Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility
Social obligation is a basic part of current corporate morals. Businesses today are expected to make money and be socially responsible, taking into account how their operations affect society, the environment, and other stakeholders (Saha et al., 2019). In this paper, we will apply moral hypotheses to contend that organizations have an honest conviction to be socially mindful while dealing with a moral issue.
Relationships Between the Various Parts of the Ethical Issues The scenario that was chosen brings up a number of ethical issues, such as corporate social responsibility, national security, and privacy. The organization Rmblppy (RP) should adjust the interests of different partners, including clients, the US government, and its investors.
PHI FPX 2000 Assessment 2 Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility
One of the most important ethical issues is privacy (Atlam & Wills, 2019). Clients trust RP to safeguard their own data, and RP has an honest conviction to shield it. RP runs the risk of jeopardizing customer privacy by providing customer data to the US government, which could be detrimental to the trust and reputation of the business. National security is another ethical issue (Atlam & Wills, 2019). The US government is mentioning client information to help public safety examinations, which is a real concern. The risk of terrorist attacks, for example, must be taken into account by RP when denying the government access to this data.
Additionally, RP must take into account its CSR obligations. RP must be socially responsible because it is a public company. This entails taking into consideration the effects of its actions on all stakeholders, including customers, employees, shareholders, and the general public (Thompson et al., 2020). RP should adjust its commitment to safeguarding client security with its commitment to helping the public authority in safeguarding the general population.
Stakeholders’ Primary Interests
The scenario in which RP has to choose whether or not to give the US government customer data presents a conflict between the primary interests of multiple stakeholders. The following are the three stakeholders’ top priorities: customers. Customers’ top priority is protecting their privacy. They trust RP to keep their own data secret and anticipate that the organization should act to their greatest advantage. Customers also want to use RP’s platform without worrying that their data might be shared with the government without their permission.
US Government
The essential interest of the US government is public safety. It aims to shield Americans and others from dangerous activities and prevent terrorist attacks. The public authority might accept that getting client information from RP will support these endeavors and assist with safeguarding the general population.
RP Investors
The essential interest of RP investors is the organization’s monetary achievement. Investors have put resources into RP and anticipate that the organization should boost benefits and increment investor esteem. They might want RP to put financial gain ahead of other considerations because they are worried about how the decision might affect the company’s bottom line.
PHI FPX 2000 Assessment 2 Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility
The connections between the essential interests of these partners are perplexing. RP should gauge the interests of all partners against one another and decide the most moral game plan. For instance, in the event that RP chooses to give client information to the US government, it very well may be seen as acting against the interests of clients who esteem their protection (Palos et al., 2019). Notwithstanding, RP might contend that it is acting in the more extensive public interest by supporting public safety endeavors. On the other hand, RP’s decision not to provide customer data could be seen as a violation of the US government’s interests and a threat to national security.
Investors may likewise be worried about the impact of RP’s choice on the organization’s monetary execution and may compel RP to focus on benefits over different contemplations. RP must navigate these competing interests and reach an ethical conclusion that is consistent with its responsibilities and values.
Standardizing Moral Hypothesis
With respect to the moral hypothesis, RP could apply utilitarianism to gauge every choice’s expected damages and advantages. It could also use deontology to think about its moral responsibilities to customers and the general public, no matter what (Benzmüller et al., 2020). In the end, RP must take into account the needs of all stakeholders and choose the most moral course of action that is consistent with its responsibilities and values as a business.
PHI FPX 2000 Assessment 2 Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility
The Application of Milton Friedman’s Shareholder Theory to Social Responsibility Milton Friedman’s shareholder theory emphasizes that a company’s sole social responsibility is to boost earnings for its shareholders in accordance with legal and ethical guidelines. As per this hypothesis, organizations ought to zero in exclusively on augmenting investor esteem and not make moves that cheapen this objective, like taking part in socially dependable or magnanimous exercises (Brin and Nehme, 2019).
Applying Friedman’s investor hypothesis to the situation introduced, RP’s social obligation is to focus on the interests of its investors over any remaining partners. This would imply that RP’s essential commitment is increment benefits and investor esteem, regardless of whether it implied compromising client security or supporting the public authority in potential protection infringement (Dmytriyev et al., 2021). RP’s decision to provide the US government with customer data would be justified from this perspective if it maximized profits and shareholder value. RP might contend that helping out the public authority would assist keep a positive relationship with the public authority, possibly prompting future business potential open doors.
The Customary Hypothesis of Standardizing Morals
A customary hypothesis of standardizing morals that could be applied in this situation is deontological morals, which depends on the idea of obligation and spotlights on ethical quality as opposed to the outcomes. Deontological morals expect that activities be passed judgment on in view of whether they are innately correct or off-base, no matter what the results they produce (Benzmüller et al., 2020).
Applying deontological morals to the situation introduced, RP has an ethical obligation to safeguard the protection of its clients, regardless of whether it implies declining to give client information to the US government (Soeiro and Oliveira, 2021). Since its customers have given the company their personal information, RP is obligated to protect their privacy and act in their best interests.
PHI FPX 2000 Assessment 2 Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility
The shareholder theory of Milton Friedman places a strong emphasis on the interests of shareholders. It must take into account the moral and social obligations that businesses have to their clients and the community as a whole. This theory disregards businesses’ moral obligations to act ethically and responsibly by placing shareholder value above all other considerations (Soeiro & Oliveira, 2021).
One of the flaws in Milton Friedman’s Shareholder Theory is that it fails to take into account the long-term effects that RP’s actions could have on its reputation and customer loyalty. RP runs the risk of harming its reputation and losing the trust of its customer base by prioritizing short-term gains over customer interests. This could eventually hurt investor esteem and long haul benefit (Clarke, 2020).
It needs to provide guidance on how to strike a balance between the competing interests of various stakeholders, which is another area for improvement. In this situation, RP should adjust the interests of its clients, the US government, and its investors, which requires thought of numerous moral commitments and compromises. Deontological morals give a structure to adjusting these commitments and pursuing moral and capable choices (Clarke, 2020).
Conclusion
The deontological ethics framework emphasizes RP’s moral obligation to adhere to legal regulations and safeguard customer privacy. This hypothesis likewise underlines the drawn-out results of activities and the adjusting of clashing interests of different partners. Milton Friedman’s shareholder theory must take these difficulties and flaws into account when applied to this scenario. Deontological morals give a more thorough and nuanced way to deal with assessing an organization’s social obligation in complex moral predicaments.
References
Atlam, H. F., & Wills, G. B. (2019). IoT security, privacy, safety, and ethics. Internet of Things, 123–149. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18732-3_8
Benzmüller, C., Parent, X., & Torre, L. (2020). Designing normative theories for ethical and legal reasoning: Logic key framework, methodology, and tool support. Artificial Intelligence, 287, 103348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artint.2020.103348
Brin, P. V., & Nehme, M. N. (2019). Corporate social responsibility: Analysis of theories and models. Repository.kpi.kharkov.ua. http://repository.kpi.kharkov.ua/handle/KhPI-Press/50106
Clarke, T. (2020). The contest on corporate purpose: Why Lynn Stout was right, and Milton Friedman was wrong. Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.1515/ael-2020-0145
Dmytriyev, S. D., Freeman, R. E., & Hörisch, J. (2021). The relationship between stakeholder theory and corporate social responsibility: Differences, similarities, and implications for social issues in management. Journal of Management Studies, 58(6). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12684
Palos, P., Saura, J. R., & Martin, F. (2019). A study of the effects of programmatic advertising on users’ concerns about privacy over time. Journal of Business Research, 96, 61–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.10.059
Saha, R., Cerchione, R., Singh, R., & Dahiya, R. (2019). Effect of ethical leadership and corporate social responsibility on firm performance: A systematic review. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(2). https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1824
Soeiro, A., & Oliveira, L. A. (2021). Teaching ethics to engineering students: Case studies. 2021 4th International Conference of the Portuguese Society for Engineering Education (CISPEE). https://doi.org/10.1109/cispee47794.2021.9507205 s
Thompson, A., Stringfellow, L., Maclean, M., & Nazzal, A. (2020). Ethical considerations and challenges for using digital ethnography to research vulnerable populations. Journal of Business Research, 124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.02.025
