ETHICS

Ethics and Social Responsibility

Executive Summary

Topshop, UK's retailer deals with clothing, cosmetics, shoes, and other accessories have been indulged in the slave labour, in the third world countries. This ethical issue was against the societal and moral values and resulted in wide reaction from the different classes of society. In this assignment, a thorough overhaul of the issue is done with the relevance of the three articles published by Davis, 2003; Hemingway & Maclagan, 2004; and Carpenter, 2004, to further elaborate the issue. In the end, four strategies are proposed namely, ethical policies, strong communication, proper regulations and respecting the laws of foreign countries to address the issue of slave labour.

Introduction1

Business Ethics & Social Responsibility1

Relevancy with Articles3

Business Ethics: It's All Inside3

Managers' Personal Values as Drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility3

Good Corporate Governance4

Strategies to deal the issue of “Slave Labour”4

1. Ethical policies4

2. Strong Communication4

3. Proper regulations regarding employment5

4. Respecting the laws of other countries5

Conclusion/Recommendations5

Bibliography6

Ethics and Social Responsibility

Introduction

Ethical issues have always lingered around the organizations, whose roots can be traced from the lack of trust, which has been diminishing for years (Shore, 2007, pp. 3-20). Business ethics and social responsibility are the terms which seem to be same; however, in technical terms there is a fine line which bifurcates their real essence. Ethical issues, as a matter of fact, created a wide gulf within organizations and the society, which if addressed fulfils the moral as well as societal values to a much extent. Topshop is UK's multinational retailer, whose specialty is the fashion clothing, accessories, cosmetics and shoes. Founded in 1964 in Sheffield, United Kingdom, currently has 440 outlets as well as online operations to cater a wide array of customers (Topshop.com, 2013).

The issue that has lingered the Topshop is the slave labour, and a breach of the basic human rights in the third world countries namely, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and Mauritius. This issue resulted in a widespread reaction from the civil society as well as the advocates of the human rights.

Business Ethics & Social Responsibility

“Business ethics are the principles and standards that determine the acceptable conduct in business organizations “(Ferrell & Hirt, 2002, p. 30). The behaviour of the business is ascertained by the government, interest groups, customers, competitors and the general public. It is believed by many of the customers that businesses, other than profits, should consider the social conducts and well as responsibilities towards the society.

While the social responsibility is a business's duty to enhance its positive impact and to reduce the negative impact on society (Ferrell & Hirt, 2002). Many of the members of the civil society and consumers argue that besides making profits, business must thing about their social implications on the society. Many a times, business ethics and social responsibilities are used as substitutes of each other; however, from a broader spectrum, business ethics relates to the organizations decisions while the social responsibility is the impact of organizations operations on society. The most fundamental ethical and social responsibility concerns have been transformed into ...