Business Ethics & Social Responsibility: Roda Cepe

BUSINESS ETHICS
& SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
Roda Cepe
HELLO!
ABM 101 ABM 102 103

After the end of the lesson you are expected to:
 Illustrate how certain philosophies are reflected

into business practices
 Relate the topic in real life experiences
 Demonstrate learning by presenting own works
VISUAL THINKING APPROACH
Directions: Analyze the situations based on the pictures and its descriptions. Discuss based on the hint or
instructions in its opposite box, explain by writing on the space provided for.
BUSINESS
SCENARIO
◦An employee realized that he gave a
shortchange to a customer who already left the
store premises. The right change is 694 pesos,
but he only gave 194 pesos. Discuss what
business ethics issues present on this situation.
What can be done?
BUSINESS
SCENARIO
◦A homeless who found
shelter and comfort within
the Mc Do Store perimeter or
premises. Some customers
complained on the smell.
Some give him food to eat.
Discuss what business ethics
issues present on this
situation. What can be done?
BUSINESS
SCENARIO
◦To get permits and licenses
renewed on time, Company
Y availed the services of
fixers to do transactions in
some government offices for
the speedy renewal of
permits and licenses. Extra
money is paid then. Discuss
what business ethics issues
present on this situation.
What can be done?
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHIES
AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS IN
BUSINESS PRACTICES
MODULE 4
MUSONIUS RUFUS
He was known as the Socrates of

Rome. He was another Stoic, who
taught that philosophy cannot just be
theoretical. If you want to be an
ethical individual or an ethical
company, you can't just study ethics,
you must practice it, every day, to
get into good habits. The ancient
Greek word for ethics is the same
word for habit. (The Guardian,
2020)
You also need to keep track of your progress, to see how you are performing.
You cannot just rely on your intuitions, because they are often wrong. So, the
ancient Greeks learned to keep accounts of themselves. They would track their
daily behavior in journals, keeping account of how many times they lost their
temper, for example, or got too drunk. Then they could see if they were really
improving their behavior, or just going around in circles. (The Guardian, 2020)
In organizational terms, keeping track of ourselves means trying to take an
evidence-based assessment of our performance. We might say we are a green
company, but how do we know if we are making progress? We might say we are a
happy organization, but how do we know? We can keep track of this, for example
by asking our employees (anonymously) how worthwhile they feel their job is.
Then see if, in a year, we have managed to enhance their sense of purpose. (The
Guardian, 2020)
You also need to keep track of your progress, to see how you are performing.
You cannot just rely on your intuitions, because they are often wrong. So, the
ancient Greeks learned to keep accounts of themselves. They would track their
daily behavior in journals, keeping account of how many times they lost their
temper, for example, or got too drunk. Then they could see if they were really
improving their behavior, or just going around in circles. (The Guardian, 2020)
In organizational terms, keeping track of ourselves means trying to take an
evidence-based assessment of our performance. We might say we are a green
company, but how do we know if we are making progress? We might say we are a
happy organization, but how do we know? We can keep track of this, for example
by asking our employees (anonymously) how worthwhile they feel their job is.
Then see if, in a year, we have managed to enhance their sense of purpose. (The
Guardian, 2020)
PLUTARCH on
being a good role
model
Plutarch, the ancient
Greek historian and educator,
understood that humans are
incredibly social creatures, who
constantly observe the people
around them and imitate them.
(The Guardian, 2020)
Unfortunately, people often grow up surrounded by
bad role models. However, we can steer people, by
providing them with better patterns to imitate. That's
what Plutarch tried to do with his famous work, Parallel
Lives, which offered biographical sketches of some of
the great Greek and Roman heroes – Cicero,
Caesar, Alexander the Great, Pericles – to give young
people something to emulate. (The Guardian, 2020)
In organizational terms, that means what you say to your
employees is less important than what you do. They will watch
how you behave, how you treat others, how you cope with
pressure and whether you follow through on your promises. And
they will imitate you. If you talk about ethics and then cut corners
at the first opportunity, they will follow your lead. Set a good
example and they will follow it. Plutarch would also warn that
your best young employees will use you as a bar to aim for and
exceed. That's natural. Let them compete with you and encourage
them to go further. (The Guardian, 2020)
ARISTOTLEon letting
people seek fulfillment
Aristotle was a great biologist as well as a great
philosopher. He based his ethics on a psychological theory
of human nature, insisting that we are naturally virtuous,
rational, social and happiness-seeking. Governments and
organizations need to build the best systems to let humans
fulfill their natural drives. Aristotle's philosophy was an
influence on Edward Deci and Richard Ryan's Self
Determination Theory, which suggests that employees
will work harder for you, and perform better, if you give
them tasks, they find meaningful and morally worthwhile.
Humans want to believe in something and to serve it. Appeal to your
employees' best nature and they will answer that call. Our employees will
also be more motivated if you give them the opportunity to feed their
natural curiosity through learning opportunities. That could be vocational
training, but it could also simply be learning about the world, ideas,
culture. Does your company have an evening or lunch-time lecture series,
such as Google Talks? Could it give credits for evening adult learning
classes, as companies such as Cadbury and Ford once did? (The Guardian,
2020)

SOCRATES on daring to disagree
Socrates, one of the first philosophers,
insisted on our right to think for ourselves.
Too often, he warned, humans sleepwalk
through life, simply going along with the
crowd. (The Guardian, 2020)
This is dangerous in questions of morality, and particularly in corporate
governance. When corruption is uncovered, too often people say, "everyone
else was doing it". But our characters are our responsibility. Socrates was
prepared to die rather than go against his conscience. Does your
organization encourage independent thinkers, and people who follow their
conscience?
Does it allow people to give critical feedback to managers? Does it
create opportunities for good people to blow the whistle on bad behavior?
EPICURUS on the art of
happiness
Epicurus was a fourth century Greek philosopher who
taught, rather scandalously, that the aim of life was simply to
be as happy as possible here on Earth, before we die and
dissolve back into the atomic universe. He warned that
humans are very bad at being happy, and very good at
inventing reasons to be miserable. Philosophy should teach
us how to be happy, he suggested. For example, it could
teach us how to bring our attention to the present moment, to
savor it. It could also teach us to limit our desires to what is
easy to get, not inflating our needs with endless artificially
stimulated desires. (The Guardian, 2020)
Today, some companies are embracing Epicurus' philosophy, and trying to
teach their employees the art of happiness. Tony Hsieh, the CEO of
American shoe company Zappos, is so committed to the company's courses
in happiness that he sold the company to Amazon on the agreement it would
be able to continue with its unique happy culture. (The Guardian, 2020)
The Guardian Author Says that companies should be careful about forcing
all their employees to follow one philosophy of the good life. As we have
seen, there are many different approaches to achieving happiness or welfare.
Perhaps companies could create an ethical culture that embraces all these
different ways of living. (The Guardian, 2020)
ACTIVITIES
CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
A. Given the problem on proper waste disposal in our
city, how does your learning of this lesson can be of
help to solve this environmental problem?
B. How does learning this lesson can shape your life

and can create an impact to the lives of your family?
Be Specific. Ask an elder at home to comment on your
answers and it being useful in your daily life as a
student.
ANCIENT PHILOSOPHERS
YouTube videos
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
google classroom
QUESTIONS?
Messenger
@Roda Saldivar Basa

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BUSINESS ETHICS

ABM 101 ABM 102 103

 Illustrate how certain philosophies are reflected

He was known as the Socrates of

B. How does learning this lesson can shape your life

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