Businesses created in the United States are required to comply with U.S. laws and must act ethically. Recall that the law creates a minimum amount of behavior obligatory by businesses in humanity, whereas ethics requires more. Ethics is a major consideration in examining the actions of managers and the function of business organizations. An ethically minded business focuses on the following:
•Integrity: Focusing on the character of the individuals involved in the decision or action
•Consequences: Focusing on good and bad decisions
•Duties, obligations, and principles: Focusing on fairness, justice, and respect for individuals and property
As the manager of your restaurant, you want to have a clear understanding of how to handle ethical issues that arise. You conduct some research and discover there are six steps to ethical decision making.
Tasks:
•List, explain, and give an example of the six steps of ethical decision making that businesses can follow.
•Choose a business that you believe acts ethically and is socially responsible. Once you select a business, provide examples of how your company is acting with social responsibility.
•Finally, decide whether your restaurant is going to be socially responsible by implementing a corporate social responsibility plan; provide an argument that supports or challenges the decision to implement the corporate social responsibility plan for the restaurant. Provide research, legal terminology, and cite a legal case to support your argument.
