Ethics in Business Practical Ethics for Food Professionals

Questions: 1. What you take away from the topic sessions? 2. Why you think the topics are important? 3. How would you apply the topics to your future professional caree? Answers: 1. Individuals and groups take decisions with respect to an organization and these decisions pay a vital role in influencing the culture of the organization (Bednarz 2013). Thus, these decisions must be taken based on moral and ethical models (). I have acquired through this course that ethics are very important in relation to business activities. Business must not engage in any unethical means with respect to taking short cuts for making more profit. The stakeholders of a company are the persons who invest money into the company in order to make profit. I have learned through the course that it is the responsibility of the compnay to make sure that the stakeholders are getting adequate returns against their investment along with the maintain moral and ethical principles. I have got to know that the purpose of an organization is not only to make profit but also to maintain its responsibility towards the society. A company should be aware of the impact, which its operations have on the society at large along with its shareholders. I acquired through this course that a business must take an approach, which contributes, to the sustainable development of its stakeholders and the society by providing environmental, economic and social benefits. Businesses often fail to implement good measures in relation to sustainability as they are under the pressure to provide good returns to the shareholders. However, I acquired through this course that a sustainable approach taken by the business are actually beneficial for the stakeholders in the long run as it increases the reputation of the organization which reflects on the amount of profit made by them. I also realized through the course that power is the root cause of corruption and if absolute power is bestowed in a person than it causes absolute corruption. When there is no authority over a person to stop him from doing something wrong he would gain more confidence towards committing unethical actions (Ju?ius and Snieka 2015). A person must always choose ethical models over its weakness and temptations. Temptations might look good at a point of time but if unethical means are used to gather them then would be not be fruitful for the person (Cheng, Ioannou and Serafeim 2014). A person must consider multiple ethical principles while making any decision so that his confidence with respect to the decision is high. The person must use the four step rule while making an ethical decision according to which aa person must first identify the legal issue which must be followed by making a moral judge in relation to the issue. The moral judgment must then be evaluated and then a moral decis ion has to be taken. A person must always act with integrity along with keeping in mind the purpose and principles of the organization. In order to make an organization successful these ethical provisions have to be followed (Carroll and Buchholtz 2014). 2. In the modern world, corruption is one of the key issue, which is being a part of the society. Many directors and other influential officers of an organization have been involved in unethical and corrupt activities. These actions have a ill effect on the reputation of the organization as well as on the society. If proper ethical and moral models are not followed within in organization it would further increase the evils of corruption within the society. The company also must include the concept of responsible leadership as it is of utmost importance for the leaders not to just sit and enjoy their positions but guide the people and become a role model before them by following ethical principles and guidelines. In the modern world many instances have been reported where the employer had been found to underpay the employee and make them work overtime in order to gain more profit. This may make the employees demotivated and make employee retention impossible, which would be fatal for the organization in the long run (Bowen 2013). If the employees are motivated by, the leaders than they would provide better services to the customers and increase the value of the organization. The business organizations always compete with each other to become the best. The main motive, which motivates the organization in this respect, is making the maximum amount of profit. Thus, it is very important to innovate ideas, which would help them to gain profit along with providing benefits to the society. The organization must make sure that they are engaging in activities such as using eco friendly products so that it can contribute towards the betterment of the environment (Moon 2014). The inclusion of business ethics in an organization not only increases the overall value of the organization in the society but also motivates the employees to work harder for the organization as they are always motivated (Beltramini 2015). Thus, the topic of ethics in business decision making is of utmost importance in relation to an organization. 3. As I work as an manager in an organization and I now know the importance of ethical decision making along with the principles which I should use towards taking moral judgments I would always try to incorporate these practices into my profession. Whenever I have to take a decision, which involves a ethical issue I would always try to abide by more than one ethical principle and then evaluate the best to come to the best possible decision. I would also ensure that my organization incorporates the approach of corporate social responsibility within its operations. I would ensure that my business not only seeks to gain profit and provide good returns to its stakeholders but also to contribute towards the betterment of the environment by using eco friendly approaches with respect to its operations. I know that fact that if my business contributes towards the environment and strives for sustainable development it would be profitable for my organization in the long run. I would also ensure that I act as a role model for my employees to follow by always abiding by ethical principles while dealing with their needs and other aspects of the organization. References Bednarz, T.F., 2013. Ethics in Business.Practical Ethics for Food Professionals: Ethics in Research, Education and the Workplace, pp.75-91. Beltramini, R.F., 2015. What Do Students Think of Business Ethics? Three Decades of Research.Persuasion Ethics Today, p.280. Bowen, H.R., 2013.Social responsibilities of the businessman. University of Iowa Press. Carroll, A. and Buchholtz, A., 2014.Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. Nelson Education. Cheng, B., Ioannou, I. and Serafeim, G., 2014. Corporate social responsibility and access to finance.Strategic Management Journal,35(1), pp.1-23. Ju?ius, V. and Snieka, V., 2015. Influence of corporate social responsibility on competitive abilities of corporations.Engineering Economics,58(3). Moon, J., 2014.Corporate social responsibility: A very short introduction. OUP Oxford.