Business ethics Essay

In business there will always be the line to act with integrity or to lie, cheat, and steal. Famous author Douglas Adams once said, â€Å"To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity† (Heathfield, n. d). The priority of any business is to serve the needs and wants of the customer and more important his or her stakeholders. Any business decision made in major corporations must line up with stakeholder’s interests, but more important stakeholders have the social responsibility to represent in the best interest of the entire corporation. The prevalence of so many major scandals with corporations caught in the public is drawing much needed attention on concepts of ethic, and social responsibility. Ethics and corporate responsibility is a direct application of the ideas of in business practice. This papers purpose is to explain the role of ethics and social responsibility in building a strategic plan while incorporating the stakeholder interests. Business execs have the responsibility to adhering to the unspoken ethics they have only not taught but also have enforced by society and the law. Ethics are inherently common sense decisions made by those in authority with the power to affect an entire organization. When, business executives make decisions they must consider business ethics and the organizations (stakeholders) values. Once the essential questions ask is, â€Å"Do the organization’s values reflect accepted society values? (Young, 2004) Business executives must execute strategic business plans where they take into account not only each value associated with each choice, but the consequences of each choice. The interests of the stakeholder are one of the prime obligations of an organization. The demands of the stakeholders are generally to increase profits; this is echoed by economist Milton Friedman, the â€Å"one and only one social responsibility of business† is â€Å"to increase its profits,† assuming an honest and open marketplace†. (Bigelow, 2013), According to Friedman also that corporations owe no responsibilities to society. However, critics will disagree that corporate social responsibility is always to put the customer first, which ensures a customer’s happiness and loyalty. Stakeholders are not only investors into companies but they also have voting power, which carries social, and financial influence within the company. Their social responsibility is to the customers and to the employees (Jones, 2012). They have decision power, and ultimate control over allocation of resources. Corporations and organizations ultimately exist to satisfy the needs and agendas of the stakeholders. The problem lies in, however; when the needs and the agendas of the stakeholders can blur the line between what is ethically right and what is considered against the law. The organization’s obligation to the stakeholder is as much as a priority as the relationship to the public. â€Å"The relationship between a customer and a firm exists because of mutual expectations built on trust, good faith, and fair dealing in their interaction† (Ferrell). When creating a strategic business plan the organization must incorporate its social responsibilities for the customer, and prevent any ethical dilemmas. Clear examples that recently have captivated the news over the decade has been the highly publicized cases of Waste Management, Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, HealthSouth, which exaggerated earnings to meet the expectations of stakeholders, Freddie Mac, AIG, Bernie Madoff, and host of others. These examples of accounting fraud, manipulation of books, and stealing from clients made by top executives in the position to meet the expectations of stakeholders and not making ethically sound decisions. To prevent these scandals from occurring, ruining not only the organization, the employees but also the public’s faith within the corporate world, according to research ethical risk management is an option dependent on the infrastructure in which it promotes ethical conduct and standards. The directives and the support from management in the way it manages potential problems with the lack of ethical standards. Because of the number of scandals not only have businesses implemented stronger measures for ethical practices but also have the legal systems. The establishment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in 2002, which came after the scandal of WorldCom, was because the number of major corporations collapsing under the weight of their own unethical practices. According to the SEC, â€Å"the Act mandated a number of reforms to enhance corporate responsibility, enhance financial disclosures and combat corporate and accounting fraud, and created the â€Å"Public Company Accounting Oversight Board,† also known as the PCAOB, to oversee the activities of the auditing profession† (SEC, 2012). Ethics is a fundamental part of compliance and governance systems. Ethics explicitly should integrate into the elements of strategic planning in businesses. In determining the roles that factor into managing stakeholder’s interests ethically organizations must first take into consideration that the business is the first line of defense in taking responsibility for managing and supervising corporate responsibility effective in accordance with the level of influence the business set by the organization. Executives in a position to communicate to stakeholders must always implement ethical decisions when balancing their needs and the organizations’. The executives must be responsible in providing clarification and verification of ethical standards in place. The executives must drive the culture and work environment of compliance toward ethical standards and practices to ensure the effectiveness. Business ethics is important in every organization and the main responsibility is to act with integrity and honesty. References Ferrall, O. C. (2004). Business ethics and customer stakeholders. Academy of Management Executive, 18(2), retrieved from http://danielsethics. mgt. unm. edu/pdf/Customer Stakeholders. pdf. Bigelow, L. (2013). What are the social responsibilities of a company to its stakeholders? Hearst Newspapers, Retrieved from http://smallbusiness. chron. com Heathfield, S. (n. d. ). Inspirational quotes for business and work: Integrity. Retrieved from http://humanresources. about. com Young, P. (2004). Ethics and risk management: Building a framework. Risk Management, 6(3), 23-34. Retrieved from http://www. jstor. org â€Å"The Laws That Govern the Securities Industry. † (2012). SEC. Retrieved from http://www. irmi. com/expert/articles/2005/head02. aspx.

Business Management Skills..... Leadership VS Management Essay

Business Management Skills..... Leadership VS Management - Essay Example The role of a manager is a difficult one. This person has to take with him the whole company and mesh the different processes so that he could get instant results. He is a team leader right from the onset of his job. He needs to get work done from the different people who are working under him. The end result has to be a single goal, one that drives their efforts towards the financial success of the said organization. In doing so, the manager encounters a lot of hindrances, difficulties and hurdles. (Heath, 1994) He has to face a lot of pressure from the top most management, the people who are senior to him even. He has to be accountable to the publics of the organization, which could include the customers and the stakeholders as well since the latter are the people who have invested within the company’s shares and they want a quick buck out of the whole investment drive. On the other hand, business leadership is all about influencing other people in the organization to accomplish a task. It involves directing an organization in that it becomes more coherent and cohesive. Business leadership style can therefore be defined as approach for providing direction. It includes motivation. There are various business leadership styles that exist in business management. They include authoritarian or autocratic, participative or democratic, delegation or free reign business leadership. (Guarrero, 1998) The basic difference between a business leader and a business manager is within their working domains. They are basically doing the same job of managing people but in slightly different capacities. Whereas the business leader looks at forming instructions of his own which he will forward to the middle management, the middle line business managers basically aim to ‘manage’ people in the real sense of the word. This means that business managers have a duty of understanding the deep rooted values of the organization and the same cannot be

MEDIA STUDIES (assignment relates to the concept of media ownership) Essay

MEDIA STUDIES (assignment relates to the concept of media ownership) - Essay Example Lastly, a comment shall be drawn on the research. The Walt Disney Company is a media related company that shares many other interests. The company has got subsidiaries and affiliate companies. The domain of the business is, however, solely focused on entertainment. The company focuses on four segments. These three core segments entail; media interests, consumer products and studio entertainment. The fourth segment is not media related because it wanders into the hotel industry. This segment concerns resorts and parks (The Walt Disney Company 2012). Disney studios focus on family entertainment. This is the foundation that has marketed and propelled the Disney Company. It focuses on animated films and pictures (Manheim 2002, p.143). These pictures are sometimes adapted into magazine entertainment pictures and conversation (Griffin 2000, p.6). The motion pictures employ exceptional storytelling that creates interests for new releases. Walt Disney has three worldwide acclaimed animated films. They comprise; Mickey Mouse, the Seven Dwarfs and the Snow White. The Disney studios engage several distributional channels to ease the distribution of these products. The main distribution channel is Walt Disney Pictures that also divides its role for subsidiary groups. These comprise animation studios like: Pixar, Disney Toon and Walt Disney. The Disney Toon consists of Touchstone and Hollywood pictures. The Disney Company became the parent company of Pixar when it bought it through stock exchange system. Walt Disney Pictures is the interna tional distribution avenue for the company. The home entertainment focuses on selling rental movies to family oriented markets worldwide. Lastly, there is the Disney theatre distribution avenue that focuses on live entertainment. They are the directors of musicals such as; Disney live entertainment and the Disney Ice. Disney music group is concerned with the distribution of soundtracks and original music under

Epidemiology Project Interview Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Epidemiology Project Interview - Assignment Example So, my training in pharmacy and public health have prepared me to perform my job successfully. Oenga’s response: my interest in epidemiology was sparked by one of my uncles who was an epidemiologist. As an epidemiologist, my uncle Mr. Patrick Ongeri was very dedicated to his work and he really loved his work; my uncle inspired me when I was young and I resolved that I would be an epidemiologist when I grow up. Oenga’s response: for me, the main positive aspect of being an epidemiologist is that I find a lot of fulfillment it; I really love this job and I find it so fulfilling in life. On the negatives, I would say that this job is quite risky because one can easily end up getting an infectious and incurable disease like Ebola. Oenga’s response: yes I do a piece of advice to them. My advice to them is that if they want to be really happy in this carrier, they have to do it not for the love of money, but for the love of people whom they will be serving through this carrier; if they do it for the love of money, they may end up being frustrated because they will never get enough of it. Appreciation: As we conclude, I would like to sincerely thank you for giving me your time for this interview; thank you also for being so cooperative and for answering all my questions clearly and enthusiastically, thank you very  much.

Investment and Fund Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Investment and Fund Management - Essay Example The current difficulty that the members of Fortunes are facing now is regarding the portfolio of pension provision. According to the current provisions, the members will be paid lump sum based upon individual contributions. But a careful analysis of the pension fund portfolio reveals that it was built up in an undisciplined manner. Hence, the current portfolio is considered inappropriate since the global markets are facing downturns. The objective of the study is to carefully analyse the current portfolio and recommend suitable adjustments so that Fortunes Inc. can meets its pension provision in the coming years. Analysis of Current Portfolio Tottenham Hotspur Fortunes Inc. has bought 2000 ordinary shares of Tottenham Hotspur plc which was founded in 1882 and it owns Tottenham Hotspur FC. It falls under entertainment sector. The total revenue of the company at the end of 2011 was ?261.90 million. The company has experienced a growth rate of over 45% during one year. BAE Systems BAE s ystems plc is multinational British defence aerospace and Security Company. It is the world’s largest defence contractor and third biggest in terms of revenue. It falls under aviation sector. The total revenue at the end of 2012 was ?17.84 billion with net profit over ?1billion. Tesco Tesco plc is a multinational British general merchandise and grocery retailer and is the third largest retailer in the world. It falls under consumer goods sector. The total revenue of the company for the year ending 2012 was over ?65.5 billion with net profit over ?3.9 billion. Whitbread Whitbread plc operates in hotels and restaurant business. As of 2012, the company has over 619 hotels and over 385 restaurants. The total revenue of the company for the year ending 2012 was GBP 1.9 billion with a net profit of GBP 281 million. Barclays Bank Barclays plc is a leading banking and financial services providing multinational company which is headquartered in London, UK. It is public limited company and is traded as BARC on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). It falls under banking and financial services sector. For the year ending 2012, the company reported total revenue over ?24 billion with bottom line about ?235 million. The company specialises in Investment banking, corporate banking and Wealth banking. Helical Bar Helical Bar plc is a holding company operating in property investments and development. It falls under the realty sector. The company leases or owns land and properties for the purpose of trading and selling. The company booked profits of over GBP 7.65 million from a total revenue over 65.85 million. Cable and Wireless Communication It is a global telecom service provider that offers broadband, mobile, television, and fixed lines to customers. It falls under the entertainment sector. In October 2011 the company has sold its 50% interest to Mauritius based Telecom Company known as Vanuatu ltd. In the year 2012, it sold 49% stake to Fiji and formed an amalgamated ent ity known as Fintel. In April 2013, it announced the sale of majority stake to Monaco & Islands division. For the year ending 2012, the company suffered a net loss of GBP 55.49 million. Flybe Group It is UK based domestic airline company and it falls under aviation sector. As on 2012, the company reported to own 19 aircrafts but it suffered a net loss of GBP 22.30 million. Lazard UK Alpha Retail Inc Fund The fund does not charge any initial fee currently

Strategic planning within organizations Dissertation

Strategic planning within organizations - Dissertation Example The paper tells that strategic planning within organizations is one of the most essential aspects of both sustainability and growth. Without the ability to meet the needs of strategic planning, there is the inability to move forward with specific needs and to reach the full potential of the organization. While strategic planning is required for the development of a company, the implementation and the end goals are often not met. The problems which arise are based on the various aspects of the organization and how it associates with the needs of each of the goals. Leadership capacities, communication tools, participation and the ability to reach smaller and larger goals through various initiatives are some of the several areas in which strategic planning is not implemented in the correct manner. This is followed with complexities which arise from the organizational culture and the expectations which are associated with meeting change or resistance to the workforce that is a part of th e organization. Defining the specific problems and understanding why end goals and implementation is not met is then shown as one which identifies levels and dimensions of difficulties that are within the work force. The approach which is taken toward strategic planning and implementation is one which is based on the understanding of taking action within a corporation. Without the correct strategies, there is the inability to provide higher amounts of sustainability and growth within a company. However, there are often problems and difficulties with creating the required changes. This literature review will examine the various aspects of strategic planning and implementation as well as how it alters according to the difficulties which are in the organizational culture. The review will examine the various dimensions that are associated with strategic planning. It will further define the obstacles that do not allow the plans to be implemented at various levels within an organization. There will also be reference to theories which are created to alter the strategic planning so it becomes one that is associated with constructive results with businesses that work in creating new plans within the organization. Dynamics of Strategic Planning There are specific dynamics with strategic planning as well as obstacles which stop the goals from being met. Defining the obstacles is the first step to altering the performance as well as the ability to finalize the strategies into action. According to a current study (Mollaoseini, Ahmadhkhani, 2012), there are diverse obstacles which create the resistance and stop the dynamics of change and strategic development. The study showed that the problem with the final strategy and implementation is inclusive of 68.09% planning consequences, 65.48% organizational obstacles, 60.40% managerial obstacles, 72% staff obstacles and 63.99% environmental obstacles. The indications of this are based on showing that the dynamics within an organ izational structure carry diverse obstacles that create resistance and which lead to a lack of implementation with

Cheap lapor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cheap lapor - Essay Example In addition to the assistantships program, the graduate students also have access to educational funding. This is basically to attract more international students to take advantage of the outstanding graduate programs the university offers. Assistantships are the most regular schemes of financial backing to graduate studies. Since the implementation of the said development plans, close to 65 percent of graduate students admitted yearly at the university are beneficiaries of graduate student assistantships (Purdue.edu). As a graduate student at Purdue University, you may benefit from teaching, research, or administrative/specialized assistantships to assist you cater for educational costs and at the same time benefiting from rich employment experience. However, students need to note that when they secure an assistantship, they are regarded as part time workers with the university and the will enjoy all the benefits of assistantship (Purdue.edu). Among these benefits include: Students also need to know that assistantship program is not limited on department; that is, they can either secure assistantships from their departments of admission or from other department that is not relevant to their faculty, but this is limited to the areas of placements and availability of chances. This plan is made subject to the continued outcry of our graduate students who are benefiting from the graduate assistantship program. The concern by the student is founded on the following main reasons; Therefore, this negotiation plan is developed principally to address these three main concerns by our graduate students under the assistantship program. In addressing this issue, it is imperative that we give background information regarding the graduate program, graduate student government, VP /dean of graduate school, President of the Graduate Student Group (Todd, 34). The history of the university dates back to 1862 the then president of the United States Lincoln