Impact of Ethics, CSR, and Positive Social Change on Strategy - Essay Sample

To business ethics, following the law is not always enough. One of the most common causes of ethical insensitivity lies in the technical interpretation of the law. Most business laws state that if an act lies within certain constraints, then those actions are to be considered ethical and, therefore, acceptable. This explains why many individuals accused of unethical behaviors hide behind such interpretations of compliance programs. Legal standards are just as encircling as ethical principles. Unlike ethics, laws and rules only establish a minimum standard of propriety. Ethics are tailored by a business’s strategic approach that supports specific codes of conduct and moral values applicable to the company. Most business ethics aim at providing individuals with ways of dealing with arising ethical problems like what is deemed right or wrong (Glavas, 2016).

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Ethics center an individual's moral judgments and is pivotal to decision-making regardless of its structure. Most decisions in an organization are influenced by a company’s culture and corporate social responsibility. It is of no surprise that ethical behaviors and corporate social responsibility go hand in hand. When committed to carrying out processes in a proper manner, most businesses seem to gain significantly. As such, these benefits may range from attracting customers to purchasing more of the company’s products, thereby enhancing profits and sales to making employees want to stay, reducing labor turnover and eventually increasing productivity (Aguilera et al., 2007).

However, one should remember that crossing the line between company wealth and unethical practices is very easy since most companies work towards profit maximization. Therefore, to remain sustainable and viable, businesses must adhere to certain levels of ethical standards. To most institutions, this move is not always easy. It may take a moral and robust conviction for any institution in entirely incorporating positive social changes to their strategies.

Social changes should never be overlooked. In reality, there are no easy solutions to improving company profitability and performance while incurring reduced social costs. The social transformation of an organization’s operations is viewed both externally and internally. Social changes should be ethical. Internally, social change relates to diverse hiring, working conditions, opportunities for all employees and proactive changes that generate values just as positive social change and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) focus on ethical practices (Griseri & Seppala, 2010).

In summary, (CSR) is an extensive business notion that involves managing a business’s procedures while accounting for social, economic and environmental impacts. Regardlecompanybusiness' sector or size, corporate social responsibility (CRS) comes with numerous benefits. Some of these include improved brand recognition, positive reputation, customer loyalty and increased sales.

References

Aguilera, R. V., Rupp, D. E., Williams, C. A., & Ganapathi, J. (2007). Putting the S back in corporate social responsibility: A multilevel theory of social change in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 32(3), 836–863. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2007.25275678

Glavas, A. (2016). Corporate Social Responsibility and Organizational Psychology: An Integrative Review. Frontiers in Psychology, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00144

Griseri, P., & Seppala, N. (2010). Business ethics and corporate social responsibility (Vol. 56). South-Western Cengage Learning. Journal of Business Ethics (Vol. 56). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9725-0