A2 External Influences

1
A2 External Influences

• Business Ethics

2
Business ethics

• The moral principles that should underpin
  decision making
• Decisions based on ethical grounds may reject the
  most profitable solution in favour of benefiting
  society

3
Ethical stances

• There are a number of approaches businesses may
  take to ethics
• Task Read the handout provided (Page 407)
  highlight important information on the 4 ethical
  stances a business may make

4
Ethical companies

• Look at web-sites of
• Co-op bank www.co-operativebank.co.uk
• BP www.bp.com
• Vodafone www.vodafone.co.uk
• Are they genuinely ethical? Why do they provide
  so much information on these issues?

5
Objectives

• All students should understand about ethics and
  its links with delegation and control
• Most students will understand the links between
  ethics and PR
• Some students will improve their exam technique
  through a practice question

6
Student activity

• Read the handout on Business ethics you must be
  able to answer the following questions.
• 1. What are the benefits of ethical behaviour?
• 2. What might be the disadvantages of ethical
  behaviour?
• 3. How might a business culture influence the
  extent to which an organisation operates in an
  ethical manner?
• 4. Why is there potential conflict between ethics
  and delegating decision making?
• 5. How might a business solve this conflict?
  (pg408)

7
Ethics and PR

• 6. What is PR?
• 7. Is ethical behaviour just a source of good PR?
  Briefly discuss.

8
Student task

• Unit 6 requires students to answer detailed essay
  style questions using a great deal of analysis
  and evaluation.
• Unit 6 January 2005 question 4 only. (20 minutes)

9
Question To what extent do you agree with
Sohails statement that Roe Ltd. Is too small a
firm to be able to afford to implement an ethical
policy

• Possible answers include
• Agree with statement
• The type of measures mentioned in Appendix A are
  financially based, such as the provision of
  grants, and so it may not be possible for a
  smaller firm to follow the lead
• Roe Ltd appears to be vulnerable and not in a
  strong position - they are therefore likely to
  need to keep all their resources for their own
  use
• Arguments against
• There are many ways to contribute to society,
  some of which carry little or no cost to
  stakeholders, such as Danjon.s positive age
  discrimination
• Does not seem to consider all the interests of
  stakeholders
• On balance, the statement is probably
  short-sighted and unhelpful to Roe Ltd.s future
  survival.

10
Essay structure

• Define ethics
• Discuss the ethical situation of the firm in the
  case study (application)
• Analyse by arguing both sides of the argument for
  a small firm having an ethical policy and apply
  each point to the situation of the company in the
  case study
• Evaluate the argument by coming to a conclusion
  relating to the initial statement/question.
  Actually answer the question.
• Consider the short and long term and what are the
  important issues for the company in the case study