BUSINESS ETHICS

Business Ethics



Business Ethics

Introduction

Marks and Spencer, a partnership formed in the late 1800s, is today one of the UK's leading retailers of clothing, food, home products and financial services. Employing 65,000 people, the company has 399 stores located throughout the UK, as well as a further 155 stores managed under franchise in 30 countries throughout the world (Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Far East). While most Marks and Spencer food is sourced in the UK and Europe, as much as 90% of other products are now sourced elsewhere. Marks and Spencer products are almost entirely own-brand.

Ethical Business

Business ethics is a relatively young academic field. A generally accepted estimate is that business ethics has been with us since the early 1980s. This does not mean that there was no attention for the ethical side of business and capitalism before 1980, but rather that it was not institutionalized into a recognized academic field. In the United States, early interest in the ethics of business was inspired by certain religious motives. Key questions related to whether it was possible to reconcile the principles of capitalism with moral conduct as prescribed by a variety of religions, and how should business people respond to the challenge of religion? In Europe, the interest in the topic was more inspired by humanist interests (Ten, 1997, 1014).

Here the key questions related to how one should treat workers decently, and how business organizations can be beneficial for society as such. There is no doubt that the suggested distinction between an American and a European approach is rather vague. On both sides of the Atlantic, these and other questions were not only raised by academics but also by practitioners, clergymen, novelists, journalists, and politicians.

Mission Statement and Corporate Aims

To make aspirational quality accessible to all.

Whether we're working at home or abroad, within our own stores or in partnership with our franchisees, our Vision, Mission and Values remain the same. Ensuring we meet our customers' needs with appealing, superior quality products at attractive prices.

Ethical Concerns

Marks and Spencer has approximately 2000 direct suppliers of finished products (including 1500 non-food suppliers and 500 food suppliers). All suppliers are expected to adhere to the company's Global Sourcing Principles, up-dated in 2004/05 to reflect adoption of the Ethical Trading Initiative Case Code. Marks and Spencer has published self-help guides in 11 different languages as well as detailed briefing notes on the employment legislation of 60 countries. Supplier performance is assessed through an extensive system of audits (see report for details) (Ten, 1997, 1014).

A training programme of audit skills courses and local language workshops was held for suppliers, and will be continued in the coming year. Marks and Spencer also plans to introduce ethical trading training for employees involved in procurement as part of the 'Buying Academy' programme. Compliance manuals were distributed to franchise partners to be used for their selfassessments, and corrective actions have been agreed. As a retailer, Marks and Spencer uses a huge range of raw ...