A big part of ethics in companies nowadays has to do with the environment and sustainability. Many companies may choose to take short-cuts which often harms the environment. At the same time there are many rules and regulations that oversee companies and their actions, ensuring the environment is preserved. There are often ramifications and consequences if companies are caught breaking these regulations. In the article that I read, a company called Barrick Gold Corporation was in the process of constructing a gold mine in Chile, worth 8.5 billion dollars. However, thanks to government regulations, a Chilean court suspended operations until they build an infrastrcuture that will prevent water pollution. There were claims that operations were harming glaciers and water supplies so the government demanded suitable testing and infrastructures in order to preserve the environment. Barrick stated that they were fully committed to complying with the governments’ demands.
Clearly, there are ethics involved in business and the environment. In this case, Barrick Gold Corporation could have continued to harm the environment if the government did not step in. I believe that a big part of ethics in business has to do with accountability as well as government aid. In this case, the government took actions which led to full compliance from the Barrick Gold. While there are still many companies that use unethical practices, the fact that there are regulations keep companies accountable. Also, a point to be brought up should also be that many companies take ethical actions in order to give the public a better impression. Good PR may often boost sales or just give them a competitive edge compared to companies that aren’t ethical.
http://img.src.ca/2013/05/27/635×357/130527_d87j7_rci-barrick-chile_sn635.jpg
Hey Jonathan. Just a few notes. Blogs should be under 200 words, and should include pictures or hyperlinks.
Regarding your post, I agree that government play an important role in enforcing ethics, but the reality is that there are still many companies out there who can ignore or go around these ethical regulations (such bribing officials). An article that can be found in class prep 3, highlights the issue of child labour in mining areas. Children as young as 5 are breaking rocks to search for pieces of copper, and selling them way below the market price to larger companies. The question in mind then, is why the government or better yet the international community, why hasn’t it found a way to enforce international ethical regulations on child labor? Is it because of a lack of funding, uncooperative government, or maybe a culture that is reluctant to change its traditions, values and beliefs? The answer may well be a combination of these factors and more.
Oh sorry! I will make sure my next one fits that criteria!
I agree with you. I didn’t manage to state all the perspectives on this topic. It is easy to go by ignoring regulations by simply paying a sum of money to officials that is nothing to the company. On the issue of child labor, I believe that the reason there haven’t been stricter ethical regulations is because of uncooperative governments. In many places where child labour is present, their culture is completely different from the one we have in North America. Many countries still do not give women and children the rights that they deserve. This is often a result of tradition and cultural norms. These are the places where I believe child labour is most visible and as governments and countries are soverign states, there is not much the international community can do about it except for advise against it. If the international community were to take strict action against a certain country for child labour, not only would it likely be ineffective but it would lead to a coalition of powers in favour of child labour, presenting an even larger problem. So for now the course of action is mostly the international community and the UNHRC etc. advising against it and hopefully in the future, government’s stances will change.