Discuss about the Spiritual Dimension Of Business Ethic Sustainability.
Founded on 5th December 1924, Woolworths operates under the retail industry. The brand has its outlet spread in 995 locations around the world. According to the annual report of 2015, the annual revenue was AS$ 42.132 billion. This is due to the hard work of 111,000 employees. The organization has achieved accolades and glory through the provision of groceries, household goods, cosmetics, pet and baby supplies, along with stationery items. The brand possesses enough for fulfilling the needs, demands and requirements of the customers. Rewards, credit cards, Shoppers Club are the means through which the personnel attracts the customers (Woolworthsholdings.co.za (2018).
According to The News Daily, the personnel at Woolworths are unaware of the fact that they are morally responsible for ensuring the protection of the farm workers. However, they highlight their moral obligations towards the exposure of ethical approach. Producing the verdict regarding the unpreparedness towards enforcement of the law, reflects negligence towards the moral obligations. Reports of ABC Four Corners pressurizes the brand against supply chain. The head of the corporate responsibility even failed to produce a positive response regarding fulfilling the legal obligations and wage conditions. One of the striking facts is that the head of the trade relations of the organization took initiatives, which were illegal. Along with this, there are also reports of hiring unscrupulous labors, which exploited the migrant workers from Europe and Asia (Thenewdaily.com.au, 2018).
The issue reflects a breach of ethical code of conduct by the higher authority. From their statements, it is clear that they are aware of their moral obligations, however, they failed to execute it as per the rules and regulations. This indicates the lack of strict corporate governance, which needs to be present within the workplace of Woolworths. Senate enquiry aligns with the protocols of the corporate governance. Audits are a typical element of the organizational policy. Organizing audits in the countries with high potential risks is appropriate in terms of preserving the organizational ethics. This reflects a planned approach towards maintaining the organizational ethics. Mention can be made of the analytics, which helped the personnel to conduct the risk assessment. This assistance falls within the ethics governing the organizational business (Thenewdaily.com.au, 2018).
Claims regarding the ethical production of the policies and procedures highlight the awareness towards the compliance to Ethical Code of Conduct. Herein lays the effectiveness of the plans regarding license system and stricter regulations for the labors. Meetings with the trade union members would suffice the purpose of hiring the rightful candidates.
Woolworths believes that the stakeholders are the agent towards achieving sustainable growth. Attempt is made in terms of adversely influencing the purchasing power of the stakeholders. The stakeholders, who assist Woolworths in their journey are: customers, employees, suppliers, communities, shareholders and debt funders. Satisfaction of the customers enhances the standards, quality, value and sustainability of the products and services. This is due to the presence of over 44000 skilled and efficient employees. Stable relations with the suppliers enrich the stock of products (Woolworthsholdings.co.za, 2018). Community development is accounted as one of the crucial activities of the corporate social responsibility. Mention can be made of the operations of Woolworths in the sub-Saharan, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Debt funders help in management of the financial issues
What would be the implications of implementing revised Ethical Code of Conduct within the workplace of Woolworths?
Ethics is an important parameter within the workplace issues. Adherence to the ethical code of conduct helps in preserving the organizational values. Consciousness of the personnel towards this preservation helps in the achievement of loyalty, trust and dependence from the clients and the customers. Rationality in this direction is beneficial in terms of luring the customers towards the brand image. Consistency in the exposure of rational behaviour assists in sustaining the clients and the customers (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2014). The issue selected is a live example of breaching and violating the ethical code of conduct by the higher authorities of Woolworths. This report sheds light on the theoretical and alternative solutions, which would have enhanced the reputation of the brand.
The scenario reflects the lackadaisical approach of the personnel towards their moral obligations. Upon enquiry, it is found that the head of the trading centre of the organization is unaware whether the labors are being exploited. They are aware of the fact that they need to adhere to the moral obligations for the preservation of ethics. However, when they are asked whether the labors are exploited or not, they fail to provide a positive response. Claims were produced against enforcement of the law (Thenewdaily.com.au, 2018). Involvement of ABC Four Corners reflects the presence of statutory bodies, in spite of which the higher authorities expressed negligence towards their duties. The head of the Corporate Social Responsibility at Woolworths expressed his hopes regarding compliance with the legal obligations and wage conditions.
Expectations regarding the fulfilment of the obligations reflects the lack of planned approach towards the execution of business activities by the higher authorities. Statements have been made about understanding of the suppliers regarding the conditions, which they have to fulfil. Consciousness towards this process indicates the systematic approach towards the maintaining the stability in the relationship with the suppliers. Claiming that the labors need to live up to the standards can be considered inappropriate in terms of the present corporate governance of the organization, Woolworths (Thenewdaily.com.au, 2018).
The issue reflects the lack of planning for governing the business of Woolworths. Most striking fact is the negligence of the higher authorities towards the regulating the behaviour of the staffs. In this process, the stakeholders suffer, as their needs are compromised. Theoretical consideration would have assisted the personnel in preserving the organizational ethics. Stakeholder theory would have proved beneficial in this direction.
Stakeholder theory enables the management to properly manage the core values, which govern the business. Typical components of this theory are strategic management, planning, and corporate social responsibility among others. Among these, corporate social responsibility is the most crucial, as it caters to the ethics, moral, social, cultural and environmental parameters (Crane & Matten, 2016). According to the critics, the theory has different aspects, which are mutually supportive. These are descriptive, instrumental and normative. Descriptive approach caters to the behavioural approach of the managers towards regulation of the behaviour of the staffs. Herein, negativity is established as the personnel of Woolworths exposed lackadaisical and careless attitude towards their duties and responsibilities. Instrumental approach refers to the connections between the management of the stakeholders and the ways adopted for fulfilling the corporate goals (Zsolnai, 2015). In case of Woolworths, the managers were not sure whether the labors are being exploited or not. In such a situation, fulfilling the needs, demands and requirements seem questionable. Normative approach highlights the moral guidelines, which the personnel adhere for maintaining the order and harmony of the workplace. Aligning the case scenario of Woolworths, the higher authorities are aware of the moral code of conduct, however, they lack awareness regarding the exploitation of labors.
From the perspective of corporate social responsibility, this is one of an important framework, which helps the organizations to review their behavioural approach towards the clients and the customers. Typical example of this are the ISO 26000 and the Global Reporting Initiative, which reflects the authentic stakeholder analysis (Bosselmann, 2016). As per the usual business context, the stakeholders are the agents, who assist the personnel in fulfilling the identified and the specified goals. However, in case of Woolworths, any such certificate or belief was missing in the statement of the managers. Awareness was reflected in the presence of the moral code of conduct, but not in its application. This was the negative side of the managers’, which aggravated the distance from the clients.
From the perspective of business ethics, stakeholder theory helps the management in solving the issues related to the individual or organizational dilemma. According to the critics, the interest of the stakeholders can be compromised. This compromise aggravates the complexities for the organizations in terms of achieving success. Other critics are of the view that compromising the needs of the stakeholders result in conflicts between the organizations and the stakeholders. These conflicts stall the productivity, degrading the reputation (Quarshie, Salmi & Leuschner, 2016).
Exposure of ethical approach by the staffs results in the achievement of loyalty, trust and dependence from the clients and the customers. Adherence to the standards and codes of the Ethical Code of Conduct is the moral obligation of the staffs. Breach or violation of these standards stains the personality of these staffs, delaying their professional development. This breach contradicts the true essence of the corporate social responsibility. This is because breach or violation is against the standards and protocols. These breaches even possess flexibility to bestow harsh punishments on the staffs (Ardichvili, 2013). In order to avert the punishments, the staffs need to conduct strategic planning. The needs, demands and requirements of the stakeholders need to be the first priority of the staffs.
All these aspects did not prove true for the workplace of Woolworths. The senate enquiry is absolutely appropriate in terms of evaluating the current business scenario. The managers and head of the departments expressed careless approach towards the questions asked. They told that they are aware of the ethical code of conduct, however, they are unaware of the exploitation of the workers. This lacking indicates breach of the duties and responsibilities, which have been entrusted on the staffs (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). This also reflects the absence of training for the managers in terms of adhering to the standards and codes of the ethical code of conduct. This training is the main component in terms of enhancing the awareness of the staffs about the organizational documents, which are crucial for fulfilling the needs, demands and requirements of the stakeholders.
Theoretical considerations, especially the stakeholder theory would have benefitted the staffs of Woolworths in managing the scenario in a proper manner. Within this, execution of strategic planning, through the involvement of the stakeholders, would have reduced the chances of conflicts, discriminations and harassments (Cavagnaro & George, 2017). Conducting discussions and open forums would have enabled the managers to gain insight into the issues, which the staffs are facing while executing the allocated duties and responsibilities. Along with this, these discussions act as an opportunity for the staffs to voice out their opinions about the workplace issues. Training would have enriched the preconceived skills, expertise and knowledge of the staffs. Hiring experts for the provision of training would have resulted in the achievement of positive outcomes. Assistance from the statutory bodies of law would have increased the awareness of the staffs about the legal obligations, which the staffs need to follow while they are in the workplace (Benn & Dunphy, 2013).
Behavioral approach is crucial in terms of luring more and more customers towards the services of the brand. The staffs of the Woolworths can undertake the personality tests, which would enhance their awareness regarding the effectiveness of the workplace behaviour. Maintaining consistency in conducting the tests would help the managers in upgrading the standards and quality of their behaviour. Organizing discussions and open forums would suffice the need for collecting data on the specific tastes and preferences of the customers. Frequency in these discussions helps in executing strategic planning towards fulfilling the identified goals and objectives. Involvement of the staffs in the implementation process is a wise step towards respecting the individual sentiments of the workers. Training is one of the other recommendations, which would enhance the preconceived skills, expertise and knowledge of the staffs. Inclusion of the moral code of conduct within the course materials would be fruitful. The sessions need to be divided into segments, so that the employees attain a better understanding of the concepts.
Conclusion
The assignment proves successful in providing an insight into the concept of ethics and sustainability. Stakeholders are the agents, who bring success for the companies and organizations. Planning is crucial in terms of fulfilling the needs, demands and requirements of the clients and the customers. Herein lays the effectiveness of stakeholder theory. The managers need to be aware of the moral obligations. This awareness, if disseminated to the staffs, results in the preservation of the core organizational values. The scenario of Woolworths is an example, which enlivens the knowledge of the businesspersons towards effective management of the harmony and culture. Alternative solutions enhances the perspectives of the personnel in terms of undertaking appropriate decisions for the betterment of the organization.
References
Ardichvili, A. (2013). The role of HRD in CSR, sustainability, and ethics: A relational model. Human Resource Development Review, 12(4), 456-473.
Benn, S., & Dunphy, D. (2013). Corporate governance and sustainability: Challenges for theory and practice. Routledge.
Bosselmann, K. (2016). The principle of sustainability: transforming law and governance. Routledge.
Carroll, A., & Buchholtz, A. (2014). Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. Nelson Education.
Cavagnaro, E., & George, H. (2017). The three levels of sustainability. Routledge.
Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson Education.
Quarshie, A. M., Salmi, A., & Leuschner, R. (2016). Sustainability and corporate social responsibility in supply chains: The state of research in supply chain management and business ethics journals. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 22(2), 82-97.
Zsolnai, L. (2015). The spiritual dimension of business ethics and sustainability management. Springer,.
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