Introduction
There are a number of issues that a businessman can be preoccupied with. A person who is planning to start his/her own business should be aware about the incalculable aspects of the business world, the rules according to which this world works, and the ways to improve his/her life in this world. Any businessman knows that, to succeed in business, one must follow all the rules that exist in the business world. At present, when most of the enterprises are under social pressure (Blowfield and Murray 20008), the issue of corporate social responsibility becomes more and more widely discussed. Another issue that should be paid due attention to in the business world is business ethics which, as mentioned by Ferrel, Fraedrich and Ferrel (2009) is crucial for people’s ethical decision-making process. This means that sufficient knowledge in such issues as corporate social responsibility and business ethics have an immense effect on the person’s future decision-making. Reflecting on my own values and views about corporate social responsibility and business ethics that I have recently acquired owing to my studies, I can definitely state that this knowledge will have a drastic effect on my future decision making, as well as any actions that I will undertake on my way of conquering the business world.
Discussion
Corporate Social Responsibility
What should be mentioned above all is that I have always considered the issue of corporate social responsibility crucial for business. Even though business sphere abounds with the examples of unfair business practices, there are still many people who benefit greatly from corporate social responsibility. My view is that practicing corporate social responsibility, even though it may be more expensive than ignoring it, is a great investment into the future development of the company. Being ethical in business may help a businessman attract investors, employees with high level of knowledge and education, and new customers (Fox 2007). It seems to me that the employees working for the companies focused on corporate social responsibility are not only more productive, but more loyal and committed to their jobs. These are people who will never betray their company or allow the leakage of information to occur.
The biggest value for me personally is the amount of help that I can obtain from the society being socially responsible. Any firm holds certain obligations with regard to the society in which it operates (Cramer 2003) this is why I think it is vital to be responsible not only for the financial results of one’s firm, but also for its social and environmental performance. Environmental performance is of special importance to me. My view is that people should give the environment as much as they take from it. Since, at present, the society has taken from the environment more than it should have, my primary purpose is to direct business towards ecologically sustainable development for this is the most that can be done under the current environmental conditions. Therefore, my personal values and views regarding the issue of corporate social responsibility expand to hiring only socially responsible working force and making my future company responsible for its environmental and social performance.
Business Ethics
Another important thing to note is that business ethics has been of no less importance to me than corporate social responsibility. It is my view that order and honesty are the guarantee of success in business. With regards to this, I am inclined to believe that business ethics together with corporate social responsibility constitute the basis for a successful company that is able to fulfill its own objectives and meet the expectations of the customers, as well as the needs of the employees. With regards to the business ethics, there are several issues that are of utmost importance to me. One of such issues is the ethics of human resource management. With respect to the human resource management ethics, every employee possesses inalienable basic rights that should never be violated by the company (Noe 2004). This is why it is crucial for me to act morally correctly and to ensure that the rights of the employees working for my future company are not violated. I attribute special value to people’s right for privacy. This concerns not only my personal right, but the rights of other people as well.
Another issue that is vital for me is the ethics of production. I will try to make my business as far from dangerous products and services as possible. Besides, I will also try to avoid ethical problems that may take place at present because of the use of new technologies (of special restriction for me is genetically modified food). The final issue in business ethics that I have special interest in is ethics of intellectual property. It is of utmost importance to establish the rights for ownership and to settle all the ethical disputes over these rights. I am sure that I will never resort to employee raiding or similar unfair practices; my goal is to create the working conditions that would attract talented and skilled working force and retain it at the working places. Thus, my greatest values are proper business conduct, the observance of human resource management rules, ethics production rules, and the ethics of intellectual property which altogether will help me succeed in my honest business.
The Influence of My Studies on My Future Decision Making
My future decision making has been considerably affected by my studies and my concerns regarding such issues as corporate social responsibility and business ethics. One of the decisions that I have made after carrying out some research is that, if I get involved with the food industry, I will do my utmost to be ethical and to ensure that my company produces healthy food. This decision was much influenced by McDonald’s case study that I have come across. Either being unaware of business ethics or unwilling to observe it, the company paid significant price for this in 2002 when it suffered considerable losses and in 2003 when “its share price was as low as it had been for almost a decade” (Crane and Matten 2007, p. 37). The company suffered greatly from ethical criticism and was hardly able to gain back its popularity after this. One more future decision of mine influenced by these studies is to hire only those people who are aware of corporate social responsibility. I am intended to engage the employees into the corporate philanthropy because, as the Kanbay case study shows, this helps to attract talented employees and to win more clients. I have got convinced that the attention of society is largely attracted by the fact that a company is involved into corporate philanthropy.
Finally, these studies have largely affected my decision to make the performance of my future company environmentally conscious. Green investments will help me make the company a responsible corporation and minimize my company’s ‘footprint’. My intention is to develop environmentally responsible policies in order to articulate more clearly the company’s interaction with the environment, as this was done by Starbucks in 1992 (Ferrel et al. 2009). This brought the company the reputation of the environmentally conscious corporation and contributed into the increase of its profits through the additional attention of customers and investors. This all testifies to the fact that my future decision making and the actions that I am planning to undertake in the course of my future business career have been directly influenced by my studies that have contributed into my knowledge about corporate social responsibility and business ethics and enriched my mind with the ideas on how to make my business successful.
Conclusion
Taking into consideration everything mentioned above, it can be concluded that one can hardly make it in the modern business world without sufficient knowledge about corporate social responsibility and business ethics. Corporate social responsibility practices, although they require much efforts and expenses, can lead to faster development of the company, as well as they can help to attract new customers and investors. Acting in concordance with business ethics rules is also important for the company because it has a direct influence on its reputation and relationships with other businesses. All this, together with different case studies that I have considered, has greatly affected my future decisions and actions that I will undertake when working in the sphere of business.
References
Blowfield, M and Murray, A 2008, Corporate responsibility: a critical introduction, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Cramer, J 2003, ‘Corporate social responsibility: lessons learned,’ Environmental Quality Management, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 59-66.
Crane, A and Matten, D 2007, Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Ferrel, OC, Fraedrich, J and Ferrel, L 2009, Business ethics: ethical decision making and cases, Cengage Learning, Mason, OH.
Fox, A 2007, ‘Corporate social responsibility pays off,’ HR Magazine, vol. 52, no. 8, pp. 42-47.
Noe, R 2004, Fundamentals of human resource management, Routledge, London and New York.