ETHICS is the study of moral values that guide our behavior and allows us to differentiate right from wrong. When it comes to businesses, the major decisions that are being taken over time build up an ethical culture, which influence the organization as a whole. Ethical behavior and social responsibility are usually paired up in the business world, and when done right, can bring potential benefits for the business as it would attract and please the stakeholders involved. On the contrary, unethical behavior can damage a firms reputation and cause outrage from different stakeholder groups – which we can see by the following example.
Recently in July 2013, Starbucks refused to ban loaded guns from 43 states in the US that allow open carry. Now, while this may not come off as unethical to some people, it did cause enmity from social pressure groups and a large part of their customer base that reside in these areas.
“Why is Starbucks willing take a public health stand on smoking, but not gun violence, which kills more than 55 children and teens a week in America? Since when is second-hand smoke more dangerous than second-hand bullets?” – Shannen Watts, an outraged customer and opinion writer for CNN.
Starbucks claims that their decision was based on the safety of their employees – so we can clearly see how difficult it is to satisfy the various stakeholder groups when it comes to being ethically correct in the business world.
Full article: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/30/opinion/watts-beck-guns-starbucks/index.html?iref=allsearch
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