business environment =chapter 2 24-9

7/29/2019 Business Environment =Chapter 2 24-9

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Business Environment

Chapter 2: Responsibilities of

Organisations


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Social responsibility

This is the way a Co acts in a responsible way

to those inside and outside it.

It also looks at the way it does business.

Is it good for the environment?

Is it good for the society?


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Examples of Social Responsibility.

Govt is supposed to offer services to people

e.g. housing, health, education

Schools & universities prepare students for

work

C.S.R. Corporate(Company) SocialResponsibility


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Shareholders

Some believe that the only job of managers is to

make the owners wealthy (very rich)

There are two reasons for this thinking:

1. The shareholders own the business.

So managers should not do anything which

reduces the value of the business

E.g. giving away things for free to school children.


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Shareholders

2. If managers increase the wealth of the ownersthe following will happen:

A) the Govt will have more taxes, which can helpmore people

B) Having rich people also helps the society, theycreate jobs, they spend money on many things.So everyone gains from having rich people!

C) Most shares are owned by Pension Funds e.g.Pingan.

So they may be owned by people who are notrich.


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The thinking is based on

1. The only people who are important are the

Owners, everyone else is not!

2. The business will only have one sort of

relationship with the society,

A business relationship and nothing else.


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Problems with this way of thinking

1. Shareholders do not really control the

businesses. It is the managers.

2. Big Cos have too much power and so can

control a town or even a country.

E.g. Apple makes Billions of dollars each year.

It could pay the national debts of many poorcountries!


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Continued

3. Businesses get a lot of help from the Govt:

- Govt pays for education, health, roads etc

- Cos pollute the environment - the tax they pay may not be much anyway.

4. Cos produce two types of things:

- Good - goods and services - Bad pollution, noise,


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B. Employees

Workers are part of the internal and externalenvironment.

1Internal as workers

2 external as part of the public and society.

Internal wages, job security, promotion, pensions

Cos are now trying to make workers happier by:

- daycare paid by the Cos or at the worksite.

- flexible working working from home

- Paternity leave for fathers.


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C. Customers

These are very important to the Cos.

If they are unhappy the Co may lose money orclose!

Their main worries are:

1. quality of goods and services

2. Safe products

3. Availability of products

4. Support concerning products.


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Suppliers These like Customers are connected to the Co.

They are very important to the Co:

E.g. they can cause a Co to lose money or fail.

Suppliers worry about:

1. Getting paid for the goods and services given.

2. Future businesses:

Power of suppliers:

A. they may stop supplying to the Co.

B. They may say from now on pay in cash.

C. They may tell other people the Co is not a good Co.


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D. Financiers, Lenders Financiers are people who give money to the Co

like banks.

Their main concerns are:

1. Being paid the interest.

2. Being paid the capital.

Powers of Financiers:

1. Can make the Co close

2. They can refuse to give the Co anymore money.

3. They may take the Co to court.

4. They may take some of the Assets of a Co.


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Professional bodies

For accountants think ofCICPA in China.

Its job is to control what the members can do.

In reality there is very little they can do except:

1. to ask him to pay money

2. Or to stop him being a member


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neighbours

Cos must not disturb their neighbours e.g. Must not pollute, make noise or cause traffic jams

This will depend on the country, society or itslaws.


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Government

This is very powerful.

Govts interests may be as follows:

Tax Cos are paying tax.

Employment How many people are working,

Environment it may wish to discourage

pollution.

Development the government may wish to

see the country becoming better.


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Govt

Powers are many e.g.

Can change, remove or add laws.

Controls taxes.

Controls public spending e.g. taxes

Can help cos e.g. laws or give Cos money

Can build infrastructure e.g. roads, hospitals.

Can be a competitor sometimes!


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The stakeholder theory

It says:

The public is a stakeholder, so the Co must thinkof the Public before doing anything.

Giving money away is good for the Co in thePublics eyes,

it may make buy your products! It can stop the Govt putting laws which force you

to do something, if you do it yourself.


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Environmental Responsibilities

Laws

The Govt may encourage you to do something.

E.g. if you buy an electric car you may pay nosales tax.

Or the Govt may discourage you by tax

E.g. people used to be given plastic bags for free.

To reduce pollution, the govt makes people payfor them.


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Environmental issues on business 1. Can make business more expensive.

E.g. changing from plastic bags to paper bags in

a shop may be more expensive.

2. It may make the Co more liked by customers. E.g. the Body Shop.

3. Customers may stop buying if they are not

happy with your way of doing business.


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Business and the environment

1. Most resources will be finished. The best

thing is to slow down this usage.

- another thing to do is to re-cycle, use again.

Pollution:

- Air , Noise, Light, Water, Environmental


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Big issues in the environment

1. Acid rain.

Due to pollution the rain which falls main notbe clean.

This is called acid rain.

This has damaged:

Forests

Fish

Water bodies like lakes, rivers


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2. Ozone

The ozone protects people from the sun.

There is now a hole in this.The main cause is a gas called CFC, which is

found in such things as refrigerators.


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3. Waste

When making a product, what is left afterwards

which is not wanted is called waste.

E.g. when cooking the oil.

Some Cos have managed to use this as fuel in

cars!

Some have managed to use it as animal feed.


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4. Climate Change

This is when the weather of a place, country

changes.

Nowadays there are more floods, droughts andunusual weather patterns,

Most is caused by

pollution,

Cutting too many trees


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5. Energy Resources

These will run out sooner or later

We are talking of oil, gas, coal etc.

There has to be a way to manage them better.

E.g. build machines which use less.

Make sure there are less losses from where wemake them to when they get to the customer.

Use by products: to make other things

Use renewable energy e.g. the Sun, water, wind


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E.g. Hwange Colliery

This is a mining co in coal Africa. It supplies to industry, farmers and the power Co.

It sends the best quality coal to industry.

The low quality coal, which is really waste, is sent tothe power station.

It has said that it wishes to move into gas selling.

Normally where there is coal there is also methane . Methane is a gas

It can be used to cook, heat or make electricity!


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Business sectors and the environment

1. Primary sector

These have a big effect on the environment, e.g.

mining, agriculture, fishing or timber. Effects

- deforestation no more forests

- animals lose their homes

- fewer plants and animals

- poor working conditions and safety,

- food or products not safe


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2. The secondary sector

Here we mainly look at building & construction. Effects:

1. damaging the environment pollution etc

2. unsafe products e,g, the milk

3. using dirty machines this gives us waste.

4. using hard to get things e.g. wood.

Steps taken by business: 1. recycle more

2. Have processes and products which use lessresources.


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3. Tertiary sector These do not have a big effect as the other two

sectors:

They affect the environment in the following

Electricity. E.g. office machinery, lights.

Energy. Business trips, using private cars Paper. E.g. printing business documents

Water e.g. in the toilets at work.

Possible solutions: Recycle papers

Print less or use electronic printers

Switch off lights after hours or use better lights.


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Ethical issues

Ethics is the study ofright and wrong.

It is a very problematic area because people

do not always agree on what that is.

Cos try to make sure that employees act in a

certain way.

They may follow a code of conduct.


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Codes of Conduct These are usually documents which tell an

employee what he can or not do. They are supposed to help him do the right thing.

Conduct means the way you behave

E.g. a code of conduct may talk about:

Being fair on e.g. women,

Obey the law.

Respect others Do not lie or cheat

The code of conduct can not include everything!


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Codes of Conduct It is not enough to have a code of conduct.

If someone does something wrong they must bepunished, whoever they are.

E.g. if a manager steals

He should be dimissed and the police told

This will tell people:

1. the Co is serious about bad behaviour. 2. it tells other people not to do the same things.

3. it shows that the Co will deal with anyone whobreaks the rules, manager or not!


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Business Ethics

Question Is there a place for ethics in

business?

Should a Co not only worry about how to

make money and nothing else.


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Advantages/Disadvantages of Business Ethics

Advantages disadvantages

1. Protect the Co frompunishment

They may cost money

2. Give the Co a good name It is not a Cos job but the

Courts

3. May attract customers You may lose business

4. May stop the Govt from

making rules which may be tough

for the Co.

5. May attract good employees

6. Gives confidence to others

who do business with you.


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Ethics models

There are two main models for having ethics

in a Co.

1. Compliance based model

2. Integrity based model


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Compliance Based Model

The word comply means to follow or to do whatyou are told e.g. follow the law

The Co will only do what the law says.

The Co will not do more than the law says.

The idea is to:

1. stop people breaking the law,

2. Make sure those breaking the law are caught

3. That they are punished for breaking the law.


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Integrity Based Model

This one goes more than the Compliance

Based model.

The main idea is that the Co

1. Will try to be good

2. Because it is good

3. To be good!


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Differences between Compliance and Integrity Systems

Area Compliance Integrity

Idea Follow the law, rules Choose your own standards

Aim Keep to the law Have legal and responsible behaviour

Source Lawyers Management, lawers, owners etc

Methods Employee does not have

much choice

Leadership, training, Co systems

Standard The Law Co Values, Vision & the Law

Behaviour ideas People are selfish People are social beings

Main people Lawyers Managers & Lawyers

Actions Make standards, train

people, discipline,

investigate, report

Build values into Co systems, Lead people,

solve problems

Education The Law, code of conduct Values, the Law, Compliance systems


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Management Responsibilities

Managers are responsible for two key issues:

1. Recruitment bringing people into the Co

2. Retirement people leaving the Co at the

end of their working lives.

3. Redundancy asking people to leave

because the business is not doing well or they

are not good enough.


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Recruitment

This means hiring new people.

The Co must make sure it gets the right

person.

It can be expensive or even difficult to fire a

person.

This can be avoided by choosing the right

person in the beginning,

Firing people can make others unhappy


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Retirement

This when an employee has reached the legal agelimit or has chosen to retire early.

The employee must get:

A good pension to support him during retirement. A big problem for some people is what to do next.

Cos may help prepare them through talks etc.


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Redundancies This is when some people are asked to go.

This could be because the Co is not doing well Or there is a change in the Co

Or they do not have the skills now needed.

The Co may help by doing the following:

Putting them in sister Cos if possible

Helping them to find new jobs.

Training them for new jobs Providing advice.

Arranging for job fairs

Giving them good pensions when they leave the Co.


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Management & Customers

Main ideas:

Good products

Good quality

Safe products

Not cheating customers


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Management and Suppliers

Main things are:

1. The Co must not use its buying power to

force suppliers to give them very low prices.

2. Cos should pay within the agreed times.

3. All information about suppliers should be

kept secret.

4. Treat all suppliers, future, current fairly.

M t & th C it


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Management & the Community

Keeping the social values of that society

E.g. advertising which is decent

Making the community better E.g. giving jobs, helping schools and hospitals.

Helping the community when problems happen

E.g. noise, pollution


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Public Relations & Corporate Governance

Corporate image is the way people see the Co

It could be good, boring, bad, cool

E.g. Apple is Cool

Reasons for P.R.

1. To tell people about the Co and its products.

2. to make the workers want to work harder and

longer for the Co3. To make customers only want their products.

4. To show that they are socially responsible.


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Environmental Pressure Groups

These are people who are concerned about the

environment and Cos actions.

They work by:

1. information getting it and telling the public.

2. Action protests to damaging Co property.

3. Partnership try to help businesses improve.


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Other pressure groups

Employees for their safety and to help the Co. Law more and more countries putting laws on

child workers, environment, animals etc.

Media the internet, newspapers, tv, radio, canbe used to put pressure on the Cos.

Nowadays due to the internet information travels

so quickly and is hard to stop or control!


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business environment =chapter 2 24-9

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