Ethics: Strategic Management and Discretionary Responsibilities Essay

Submitted By Doug-Price
Words: 838
Pages: 4
Open Document
Ethics Paper
MGT/498
Ethics Paper
Companies have ethical and social responsibilities to society that extend beyond making a profit. Strategic decisions often affect more than just the corporation. Certain decisions that a company makes can affect the company’s workforce, the community where the company is located, and the customers who use the products or services provided by the company. In this paper, the subject to explain is the role of ethics and social responsibility in developing a strategic plan while considering stakeholder needs and agendas. An example of a company overstepping ethical boundaries for stakeholder agendas and what types of preventative measures could be taken to avoid this type of situation will also be provided.
According to Archie Carroll, the managers of business organizations have four responsibilities: economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary. Economic responsibilities of a business organization’s management are to produce goods and services of value to society so that the firm may repay its creditors and shareholders. Legal responsibilities are defined by governments in laws that management is expected to obey. For example, U.S. business firms are required to hire and promote people based on their credentials rather than to discriminate on non-job-related characteristics such as race, gender, or religion. Ethical responsibilities of an organization’s management are to follow the generally held beliefs about behavior in a society. For example, society generally expects firms to work with the employees and the community in planning for layoffs, even though no law may require this. The affected people can become very upset if an organization’s management fails to act according to generally prevailing ethical values. Discretionary responsibilities are the purely voluntary obligations a corporation assumes. Examples are philanthropic contributions, training the hard-core unemployed, and providing day-care centers. The difference between ethical and discretionary responsibilities is that few people expect an organization to fulfill discretionary responsibilities, whereas many expect an organization to fulfill ethical ones (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010). These four responsibilities were listed in a specific order. To stay in existence, a company must make a profit to satisfy its economic responsibilities and shareholders. The company must also fulfill its legal responsibilities. Companies that act illegally often do not exist long or lose too much business to stay in business. The remaining two responsibilities, ethical and discretionary, are considered social responsibilities. Ethical responsibilities can be fulfilled by taking actions that have a value to society but are not considered laws. People tend to respect companies more that have a good ethical reputation. Once a company has fulfilled its ethical responsibilities, it can focus on discretionary responsibilities. Discretionary responsibilities add value to a company because they are voluntary actions that have not yet been deemed important by society. Generally, only well-established companies can fulfill discretionary responsibilities.
When developing a strategic plan, companies must pay close attention to ethics and social responsibility. Management should collaborate with stakeholders before implementing a strategic plan because profits can be affected. Strategic plans often begin in business units before they are sent to headquarters for approval. Some companies value the input from the field whereas others choose to initiate the strategic plan through top management only. Regardless of how the company develops the plan, the outcome will affect profits and should gain stakeholder approval.
According to the
Show More

Related Documents: Ethics: Strategic Management and Discretionary Responsibilities Essay

Ethics Reflection Essay

Ethics Reflection Phyllis Montgomery STR/581 May19, 2015 Hawthorne Welcher, Jr. Ethics Reflection A corporation is well-defined by the vision and mission statement of the business; the vision of a company is what the stakeholder of the business want for the business in the future. The mission of a business is about the attitude toward social responsibility. When determining how to serve the different types of stakeholders in a business, a company must think about polices and ethics…

Words 600 - Pages 3

The Role of Ethics Essay

The Role Of Ethics Jauwanna Pitts STR 581 April 8, 2013 Robert J. Mascarenas The Role Of Ethics Ethics is defined as a moral philosophy or code of morals practiced by a person or group of people (Merriam-Webster, 2013). Ethical considerations for a company’s stakeholders must be accounted for when creating a strategic plan. The following paragraphs will focus on the role ethics plays in creating a strategic plan and how those ethical considerations affect the company’s stakeholders…

Words 1230 - Pages 5

Greenwashing: Sociology and Issues Management Essays

inefficiency. Provides checks and balances. Entitlement mentality is the general belief that someone is owed something just because she or he is a member of society Iron Law of Responsibility-In the long run, those who do not use power in a manner society considers responsible will tend to lose it. Whenever power and responsibility become substantially out of balance, forces will be generated to bring them into closer balance. Social contract-Set of two-way understandings that characterize the relationship…

Words 2272 - Pages 10

MANAGEMENT ESSAY 666

will describe the concept of social responsibility as it applies to organisations. Explanations will be provided as to how firms in controversial industries adopt the principles of social responsibility into their strategic decision making. The scope of this essay will be limited to examples from within the mineral resources industry, and will discuss what benefits companies from within this industry wish to derive from their corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies. This essay will be…

Words 2310 - Pages 10

Midterm 1 Sample MC Questions 1 Essay example

utilities is NOT created? a. place utility b. time utility c. form utility d. ownership utility 3. Which of the following must all organizations create in order to survive? a. a variety of goods or services b. utility c. an environment of ethics and social consciousness d. advertising, salesmanship, and consumer-focused sales promotion 4. What is the want-satisfying power of a product called? a. utility b. price c. buyer’s attraction d. function 5. What utility does Purolator…

Words 8567 - Pages 35

Essay on Ikea Global Sourcing Challenge

exploitive child labor was widespread because of rationalizing. The laws were poorly enforced and prosecution was not severe so companies could use denial of responsibility, denial of injury, or denial of victim to rationalize why it was okay for their company to continue the use of child labor. IKEA has a history of social responsibility, so because of that one would think IKEA would choose to stand against the use of child labor in India and work to help solve the social problems. Because it…

Words 2095 - Pages 9

Essay on 1.1 Discuss the Purpose of Corporate Communication Strategies

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY’: A CONCEPTUALISATION Paper delivered at the 9th International Public Relations Research Symposium, held at Lake Bled from 4-7 July, 2002 Benita Steyn APR Lecturer Dept of Marketing and Communication Management Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences University of Pretoria SOUTH AFRICA 0002 (27 12) 420-4040 w (27 12) 362-5085 fax bsteyn@hakuna.up.ac.za TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. 2. 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 INTRODUCTION DEFINITION OF TERMS CORPORATE COMMUNICATION PUBLIC…

Words 16605 - Pages 67

CSR Lecture One Essay

What is CSR? -Mixture of ethical practice, public image and the responsibility of corporate to society. What are the core characteristics of CSR? -Responsibility of firm -CSR also has characteristics of unwritten rules which means a moral code firms should adhere to. Why is CSR imperative? -Rules about safety e.g it is important to manufacture safe products. Does CSR affect you and me, and business? -Yes Does CSR include : Providing goods that are safe: It is imperative, there is a legislation…

Words 3557 - Pages 15

Robert Bosch Case Study

Table of contents Introduction 3 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 4 CSR Stakeholders 5 CSR Importance 6 CSR Policies adopted by Robert Bosch GmbH & General Motors Company 7 Robert Bosch GmbH……..……….……………………………………..…….…………7 General Motors Company LLC (GM)……………………….……………….….…..…8 CSR practices at Bosch…………..…………….…………………….……….……..…...8 CSR practices at GM…..………….…………………….…………………….………..9 Discussion…………………………………………..………………...…………..…...…10 Successful CSR Implementation and its potential benefits………

Words 3758 - Pages 16

Corporate Social Responsibility

behaviors in particular regions. In this article, one of the most important factors, corporate social responsibility (CSR) will be evaluated critically. This essay is beginning with the literature review about the definition of corporate social responsibilities as well as its role in contemporary corporate management. Then it will be followed by the costs and benefits of corporate social responsibilities to the companies as well as the external community which includes local economic development, as well…

Words 2272 - Pages 10