Peter’s Blog

A basic understanding of the concepts relating business and societal ethics.

Through studying the module 21st Century Business and Societal Ethics, I have a basic understanding of the concepts relating business and societal ethics from knowing nothing at all and also know how to use which ethical theory to judge whether it is an ethical behavior or an unethical behavior.

Ethics are a suit of moral standards by which we judge what is right and what is wrong. Ethical issues are a situation in which someone had to choose between a series of actions which are likely to be ethical or unethical.

For example, rob the rich to feed the poor. Would this be unethical? Of courses, different people may have different opinions concerning this question. But we must get some guidance on identifying unethical situations.  For instance, violating rules, taking away what doesn’t belong to you, committing improper personal behavior, etc., they are all unethical situations (Peter A. Stanwick, Sarah D. Stanwick, 2015).

After realizing that these situations are unethical, then we will use some ethical theories to judge whether it is an ethical behavior or an unethical behavior. The action a person takes is based in part on his or her ethical philosophy. The environment in which we live and work also affects our behavior. We can use the Theory of Justice( John Rawls, 1971), Utilitarianism(Mill, John Stuart, 1969), Deontology (Kantian Ethics), Stakeholders Theory(R. Edward Freeman, 1984), Virtue Ethics(Aristotle, 350 B. C. E.) to make our judgments when faced with moral dilemmas.

Number of words:  243

References:

1. Andrew Crane, Dirk Matten. 2016. Business ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the Age of Globalization(2^nd edn.). Oxford University Press.
2. Alexander, Larry, and Michael Moore.2016. “Deontological Ethics.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University.
3. Lawrence J. Gitman, Carl McDaniel,etc. 2018. Introduction to Business. Rice University
4. Mill, John Stuart.1969. Utilitarianism. In John M. Robson (ed.), Collected Works of John Stuart Mill vol. X. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Originally published 1861.
5. Peter A. Stanwick, Sarah D. Stanwick. 2015. Understanding Business ethics(3^rd edn.).  SAGE Publications, Inc. http://stakeholder theory.org/about/
6. Rawls, John.1971.A Theory of Justice  Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
7. Muel Koaptein, Johan Wempe. 2002. The Balanced Company: A Theory of Corporate Integrity. Oxford University Press. Journal of European Integration 34 (7): 809–824.

The positive and negative implications of the 4^th industrial revolution and its impact on its nature and its inherent ethical implications.

In this blog, I will critically discuss the positive and negative implications of the 4^th industrial revolution and its impact on its nature and its inherent ethical implications.

Firstly, I will talk about the meaning of the 4^th industrial revolution. The 4^th Industrial Revolution is a method to describe the fuzzy boundaries between the digital, biological and physical fields. It combines advanced technologies in AI, 3D printing, robotics, quantum computing, the Internet of Things, the engineering of gene with other fields. They are the collective power behind many consumer goods and services that are rapidly becoming an integral part of modern life. It is changing the place we live in and work as well as the way we communicate with others (Devon Mchinnis, 2018).

Although the 4^th industrial revolution had positive forces to change the world, if we do not consider how these technologies are changing us, they may have negative effects. Artificial Intelligence is unleashing a whole new level of productivity and enriching our lives in many ways. Like the industrial revolution of the past, it could become a disruptive force, putting people out of work and raising questions about the relationship between man and machine. We value the ability to control what we already know, yet we live in a world where tracing individual’s information is a key to provide smarter, personalized services. Public trust in business, media, government and even technology is declining. This is a crisis that is dividing and destabilizing societies around the world (Marcel Becker, 2019).

The second one is the impact on the inherent ethical implications. There are some factors such as liability, security and wealth inequality will affect the ethical implications. Study shows that consumers are deeply concerned about the potential harm of technology in areas such as privacy, false information, surveillance, unemployment, environmental destruction and rising inequality. The moral function of technology related to the ethics and values of technological development is to seek surveillance. The task of surveillance is to determine the right direction. Unlike academic observation, this more nuanced view has practical importance for strategic needs and successful technical governance. As Avi Marciano (2018) points out that Biometric monitoring should be a new form of control, not just another means of inspection. He describes the complexity, objectivity and agent of biometrics technology to show their social power, in order to attract people’s attention to the importance of biometric surveillance.

As a teacher in a higher education institution I think that’s pretty important to use new technologies into teaching, research and service. First of all, higher education must change education pattern by using new technologies such as wearable devices, MOOCS and cultivate learners’ innovative talent skills. The higher education system should consider how to embrace, rather than oppose, these new technologies connecting new teaching models and changing the teaching environment for the benefit of both students and scholars. Besides, higher education institution should do some more research relying on open innovation and evolutionary & revolutionary innovations. Lastly, higher education should set up corresponding service platform such as Platform University and Education Service and offer International Related Programmes. Only by improving the service quality of higher education can significant changes be brought to the society(Thomas Philbeck&Nicholas Davis& Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen, 2018).

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Number of words: 542

References:

1. Andreas Hirschi. 2017. The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Issues and Implications for Career Research and Practice. The Career Development Quarterly.
2. Avi Marciano.2018.Reframing biometric surveillance: from a means of inspection to a form of control. Ethics and Information Technology.
3. Devon Mchinnis. 2018. What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution. https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2018/12/what-is-the-fourth-industrial-revolution-4IR.html.
4. Klaus Schwab.2016. The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what it means, how to respond. Foreign Affairs.
5. Marcel Becker. 2019. Privacy in the digital age: comparing and contrasting individual versus social approaches towards privacy. Ethics and Information Technology.
6. Tony Prophet. 2019. Ethics and technology in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. World Economic Forum.
7. Thomas Philbeck, Nicholas Davis, Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen. 2018. Values, Ethics and Innovation: Rethinking Technological Development in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. World Economic Forum.
8. Web page. 2016. The Future of Jobs Employment, Skills and Workforce Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, World Economic Forum.

The effect of the Milgram experiment on obedience to authority at work.

 According to Charles Stangor (2011), Social power is the ability of one’s own actions, feelings and thoughts to influence others. Some people tend to have greater influence in social interactions than others. For example, bosses have more power than their employees, and parents have more power than their children. In short, we can say that superiors have more power than subordinates.

Stanley Milgram (1963) conducted a series of excellent studies that proved the powerful ability of authority to control others as well as the factors that make people obey the orders of those in power. In his designed experiment, he was able to observe the extent to which people were able to obey or cause harm to others (Steve McCartney and Rick Parent, 2015).

The method of the experiment has been criticized in many ways, for example, shortage of informed consent, controversial cheating, and the harm to participants. It must be noted that Milgram’s standards for conducting experiments at that time were quite different from today’s standards. In spite of this, the experiments still caused harm to patients, which was also a concern at the time. In addition, the results showed a noteworthy rate of obedience (Soesja R, Vogels., ‎2014).

But it is the disturbing results of Milgram experiment that made the experiment famous and aroused people’s interest in this method (Soesja R, Vogels, ‎2014). Before Milgram’s experiment on obedience to authority, there might have been many experiments involving unethical methods, but they were simply ignored because their results and conclusions were not particularly important. There are now ethical guidelines for conducting scientific research on the human body to prevent unethical or controversial research. These guidelines are published in the Helsinki declaration and other documents to protect the health of individuals participating in the study and have the right to know about relevant experiments.

As for the obedience to authority at work, Bernard Oladosu Omisore (2014) argues that every organization is neither a rational and harmonious entity nor a stage for class conflict. It must guard against the negative effects of coercion power and organizational politics. To maintain the prosperity of an organization, it is necessary to follow departmental interests to reduce setbacks, frictions and conflicts.

Number of words: 366

References:

1. Augustine Brannigan. 2013.Stanley Milgram’s Obedience Experiments: A Report Card 50 Years Later. Society.
2. Bernard Oladosu Omisore. 2014. The Influence of Power and Politics in Organizations. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
3. Charles Stangor.2011.Principles of Social Psychology – 1st International Edition. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
4. Darley, John M. 1995. Constructive and destructive obedience: a taxonomy of principal-agent relationships. Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 51, No. 3: 125-154.
5. Haslam Nick, Loughnan Steve, Perry Gina. 2014. Meta-milgram: An empirical synthesis of the obedience experiments. PLoS .
6. Milgram, Stanley.1974. Obedience to Authority. New York: Harper.
7. Richard A, Griggs. 2016. Milgram’s Obedience Study: A Contentious Classic Reinterpreted. Teaching of Psychology.
8. Stephen Gibson. 2011. Milgram’s obedience experiments: A rhetorical analysis.  British Journal of Social Psychology.
9.  Soesja R, Vogels.  ‎2014 .The Milgram experiment: Its impact and interpretation. Social Cosmos – URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1-116042.
10. Steve McCartney and Rick Parent.2015.Ethics in Law Enforcement. Creative Commons Attribution

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Managers should reward ethical behavior.

Waddock Sandra (2007) points out that since business decisions affect not only stakeholders but also their nature, it is reasonable to conclude that these decisions are ethical. Therefore, management decisions, actions and behaviors are also ethical. From my point of view, managers should reward ethical behavior. There are some reasons why managers should do like this.

First of all, most employers show that they hope employees and stakeholders take part in ethical behavior and facilitate an ethical culture in their organizations. A study in Baylor University shows that employers who advance ethics in work should reward employees who demonstrate it (Baylor news release, 2016). Ethical behaviors, such as employees going beyond their personal interests and always doing what is best for customers, should be positively rewarded and set an example for others.

Besides, providing incentives like rewarding ethical behavior helps to reinforce moral values. Intrinsic motivation is stronger than extrinsic motivation, so offering benefits fosters pride and initiative within the organization.

Last but not the least, employers should use annual performance evaluations and incentive programs to evaluate and reward employees who exhibit ethical behavior. Employers usually tell their employees that ethical behavior is “the right thing to do”, formulate and disseminate their policies against unethical behavior, make employees aware of possibly legal restrictions and provide ethical training and using tools in order to popularize their ethical culture. It is a matter of course for employers to bring  their ethical behavior into their ongoing performance appraisal and reward systems Assessing and rewarding employees is a company priority and companies like to link ethical behavior to performance appraisal and approval programs. Once collected, evaluation measures are often used in performance appraisals and pay settings, so they have a real impact on people’s careers. Jeffrey Pfeffer (2013) emphasize that employees also pay more attention on what is being measured, making those jobs more outstanding and concerned.

Number of words:  313

References:

1. Baylor University. 2016. Employers Who Promote Ethics Should Reward Workers Who Exhibit Them, Baylor Study Suggests,” (news release).https://www.baylor.edu/mediacommunications/news.php?action=story&story=171863
2. Ethisphere. Excerpts from the Leading Practices Report (web page). https://ethisphere.com/2016-wme-report/
3. Jeffrey Pfeffer. 2013.Measure (and Reward) Ethical Behavior. (web page). https://www.inc.com/jeffrey-pfeffer/measure-and-reward-ethical-behavior.html
4. Katarina Katja Mihelič, Bogdan Lipičnik, Metka Tekavčič. 2010. Ethical Leadership. International Journal of Management & Information Systems (Fourth Quarter).
5. Neill, Marlene S. 2016. “The Influence of Employer Branding in Internal Communication,” Research Journal of the Institute for Public Relations.
6. Waddock, Sandra. 2007. Ethical Role of the Manager. Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society. Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 786-91.

Critically discuss the significant contribution of Michel Foucault’s early and later work to the ethical in organizations.

In my opinion, Foucault’s works make a significant contribution to the business ethical theory, business practice and pedagogy. Firstly, in his early work, Foucault explored the relationship between freedom and business ethics in a number of different ways. Foucault never denies that we are free. He saw freedom not as a right approved by managers, but as a human condition that freedom is not absolute and it must be exercised in areas of discipline and control (Michel Foucault, 1982). In discipline and punishment, Foucault indicates the ways in which we are not as free as we think, and it is the specific form of power that makes us less free rather than the general power. Discipline is a form of domination of power that creates asymmetrical power relationships in which one can control one’s mind and body. (Crane, A., Knights, D. & Starkey, K. 2008). Foucault ignores the mutually reinforcing and productive relationship between power and freedom and instead sees discipline as an image of conquest, leading some to restore the dualism between power and freedom(Sverre Raffnsøe, Andrea Mennicken, Peter Miller, 2017).

Secondly, in his later works, Foucault provided another way for the traditional normative ethical theory. Foucault’s ethics defines morality as the practice of the self, and explains under what conditions organizations can realize freedom, trying to link the understanding and criticism of power with self-engineering. Therefore, he proposed the subjectivity theory, which has potential guiding significance for the reconstruction of contemporary theory of virtue ethics, value management and teaching of business ethics (Crane, a , Knights, d. & Starkey, k. 2008).

However, due to the diversity of Foucault’s works, it is difficult to describe how Foucault views these two concepts. In Foucault’s works, the concept of subject and power is closely related. For example, Foucault pointed out in his famous essay “subject and power” (Michel Foucault, 1982) that it is impossible to study subjects or the way in which people become subjects without studying the relationship between power and power. Therefore, it can be said that in Foucault’s works, subject and subjectivity can only be formed through power, which indicates that they are generated in history through certain words and certain desires (Valikangas, Anita and Seeck, Hannele, 2011). Foucault defined the technique of the ego as “those voluntary and intentional ACTS by which one not only establishes a code of conduct for oneself, but also seeks to transform oneself and change one’s single existence”. In ancient societies, these practices of self-discipline included abstinence, memory and examination of conscience, meditation, silence, and listening to others. Therefore, through the form of self-restraint and self-definition, people through training transform themselves into moral beings and see themselves as a work of art, not given to us but created by ourselves (Rabinow, 1984:351).

Number of words: 460

References:

1. Aquino, Magno Geraldo De. 2019. Notions of subject and power in Foucaultian readings and their influence in organization and people management studies. Cadernos EBAPE.BR.

2. Crane, A., Knights, D., & Starkey, K. 2008. The conditions of our freedom: Foucault, organization, and ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly, 18(3), 299-320.

3. Michel Foucault. 1982. The Subject and Power. Critical Inquiry, The University of Chicago Press. Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 777-795.

4. Rabinow, P. (ed.) 1984 The Foucault Reader, Harmonsdsworth, Penguin.

5. Raffnsøe, Sverre , Mennicken, Andrea and Miller, Peter. 2017. The Foucault effect in Organization Studies. Organization Studies.

6 Sverre Raffnsøe, Andrea Mennicken, Peter Miller.2017. The Foucault Effect in Organization Studies. Perspectives: The Foucault Effect. SAGE.

7. Välikangas, Anita, Seeck, Hannele. 2011. Exploring the Foucauldian interpretation of power and subject in organizations. Journal of management and organization, 17 (6). pp. 812-827.y*

Discuss why businesses aren’t immune to ethical concerns like gender discrimination.

In my opinion, Nelson’s words are true. In fact, it’s a universal phenomenon that businesses aren’t immune to ethical concerns like gender discrimination. In fact, gender discrimination is very widespread and severe. It is not limited to the process of recruitment but also exists in every area of occupation, from salary and career promotion, career training and the conditions of working, particularly in the areas of violence and sexual harassment in the workplace.

There are many reasons why business is easy to produce gender discrimination. First of all, biological differences between male and female are the main reasons for workplace gender discrimination. According to the dualism theory of 1980s, Julie A. Nelson (2010) describes that men’s characters are rational, autonomous and mathematical while women are good at emotion, dependence and qualitative analysis. Moreover, dualism is hierarchical, and the masculine side is generally considered to be of high value. In general, men are considered more suitable for jobs with high physical requirements as well as management and public service jobs and other jobs related engineering and technology. On the other hand, women are generally seen as better suited to service, sales and clerical work. In addition, positions that need to interact with the public, like flight attendants and receptionists, usually have the requirements of minimum height, maximum age and other physical appearance.

Secondly, the objective reason for workplace gender discrimination is the conflict between the enterprise’s pursuit of profit maximization and the non-socialization of women’s reproductive costs. Employers often ask women about their family plans because they are afraid of women’s leaving after marriage. They sometimes ask women to accept pregnancy tests or to comply with strict conditions regarding the plans of marriage and pregnancy. Many employers find ways to force pregnant workers to resign, demand unreasonable working hours or increase their workload. (Dovelyn, 2017).

Thirdly, other factors like the traditions of society and culture, the buyer’s market, lack of legal policies and poor enforcement have great influences on gender discrimination.

How to avoid workplace discrimination? You can take the following steps to reduce workplace discrimination. The first step is to develop your company’s discrimination policy and incorporate it into your employee handbook. The second step is to develop employee training of anti-discrimination. The last useful strategy is to work with your lawyer. Because of the complicated anti-discrimination law, employers should communicate with lawyers when there is discrimination. (webpage, 2018).

As Julie A. Nelson (2010) points out that life of business and economy are part of life of society and ethics. Justice and care are an orientation that can be used by men and women to solve the dilemmas we face in our common life on this planet. Are we quick enough to overcome the old dichotomy and make the most of our abilities? Mollie Painter Morland (2011) argues that while these equal feminists succeeded in making the case for equal rights and opportunity, their efforts did not allow women to develop their own leadership styles or challenge existing stereotypes about leadership. In fact, Nikala Lane & Nigel F. Piercy’s studies (2003) showed that female managers scored higher in motivating others, promoting communication, creating high quality jobs and listening to others, while they scored the same in strategic planning and problem analysis as male managers. Mollie Painter Morland (2011) also points out that leaders may be the first to benefit from the insights of systematic leadership, but it is clear that developing diverse leadership will benefit the organization, all its members and stakeholders.

Therefore, we should give women the same cares and opportunities as men, not discriminate against them.

Number of words: 598

References:

1. Dovelyn.2017.Triple discrimination: Woman, Pregnant and Migrant, Preventing Pregnancy Discrimination among Temporary Migrant Workers: Lessons from Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand. Fair Labor Orgnization.
2. Julie A. Nelson.2010.Care Ethics and Markets: A View from Feminist Economics.
3. Mollie Painter Morland. 2011. Gender, Leadership and Organtization. Values and Ethics for the 21st Century.
4. Nikala Lane, Nigel F. Piercy. 2003. The Ethics of Discrimination: Organizational Mindsets and Female Employment Disadvantage. Journal of Business Ethics 44: 313–325.
5. Web page.2018. 11 types of workplace discrimination employers should be aware of.https://www.rocketlawyer.com/blog/11-types-of-workplace-discrimination-employers-should-be- -of-925296

Blog 1 Discuss making profit is the only purposes for business people

According to Megan Blackburn (2019), increasing value for stakeholders will improve the business in all aspects. From my point of view, there are several reasons why making profit is not the only purposes for business people.

Firstly, according to Frederick’s theory of stakeholders, business people should consider the direct stakeholders’ profits of which including shareholders, employees, and customers, etc. Shareholders are primarily concerned with getting profits from money with which they invest on business, but employees are concerned with working in a productive and satisfying environment for them. In fact, most employees work no less than 40 hours for a week in the workplace. One value derived from stakeholder theory involves increasing productivity across the organization. If employees who are seen as stakeholders feel valued, they work industriously and even more efficiently. It also means keeping both staff and customers in. If productivity increases, the quality of the product and service for customers will improve. This improvement has led to more loyalty to customer, because they are one of the stakeholders that businesses have to consider when they make decision. Customers also spread word of mouth, bringing other customers to the company. (MyNew24, 2016).

The second reason is indirect stakeholders who are those indirectly associated with the business including government, media, society, and the public. As we all know, without living environment, enterprises cannot survive. According to Andika Putra Pratama (2017), Managers and entrepreneurs must link their business activities to their stakeholders. A business that knows nothing about the society in which it operates is self-harm. You can’t live long in that society. Businesses should not only contribute to the society but also actively create value for the society.

The third reason is economic sustainability. Adolf Acquaye (2017) says stakeholder groups are increasingly demanding that organizations adopt and put into effect responsible methods, because they hope the best economic performance as well as social and environmental sustainability and responsible business behavior. As Paul Ekins (1993) points out, Genuine development may require a restructuring of the economic systems. Therefore, it is no surprise that enterprises must regard corporate social responsibility and business ethics as organizational strategies as well as sustainable management.

The forth reason is leaving Legacy. A legacy is not just profits, but including all stakeholders in its field of vision. When creating a legacy project, you must know that your business cannot live longer without the participation of all stakeholders. Becca Leopkey&Milena Parent(2015) point out that companies provide what they want, but companies should not be mistaken for being unpunished by society if they do not consider the importance and factors of other stakeholders to determine their long-term sustainable development and growth. In short, accountability, participation, transparency, and performance are core elements of “perfect” governance that can be used to achieve your goal and serve as guarantees for internal and external stakeholders to make appropriate decisions.

Number of words: 477     

References:

1.Adolf Acquaye. 2017. Why Sustainability is Important in Business. (webpage). https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/kent-business-matters/2017/05/22/why-sustainability-is-important-in-business/

2.Agnar Johansena, Petter Eik-Andresenb, Anandasivakumar Ekambarama. 2014. Stakeholder benefit assessment – Project success through management of stakeholders. social and behavioral science. 119 :581 – 590.

3. Andika Putra Pratama. 2017. Examining the Relationship Between Business and Society in an Emerging Economy: An introduction of the special issue. International Journal of Business and Society, Vol. 18 S2, 2017, 241-244.

4. Becca Leopkey, Milena Parent.2015. Stakeholder perspectives regarding the governance of legacy at the Olympic Games.  Annals of Leisure Research.

5. Megan Blackburn. 2019. What Is Stakeholder Theory (web page) ? https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/what-is-stakeholder-theory

6. MyNew24.2016. 4 reasons why business is not just about profit (web page) .

https://www.news24.com/MyNews24/4-reasons-why-business-is-not-just-about-profit-20161128.

7. Paul Ekins. 1993.  Making Development Sustainable in Wolfgang Sachs(ed.), Global Ecology(London and Atlantic Highlands) , NJ: Zed Books, pp. 91–103.