I need to answer to question relate to chapter 2 relate to ethics from the book Business and Society Stakeholders, Ethics, Public Policy Twelfth Edition for

Anne T. Lawrence.

Chapter 2: There are 5 issue management process . What are they . Please follow the same instruction as the example below (identify Issue - Analyze Issue - Generate Options - Take action - Evaluate ) please see slide 8-9

The answer expected to be like

Discuss three (3) sources of business ethics that are greatly influenced by these sources which vary from company to company and country to country, that shape the belief system of what is right and wrong acceptable to the organizational culture and moral principles apply to the business.

(Note: Use what to explain the factors, why to explain the importance of factors, and how to explain the implementation of the factors in answering the question)

Answer:

1.Religion:There are numerous religions followed by people and each religion talk about the nature of right and wrong in business as well as in each walk of life. Religion is the basis of an individual that he follows from his childhood and is deeply rooted in his behaviors. Religion provides the belief about fair and unfair, badness and goodness of actions and the consequences of these actions. As the oldest foundations of ethical standards, religion wields varying influences across various sects of people. It is believed that ethics is a manifestation of the divine and so it draws a line between the good and the bad in the society. Depending upon the degree of religious influence we have different sects of people; we have sects, those who are referred to as orthodox or fundamentalists and those who are called as moderates. Needless to mention, religion exerts itself to a greater degree among the orthodox and to lesser extent in case of moderates. Fundamentally however all the religions operate on the principle of reciprocity towards ones fellow beings.

2.Culture:The other source of business ethics is the culture that an individual has to follow pertaining to certain guidelines prevalent in the society to which he belongs to. The culture implies the rules, standard, values that are transmitted from generations to generations. These are the standard code of conduct to be followed by an individual that is permissible and acceptable to the community to which he belongs to from his childhood. The human civilization is cumulative of cultural experience that an individual pass through during his lifetime. Culture is a pattern of behaviors and values that are transferred from one generation to another, those that are considered as ideal or within the acceptable limits. No wonder therefore that it is the culture that predominantly determines what is wrong and what is right. It is the culture that defines certain behavior as acceptable and others as unacceptable. Human civilization in fact has passed through various cultures, wherein the moral code was redrafted depending upon the epoch that was. What was immoral or unacceptable in certain culture became acceptable later on and vice versa. These values are still in practice by the managers of today. Still further, when human civilization witnessed the industrial revolution, the ethics of agrarian economy was replaced by the law pertaining to technology, property rights etc. Ever since a tussle has ensued between the values of the agrarian and the industrial economy!

3.Law or The Legal System:Law is the code of conduct formulated by the legal system of the state and is to be followed by an individual to respect the societal interest. These are the strict rules and procedures that every business should abide by to conform to the ethical behavior of each. Although, the Law is reactive in nature and cannot cover all the cultural ethics as the law is created when the new evil emerges. Laws are procedures and code of conduct that are laid down by the legal system of the state. They are meant to guide human behavior within the social fabric. The major problem with the law is that all the ethical expectations cannot be covered by the law and specially with ever changing outer environment the law keeps on changing but often fails to keep pace. In business, complying with the rule of law is taken as ethical behavior, but organizations often break laws by evading taxes, compromising on quality, service norms etc.

The below are the elements can be used in examining all the factors required to be explained according to the final exam question.

1.WHAT - asking for information specifying something; the factor to be discussed and relate it back to the exam question

2.WHY - for what reason or purpose; the importance of the factor and relate it back to the exam question

3.HOW - in what way or manner; by what means; how the factor can be implemented and relate it back to the exam