are to be handled with utmost diligence and confidentiality (see Guide to Protection against Abuse). Responsibilities: A student does not have the right to harass or abuse any person or persons by his words or actions.
Confidentiality of Personal Record: Rights: Unless required by law, academic and personal records of a student may not be made available to third parties or institutions without the knowledge and consent of the student. Responsibilities: A student may not access the academic or personal records of another student without the consent of said person; he or she is responsible for informing the authorities if he or she is aware of such misconduct. Sustainable High Quality Campus Life: Rights: Students have the right to live in a healthy, clean, hygienic and aesthetic environment conducive to their academic, cultural and social development. Responsibilities: Students are responsible for protecting the environment they live in; for keeping it clean, free of noise and visual pollution; and for making efficient use of limited resources. They must refrain from causing harm to the environment and the living creatures that inhabit it. Education: Rights:

 Students have the right to make use of all the facilities provided for them by the university (classrooms, laboratories, libraries, sports and arts facilities, etc.). They have the right to receive help and counseling from academic and administrative staff. They have the right to be informed of the content and grading procedures of a course or program at the beginning of the course or program. They have the right to expect a faculty member to adhere to the syllabus he has announced unless the students have been informed of any changes. Students have the right to be informed of their examination results as well as the assessment made of their performance, and to challenge these results if necessary. Disabled students have the right to demand necessary arrangements to facilitate availability and access (e.g. changes in the location of a class, a research assistant appointed by the course teacher to assist the student in examinations, etc.) Responsibilities: Students are responsible for attending classes and sitting for examinations. They must hand in assignments such as homework, reports, etc. on time. They are responsible for keeping record of their grades and academic standing. They are responsible for having knowledge of the academic calendar and university regulations, and for abiding by them. Students must adhere to principles of academic honesty and refrain from plagiarism and other types of academic misconduct defined below: In all disciplines the students academic performance is assessed by the work the student has done himself. The student must be aware that it is unlawful to partially or completely copy or translate another persons ideas, proposals, and views without attribution, and that such misconduct will result in disciplinary action. The student must cite the source of any published or unpublished material (such as articles, books, reports, another students work, Internet, etc.) he has made use of in preparing his work. The student must not submit work that has been prepared by someone else. The student must refrain from any form of cheating in exams. The student must not alter or falsify any document, including electronic documents. Co-Curricular Activities: Rights: Students have the right to participate in academic, social, extracurricular activities and organizations (social clubs, Student Council, etc.). They have the right to elect their representatives; the right to be elected to the Student Council (or Student Union); and the right to participate in the administration through their elected representatives. Responsibilities: The student is expected to be aware of his duties and follow all rules and regulations;

Attend his appointments on time: In case he is not able to attend a study session, or meeting, etc, or an appointment with an advisor, he must inform the relevant person/unit. Vote in the elections for the Student Council (Student Union).

The role specific and ethical rights and duties can be found in above mentioned rights and duties of a student. These are general rights and duties of an employee including ethical and role specific here.

Rights and Responsibilities of Employees:

Getting Hired: The first and most important phase for the employment issues comes on the process of selection / recruitment of the employees. Rights: The process of recruitment / selection should be clean and based on merit. The contract of agreement for the employment should clearly indicate the employee rights, i.e. the salary / wages to be paid by the employers, paid leaves, unpaid leaves, medical leaves, old age benefits etc.) After the appointment, the employee should be given an appointment letter, as soon as possible, indicating his position in the organization. Proper training should be provided if required. Responsibilities: Employees should not give false information in the process of recruitment. Employee should use unfair means (like bribery or threat etc.) to get the job. Employee should cooperate in the process of recruitment, i.e. if he is required to take medical (or drug) tests, he should cooperate in giving such tests. Employee should sign the contract of employment on his own responsibility, and is bound to keep any information (regarding the company requirement) to him. Salary / Wages: Rights: Wages of the employees should be according to the laws defined by the state, where the employee is working. Working hours are also defined by the governing authorities. Employees should not be forced to work for more hours than stated by law or that are mentioned in the contract of employment. If some workers are willing to work for hours more than the mentioned in the contract of employment, they should be given overtime (extra wages). Workers should be given breaks for meal or for religious activities. Workers must be given a break after a particular time interval (defined in the legislature). Responsibilities: Workers should work honestly for the hours mentioned in the contract of employment. Workers / employees should be loyal to their employer, and should not involve in any activity that may be considered against the employer. Workers should try to keep their workplace clean and should not try to pollute it. Workplace Discrimination and Harassment:

 Rights: There should be no discrimination and harassment of any kind at the workplace. No language discrimination should be permissible at the workplace, either by the upper management or by the peers. Any kind of harassment (either sexual harassment, or offensive behavior of any kind) should not be permissible at the workplace. Discrimination on the basis of race, colour, ethnicity or such factors should not be allowed. Equal rights should be given irrespective of race, color, gender, religion or any disability etc. Responsibilities: Employees should not use abusive (or offensive) language to any of his colleagues or sub-ordinates. Employees should give respect to others irrespective of their gender, race or religion or any disability.

Role specific duties of an employee

Come in time in office Daily reporting to boss Completing tasks in time Not to bribe Work with passion (motivation) and with good performance.

Role specific rights of an employee

Gaining respect by subordinates Receiving salaries Incentives (non- cashed) Increments on salaries To go on tour (if arranged by company)

Legal duties of an employee

No sexual harassment and no colour discrimination when selection of applicants occur according to Act (1975) No to involve in sex scandal Not to involve in fraud of money in a company

Legal rights of an employee

Maintaining his self-respect Trust worthy Clear character (no fraud) To be respected diversity

Ethical rights and duties of an employee match with legal and role specific rights and duties of an employee.

Ethical duties of a friend

Not to deceive his friend (breaking promise) Respects the parents of himself and his friends Respect the relationship of with his friend Not to be materialistic

Legal duties of a son

Not to Steal Not to murder Not to torture mentally to another.

Legal rights of a son

Can study in any institution Have right to make decision of his life after 18 years

Ethical duties of a son

To develop relationships of mutual trust with family. To respect the dignity of each family and its culture, customs, and beliefs. Respect his parents Love with his young brothers Not to abuse

Ethical rights of a son

Have right to be loved and guided by elders. To study in institution Not to distinguish between other children.

Ethical duties of a daughter

Respect his parents Love with his young brothers Not to abuse

Ethical rights of a daughter

To study in any institution To be respected in any society.

The legal rights and duties of a student, a son and daughter are almost same.