Question
“Ethics is just one of those things that corporations need to consider when making business decisions. Whilst there are many aspects to consider when analyzing and understanding the intersection between what is legal and what is ethical or moral, an overriding consideration for any corporation must be the level of profits they are making and the impact they are having on key stakeholders. In the majority of cases these stakeholders are usually shareholders. They have expectations regarding governance and accountability. If these expectations are not met, then leadership has failed”
Consider the above quote and critically evaluate its key messages. Your critical analyses should include the following:
· The role of ethics in the business decision-making processes
· The relative positioning between what is legal and what is ethical in decision-making
· The apparent conflict between making profit and acting ethically
· The challenges of stakeholder requirements including who these stakeholders are and the impact they have on how corporations may act
· How governance frameworks impact ethical decision making, and
· How leadership success or failure may be determined in the context of ethical decision-making
You must provide a conclusion which outlines your views regarding the above quote and your arguments provided in the body of your report that support this conclusion.
As the Written Report represents 30% of the total marks in this Unit, marks are allocated according to the following inclusions:
• A clearly constructed Executive Summary of no more than 250 words (5%)
• A clearly presented Introduction which outlines the student’s approach to this Report (5%)
• Evidence of the following elements (50% of total):
o Clear understanding of the key issues raised in the statement
o Discussion of the implications of the statement on business activity, with
relevant examples
o A critique of the statement, including sound evidence from appropriately
researched literature to support the analysis
• A well-structured Conclusion that supports the informed opinion that is provided as to the validity or otherwise of the statement (10%)
• Good quality references which reflect a suitable depth of research, have been applied appropriately, and used correctly in terms of in-text application (20%), and
• An appropriate writing style, that is, clear, well presented and well-structured arguments, in grammatically correct language, with no spelling errors.
A written report of no more than 4,000 words (excluding References)
References at least 8-10
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