Английский для социологов. Астафурова Т.Н. - 89 стр.

     8. ROLE   PLAY

     BACKGROUD STUDY


  INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

       According to Thomas Donaldson (1992), societies have the right
to expect business to function ethically: «All productive organizations
can be viewed as engaging in an implied contract with society.
Corporations must have bestowed upon them by society ... authority to
own and use land and natural resources. In return, society has the
right to expect that productive organizations will enhance the general
interests of consumers and employees. Society may also expect that
corporations honor existing rights and limit their activities to accord
with the bounds of justice».
       So, under this social contract between society and business,
what rules guide business? If you watch television and movies and read
newspapers, you may believe that all business leaders lie and cheat,
want to destroy the environment, make any compromise for financial
gain, and risk the lives and health of their employees and the public
to make money. Frontpage news reports of illegal stock market trading
and sweatshops make all business professionals appear to be greedy,
selfish, money-hungry villains. Of course, this is not true.
       Business professionals have responsibilities to make decisions
based on ethical princi ples. They also have a responsibility to the
people who work for them and to society in general to provide employees
with guidelines for making ethical decisions. In the 21st century, the
role of ethics in international business transactions and interactions
will receive more attention. Corporate leaders have discussed the adop-
tion of an international code of business ethics. These leaders are
concerned about ethical decisions and want to help employees learn
to work in an ethical way.
     ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
     Ethical decisions are made by business leaders based on these
considerations:
     • How employees feel fulfilled professionally
     • How customers can be satisfied
     • How profit can be assured for shareholders



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