Ethics Accounting

Ethics Accounting

1)   WHY DOES SOCIETY NEED ETHICS IN BUSINESS?

Ethics in business cannot be ignored as they are the pillar to the credibility of any business. The society has to believe that good ethics drive the company they trust and do business with. Ethics also unite people and good company leadership as is revered by its workers. Securing the society through safeguarding laws in society is something that businesses ought to do, and having good ethics guarantees it. And finally, ethics satisfy the basic human need for fairness and honesty (Prachi Juneja). Everyone in society desires to work in an ethical company.

2. CORPORATIONS MORAL OBLIGATION TO ITS:

As an employer, a business has an obligation to compensate its employees fairly, have tow work for a reasonable period, grant them paid leave, and provide them with a good working environment (Linda Emma).

All corporations have a duty to be responsible to the society and community where they carry out their businesses. The community is a big part of the corporation; therefore, they should adhere to the rules and regulations of the community. This means control of pollution and cleaning of hazardous waste in case of an accident.

The greatest responsibility of any corporation is to its shareholders. They have vested their interests in the doings of the business (Linda Emma). Therefore, a corporation has the responsibility to give provide the right information about the company and to be profitable so they can continue being vested in the company.

3. HOW DOES THE NECESSITY OF MAKING A PROFIT FIT INTO CORPORATE ETHICS?

For any profit-oriented business, being profitable is its number one priority. The necessity of making a profit becomes business ethics since the corporation has stakeholders. Most of the stakeholders, if not all, have invested their time or money into the business of which they expect to earn a handsome return. Being profitable, therefore, becomes corporate ethics since it is a way of compensating the company stakeholders for the fair contribution to its success.

4. AFTER THE FIRE AT MALDEN MILLS:

I think the CEO was more than fair to the workers. He provided them with full pay for sixty days, even though the company had burnt down. He also decided to rebuild the company in the same place so that his employees can still have a livelihood. I think that is highly ethical and more than generous to his workers (Leung, 2003).

CEO was fair to the society as much as he was to his workers. He decided to rebuild the mill in the same place and location when he had an option to relocate it or move it oversee. It was a show of how much he cared for society (Leung, 2003). For if he had moved, the community which depended on the mill for fabric, employment, and other jobs created through supply and distribution would have been lost.

It cannot be said his utilization of the resources were in conduct with a capitalistic society. Most businesses are in it for the money, and his decision to pay workers who were not working and a company that was not making money was contrary to the idea of capitalism. When he could have moved to save on labor and other costs, he decided to stay. That is not the nature of capitalism as the business was losing money.

5. PERCEPTION OF ETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN MODERN DAY CORPORATIONS

There are varying perceptions of ethics in modern-day corporations. One thing that most people agree on is that big corporations are not doing enough. There is a perception that they should be involved in more corporate social responsibility towards their communities. That they should be paying more taxes and paying their employees better, yet they have devised methods of reducing taxes paid and salaries paid to their employees by hiring on a contract basis (Kathryn Kranhold, 2017).

There is no such perception of corporations doing too much. Although companies are involved in corporate social responsibility, their contributions towards society are negligible compared to the profits they make.

The perception of corporations acting right is wrong. Most of these corporations are involved in tax evasion through tax sheltering and transfer pricing (Erik Sherman, 2019). By doing so, companies pay less tax than they should, which can be considered as unethical.

6. Your thoughts on U.S. Corporations who have increased pharmaceutical drug prices or are going to increase their prices to increase profits for shareholders and executive compensation in the United States? This is legal, but is it ethical?

I think this is highly unethical. In the United States, we pay much compared to other developed countries when it comes to drugs or medical services. It is not that it costs so much to manufacture these drugs but rather the greed of a few people who feel that they are entitled to more. Since drugs are a necessity and so many people have become dependent on them, they have realized increasing the prices will not prevent people from procuring their medications. It is legal in this country but highly unethical since only a few people benefit at the expense of others (Financial Times, 2019).