Understanding business ethics

1.1 P2 explain the implications for the business and stakeholders of a business operating ethically [IE] 2.1 P3 describe the social implications of business ethics facing a selected business in its different areas of activity [IE] 3.1 P4 examine the ethical concerns of the communities in which a selected business operates. 4.1 MERIT CRITERIA M1 assess how a selected business could improve the ethics of their operations 1.2 M2 assess the social implications of business ethics facing a selected business in its different areas of activity 3.2 M3 explain the ethical concerns of the communities in which a selected business operates and suggest measures that could be taken to improve corporate responsibility. 4.2 DISTINCTION CRITERIA D1 Evaluate the influence different stakeholders exert in one organisation (IE) 1.3 Learner declaration

I certify that the work submitted for this assignment is my own and research sources are fully acknowledged. Learner signature: Date: LEARNING OUTCOMES: On completion of this unit you should:

understand the meaning and importance of ethics in the business world understand the implications of businesses operating ethically know the social implications of business ethics
understand ethical concerns facing different communities.
Assignment 1 – Understand the meaning and importance of ethics in the business world Date issued 13th January 2012
Deadline Date 12th March 2012

Scenario
You work for McDonalds. Directors have recently commissioned a new website for the company and want to make sure that a ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ section is included on the site. You have been given the important task of gathering background information for this purpose. Task 1

Explain the general issues a particular business of this sort needs to consider in its operational activities. GRADING TIP: that this does not mean that the business is doing something wrong – just that these are concerns for it. This provides evidence for: P1

Task 2
Assess how McDonalds could improve the ethics of its operations. GRADING TIP: This requires careful consideration. Think about the issues you have described for P1 and assess how/if the business could deal with them better. This provides evidence for: M1

Task 3
In your role as Education Officer you also have to produce materials for your employers to help them understand how a business ethical behaviour impacts on its stakeholders and the business. This work needs to be evaluative – should attempt to make reasoned judgments based on rational consideration of the issues involved. GRADING TIP: Evaluation is about considering in detail the advantages and disadvantages of something and then coming to conclusion based on this analysis. All the techniques can be criticised with regard to their usefulness. Find out what these criticisms are and then make judgements about the effectiveness of the techniques. You need to detail four different stakeholders in your work. Remember if / when you express any views in this section they must be backed up with clearly researched evidence. This provides evidence for: D1

Sources of information
BTEC Level 3 National Business Book 2; Chapter 37
Moodle Unit 37 – Understanding Business Ethics
www.bized.co.uk
www.tutor2u.co.uk
www.mcdonalds.com/CSR
Assignment 2 – Understand the implications of businesses operating ethically Date issued 19th March 2012
Deadline Date 30th March 2012

Scenario 2
You are education officer for the Co-operative group who “sell more fairly traded products, in more stores, than any other retailer”. You have a tough job role, where you have to go into a range of different educational environments to tell students about the good work that the Co-operative actually carries out. Take some time to have a look at the Co-operative and Fair Trade websites to explore their business activity. Task 1

You have to produce a power point presentation for a class of middle school students with detailed speaker notes that explains all about the good work that the Co-operative actually carries out in its business operations. The emphasis of the power point should identify how both the Co-operative and its stakeholders are affected by fair trade. GRADING TIP: Think carefully about the images you include in this work – very often a picture can say much more than any text ever can. You also need to think carefully about what you are going to say the students in the school to get your message across. You should include ten slides minimum – think about who wins from fair trade. This provides evidence for: P2

Sources of information
BTEC Level 3 National Business Book 2; Chapter 37 – Understanding Business Ethics http://www.cooperative.coop/corporate/groupoverview/ourwayofdoingthings/http://www.co-operative.coop/ http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/Assignment 3 – Describe the social implications that face businesses when people illegally file share. Date issued 16th April 2012

Deadline Date 04th May 2012

Scenario 3
You are work for Play.Com, and your manager has asked you to write an ethical report about illegal file sharing. Illegal file sharing costs film makers billions of Dollars each year. In your report you need to explain why this is an issue for the film makers and how this affects different stakeholders.

Task 1
Describe how these have social implications upon wider society. You might like to think about some of the following areas or any others that you know of. Software PiracyCounterfeiting Peer-to-Peer File Sharing

GRADING TIP: Consider those ethical issues that you think affect society as a whole. Describe what these issues are and why they are of concern. Relate your thinking on this to a specific business. This provides evidence for: P3

Task 2
Assess the social implications of business ethics facing the business in its different areas of activity. GRADING TIP: Continuing on from P3, describe to what extent you feel that these social issues are a real problem in the case of the particular business you are looking at. Consider what the consequences are for different stakeholders. This provides evidence for: M2

Sources of information
BTEC Level 3 National Business Book 2; Chapter 37 Understanding Business Ethics Moodle – Unit 37
www.bbc.co.ukAssignment 4 – Understand ethical concerns facing different communities. Date issued 07th May 2012
Deadline Date 28th May 2012

Scenario 4
You work for the Malaysian government. As the governments representative you have been approached by a large multi national travel organisation who are interested in developing a hotel resort in Malaysia. However most of the population in Malaysia are very poor and survive through the cultivation of rice which they trade with the main land and number of other small scale agricultural products. The Malaysian people have been informed of the interest from the holiday company at a number of meetings they appear to be roughly split in their response to the proposal. Task 1

Describe the ethical concerns facing the communities.
You need to describe to your employers (Malaysian Government) the types of issue that are of concern to the villagers – you should consider at least four serious issues of concern. GRADING TIP: You might like to think of the following.

GlobalisationLow PayCultural Imperialism Environmental Concerns Child LabourProstitutionBusiness OwnershipDisplacement of PeopleSustainability Scale This provides evidence for: P4

Task 2
In addition to describing the ethical concerns facing the communities you should try to offer some resolutions to the problems faced by the residents. GRADING TIP: How might these issues be resolved? – it is important to understand that decisions like these rarely satisfy all of the parties concerned and some form of compromise is likely. You have to be realistic about what you are suggesting, in order to show that the development will take place responsibly. This provides evidence for: M3

Sources of information
BTEC Level 3 National Business Book 2, Chapter 37 Understanding Business Ethics Moodle – Unit 37 Understanding Business Ethics
Assessor’s comments for Unit 37 Understanding Business Ethics Qualification
BTEC National Extended Diploma Level 3 in Business Assessor name Majid Razaq Unit number and title
Unit 37- Understanding Business Ethics Learner name Criteria reference Assessor Feedback Achieved