Chapter 6: Social Responsibilities of Business and Business Ethics

Ans: The steps which can be taken by business enterprises for environmental protection are:

• A firm commitment from the company's senior management to create, maintain and develop a work culture that promotes environmental protection and pollution prevention.

• Ensuring that all divisions and employees share the company's commitment to environmental protection.

• Creating defined policies and programmes for acquiring high-quality raw materials, using advanced technology, applying scientific waste disposal and treatment procedures, and improving employee skills in order to reduce pollution.

• Adherence to the government's pollution-prevention rules and regulations.

• Participation in government programmes aimed at preventing deforestation, managing dangerous substances, cleaning up dirty waterways, and planting trees.

• Periodic evaluation of pollution control programmes in terms of costs and benefits in order to improve environmental protection efforts.

• Organizing educational workshops and training materials to share technical knowledge and experience with suppliers, dealers, and customers in order to engage them in pollution control programmes.
  
  

Ans: Elements of business ethics are:

Elements of Business Ethics

• Top management commitment
  Top management plays a critical role in steering the entire organization toward morally sound behaviour. They must provide ongoing leadership in defining and upholding the organization's values.

• Publication of a ‘Code'
  Defining the principles of conduct for the entire organization in the form of written papers known as the "code." This includes topics such as basic honesty and obedience to regulations, product safety and quality, workplace health and safety, conflicts of interest, and employment practises, among others.

• Establishment of compliance mechanisms
  Appropriate measures should be implemented to guarantee that real decisions and actions correspond with the firm's ethical standards.

• Involving employees at all levels
  Because it is the employees who at all levels execute the policies relating to ethics and make ethical business a reality. Hence, their participation in ethics programmes becomes essential.

• Measuring results
  While it is difficult to accurately quantify the ultimate benefits of ethics programmes, organizations can audit to ensure that ethical standards are being followed. The results should then be discussed by the top management team and other staff to determine the next course of action.
  
  

Ans: In general, corporate social responsibility refers to a company's responsibilities and obligations to society. Companies with an 

• Annual revenue of Rs. 1,000 crore or more, 

• Net worth of Rs. 500 crore or more, or 

• Net profit of Rs. 5 crore or more 

are subject to the Companies Act, 2013 (under Clause 135), which governs corporate social responsibility in India.

The following recommendations will help you understand the definition of CSR under the Companies Act of 2013:

• Companies must have a Corporate Social Responsibility committee consisting of three or more members of the board of directors, including at least one independent director.

• In order to comply with the Corporate Social Responsibility Policy, firms must invest at least 2 percent of their average net earnings over the previous three financial years.

• In India, companies should only engage in CSR initiatives that are outlined in their Corporate Social Responsibility Policy, which is based on the recommendations of the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee.

• The activities that a firm may engage in as part of CSR should follow the guidelines laid out in Schedule VII of the Act.

• Activities that are only for the benefit of the organization's workers or their families will not be deemed CSR.
  
  

Ans: Students:

Ethical principles that guide our work as student are:

• Autonomy: We understand the necessity for students to become more self-reliant in order to achieve autonomy. Students gain more confidence and self-direction as their sense of self becomes clearer. Students must respond to the following question: "What does it mean to be self-sufficient and responsible?"

• Prevent Harm: Second, we must avoid injury as a result of this heightened sense of autonomy. Individuals and groups are protected by safety regulations (such as Community Standards), and safety preparations (such as fire drills) are in place to respond to potentially dangerous circumstances.

• Do Good: However, preventing damage is not the goal; we want to give people the chance to do good. Student Life encourages healthy role modeling, direction, and leadership. Students can participate in a variety of student groups, clubs, and activities that contribute to vibrant campus life.

• Justice: When we interact on campus, we treat each other with fairness. Professionals in Student Life value fairness; we maintain impartiality in our perceptions of one another despite the fact that individuals differ. 

• Fidelity: We also recognize the importance of trust in the development of partnerships. Our dedication to secrecy, expertise, and understanding of our skills and limitations represent our fidelity. When dealing with delicate situations, both professors and students must embrace trust and secrecy to be most effective.
  
  

Teachers:

Teachers are officially licensed professionals who uphold DIGNITY and REPUTATION, as well as strong moral ideals and technical and professional competence, in the conduct of their noble profession, and they adhere to a set of ethical and moral principles, norms, and values.

 Following are the ethics for the teachers:

• Upholding the teaching profession's grandeur and dignity.

• Develop professionally in order to enhance efficiency.

• All school authorities, instructors, and staff members must treat one another with professional respect, helpfulness, and sympathy, and

• Teaching students without favoritism, and respecting their individuality.

• Refraining physical and verbal abuse towards the students.
  
  

 Following are the ethics for the Principal:

• Maintaining pleasure in work.

• Respecting the rights of teachers and the students.

• Every educational institution must provide high-quality education to all qualified instructors.

• Promoting an environment of fair pay, and work-life balance.

• Demonstrate shared accountability for system improvements at all levels.
  
  

Ans: Three firms that struck out as outstanding examples of how social responsibility can be successfully combined with smart tactics to develop goodwill while establishing long-term and spectacular enterprises, in my opinion.

• Vodafone
  Vodafone said in April that by increasing the energy efficiency of its worldwide mobile-phone networks, it will be able to decrease carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2020. Vodafone gets bonus points for CSR since they keep us updated on the campaign's progress, whether it's going well or poorly.

Future pledges include committing to recycling 95 percent of network equipment trash and a 10-percent reduction in work-related incidents that result in lost time. Furthermore, Vodafone is a market leader in socially conscious goods such as text-to-speech software for the blind and elderly-friendly phones.

• The Body Shop
  The Body Shop is regarded as one of the forerunners in the field of modern corporate social responsibility. Anita Roddick, the company's founder, encouraged her employees to speak up for their values and support issues including self-esteem, environmental preservation, animal rights, community trade, and human rights.

In 1985, they collaborated with Greenpeace to collect more than 4,000,000 signatures opposing animal experimentation in the European Union, which was one of their greatest accomplishments. They've also made a substantial contribution to the causes they support, demonstrating how others may do the same.

• Starbucks Coffee
  Starbucks Coffee has strived to operate responsibly and ethically since its inception in 1971. One of their main objectives is the cultivation of green coffee in a sustainable manner; C.A.F.E.

To attain product quality, economic accountability, social responsibility, and environmental leadership, the project follows a set of principles. Furthermore, the firm is a supporter of Ethos Water, a company that provides clean water to over 1 billion people who do not have it.

Following are the three companies that are socially irresponsible:

• British American Tobacco
  British American Tobacco (BTI ) is a global leader in cigarette sales, with operations in 180 countries and a history spanning more than a century, dating back to 1902. BTI, being a "Big Tobacco" company, is no new to facing criticism and reaction over its products, which include Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, and Pall Mall. While defending the company's product portfolio from a health standpoint may be difficult, if not impossible, its viability as a solid investment is clear. Since 1980, BTI has returned more than 8,000 percent.

• McDonald’s
  Despite the high calorie content, everyone enjoys a snack of fries and a Big Mac once in a while, so it's no wonder that this fast food behemoth has made the "bad for your health" list. McDonald's (MCD ) has over 35,000 outlets globally, and while actively expanding its menu in recent years to include healthier options such as salads, salmon, and smoothies, the firm still has a "junk food" reputation. The stock's record, on the other hand, has been nothing short of spectacular: MCD has returned more than 27,000 percent since 1970, and the business has boosted dividends for 38 years in a row.

• Coca-Cola Co.

With that burger, how about a drink? Coca-Cola (KO ) is one of the most well-known brands in the world, yet it's difficult to argue that its drinks are healthy. You might be shocked to find that Coca-Cola owns over 500 nonalcoholic beverage brands, ranging from waters to juices to sports drinks, in addition to its most well-known beverage, Coca-Cola.

Over the long run, KO has beaten the S & P 500 by a wide margin, gaining well over 34,000 percent since 1962, compared to the overall market's return of less than 3,000 percent.

So despite being socially irresponsible, the above three companies are making high profits.

Ans: So we will see a report on the company, Johnson & Johnson. 

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) taken by it are:

Johnson & Johnson, a large pharma pioneer, is an outstanding illustration of CSR in action. For the past three decades, they have worked on decreasing their environmental effect. Their projects span from harnessing the wind's energy to delivering clean water to people all around the world. With the purchase of a privately held energy supplier in the Texas Panhandle, the firm was able to minimise pollution while also providing a renewable and cost-effective alternative to power. The firm is continuing to look for renewable energy sources, with the objective of meeting 100 percent of its energy demands by 2026.