BUSINESS ETHICS & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Quarter 3 – Week 2
THE CORE PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING FAIRNESS, ACCOUNTABILITY,
AND TRANSPARENCY IN BUSINESS OPERATION AND STEWARDSHIP
Name: __________________________ Grade & Section: _____________

Activity 1: Read the text below and follow the given instructions.
Miguel works as an accountant in a big corporation. For 2019, the tax payable by his company to
the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is more than Php 10,000,000.00 pesos. Since he is assigned
to transact business with the BIR, he connived with the revenue officer where they both agreed to lower the
tax to Php 5,000,000.00 only. Then, the Php 2,000,000.00 was given to the collecting officer and the Php
3,000,000.00 went to Miguel’s own pocket.
Supposing you work with Miguel at the accounting department and you suddenly discovered what he
did, what would you do?
Put check (/) if the action is acceptable. If not, leave it as it is.
I will talk to Miguel and tell him that I will not report him provided that he shares with me his part.
I will immediately report him to the manager.
I will not do anything because I do not want to be involved in the issue.
I will share the information to my closest officemate, but we will never disclose it to others.

To help the business organization get on the right track, there are three core
principles that should be implemented in its operation - fairness, accountability, and
transparency.

FAIRNESS
This is the standard of judging which is exempted from bias or prejudice. When someone displays
fairness in making decision, he/she pleases all involved parties and offers a solution that is beneficial to
everyone. In business context, fairness means balancing the interests involved in all decision-making
including those related to hiring, firing, and the compensation and reward system. Employees think of their
organizations as just when the rewards and the way they are distributed are fair.
Fairness is giving to a person what is due to him/her. It has something to do with justice because the
employer checks whether the members have the benefits and burdens distributed evenly to them.

Examples of fairness:
a. A boss listening to both sides of the story before judging who is right and who is wrong.
b. An employer giving 13th month pay to all his/her employees.
c. A person paying the right price for a product purchased or for a service received.

ACCOUNTABILITY
The most important aspect of preventing and detecting corruption is the sound accountability
structures. A civil society organization without proper systems of accountability is fragile and open to
rumors of mismanagement and abuse of authority. Worst of all, lacking it will prevent the organization
from enjoying full respect and legitimacy in the eyes of its stakeholders, including those bearers of duties
that it intends to advocate with.
Accountability is the explication and justification process. It is about testing, forming a judgment,
and taking an action if necessary. It also comes with responsibilities. Holding people to account for those
actions which they are responsible for is fair.
Accountability is therefore an obligation to demonstrate that work has been carried out in accordance
with agreed rules and standards, or to report on performance results fairly and accurately in relation to
mandated roles and/or plans.

Examples of accountability:
a. A cashier admits he/she lost the company’s collection and it is his/her mistake.
b. An engineer who is assigned on a project is the one to be blamed if the project did not meet the
 deadlines.
c. Employee A recommended his cousin to be their company janitor, but the latter stole the cellular phone of
their secretary. Therefore, Employee A may be blamed for recommending his/her cousin and should pay
or replace the lost cellphone.

TRANSPARENCY
Transparency, at the individual level, considers intrinsic or ethical salience as an important feature of
the relational dimension of a person. It is described as a personal quality which is necessary to develop unity
between and among individuals. A transparent approach makes a person more honest and sincere in his/her
relationships, in communicating his/her points of view, and in working actively to find shared meanings and
goals.
Organizationally speaking, the instrumental salience of transparency is identified as an important
mechanism for ensuring social responsibility. For example, adequate disclosure is required to inform donors
of how an organization uses its money.
Transparency helps people to consider how the actions of social organizations such as multinational
agencies and non-governmental groups offer meaningful support to civil society and whether funding is being
properly spent.

More examples of transparency:

a. Reporting accurately the company’s financial situation and risks to investors
b. Holding and selecting bids according to an open pre-defined process
c. Having an open process of decision-making such as in hiring additional employees

Activity 2: Classify each situation below whether it shows fairness, accountability, or transparency by
putting a check in the proper column. An example is given below.
Situation Fairness Accountability Transparency
Cindy, the treasurer, accommodates
the inquiries as to the cash on hand of their /
cooperative.
1. While fixing his table, Arthur
accidentally dropped the electronic calculator
provided by the company.
2. XYZ Enterprises gave all its
employees 13th month pay.
3. Sonia and Rita fought inside the
office. Hence, both were suspended for three days.

4. The cashier took her noon break but forgot to lock

her drawer. To her dismay, all her collections the
whole
morning were stolen.
5. The book of sales of XYZ
Corporation is open for those who are interested.
6. The employee discovered that his/her salary was
short by P1,000 and asked the payroll officer who, in
turn, showed him/her the records.
7. The purchaser of the company paid the exact
amount for the
supplies.
8. The teller was short by P2,000.
9. The driver forgot to get the
baggage.
10. The boss shows the receipt to the
accountant.
Activity3: Construct a short paragraph for each number below beginning with the given phrase.

1. I could show fairness by _____________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. I could show accountability
by___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. I could show transparency
by___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Activity 4: Assume that you formed a non-profit organization during this time of pandemic. It aims to
accept donations from concerned individuals or groups and distribute to those who are in need. As its
founder, think of ways on how you could show fairness to your members and to the beneficiaries,
accountability with the office properties and donations, and transparency in the transactions of your
organization. Describe briefly what you would do. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

Plan of Actions:

Fairness
To Members To Beneficiaries
1. 1.

2. 2.

Accountability
To Office Properties To Donations
1. 1.

2. 2.

Transparency in Transactions
1.

2.
ASSESSMENT:

A. Directions: Match the term in Column A to its definition/description in Column B. Write only
the letter of your answer on the space provided.

A B
_________1. Transparency A. It is the explication and justification process.
_________2. Reporting B. It is giving to a person what is due to him/her.
_________3. Fairness C. This act should be done accurately to the
Company’s investors.
_________4. Decision-making D. This approach makes a person more
Honest and sincere.
_________5. Accountability E. An example of this act involves hiring of
workers.
B. Directions: Complete each sentence below by filling in the blank/s . Choose your answers from
the box.

Efficiency FairnessTransparency Accountability

Bias
6-8 , , and are the three
important core principles in business organization.

9. _ is shown when one listens to the two sides of a story before

giving his/her judgment.

10. is shown when one admits his/her mistake and is responsible for it.

C. Directions: Read each sentence carefully and identify whether it is correct or incorrect. Write
your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

_________1. One exercises fairness when he/she pays the right amount for an item purchased.
_________2. Transparency is shown when one hides the records from the other shareholders of the
company.
_________3. Kris is exhibiting transparency when he holds an open bidding for company’s next project.
_________4. Rico should pay the money collection which he lost in the restaurant, being the treasurer of the
lending company where he works.
_________5. A boss may choose who among his/her employees will be given Christmas bonus