Assignment on: Code of Ethics and Social Audit

Course Title: The Business Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility

Course Code: BBA3109
Submitted To
Dr.S.M Mahbubur Rahman
Associate Professor
Department of Business Administration
Noakhali Science and Technology University

Submitted By:
Name: Shanaz Akter
ID: BKH1810032F
Session:2017-2018
Department of Business Administration

Table of Contents

Page-1
Question-1: What is the purpose of morality and social audit? Differentiate between social obligation and
Corporate Social Responsibility. 2
Definition of audit: 2
Purpose of Morality: 2
Purpose of social audit: 2
Differentiate between social obligation and Corporate Social Responsibility 4
Question-2: Some management experts assert that ethics codes are of little value in organization because a
manager ethics are mostly a product of his individual values, not a written codes developed by top
management. Do you agree? In your opinion, are there limits to a code’s effectiveness in organization?
Explain. 5
Code of ethics: 5
Written code ethics: 5
Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct Sample Template: 6
1. Be inclusive: 6
2. Be considerate: 6
3. Be respectful: 6
4. Choose your words carefully: 6
5. Don't harass: 7
6. Make differences into strengths. 7
Question-3: what ethical codes would recommend for your university, your family, your class? How should
these code enforced? 7
Solution: 7
Ethical codes would recommend for my university: 7
Ethical codes would recommend for my family 8
Ethical codes would recommend for my class: 8
Question -4: What is your opinion of the value of industry code of ethics? Do you think that code of ethics
developed by industrial firms would be more or less effective than those promulgated by association such as
Business Ethics Advisory Council ?Explain 9
Code of ethics developed by industrial firms: 9
The Ethics Committee and Compliance 10
Promulgated by association such as Business Ethics Advisory Council 11
Reference: 11

Page-2
Question-1: What is the purpose of morality and social audit? Differentiate between
social obligation and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Definition of audit:

Audit is the examination or inspection of various books of accounts by an auditor followed by physical
checking of inventory to make sure that all departments are following documented system of recording
transactions. It is done to ascertain the accuracy of financial statements provided by the organization.

Purpose of Morality:

Morality is the human attempt to define what is right and wrong about our actions and thoughts, and what is
good and bad about our being that we are. It might take it to refer to the most important code of conduct put
forward by a society and accepted by the members of that society. But the existence of large and
heterogeneous societies raises conceptual problems for such a descriptive definition, since there may not be
any such society-wide code that is regarded as most important. As a result, a definition might be offered in
which “morality” refers to the most important code of conduct put forward and accepted by any group, or
even by an individual.

The morality is constituted five core purposes

● To keep society from falling apart

● To ameliorate human suffering
● To promote human flourishing
● To resolve conflict of interest justly and orderly;
● To assign praise, blame, reward, punishment and guilt.

Purpose of social audit:

A social audit is a way of measuring, understanding, reporting and ultimately improving an organization’s
social and ethical performance. A social audit helps to narrow gaps between vision/goal and reality, between
efficiency and effectiveness. It is a technique to understand, measure, verify, report on and to improve the
social performance of the organization.

The key difference between development and social audit is that a social audit focuses on the neglected issue
of social impacts, while a development audit has a broader focus including environment and economic
issues, such as the efficiency of a project or programmed.

Objectives of social audit

● Assessing the physical and financial gaps between needs and resources available for local
development.
● Creating attentiveness among beneficiaries and providers of local social and productive services.
● Growing efficacy and effectiveness of local development programmers’.
● Scrutiny of various policy decisions, keeping in view stakeholder interests and priorities, particularly
of rural poor.
Page-3
 ● Estimation of the opportunity cost for stakeholders of not getting timely access to public services.

Thus this process of Social Audit combines people's participation and monitoring with the requirements of
the audit discipline. It is necessary to promote people's participation in the audit along with support provided
by an independent social audit organization that facilitates the process.

Differentiate between social obligation and Corporate Social Responsibility

Social Obligation

● Obligation is defined as a duty or commitment: being legally or morally bound to do something. Or;
a debt of gratitude for a service or favor.

● As individuals, we find ourselves obligated to follow society’s traditions and social etiquette. Gift
giving, for example, is a social obligation. If you receive a gift from a friend on your birthday, you
are expected to give a gift on that person’s birthday.

● Parents have a social obligation to teach their children right from wrong and good manners. They
have the responsibility of teaching their children to stay safe in, and outside the home.

● We have a social obligation to behave morally and ethically in all aspects of everyday life and in all
business practices. By exhibiting upstanding behavior, those who follow will also act morally and
ethically.

● In business, balancing ecosystems and economies is a social obligation. By taking care to not harm
the environment in which a company operates, they also take care of their employees, stockholders
and communities.

Corporate Social Responsibility:

● Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a type of business self-regulation with the aim of being
socially accountable.
● There is no one "right" way companies can practice CSR; many corporate CSR initiatives strive to
positively contribute to the public, the economy or the environment.
● Socially conscious environment, employees and customers place a premium on working for and
spending their money with businesses that prioritize CSR.
●  No matter the size of your company, implementing socially responsible practices can not only
benefit your business, but it can make a positive impact on the world. 

Page-4
Question-2: Some management experts assert that ethics codes are of little value in
organization because a manager ethics are mostly a product of his individual values,
not a written codes developed by top management. Do you agree? In your opinion, are
there limits to a code’s effectiveness in organization? Explain.

Solution:

Before comment on the statement we first know “code of ethics” “manager code of ethics “written code”.

Code of ethics:

Codes of ethics are adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between
right and wrong and in applying that understanding to their decisions. An ethical code generally implies
documents at three levels: codes of business ethics, codes of conduct for employees, and codes of
professional practice. Code of ethics may be written or not.

Written code ethics:

Outline the mission and values of the business or organization, how professionals are supposed to approach
problems, the ethical principles based on the organization's core values, and the standards to which the
professional is held.

Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct Sample Template:

1. Be inclusive:

This includes, but is not limited to members of any sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race,
ethnicity, culture, national origin, social and economic class, educational level, color, immigration status,
sex, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, and mental and physical ability.

2. Be considerate:

We all depend on each other to produce the best work we can as a company. Your decisions will affect
clients and colleagues, and you should take those consequences into account when making decisions.

3. Be respectful:

We won't all agree all the time, but disagreement is no excuse for disrespectful behavior. We will all
experience frustration from time to time, but we cannot allow that frustration become personal attacks. An
environment where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive or creative one.

4. Choose your words carefully:

Always conduct yourself professionally. Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down others. Harassment
and exclusionary behavior aren't acceptable. This includes, but is not limited to:

Page-5
 ● Threats of violence.
● Insubordination.
● Discriminatory jokes and language.
● Sharing sexually explicit or violent material via electronic devices or other means.
● Personal insults, especially those using racist or sexist terms.
● Unwelcome sexual attention.
● Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.

5. Don't harass:

In general, if someone asks you to stop something, then stop. When we disagree, try to understand why.
Differences of opinion and disagreements are mostly unavoidable. What is important is that we resolve
disagreements and differing views constructively.

6. Make differences into strengths.

We can find strength in diversity. Different people have different perspectives on issues, and that can be
valuable for solving problems or generating new ideas. Being unable to understand why someone holds a
viewpoint doesn’t mean that they’re wrong. Don’t forget that we all make mistakes and blaming each other
doesn’t get us anywhere.

Instead, focus on resolving issues and learning from mistakes.

I disagree with the statement because Ethics must start at the top; even if the firm implements various
formal, ethics-related mechanisms, they cannot truly influence employees' ethics if those mechanisms do not
match the ethical image at the top, in which case top management instead could be perceived as hypocritical.
Thus top management ethicality is one of the most important determinants of company ethics and making
such ethics evident to all organizational members should strongly affect the ethical behavior of employees.

The most important strategy for enhancing ethics in business organizations entails emphasizing the
exemplary ethical conduct of top management. Ethical obligations usually are understood as mutual or
reciprocal (Schroeder, 2002), so if ethics are to invade the organization, they must start at the top. It is essay
to take legal action on this respect.

There limits to a code’s effectiveness in organization are sometimes the employees dissatisfied on top
management decision and go strike.

Page-6
Question-3: what ethical codes would recommend for your university, your family,
your class? How should these code enforced?

Solution:

Ethical codes would recommend for my university:

Students have a duty to respect the local and the entire public domain. By this is meant not to degrade the
premises, not to steal the property of the public property etc … the acts of deterioration or deterioration
made to the furniture, to the buildings are generally sanctioned by the training for its author of the refund of
restoration costs.

● Adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

● Being open-minded that means a willingness to listen to other ideas and opinions and consider the
possibility that you are wrong or may change your own perspective.
● Be discipline in every step.
● Tolerance can be seen as the willingness to accept feelings, habits, or beliefs.
● Benefit on a personal level from teamwork. A team of students must actively listen to each other,
articulate ideas and use genuinely constructive criticism to be effective.
● Sense of responsibility which is able to respond for his actions, is able to take some duties and to
face certain consequences of the actions that may occur.
● Responsibilities towards professors.
●  Student responsibilities towards the members of the University.
Ethical codes would recommend for my family:
● Every family operates on the basis of fundamental principles like love, giving and receiving; Present
reality, future potential, Thoughts, words, and deeds.
● Relationship Between Spouses
1. Faithfulness is the core assumption and foundation of marriage.
2. Joy of having children. A natural outgrowth of the love of a husband and wife is the joy of
having children.
● Relationship between Parents and Children
1. Parents are responsible to educate themselves to be good parents.
2. Parents should educate children to love more than their family.
● Responsibility of the Children
1. Responsibility to grow in character.
2. Respect and honor to parents.

Ethical codes would recommend for my class:

● Try not to hurt people.

● Make people feel good about them. Be a part of creating a community where people trust one
another.
Page-7
● Respecting one another and our differences.
● Don’t punish too harshly because you are emotional. Make sure your punishment fits the crime.
Fairness also has to do with how we distribute scarce resources.
● Show people you care about them.

Page-8
Question -4: What is your opinion of the value of industry code of ethics? Do you think that code of
ethics developed by industrial firms would be more or less effective than those promulgated by
association such as Business Ethics Advisory Council ?Explain

Solution:

A code of ethics is important because it clearly lays out the rules for behavior and provides the groundwork
for a preemptive warning. Regardless of size, businesses count on their management staff to set a standard
of ethical conduct for other employees to follow.

We base our business code of ethics on common principles of ethics Respect for others. Treat people as you
want to be treated.

My opinion of value of industry codes of ethics is code of ethics help maintaining firm properly. The
relationship between employers and employees is defined on code of ethics so they follow it. For this,
conflict reduces in firm.

Code of ethics developed by industrial firms:

A code of ethics document may outline the mission and values of the business or organization, how
professionals are supposed to approach problems, the ethical principles based on the organization's core
values and the standards to which the professional is held.

Outline Code of ethics developed by industrial firms

Rainmaker Systems, Inc.

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
 
Our Responsibilities—Personal Integrity, Corporate Values and Ethical Principles
 
We are a Company committed to:
 
  Passion for Excellence—Strive to achieve the best in everything we do.
 
Integrity—Hold us to the highest ethical standards. To interact in an open, honest positive manner
 
and be guided by what is right.
 
  Teamwork—Work together with trust, openness, honesty and respect.
 
Inspired People—Build a culture where people are motivated, engaged, valued and growing. Our
  people make the difference and are the essence of Rainmaker Systems.

 
our Responsibilities to Our Stakeholders
 
—To Ourselves
Integrity is at the heart of who we are as individuals. Integrity is at the heart of Rainmaker Systems as
well.
 
—To Each Other
Page-9
 We owe each other honesty, respect, and fair treatment. We value the unique contributions of each
employee.

—To Our Business Partners, Clients, and End-User Customers

Our business partners, clients, and end-user customers trust the quality and value of our service
offerings. We depend on strong relationships with our business partners and clients to provide us with
continued opportunities to grow our business.
 
—To Our Shareholders
Our shareholders trust us to responsibly use all our assets to make our business grow.
 
—To Our Community
When we give back to the community, we instill pride in our employees and gain the respect of the
citizens in our community.
 

The Ethics Committee and Compliance

 
The Rainmaker Ethics Committee is dedicated to giving employees the support and advice they need to act
according to The Standards and Rainmakers’ ethical principles. Appointed by Rainmaker’s Executive Team,
we act as a resource, providing the information, tools, and strategies to assist employees in making ethical
business decisions.
 
The Ethics Committee has a charter to:

  Help employees use the Company’s ethical principles in their decision-making processes

  Provide guidance for employees who have questions about business ethics and compliance issues

  Support employees who may be facing ethical challenges in the workplace

  Interpret policies

  Provide easily accessible information on The Standards, policies, and procedures

Foster an atmosphere of trust and open communication where employees feel comfortable coming
 
forward and talking about issues

Promulgated by association such as Business Ethics Advisory Council

The Business Ethics Advisory Council is a group of outstanding businessmen, educators, clergymen, and
journalists. Its goal is to help the American business community develop and carry out programs for the
general improvement of business ethics. Recently, the Council posed some searching inquiries for all
businessmen in a widely publicized Statement on Business Ethics and Call for Action. Since then, the
Council has been undertaking to achieve its goal through a number of nation-wide activities. The history of
the origin and work of the Council may well prove an important chapter in the chronicles of American
business.

I think that code of ethics developed by industrial firms would be less effective than those promulgated by
association such as Business Ethics Advisory Council.
Page-10
Reference:

1. Rainmaker Systems, Inc. Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

2. UGC frames code of ethics for higher education student.

Read more at:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6129159.cms?
utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
3. Blowfield & Alan Murray. (2008). Corporate responsibility- A critical introduction. New York:

Oxford University Press.

4.Bowen, Howard Rothmann. (1953). Social responsibilities of the businessman. New York:
Harper Branco, Castilo Manual and Lima, Lucia Rodrigues. (2007).

5 Positioning stakeholders theory within the debate on corporate social responsibility. Electronic Journal of
Business Ethics and Organizational Studies, Vol-12, No.1

6.Campbell, Tom and Houghton, Keith eds. (2005). Ethics and auditing, Canberra: Australian
University Press.
7.Carrol, Archie B. ed. (1977). Managing corporate social responsibility. Boston: Little Brown and
Co.Carrol, Archie B. (1979).

8.Akaah, I.P. and E.A. Riordan, "Judgments of marketing professionals about ethical issues in marketing
research: a replication and extension," Journal of Marketing Re-search, vol. 26, no. 1.

Page-11