Download SOCIAL AND ETHICAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS

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SOCIAL AND ETHICAL
ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS
Describe the changing nature of the population, the
labor force, and their impact on businesses.
Discuss how the values of Americans have changed
and how business has adapted to those changed
values.
Debate the dilemma posed by the need for business
to grow and the need to protect the natural
environment.
Suggest ways in which businesses can be socially
responsible.
Predict how changes in society and business will
affect employment in the future.
HUMAN RESOURCE
ISSUES
 Population
 Growing population – determined by the birth rate, the
death rate, and the level of immigration
 Changing population – more than 80% of Americans can
be racially classified as white
 Baby boom – high birth rates in 1945-1965
 Baby bust – the low birth rate period that followed the boomer
period (shortage of young workers called “busters”)
 Moving population – 1 out of every 5 Americans change
their address each year
 Frost Belt – The colder northern half of the country
 Sun Belt – the warmer southern half of the nation
 Rust Belt – the north central and northeastern states – lower wage
rates (manufacturing once dominated)
HUMAN RESOURCE
ISSUES
Population of the United States
Millions of People
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
HUMAN RESOURCE
ISSUES

Labor force
 Includes most people 16 or over who are available for work,
whether employed or unemployed

Labor participation rate
 The % of the labor force that is either employed or actively
seeking employment


Poverty – 12-15% of the population live in poverty
Equal employment – “Equality for all”
 Glass ceiling – an invisible barrier to job advancement (women &
minorities)
 Sticky floor syndrome - the inability of workers to move up from
low-paying jobs requiring little skill and education

Comparable worth
 Paying workers equally for jobs with similar but not identical job
requirements (“equal pay for comparable work”)
HUMAN RESOURCE
ISSUES
 Societal values
 Generation X – workers from the post-babyboom generation
 Net Generation – those persons born btwn 1977
-1997
 Employer practices
 Redesigning jobs – to make them varied and
challenging
 Improving health and safety
 Family-friendly practices
 Telecommute – Allows employees to work at home
using computers rather than at the business
NATURAL RESOURCE
ISSUES
 Managing the environment
 Recycling – reusing products and
packaging
 Controlling environmental pollution
 EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) –
helps to control and reduce pollution in
the areas of air, water, solid waste,
pesticides, noise, and radiation (1974)
ETHICAL
ISSUES

Ethics
 The code of moral conduct that sets standards for what is valued as right
or wrong behavior for a person or group (closely linked to personal
values)

Business ethics
 The principles and rules that define right and wrong conduct for an
organization

Code of Ethics
 Is a formal, published collection of values and rules that reflect the firm’s
philosophy and goals


Business Confidentiality – keeping sensitive company information
secret
Ethical dilemmas
 What is the value or worth of a specific behavior for society as a whole?
(The best behavior is that which does the most good for the most people)
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
OF BUSINESS
Social responsibility
 The duty of a business to contribute to the well being of
society
Primary goal for a business is to make a profit for the
owners
Stakeholders
 Individuals or groups that are affected by the firm’s actions,
such as owners, customers, suppliers, employees,
creditors, government, and the public.
NGOs (Non-governmental organizations)
 Independent groups that influence businesses through
lobbying, publicity, and pressure tactics