BBA 4951 Unit VII Assessment

BBA 4951 Unit VII Assessment

QUESTION 1

Discuss bribery. Would actions, such as politicians adding earmarks in legislation or pharmaceutical salespersons giving away drugs to physicians, constitute bribery? Identify three business activities that would constitute bribery and three actions that would not.

David and David (2017, p. 311) define bribery as “the offering giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or other person in charge of a public or legal duty.” Bribery is illegal in the United States and is also considered to be unethical behavior. Actions such as adding earmarks into legislation or pharmaceutical salespeople giving away drugs to physicians do constitute bribery. Adding earmarks into legislation can be seen as attempting to sway the vote of other lawmakers for kickbacks. Pharmaceutical salespeople giving away drugs to physicians may be viewed as that particular company looking for favor in trying to persuade doctors into prescribing their products more often over others. Three business activities that may constitute bribery include a pharmaceutical company providing kickbacks to hospitals or doctors for prescribing their drugs over others, a company paying government officials to pressure legislators to approve high paying military equipment contracts, or providing an expensive trip for an official that includes thousands of dollars worth of drinks, dinners, and entertainment in order to influence certain actions (David & David, 2017).

Three actions that would not constitute bribery could include an organization receiving a bonus for completing a project ahead of schedule, a physician or hospital receiving a non-monetary award from an organization for outstanding service to patients, or a company receiving a large donation to conduct cancer research with no provisions to influence the actions or ideas of the organization.

Reference

David, F. R., & David, F. R. (2017). Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach, concepts and cases (16th ed.) [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780134167947

QUESTION 2

If you owned a small business, would you develop a code of business conduct? If yes, what variables would you include? If not, how would you ensure that your employees were following ethical business standards? 

A code of business conduct, also referred to as a code of ethics, depending on the company, is a set of guiding principles designed to help employees within an organization conduct themselves with honesty and integrity in any and all actions that they take in which they are representing the organization (Leonard, 2019). According to David and David (2017), developing a code of business ethics is a key ingredient to establishing an ethics culture within an organization.

If I owned a small business, I would absolutely feel it necessary to develop a code of business conduct. I would include variables to cover things such as product safety, health of employees, sexual harassment, discrimination, fraud waste and abuse, privacy of employees and customers, inappropriate relationships, and information security to name a few.

Reference

David, F. R., & David, F. R. (2017). Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach, concepts and cases (16th ed.) [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780134167947

Leonard, K. (2019, March 12). What Is the Code of Business Conduct? Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/code-business-conduct-2732.html

QUESTION 3

Why is it important not to view the concept of “whistleblowing” as “tattling” or “ratting” on another employee? 

It is important not to view whistleblowing as “tattling” or “ratting” due simply to the fact that whistleblowing is part of practicing ethical behavior and supporting ethical behavior. David and David (2017, p. 310) define whistleblowing very simply as “employees reporting any unethical violations they discover or see in the firm.” As part of practicing ethical behavior, it is important that organizations have policies and procedures in place that encourage the act and it is also important the employees actually do so (David & David, 2017). Whistleblowing is a practice that prevents organizations form unethical stealing, embezzling, whatever word you want to call it, from other entities, customers, and governments. Whistleblowing holds organizations accountable to their financial obligations and ensures that everyone pays their dues.

Reference

David, F. R., & David, F. R. (2017). Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach, concepts and cases (16th ed.) [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780134167947

QUESTION 4

Why should firms formulate and implement strategies from an environmental perspective? 

The reason why firms should formulate and implement strategies from an environmental perspective comes down to simply sustainability of the environment and resources. Economic challenges require managers within organizations to formulate evolving strategies that will help to preserve and conserve the natural resources of the planet and to help control pollution. Firms should continually develop methods and products the utilize recycled products or that are easily biodegradable and do not damage resources or animal habitats. Businesses must be careful not to exploit or decimate the natural environment, do to the fact that many employees, consumers, governments, and societies are increasingly resentful of firms that harm rather than preserve natural resources and their surrounding environments (David & David, 2017).

Reference

David, F. R., & David, F. R. (2017). Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach, concepts and cases (16th ed.) [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780134167947

QUESTION 5

What do you feel is the relationship between personal ethics and business ethics? Are they or should they be the same? 

Ethics in its most simple form is establishing, knowing, and understanding the difference between what is right and what is wrong, and to make choices based on these established standards that will not affect others in a negative way. With this is mind however, there will be circumstances that will require a decision that will no matter what have a negative impact on another entity, but the idea is to lessen this impact to the fullest extent possible. Personal ethics are considered the values, morale’s and ideals that an individual holds dear to themselves and their personal life that have been influenced by the society, culture, attitude, laws, and religion by which they are surrounded with (David & David, 2017). Business ethics is defined “as principles of conduct within an organization that guide decision making and behavior” (David & David, 2017, p. 305). Establishing and practicing good business ethics is a very important aspect within good strategic management and good ethics is just simply good business. Having good ethics within business means doing what is right as an organization in regards to both external entities such as customers and internal entities such as employees and shareholders. Although I do personally feel that personal and business ethics SHOULD be the same, unfortunately that is not always the case. Ideally personal morale’s and values would carry over into business and individuals would have high ethical standards in both aspects of their lives. Ethical requirements can sometimes be very tough as specific business may require individuals to make decisions that they do not personally agree with, however, good business requires the decision to be made. In the end, there is a fine line between the two and one would hope that ethics plays a key role in both our personal lives and in business.

Reference

David, F. R., & David, F. R. (2017). Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach, concepts and cases (16th ed.) [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780134167947