Question

After a train transporting oil has derailed causing environmental destruction along its route through a scenic natural area, how can a large oil company demonstrate corporate responsibility?

Discuss contemporary issues in business ethics, and critically reflect on their implications for contemporary and future businesses

(1) the natural environment,

(2) globalization

(3) latest development in information technology

(400 words)

Answer 1

Once the large oil company suffers such ill fated incident where one of its trains derails causing destruction of natural habitat it has lot catching to do when it comes to corporate image and responsibility. It has to ensure that not a single human life is affected adversely by the incident and if it has already happened proper compensation package should be announced for the people who suffered such tragedy .They should be compensated for both their physical losses and mental trauma they had to undergo due to loss of property or belongings. A separate budget should be announced immediately to restore normalcy in the natural resources (in the surroundings).Damages should be minimized and risk management for future endeavors should be announced to ensure such incidents doesn’t happen again . A natural park/habitat of similar capacity which got destructed due to the incident should be inaugurated by the oil company as a gesture of good will.

The natural environment

Ethics in today’s business is essential to ensure repeat purchases and customer retention. Customers are presented with an wide array of choices today and researches have suggested that firms that has a deep and positive social image manages to sustain its market share.

One of the most important issues in business ethics is conservation of natural resources and habitat. For production firms it is actually counter intuitive to maintain the natural environment while also optimizing the efficiency/profits. But at the same time firms have to factor in the economic concept of “tragedy of commons” when using natural resources to their own benefit. World is seeing major catastrophic events which are largely attributed to global warming and pollution. If there’s no natural resources left what would the firms use for their production purposes? Thus maintain green initiatives, sustainable and eco friendly quality practices would go a long way in maintaining the balance between production efficiency and environmental conservation.

Similarly the concept of globalization has made the world smaller with cross cultural elements assimilating into our daily lives. Here also firms have to maintain a ethos, value set which can be considered fair across multiple cultures and ethnicities. Any marketing promotion which gives the slightest notion of atrocity against any community across the globe can bring down the image of the company drastically. Globally consistent values and visions should be practiced as any deviation can be easily tracked by the customers due to globalization.

Information technology has catapulted to an astronomical level in recent days and the development is consistently upwards. Artificial intelligence and machine learning has enabled firms to function virtually across geographies and borders seamlessly. Business Insights drawn from big data is handing corporate massive power. But this has also raised the level of caution and margins that should be practiced while using sensitive data (e.g-health data). Ethics to be followed while leveraging such technology so that customer’s personal space is not breached has to be ensured. Also compliance laws across geographies are changing all the time. These data privacy laws should be stringently followed by the organizations to maintain ethical values .