Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
(BBA)GEN
TO
UNIVERSITY, DELHI
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The successful completion of the project would have been far from reality without
mentioning the people who made an indelible impression while making the project.
All the very outset thanks to Ms. Shivani Malik for instructing me and providing me the
opportunity to participate in the project and sharing her invaluable knowledge and
experience with me. Her innovative ideas provided me clarity of thoughts which helped
me to think in the right way.
Without her help and guidance completion of the project report would have been very
difficult. I would also like to give gratitude to all the other faculties who helped me in
making the project worth wile and successful.
Due to the proper guidance the making of project report became an enjoyable experience
and easy to workout.
DENNIS KUMAR
BBA 3rd sem
05020501709
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BLS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
Certificate
This is to certify that the project titled “BUSINESS VALUES AND CHARACTER
ETHICS” is a bonafide work carried out by Dennis Kumar, a student of BLS Institute of
the award of the Degree of BBA under our guidance and direction.
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PREFACE
Initial in the one module of the project, which is allotted to me, “BUSINESS
The report contains very nice and well arranged topics related to the subject
“BUSINESS VALUES AND CHARACTER ETHICS”. The main contents of this project
describes that ‘That what are ethics’, Code of Ethics’, ‘Business Ethics’ and many other
The project report also contains a description of “Business Ethics “which is very
Overall this reports my work like a guide for the subject “BUSINESS VALUES AND
CHARACTER ETHICS”.
OBJECTIVES
including business.
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Contents
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TOPICS PAGE NO.
CONTENTS 5
a)BUSINESS VALUES
b)CRITICISMS
a)DEFINITONS ON ETHICS
b)FEATURES OF ETHICS
BUSINESS
CONCLUSION 53
REFERENCES 54
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Values
1. Part of culture
2. Learned Responses
3. Inculcated
4. Social Phenomenon
5. Gratifying Responses
6. Adaptive Process
2. Grave’s Classification
3. England’s Classification
4. Rokech’s Classification
Values System is even adopted by Indian Managers in their own way. Various
researchers have attempted to identify the value systems of Indian managers. These
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researchers have used Allport –Vernom –Lindzey model, Graves’s model and
3. Indian managers are more pragmatist than moralist. There are generally some
early days of their career and later shifts to matters like job satisfaction.
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Business values
Physical Values
Accuracy
Cleanliness
of offices, production and warehouse facilities, equipment, customer service areas, raw
The desire and ability of the company to improve its performance by full utilization of its
current resources (i.e. as time, money, equipment, materials, space, people, etc.).
in arriving on time to work, from breaks, from lunch, to meetings, in replying to letters
and phone calls, in paying bills on time, etc. Occurring at the most suitable or opportune
time.
Regularity
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Reliability
The way system or persons consistently produce the same results, preferably meeting or
Responsiveness
The way people, the organization, systems, etc. react to a need coming from within or
without.
Speed of Operations
Organizational Values
Accountability
Communications
up, down, and sideways within the company, with customers and vendors, in terms of
Cooperation (Teamwork)
Coordination
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Psychological Values
Continuous Improvement
The desire and ability of the company to develop and incorporate ways to improve itself.
Creativity
in terms of new products, new ideas, new systems, new production methods, new
Customer Delight
The positive emotional response and joy that the customer feels from interaction with our
Decisiveness
Develop People
The desire and ability of the company to improve the lot of its employees, including,
Harmony
The overall atmosphere and interaction between people, departments, divisions, systems,
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activities, rules, and policies within the company and between these elements and the
Innovation
The desire and ability of the company to venture into new, breakthrough areas of
Integrity
Keeping to one's word, promises, agreements, being truthful, non-deceitful etc. with
Loyalty
Resourcefulness
The ability to deal resourcefully, i.e. creatively, imaginatively, self-reliably with unusual
opinions
Service to Society
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(A Will to) Succeed
Criticisms
making. The term could even be described as a "buzz word" used by various consultants,
Some critics believe that measuring economic value, economic profit, or shareholder
value is sufficiently complete to guide decision-making. Their logic is that all other forms
of value are essentially intermediate to the ultimate goal of economic profit. Furthermore,
if they do not contribute to economic profit, they are actually a distraction for the firm.
Other critics believe that extensive efforts to measure business value will be more of a
distraction than a boon. For example, there is a fear that decision-makers will be confused
if there are too many goals and measures that need to be accommodated.
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Values are our fundamental beliefs. They are the principles we use to define what is right,
good and just. Values provide guidance in determining the right versus the wrong, the
good versus bad. They are our standards. Another way to characterize values is that they
are what an individual believes to be having worth and importance to their life. Values do
not encompass all beliefs, but only those beliefs that define importance.
Morals are values that we attribute to a system of beliefs that help the individual define
right versus wrong, good versus bad. These values typically get their authority from
In business world we often find ourselves avoiding framing our ethical choices in moral
terms for fear that doing so might prove offensive to someone whose moral frame of
reference might be different. The moral concept of justice has one meaning concerned
Ethics is the study of what we understand to be good and right behavior and how people
make those judgments. When one’s action are not congruent with our moral values – our
sense of right, good and just – we will view that are acting unethically. Defining what is
ethical is not an individual exercise. However, if it were then one could have argued that
what Hitler did was ethical since his action conformed to his definition of right, wrong or
just.
Ethics is the discipline that examines one’s moral standards or the moral standards of the
society. It asks how these moral standards apply to our lives and whether these standards
are reasonable or unreasonable. Ethics is not the only way to study morality. The social
sciences – such as anthropology, sociology and psychology – also study morality, but do
so in a quite different way from the approach to morality that is characteristics of ethics.
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A descriptive study is one that does try to attain any conclusions about what things are
Introduction on Ethics
The term ethics refers to value oriented decisions and behavior. It comes from the Greek
word ‘Ethos’ which means character, guiding beliefs, standards or ideals that pervade a
group, community or people. Today, ethics is considered as the study of morals behavior.
Terms such as business ethics, corporate ethics, medical ethics or legal ethics are used to
indicate the particular area of application. Ethics involved in such area must still refer to
“If a man violates some rules he is wrong according to law, but in ethics he is wrong only
1. Ethics are kind of like morals and common sense. it is what you think is right or
wrong. Being "ethical" means trying to be reasonable and doing what you think is
right.
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2. Ethics can be considered as moral philosophy. It deals with critical analysis of
morality. Ethics searches a reasonable ground to our moral standards. It deals with
The moral obligation to render to the patient the best possible quality of dental
4. Ethics is the science of morality or the systematic study of moral rules and
principles. The term "morality" refers to rules which prescribe the way people
ought to behave and principles which reflect what is ultimately good or desirable
5. .The study and evaluation of human conduct in the light of moral principles.
Moral principles may be viewed either as the standard of conduct that individuals
have constructed for themselves or as the body of obligations and duties that a
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Features of Ethics
• Existing norms and judgments may contain valuable insights but ethics sets out to
• It does not rest on feelings of approval or disapproval but in the careful examination
• It is not a law. Even though law enshrines many ethical judgments. It criticizes law
and customs to obtain more perfect rules for the conduct of life. Law may permit things
• Ethics is involved in all human activities including business. There is need for a
Business Ethics
In business, ethics can be defined as the capacity to reflect on values in the corporate
decision making process, to determine how these values and decision affect various
stakeholders groups, and to establish how managers can use these observations in day to
day company management. Ethical managers strive for success within the confines of
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Business Ethics refers to the moral principles which should govern business activities. It
provides a code of conduct for the managers. The purpose of business ethics is to guide
managers and employees in performing their jobs. Ethics are concerned with what is right
and what is wrong in human behavior. They lay down norms of human behavior by the
The purpose of business ethics is to regulate both objectives of business and the means
adopted to achieve these objectives. Ethics covers all possible areas of business ends and
A business is an integral part of the society. It is in fact, a trustee of the resources of the
society. So the business must observe the ethical standards of the society while using the
resources. If a business fails to observe the social norms it will loose its public image.
descriptive approaches are also taken. The range and quantity of business ethical issues
reflects the degree to which business is perceived to be at odds with non-economic social
values.
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Types of Business Ethics
• This part of business ethics overlaps with the philosophy of business, one of the
could be seen as unethical for a company to consider the interests and rights of
anyone else.
• Corporate social responsibility or CSR: an umbrella term under which the ethical
• Issues regarding the moral rights and duties between a company and its
• Ethical issues concerning relations between different companies: e.g. hostile take-
• Law reform, such as the ethical debate over introducing a crime of corporate
manslaughter.
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Professional ethics
Professional ethics covers the myriad practical ethical problems and phenomena which
professions.
• Insider trading, securities fraud, bucket shops, forex scams: concerns (criminal)
• Bribery, kickbacks, and facilitation payments: while these may be in the (short-
term) interests of the company and its shareholders, these practices may be anti-
The ethics of human resource management (HRM) covers those ethical issues arising
around the employer-employee relationship, such as the rights and duties owed between
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• Discrimination issues include discrimination on the bases of age (ageism), gender,
race, religion, disabilities, weight and attractiveness. See also: affirmative action,
sexual harassment.
• Issues affecting the privacy of the employee: workplace surveillance, drug testing.
• Issues relating to the fairness of the employment contract and the balance of
employment law.
Marketing which goes beyond the mere provision of information about (and access to) a
product may seek to manipulate our values and behavior. To some extent society regards
this as acceptable, but where is the ethical line to be drawn? Marketing ethics overlaps
strongly with media ethics, because marketing makes heavy use of media. However,
media ethics is a much larger topic and extends outside business ethics.
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• Specific marketing strategies: green wash, bait and switch, shill, viral marketing,
Ethics of production
This area of business ethics deals with the duties of a company to ensure that products
and production processes do not cause harm. Some of the more acute dilemmas in this
area arise out of the fact that there is usually a degree of danger in any product or
• Defective, addictive and inherently dangerous products and services (e.g. tobacco,
• Product testing ethics: animal rights and animal testing, use of economically
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Ethics of intellectual property, knowledge and skills
Knowledge and skills are valuable but not easily "own able" as objects. Nor is it obvious
that has the greater rights to an idea: the company who trained the employee or the
employee themselves? The country in which the plant grew or the company which
discovered and developed the plant's medicinal potential? As a result, attempts to assert
• Even the notion of intellectual property itself has been criticized on ethical
While business ethics emerged as a field in the 1970s, international business ethics did
not emerge until the late 1990s, looking back on the international developments of that
decade. Many new practical issues arose out of the international context of business.
Theoretical issues such as cultural relativity of ethical values receive more emphasis in
this field. Other, older issues can be grouped here as well. Issues and subfields include:
• The search for universal values as a basis for international commercial behavior.
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• Comparison of business ethical traditions from various religious perspectives.
This vaguely defined area, perhaps not part of but only related to business ethics, is
where business ethicists venture into the fields of political economy and political
philosophy, focusing on the rights and wrongs of various systems for the distribution of
economic benefits. The work of John Rawls and Robert Nozick are both notable
contributors.
Conflicting interests
Business ethics can be examined from various perspectives, including the perspective of
the employee, the commercial enterprise, and society as a whole. Very often, situations
arise in which there is conflict between one and more of the parties, such that serving the
interest of one party is a detriment to the other(s). For example, a particular outcome
might be good for the employee, whereas, it would be bad for the company, society, or
vice versa. Some ethicists (e.g., Henry Sedgwick) see the principal role of ethics as the
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Corporate ethics policies
As part of more comprehensive compliance and ethics programs, many companies have
called a corporate ethics statement), or they can be more detailed policies, containing
specific behavioral requirements (typically called corporate ethics codes). They are
generally meant to identify the company's expectations of workers and to offer guidance
on handling some of the more common ethical problems that might arise in the course of
doing business. It is hoped that having such a policy will lead to greater ethical
business conduct, which often include discussion of the company's policies, specific case
studies, and legal requirements. Some companies even require their employees to sign
agreements stating that they will abide by the company's rules of conduct.
Many companies are assessing the environmental factors that can lead employees to
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Not everyone supports corporate policies that govern ethical conduct. Some claim that
ethical problems are better dealt with by depending upon employees to use their own
judgment.
To be successful, most ethicists would suggest that an ethics policy should be:
• Given the unequivocal support of top management, by both word and example.
improvement.
The historical and global importance of religious views on business ethics is sometimes
Middle East, religious and cultural perspectives have a strong influence on the conduct of
Examples include:
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Relationship between business ethics and managerial values
Ethics refers to the entire body of moral values that society attaches to the actions of
human being. Ethics are interrelated with values. In fact values are considered the
language of ethics. Ethics in business emanate from the values of top management which
Values can be moral, immoral or amoral, depending upon whether they conform to, go
against or are different towards certain norms of morality. But ethics represent only moral
values. The value judgments do have ethical content when they are linked with the
element of morality. Values help to establish proper relationship between ends and
means. If the management of a business is pursuing sound values, and it will follow those
business practices that are ethical and socially justifiable. And in absence of sound value
practices.
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Unethical Business Practices
• Against Employees
1. Paying salaries lower than those fixed by the government to the employees.
• Against Government
2. Smuggling of goods.
5. Pollution of environment.
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Conceptual model of Business ethics
Business Ethics
1. Illegal acts
Examples:
1. Fraud, Bribery
2. Dumping of pesticides
2. Accepting Gifts
3. Confidentiality of company
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Levels of Ethical Decisions in business
Level 4
Individual
Level 3
Internal policy
Level 2
Stakeholders
Level 1
Society
1. Societal level
2. Stakeholders level
3. Internal policy
4. Individual Level
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1. Societal Level:
At this level, ethical questions about the basic institutions in society are asked.
including business.
2. Stakeholders Level:
In a business enterprise include employees, suppliers etc. Here they ask about
how they deal with external groups. For example, should a company inform
At this level we ask questions about the nature of enterprise relations with
techniques, leadership roles, work rules etc. are involved at this level.
4. Individual Level:
At this level, we ask questions concerning how individual person should treat
one another within the firm. These questions deal with day to day issues of
life in any enterprise but in the ultimate analysis, they set the tone of ethical
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Need and Importance of Business Ethics
environmental factors to follow a business practice which is ethical from society’s point
1. Environmental Pressures:
business enterprise may have no option but to desist from undesirable trade
forums.
Today’s businessman firmly believes that business ethics are in their own self
3. Moral consciousness:
ethically because of their moral consciousness. Like any other member of the
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society business people also believe that ethical business conduct is good
4. Legal Requirements:
In almost every sphere of business activity laws have been enacted which
Business Managers must come to appreciate the key elements that comprise making
ethical judgments. There are six major elements that are essential ethical judgments:
1. Ethical Imagination:
decision making and the ability to identify those situations where people are likely
It refers to the ability to judge the relevance or non relevance of ethical factors in
ranked.
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3. Ethical Evaluation:
To evaluate ethical factors business persons have to develop clear principles, basis
of weighing those factors and the ability to make out the likely ethical as well as
This refers to the intuitive or learned understanding that ethical fibers – a concern
for fairness, justice and due process to people, groups and communities should be
When business people speak about “business ethics” they usually mean one of three
things:
(2) Avoid action that may result in civil law suits against the company; and
(3) Avoid actions that are bad for the company image.
Businesses are especially concerned with these three things since they involve
loss of money and company reputation. In theory, a business could address these three
employees on their daily activities. Anytime an employee might stray from the straight
and narrow path of acceptable conduct, the experts would guide him back. Obviously this
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solution would be a financial disaster if carried out in practice since it would cost a
business more in attorney and public relations fees than they would save from proper
employees on becoming “moral.” For over 2,000 years philosophers have systematically
addressed the issue of right and wrong conduct. Presumably, then, philosophers can teach
Some businesspeople argue that there is a symbiotic relation between ethics and business
in which ethics naturally emerges from a profit-oriented business. There are both weak
and strong versions of this approach. The weak version is often expressed in the dictum
that good ethics results in good business, which simply means that moral businesses
practices are profitable. For example, it is profitable to make safe products since this will
reduce product liability lawsuits. Similarly, it may be in the best financial interests of
businesses to respect employee privacy, since this will improve morale and thus improve
work efficiency. Robert F. Hartley's book, Business Ethics, takes this approach. Using 20
case studies as illustrations, Hartley argues that the long-term best interests of businesses
are served by seeking a trusting relation with the public (Hartley, 1993). This weak
version, however, has problems. First, many moral business practices will have an
economic advantage only in the long run. This provides little incentive for businesses that
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As more and more businesses compete for the same market, short-term profits
will dictate the decisions of many companies simply as a matter of survival. Second,
some moral business practices may not be economically viable even in the long run. For
example, this might be the case with retaining older workers who are inefficient, as
opposed to replacing them with younger and more efficient workers. Third, and most
importantly, those moral business practices that are good for business depend upon what
at that time will produce a profit. In a different market, the same practices might not be
economically viable. Thus, any overlap that exists between morality and profit is both
The strong version of this profit approach takes a reverse strategy and maintains
that, in a competitive and free market, the profit motive will in fact bring about a morally
proper environment. That is, if customers demand safe products, or workers demand
privacy, then they will buy from or work for only those businesses that meet their
demands. Businesses that do not heed these demands will not survive. Since this view
maintains that the drive for profit will create morality, the strong version can be
expressed in the dictum that good business results in good ethics, which is the converse
of the above dictum. Proponents of this view, such as Milton Friedman, argue that this
would happen in the United States if the government would allow a truly competitive and
free market. But this strong view also has problems, since it assumes that consumers or
workers will demand the morally proper thing. In fact, consumers may opt for less safe
products if they know they will be saving money. For example, consumers might prefer a
cheaper car without air bags, even though doing so places their own lives and the lives of
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their passengers at greater risk, which is morally irresponsible. Similarly, workers may
forego demands of privacy at work if they are compensated with high enough wages. In
short, not every moral business practice will simply emerge from the profit principle as
restricted to what the law requires. The most universal aspects of Western morality have
already been put into our legal system, such as with laws against killing, stealing, fraud,
harassment, or reckless endangerment. Moral principles beyond what the law requires –
validity and society wavers about its acceptance. For any specific issue under
privacy in the workplace, we will find opposing positions on our supra-legal moral
The unreasonableness of such a moral requirement in our society becomes all the
more evident when we consider societies that do have a strong external source of
morality. Islam, for example, contains a broad range of moral requirements such as an
alms mandate, prohibitions against sleeping partners that collect unearned money, and
restrictions on charging interest for certain types of loans, particularly for relief aid. Thus,
in Muslim countries that are not necessarily ruled by Islamic law, there is a strong source
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of external morality that would be binding on Muslim businesses apart from what their
laws would require. Similarly, Confucianism has a strong emphasis on filial piety; thus,
maintain a respect for elders even if it is not part of the legal system. In Western culture,
pluralism and the presence of a wide range of belief systems. Even within Christianity,
the diversity of denominations and beliefs prevents it from being a homogeneous source
of Christian values. In short, without a widely recognized system of ethics that is external
to the law, supra-legal moral obligations in our society appear to be optional; and, it is
optional.
that are majority-endorsed by our national social group are those obligations that are
already contained in the law. These include a range of guidelines for honesty in
advertising, product safety, safe working conditions, and fair hiring and firing practices.
In fact, the unifying moral force of businesses within our diverse society is the law itself.
Beyond the law we find that the moral obligations of businesses are contextually bound
environmental activists. In these cases, the individual businesses may be bound by the
obligations of their subgroups, but such obligations are contingent upon one's association
with these social subgroups. And, clearly, the obligations within those subgroups are not
binding on those outside the subgroups. If a business does not belong to any subgroup,
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then its only moral obligations will be those within the context of society at large, and
Corporations that assume an obligation beyond the law, either in their corporate codes or
good example is found in the mission statement of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, which
• Social Mission -- To operate the company in a way that actively recognizes the
central role that business plays in the structure of society by initiating innovative
ways to improve the quality of life of a broad community -- local, national, and
international.
Consistent with this mission, the highest paid employees of Ben & Jerry's would not
earn more than seven times more than the lowest paid full-time employees. "We do this,"
they explain, "because we believe that most American corporations overpay top
management, and underpay entry-level employees -- and because everyone who works at
Ben & Jerry's is a major contributor to our success." In spite of the merits of this pay
scale policy, it clearly lacks majority endorsement in our national social group, and
would not be a binding obligation. In fact, it is not even binding on Ben & Jerry’s itself
since, in recent years, Ben & Jerry’s had to abandon its own ideal pay scale in an effort to
Strictly following this legal approach to business ethics may indeed prompt businesses to
do the right thing, as prescribed by law. Nevertheless, there are two key problems with
restricting morality solely to what the law requires. First, even in the best legal context,
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the law will lag behind our moral condemnation of certain unscrupulous, yet legal
business practices.
factor that is external from both the profit motive and the law. This is the approach taken
by most philosophers who write on business ethics, and is expressed most clearly in the
Proper ethical behavior exists on a plane above the law. The law merely specifies
The most convenient way to explore this approach is to consider the supra-legal
moral principles that philosophers commonly offer. Five fairly broad moral principles
choices of people.
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The attraction of these principles is that they appeal to universal moral notions that no
one would reasonably reject. But, the problem with these principles is that they are too
general. These principles do not tell us specifically what counts as harm, unfairness, or a
violation of human rights. Does all damage to the environment constitute harm? Does it
in an employee lounge area? Does child-oriented advertising mislead children and thus
The above principles are abstract in nature. That is, they broadly mandate against
harm, and broadly endorse autonomy. Because they are abstract, they will be difficult to
apply to concrete situations and consequently not give clear guidance in complex
situations. An alternative approach is to forget the abstract, and focus instead on concrete
situations that affect the particular interests of consumers, workers, stockholders, or the
Accordingly, the stakeholder approach to business ethics emphasizes that we should map
out of the various parties affected by a business practice. But this approach is limited
since proponents of this view give us no clear formula for how to prioritize the various
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interests once we map them out. Should all stakeholders' interests be treated equally –
from the largest stockholder down to the garbage man who empties the factory dumpster?
Probably no defenders of the stakeholder approach would advocate treating all interests
equally. Alternatively, should the stockholders' interests have special priority? If we take
this route, then the stakeholder principle is merely a revision of the profit principle.
Another way of looking at concrete moral obligations in business is to list them issue by
issue. This is the strategy behind corporate codes of ethics that address specific topics
contributions. Consider the following issues from Johnson and Johnson's Credo:
Code of Conduct
Characteristics
enterprises include a variable number of principles which define the ethical standards of
the enterprise. These may be general principles such as, for example, the concept of non-
practices which the enterprise wishes to see respected in the production and sale of the
goods and services which it markets. Some enterprises make a distinction between the
basic principles which regulate its internal activity and those which it wants to apply in
the selection and monitoring of activities of its subcontractors. A number of codes make
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human rights at work. In other cases, the reference is more indirect, even if the principles
The Agrofood, forestry, chemicals and consumer products sectors are amongst those
which have progressively introduced a number of codes of practice. However, while the
concept of ethical practice has made a remarkable comeback in recent years in the
strategic policy of industrial and commercial enterprises, it is above all in the textile
sector, and in particular in clothing and footwear, that the trend is the most evident.
United States enterprises have played a pioneering role in this respect. Since Levi Strauss
adopted in 1992 a code entitled "Business partner terms of engagement and guidelines for
country selection", many other enterprises producing apparel and footwear as well as
major retail groups have followed suit. In Europe, the trend has been longer in coming,
Introduction
(1) What three things do business people usually mean by “business ethics”?
(3) What is the weak version of theory that connects business ethics to the profit
motive?
(5) What is the strong version of theory that connects business ethics to the profit
motive?
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(6) What are problems with this?
principles?
(9) What are some supra-legal moral principles that are binding in Muslim
countries?
(10) What are the problems with restricting business ethics to what the law
requires?
(12) What is the problem with deriving business ethics from broad moral
principles?
(14) What is the problem with articulating good business behavior in corporate
codes of ethics?
Conclusion
(15) What are some benefits of all three approaches to business ethics?
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CASE STUDY ON HDFC BANK
HDFC PROFILE
HDFC Bank was incorporated in August 1994, and, currently has an nationwide network
of 1229 Branches and 2526 ATM's in 444 Indian towns and cities.
The Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) was amongst the first
to receive an 'in principle' approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a
bank in the private sector, as part of the RBI's liberalisation of the Indian Banking
Industry in 1994. The bank was incorporated in August 1994 in the name of 'HDFC Bank
Limited', with its registered office in Mumbai, India. HDFC Bank commenced operations
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Business Focus
banking services for target retail and wholesale customer segments, and to achieve
healthy growth in profitability, consistent with the bank's risk appetite. The bank is
based on four core values - Operational Excellence, Customer Focus, Product Leadership
and People.
Management
Mr. Jagdish Kapoor took over as the bank's Chairman in July 2001. Prior to this, Mr.
The Managing Director, Mr. Aditya Puri, has been a professional banker for over 25
years, and before joining HDFC Bank in 1994 was heading Citibank's operations in
Malaysia.
Senior banking professionals with substantial experience in India and abroad head
various businesses and functions and report to the Managing Director. Given the
professional expertise of the management team and the overall focus on recruiting and
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retaining the best talent in the industry, the bank believes that its people are a significant
competitive strength.
Business
HDFC Bank offers a wide range of commercial and transactional banking services and
treasury products to wholesale and retail customers. The bank has three key business
segments:
1. The bank would have loan application forms for retail advances and credit cards.
These would include information about the fees/charges, if any, payable for
processing, the amount of such fees refundable in the case of non acceptance of
application, pre-payment options and any other matter which affects the interest
of the borrower, so that a meaningful comparison with that of other banks can be
2. As part of the wholesale banking business, the bank has various segments to
which credit facilities are provided for their business requirements. These
include a wide range of customers and range from small & medium enterprises
to large corporate borrowers. The bank has a process for identification of target
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risk assessment for that segment. Thus, the focus is on contacting prospective
customers and encouraging them to avail of banking services from HDFC Bank
based on the incremental value we can add to a customer's business, rather than
Thus, for the wholesale banking segment, we do not have any standardized
Code of Ethics
1. Be aware of frauds
2. Security tips
6. Composition of board
7. Committee of Directors
8. Profile of Directors
9. Ownership Right
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14. Articles of Association
Introduction:
The Board members / Officials shall engage in and promote honest and ethical
conduct of business, including the ethical handling of actual and / or apparent conflicts of
Applicability:
Ethical Conduct:
The Board members / Officials shall engage in and promote honest and ethical
conduct of business, including the ethical handling of actual and / or apparent conflicts of
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Conflict of Interest:
The Board members / Officials shall avoid conflict of interest and disclose to the
Board any material transaction or relationship that reasonably could be expected to give
Confidentiality of Information:
The Board members / Officials shall ensure and take all reasonable measures to
protect the confidentiality of non-public information about the Bank, its business,
with any activities with the Bank and to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of such
process.
Disclosure of Information:
The Board members / Officials shall endeavor to produce full, fair, accurate,
timely and understandable disclosures in reports and documents that the Bank files with or
submits to the Securities and Exchange commission and other regulators and in other
and Regulations:
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The Board members / Officials shall comply with all the applicable governmental laws
The Code shall be reviewed from time to time for updation thereof. Any variation in the
Code or any waivers from the provisions of the Code shall be approved by the Board and
The Board shall have the powers to take necessary action in case of any violation of the
code.
Dividend Policy
Your Bank has had a track record of moderate but steady increases in dividend
declarations for the last 10 years and dividend payout ratio in the last few years has been
in the range of 20-25 %. Your Bank's dividend policy is based on the need to balance the
retaining capital to maintain a healthy capital adequacy ratio to support future growth. In
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line with this policy and recognisation of healthy performance during 2007-08, your
directors pleased to recommend a dividend of 85% for the year ended on March 31,2008
as against 70% for the year ended March 31, 2007. This dividend shall be subject to
distribution tax to be paid by the Bank but will be tax-free in the hands of the members.
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Conclusion
We’ve looked at three approaches to business ethics, and we’ve seen that all three
have limitations. If we hope to find an approach to business ethics that is free from
conceptual problems, we will not likely find any. Ethics is a complex subject and its
history is filled with diverse theories that are systematically refuted by rival theories. So,
we should expect to find controversies when applying ethics to the specific practices of
business. However, following any of the above three approaches to business ethics will
bring us closer to acceptable moral behavior than we might otherwise be. Close attention
to one’s profit motive and the moral interests of consumers might in fact generate some
morally responsible business decisions. We can indeed find additional moral guidance by
looking at the laws that apply specifically to businesses. In gray areas of moral
controversy that are not adequately addressed profit motives and the law, we can turn for
examine stories of businesses that have been morally irresponsible. By citing specific
learn by example what we should not do. Such cases often reveal blatantly crude,
unethical conduct.
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References
4. Hare, R. M. (1979). "What is wrong with slavery". Philosophy and Public Affairs
8: 103–121.
7. http://www.stthom.edu/academics/centers/cbes/jonachan.html
Further reading
• Albertson, Todd. (2007). The Gods of Business: The Intersection of Faith and the
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