Business Research Ethics
The goal of corporations when incorporating a logo is to be memorable to the consumer and investor. Companies like Nike, Harley-Davidson, and Apple have an instant appeal to the public with their corporate symbolism. The emblem for Chevron with the blue and red “v- shaped” stripes in a militaristic badge pattern is recognized worldwide as one of the most famous of the six “supermajor” oil companies. These six, powerful corporations are sometimes referred to as “big oil” in the New York Stock Exchange and are known for their influence in the political arena. Chevron’s roots trace back to Northern California in 1879 and the company endured several name changes because of successful mergers, including Pacific
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The Chevron Company and its representative along with their corporate lawyers have also been accused of human rights abuse. These charges came about by the horrific shooting of two activists who were part of a Nigerian protestors campaigning against the company. According to several protestors at the scene the Nigerian Army who had been transported by Chevron representatives used deadly force to stop the protesters from their right to show their environmental concerns. It seems that the unethical behaviors by the company has had no effect on the organization as it continues to intimidate layers for the prosecution as well as not admitting blame for any of its actions. As for the effect on the environment, it will be determined with time, some scientists believe the lasting effect in the area is significant as they report it as the worst oil-related contamination in the world. The more than 18 billion gallons of toxic waste was dumped in Amazon waterways by the oil giant that resulted in the disseminated of some indigenous groups living in the area. Chevron is portraying itself to the world as the victim in this judicial arena as it has filed charges against the Ecuadorian protestors and bringing a tactical lawsuit against their lawyers and advisors to further delay the outcome. The social impact as a result of this unethical behavior of the
2. Laws must be static and unyielding in order to provide stability for a society.
If one was to ask the question, “What do ethics mean to you?” These responses would be likely to follow. “Ethics is what my feelings tell me is right or wrong.” “Ethics have to do with my religious beliefs.” “Being ethical means following the laws.” Those replies would be expected. Many do relate ethics with their feelings, but it is not a matter of following feelings. In fact, we will often times stray from living ethically if we were guided by our feelings. Although religions urge high ethical standards, if ethics were limited to religion, ethics would only apply to religious people. Following the law is not the same as being ethical. Ethical standards may be incorporated in the law, but laws, won’t always conform to
It managed to damage Chevron’s public image and receive negative remarks from critics. Another big issue was an allegation against Chevron, in 2010, regarding their alleged social and environmental harms in the Amazon region of Ecuador.
closing the stores they could have done community outreach or service projects to help lower the rate of crime. They could have led the establishment of a neighborhood crime watch. They could have set up a mentorship program for teens at risk. There are a multitude of programs they could have implemented, some could probably have been used as a tax write off. If all of these efforts failed then I understand closing the stores. If they had to close the stores they should have made every effort to be sure that the displaced employees were able to find a job in another store or assisted them in being placed in another job. They also need to make every attempt to keep the building they were using occupied or cleaned up until it is occupied. How do these actions contribute to being socially responsible? It shows they care about their community, that even though they may have to shut down a store, they still
Ethics and moral obligations are issues we all encounter at one time or another. In the professional setting, all people should act in a manner that would uphold the good of society. To be ethical, one has to determine their obligations, moral ideas, and moral philosophy (Boatright, p. 19, 2009). The case analysis involving Jacob Franklin was a perfect example of how an individual can face the dilemma of doing what is right or wrong. Businesses have their own code of ethics, and the employees within the business have to determine whether or not they will follow the company’s code of conduct. I will discuss several ethical issues in the case analysis including; failure to report information, remaining silent regarding faulty equipment,
Any employee who feels that he or she has been subjected to sexual harassment should immediately contact the Human Resources Department for investigation and corrective action. Protection from retaliation will be provided and confidentiality will be provided as much as reasonably possible. Any employee who witnesses someone engaging in what could be deemed as sexually harassing conduct is obligated to notify the Human Resources Department even if the victim says that they can handle it or that they can take care of it themselves. Sexual harassment is an illegal act and must be reported and investigated just like any other illegal activity.
The concept of business ethics has tried to change the way businesses operate over the years. Business ethics is a form of ethics that governs the actions of businesses to circumvent the affects business has on every day society. But some question its effectiveness in the application of capitalism. Several case studies have shown that this is the case; many companies place the pursuit of money in front of the pursuit of virtue. Although, the majority of companies are not in the spotlight of acting unethically, can we conclude that they follow the ethical norms? It is natural for normal human beings to act ethical but businesses are on a completely different playing field. But could business ethics be clearly possible in capitalism?
The global span of ExxonMobil makes the importance of ethical behaviour paramount; however, this has not always been the case. Investigations (Banerjee 2015 & Various 2015) have revealed that ExxonMobil discovered the link between human activity and climate change years before it became a public issue. Instead of adapting its business model
An oil spill is not just a splatter of grease, it’s an accident in which oil has come out of a ship and caused pollution, according to Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and Thesaurus. In the film, How to Let Go of the World and Love All Things Climate Can’t Change it focus’ on this issue where the oil company came in and spilling tons of oil throughout the Amazonian Rainforest, spreading two km. The indigenous people who lived there go out there every day to help cleanup all this oil that has been spilled. Knowing the crude oil is highly dangerous when it comes in contact with the skin, the helpers are lacking proper safety equipment which can cause poisoning and burns. The community members should not be the ones cleaning up the mess this oil company has caused.
The topic of this paper is business ethics within Gap Inc., a multinational retail – clothing company. The foundation of its corporate ethical approach is summarized in the Code of Conduct . This paper outlines the ethical problems Gap Inc. faced in the last years and more important, the solutions they found in order to remain a successful company. It shows how large companies deal with common issues like child labour and sweatshops.
Ethical dilemmas are virtually impossible to avoid if you are a participant in the workforce. The definition of an ethical dilemma stands as a situation that challenges two or more “right” values that arise in a conflict (Treviño & Nelson, 2014). As ethical persons, how may we overcome ethical dilemmas and finish on the “right” side? The research mentioned in Trevino’s and Nelson’s book, “Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk About How to Do It Right,” suggests that preparing for specific ethical challenges before a situation occurs can adequately prepare the workforce to better handle real-world applications when an ethical situation transpires. The notion that ethics is teachable inspires the following case analysis. The case analysis involving chemical safety will discuss the facts and issues, stakeholders, decision alternatives, and real-work constraints. Focusing on each of the previously mentioned topics, I will describe the applications using Utilitarian, Kantian Ethics, and Rawlsian Justice Analysis’s.
One of the world 's largest environmental lawsuit in Ecuador rain-forest litigation before moving to Ecuador, the United States Court spent 10 years. Ecuador 's trial began in 2004, as a judge in more than 120 dump sites investigation, the case has been slow and continued 15 years later. In 2008, Ecuadorian government allegations in the complaint, between Chevron subsidiary Texaco from 1964 to 1990, oil drilling activities in Ecuador 's Amazon region has caused severe pollution. Ecuador Superior Court said in a report for the court requires Chevron Ecuadorian government $ 16.5 billion in compensation claims to support it.
“We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; We know now that it is also bad economics”
The object of this essay is to establish whether there is an ethical theory that can be successfully applied to business organizations. In order to answer this question, it is necessary first to define the major ethical theories, which are utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics, before determining whether there are any other options. After that, the ethical needs, problems and limitations of work organizations will have to be examined so that the different theories can be evaluated in this context. It will also be important to draw a distinction between the terms “accurate” and “useful” as these actually result in two different questions the answer to which need not necessarily be the same. Another essential part of this discussion
Ethics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the principles correlated to human behavior concerning the rightness and wrongness of specific conduct, and to the good and bad that influences and ends those actions (Ditonary.com, 2011). In other words, ethics is the choice people effect in regards to a decision they need to achieve. Without ethics directing the choice an individual makes, moral preferences of what should or should not be done becomes irrelevant. While ethical decisions are made every day there are two different regions in which these choices are made.