Name: Karl Jason Comin

Subject: BM 215 Philosophy of Business

Social Responsibility Towards the Employees

Social Responsibility Towards the Consumers, End-users, and theGeneral

Public, Competitors, Contractors, Suppliers, and Government

Ethical, Social, and Legal Responsibilities of Management

Ethical Decision-Making and Ethical Leadership

Implementing and auditing Ethics program

I. Introduction

Structure of the workforce consists of sector affiliation, employment status,

and size of the company or organization. Physical environment involves the

exposure to dangerous substances, heavy loads and corporal risks. Working time

issues include weekly hours, commuting time, shiftwork and typical work patterns. In

organizational environment, job content refers to repetitive tasks and pace of work

while social environment refers to psychosocial risks including harassment and

discrimination in the workplace. Work related outcomes are concerned with

perceptions, health risk, work absences and job satisfaction.

As per Republic Act 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines and US

Consumer Product Safety Act of 1972, deceptive practices are illegal. Transacting

business by deliberately deceiving others for the sake of their own advantage is

unethical. As per Ralph Nader says; It is good business sense when you know how

to protect consumers from their own ignorance and indiscretion. It is an honorable

and a decent act not to take advantage of their weaknesses.

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 Legal responsibility is founded on abidance by the law. It may or may not be a

moral obligation, because ethics and the law do not share the same origin or scope.

Legal responsibility is based on criteria of social necessity or efficacy, not necessarily

on moral principles. On the other hand, the law is concerned mainly with the

outcomes and not with intentions whereas, in some ethical theories, intentions

occupy an important place in moral responsibility. The law does not encompass all

moral obligations, nor should it, as to do so would be detrimental to freedom. The

spheres to which the two responsibilities are applied are different. Legal

responsibility tends to be reactive and cannot adapt easily to new circumstances and

problems. Responsible organizations must obey the law but social responsibility

(SR) is not a legal responsibility. It is not the law that makes SR binding.

II. Summary of the Topics/Topics Digest

An important component of working conditions is an area of safety engineering and

public health that deals with the protection of workers' health through control of the

work environment to reduce or eliminate hazards. Unsafe working conditions can

result temporary or permanent injury but also take a toll in terms of reduced

efficiency and in the long run loss in productivity. Equal Job opportunity is a labor

policy that prohibits business from discriminating against otherwise-qualified people

with disabilities.

Stereotypes against women: There are fields of occupation which are traditionally

suited for women because of their sensitive, vulnerable and fragile in nature. There

are types of works which may not be fitting to women due to their biological

condition. The inability of women to cope with certain job requirements since their

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common gender personality and aptitude traits make them unsuitable for those jobs.

When business discriminates, consciously affirms that one group is inferior of

subordinate to another group. Discriminatory practices are not consistent with ethical

management which upholds that all are equal in essence and dignity, and that all

men and women have the same basic rights and duties. Everyone is created equal

in essence and dignity, in spite of the race or color or religion, sex, party affiliation or

business connections.

Contractual labor is & has been there as part and parcel of the big economic

picture--in agribusiness, sweatshops, construction and retail business. In order to

attract foreign investors - we have to provide the cheapest labor possible, and this

cheap labor comes through contractualization of jobs and services. In technical

sense, contractualization is a form of underemployment. The right to adequate work

and full employment is essential to all, this basic right springs from our intrinsic

nature to self preservation and our innate obligation to support our family. The key

principle is that full employment is a fundamental right of every citizen, which means

the right to be protected from unemployment and underemployment is basic.

Sexual harassment is a form of unlawful sex discrimination, which includes

unwanted verbal/physical behavior or a sexual nature that occurs in the workplace or

in an educational setting under certain conditions. Two types:

1. Sexual Coercion (Quid Pro Quo) is that which explicitly made as a condition for

favorable decisions affecting ones employment, gain or loss of tangible job benefits

2. Sexual Annoyance - although this is not directly related to anyone's employment,

still creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment in the workplace.

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Workplace Romance is a relationship between two people employed by the same

organization. People at work see each other everyday, work together as teams,

sometimes partners on specific projects and it seems that workplace has become

the perfect venue for dating people. Benefits: friendship, mutual support to each

other at work & other personal experiences. To be in somebody's company is better

than being lonely. A lot of people also believe that the workplace is the right venue to

find the person to marry & nurture long-term relationships. Disadvantages: Can lead

to: Damage professional relationships, disturbed coworkers, changes in productivity,

dating the boss, Extramarital Affairs.

Work is for the purpose of obtaining economic gain for the laborer & is directed to the

promotion of life. Being compensated for work done / services rendered is part of the

essence of 'work.' One is willing to work in exchange for remuneration or rewards he

will receive from working. It can be in the form of wages, shares on profit, harvest /

commercial goods, in-kind payments & other remunerative fringe benefits. NWPC &

RTWPB handle the minimum wage rates of workers of each & every region of the

country. It is their duty that wage shall be as nearly as adequate as is economically

feasible to maintain the minimum standards of living necessary for the health,

efficiency and general well being of the workers.

Child Labor - the employment of children below 15 yrs of age. ILO called for policy to

ensure the elimination of child labor in domestic work & the provision of decent work

conditions if they are working. Rep Act 7610 attaches criminal liability to any parent

who, by his actuation, deprives his child of parental love, care, protection, education.

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Whistle blowing is the disclosure by an employee of confidential information which

relates to some danger, fraud, or other illegal or unethical conduct connected with

the workplace, be it of the employer or of his fellow employees.

DECEPTIVE PRACTICES are those acts that mislead deliberately or acts that cause

one to believe what is not true, the intention of which is to take unfair advantage of

another. Deceptive Practices: False advertising, Misrepresentations, Deceptive

Pricing, charging for goods and services at rated higher than advertised price,

bluffing in negotiation and transaction.

ETHICS IN ADVERTISING AND MARKETING

Advertising Ethics - "what is right or good in the conduct of the advertising functions

Commercial Advertising - evolves in high-speed and stimulating changeovers spark

plugged by a variety of technological sophistication.

Persuasive Advertising - aims to create a need for the product or service

Multilevel Marketing is a system of selling in which one signs up other people to

assist him, and they, in turn, recruit others to help them. A system of selling through

many levels of distributors, also known as direct selling companies. Examples are

Avon Cosmetics, Triumph International, Sara Lee Direct Selling, Tupperware.

Pyramiding - In pyramid scheme, participants attempt to make money solely by

recruiting new participants into the program.

INSIDER TRADING refers to the significant facts that have not yet made public and

are likely to affect stock prices. It is being prohibited by the rules and regulations of

the SEC. This considers an "insider "to be anyone who has pertinent information that

is not publicly available, and that gives the trader and advantage over the public.

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Misrepresentation - is observed when there is a transformation of information to

misinformation. Two types: Intentional misrepresentation - the person is fully aware

or deliberately misrepresents things or commonly known as lying. Unintentional

misrepresentation- the person is not aware and does not deliberately act on

misrepresenting things. Another types of Misrepresentation:

1. Direct Misrepresentation - characterized by actively misrepresenting something

about the product or service It gives business a bad name because deception and

lying are used in the process of selling the product to the customers. Examples:

Deceptive Packaging, Adulteration, Misbranding or Mislabeling, Short Weighing,

Shortchanging, Short Measuring, Short Numbering, Misleading advertising

2. Indirect Misrepresentation characterized by omitting adverse information about the

product or service. It is a passive deception and not as obvious compared to direct

misrepresentation.

Corporate taxation is one of the most controversial types of taxes. Although

the law treats corporation as if they have an independent ability to pay, many

economists note that only real people – shareholders – can bear a tax burden.

Corporation taxation is a form of social responsibility. The principle of justice simple

means that each corporation should carry its fair share in taxation for each fiscal

year. The firm should not attempt to evade paying correct taxes to the government,

whom is considered one of the most important stakeholder of business.

Trade Secret is the legal term for confidential business information. That piece

of information allows the company to compete effectively. Corporate Disclosure is the

information that a corporation is morally obliged to disclose coincides with much that

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is legally required, though pressures for increased disclosure are based, for the most

part, on moral arguments.

The environmental protection is becoming a corporate led community joint

effort. Because sustainable development is long-term, more and more players put

their hands on it and get involved. Proponents now include inputs from the govt,

representative of affected communities, LGU (province, city, municipality, barangay),

NGO's and private sector -making sure that all stakeholders are made accountable.

Moral Philosophy is the branch of philosophy that contemplates what is right

and wrong. It explores the nature of morality and examines how people should live

their lives in relation to others. Whether our moral focus is big picture questions, a

practical framework, or applied to specific dilemmas, moral philosophy can provide

the tools we need to examine and live an ethical life. Values are objects of human

desire and striving. They are the subjective assessment of a particular object insofar

as it is good. Values also refer to things, persons, ideas or goals which are important

to life. Thus, they refer to our ideals and our principles by which we live. Values

therefore are those which we like, approve, enjoy and esteem.

The ethics audit – Antecedent and a condition to setting up an ethics program

in that it identifies the firm's current ethical standards and policies and risk areas so

that an ethics program can effectively address problem areas bring a sample audit

from a certain company. Social audit – the process of assessing and reporting a

business's performance in fulfilling the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic

responsibilities expected of it by its stakeholders. In ethics, auditing a company will

be stakeholder-responsive.

III. Recommendations

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 A significant step an organization can take in preventing sexual harassment in

the workplace is by creating a safe, secure, and positive work environment by putting

into practice a strong sexual harassment policy. An effective policy should be

communicated well and expose it regularly through posting to bulletin boards and or

training programs to support the anti-harassment in the workplace.

Advertising is very important and can become a powerful weapon in business

competition. Commercials do not usually incorporate much substantial information

about the product on sale. The basic and foremost function of advertising is to

persuade, create a need among consumers, make them believe that the product is

the means to satisfy that need, and finally influence them to buy just like TV

commercials on.

The first step in ethical making is to recognize that an ethical issue requires a

choice among several actions that various stakeholders inside or outside the firm will

ultimately evaluate as right or wrong. Ethical issue intensity is defined as the

perceived relevance of an ethical issue to the individual, work group, and/or

organization. Positive or negative incentives can affect the perceived importance of

an ethical issue. Employees need education regarding potential problem areas.

IV. Conclusion

Working condition refers to the safety and healthfulness of the workplace,

particularly the physical work environment and the procedures followed in performing

the work. Working condition comprise the multiple aspects of the workplace such as

structure of the workforce, physical environment, working time issues, organizational

environment, social environment.

Consumer Protection: The essential right of the consumer is "the right to be

safety." Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was tasked to protect the public from
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unreasonable risk of injury caused by consumer products, to assist consumers in

comparing the safety of various items, to develop uniform safety standards, and to

promote research about the causes and prevention of product-related deaths,

illnesses, and injuries. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) they ensure that

processed foods, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics are safe and properly

labeled, that foods are wholesome, and that drugs are effective.

Business is socially responsible to the environment because it is an important

part of the macro-ecological system. Business is part of the society and at the same

time part of the Mother Nature, such that any separation made between business

and nature is artificial and false. Business depends on the natural environment too

its operations, e.g., energy, raw materials and waste disposal. Business also must

take into account the ethical issues when it relates with environment, for example,

short term profit versus long-term gain of the environment.