Corporate Social Responsibility | My Assignment Tutor

Session 6Corporate SocialResponsibility (CSR)in Global MarketingMondays 9.30amonline synchronous classDr Alex Muresandralex@iconcollege.ac.ukBUS114 GLOBAL ECONOMIES AND INTERNATIONAL MARKETSETHICS, MORALITY, LAW – WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?Ethicsconcerned with the study of moralityand the application of reason toelucidate specific rules andprinciples that determine right andwrong for a given situationMoralityconcerned with the norms,values and beliefs embeddedin social processes whichdefine right and wrong for anindividual or a communityhttps://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-nature-of-moralityA good understanding of ethics is important because:1. The power of business in society is greater than before2. Businesses have the opportunity to provide major contributions to societies,now more than ever3. Business malpractices can inflict enormous harm on individuals,communities and environment4. Stakeholder demands on business to be ethical are becoming more complexand more challenging5. Few businesspeople have received formal business ethics education ortraining6. Ethical violations continue to occur in business, across countries and acrosssectors7. Business ethics can provide us with the ability to assess the benefits andproblems associated with different ways of managing ethics in organisation8. Business ethics is extremely interesting in that it provides us with knowledgethat transcends the traditional framework of business studies and confronts uswith some of the most important questions asked by societyDisagreements inthe literatureWhatconstitutesethicalbusinessactivity?BusinessEthics= the study of business situations, activities, anddecisions where issues of right and wrong areaddressed.(Source: Crane & Matten)See the chapter uploaded via Moodle= concerned with those issues not covered by the law(Source: Crane & Matten, p.5)Business/MarketingEthicsThe organisation accepts responsibility tochoose actions/decisions which are morallyacceptable (‘right’) in accordance with individual,corporate and cultural valuesFor example–For organisations to redesign their offering forefficient energy consumption and or longerusage life–Making product packaging moreenvironmentally friendly– Honest product labelling and non-manipulativepromotion messageshttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2020-11-23/electric-car-makerrivian-sees-supply-constraints-for-very-long-time-videoE X A M P L E Shttps://labs.theguardian.com/unicef-child-labour/Child Labour in the Supply Chain Ethics in the Supply Chain for Fashion ProductsE X A M P L E Shttps://business-reporter.co.uk/2019/11/28/eradicating-forced-labour-in-supply-chains/millions of people fuelling today’s supply chains face labour rightsviolations, unsafe working conditions, discrimination and corrupt sourcingprocessesE X A M P L E Shttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/30/ukethical-consumer-spending-hits-record-high-report-showsThe market for ethical clothing is onearea where the market has failed todevelop and today still represents anannual spend of just £49.9m – lessthan the weekly spend on women’sshoes, which is £62m.E X A M P L E Shttps://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/wirecard-compliance-failure/Compliance Alone Won’t Prevent Wirecard-Like ScandalsE X A M P L E SLSEshave more formalised approaches to ethicsmanagement, however constrained by the need tofocus on profitability and shareholder value, as well astheir size and complexity of operations.SMEs often little resources available to focus on ethics= responsibilities to constituencies they serve(and to their donors)= informal approach, emphasising missionand values, limited in resources and trainingPrivate Sector Organisations= responsibility primary towardsshareholders/owners= responsibilities to higher general government andto the general public= bureaucratic and formalised approach to ethicsmanagementAim: preventing conflicts of interest, corruption, etcPublic Sector OrganisationsCivil Society Organisations= meeting current needs in a way that preserves the rightsand options of future generations of consumers andbusinesses.Socially and environmentally responsibleObjectives: the 3 Ps- People, Profit and PlantSustainable Marketing – conceptGLOBALISATIONa key context for businessethicsSource:Business Ethics, Crane & MattenCultural Issues:Moral values taken for granted in one place are notunderstood elsewhere. This can cause friction andconfrontations.Legal Issues:Beyond borders, legal systems change. Businessethics starts where law ends, but law is not the same indifferent countriesCompanies, often as large as entire nations in terms ofGDP, have much more limited accountability, onlytowards their small group of shareholders.Globalisation leads to a growing demand for corporateaccountability.Accountability Issues:MNCs – at the centre of public’s criticism:Accused of –• Exploiting workers in developingcountries• Destroying the environment• Abusing their economic power• Only representing their shareholders’profit orientated interests• Engaging developing countries in the“race to the bottom”International Differences in Business EthicsSource: Business Ethics, Crane & MattenExamples of ethicalimpacts of globalisationon different stakeholdergroupsSource: Business Ethics, Crane & MattenE X A M P L E SSustainability – a key goal for business ethics= primarily about system maintenance – insuring that business actionsdo not impact on the system (earth / biosphere).Source: Business Ethics, Crane & MattenSustainabilitySource: Business Ethics, Crane & MattenExamples of corporatecommitments tosustainabilityhttps://www.icl-group.com/about-icl/E X A M P L E SE X A M P L E SE X A M P L E Shttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HffDoR63xPYE X A M P L E SE X A M P L E S