Business Ethics ASSIGNMENT

Assignment Brief: Some corporations can undoubtedly bring benefit to society. The society, however, is questioning the existence of corporations, especially in the wake of the scandals and scams conducted by companies like EXXON, General Electric, Chevron, IBM, Kodak, Pfizer, SEARS, Rockwell, Roche, ENRON, GUINESS, WorldCom and many others. In response to it, the organizations around the globe are forced to wake up to the need for being committed towards Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics. Following this line of thought, complete all 3 parts of the assignment, as they appear below:

Part A

Answer the following question: How can Corporate Social Responsibility be meaningful if it is not based on formal binding legislation enforcement? In answering your question, you should critically assess the ethical dimensions of a business decision from a managerial, individual and societal perspective. At the same time, you should demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the implications of differences in business ethics systems around the world.

Part B

Proceed to a critical assessment of the Corporate Social Responsibility Report of McDonalds. In you analysis, you should critically examine the ethical environment in which McDonalds operates and consider the impact this has upon its business behaviour and performance. You can find the CSR report of McDonalds online at:http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/content/dam/AboutMcDonalds/Sustainability/Sustainability%20Library/2010-CSR-Report.pdf . Alternatively, you can find it posted in the VLE, in the assignment folder.

Part C

As Sally Bibb suggests in our e-book (Page 8), as a manager you have a double role. The first is to ensure that you behave ethically yourself (‘bosses have more influence that they often realize in shaping others' behavior aspe ople tend to consciously or unconsciously copy the boss'). The other role is that managers are responsible for making for making sure that those they manage do the right thing too. One way, moreover, to achieve that those they manage do the right thing, is through developing and introducing to employees a Code of Conduct (for more on Code of Conduct see Topic 1). In the same line of thought, this part of the assignment requires you to assume the role of a manager and develop a Code of Conduct for an organization of your Choice. This Organization may be a company you worked for in the past, or even the institution to which you are studying. In developing your Code of Conduct, you should demonstrate a critical awareness of real ethical issues that modern workplaces face.

NOTE: Complete all 3 parts of the assignment. No Introduction or Conclusion is necessary for the entire report. Make the analysis of each part easily distinguishable under the following headings: Part A, Part B, Part C