1. Intro to Business
Ch. 4

2. Social Responsibility- The duty of a business to contribute to the well-being of a community.

3. Factors of social responsibility
Protection of the environment
Inclusion of minorities and women in the workplace
Employment of physically challenged and older workers
Maintaining a healthy and safe work environment.

4. Conservation- Saving scarce natural resources.
Non-renewable resource- A natural resource that cannot be replaced.

5. Pollution- When the environment is tainted with the by-products of human actions.
Socially responsible businesses take action to improve operations that cause pollution.
EPA- Environmental Protection Agency: Monitors and enforces standards for water and air quality.

6. Workplace Diversity
Businesses must be sensitive to the role of women, ethnic groups, and physically challenged and older workers.
Businesses can’t refuse to hire women for a job, unless they can prove that the job requires physical skills that the individual woman doesn’t have.

7. Job Safety
Businesses are regulated by agencies such as OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration).
Businesses must provide a safe working environment for its employees.

8. Employee Wellness
Many businesses will offer incentives to lose weight and will offer programs to help its employees maintain a healthy lifestyle.

9. Benefits of being socially responsible:
Expanded justice for groups of a society
Enhanced company image
Reduced need for government actions
Improved quality of life in a community
Increased awareness of social issues among workers and consumers

10. Business Ethics Ethics- Principles of morality or rules of conduct.
Business ethics- Rules about how businesses and their employees ought to behave.
Code of ethics: a set of rules for guiding the actions of employees or members of an organization
Big business have a bad reputation of not using ethics when making decisions.

11. 3 Questions to ask when faced with an ethical dilemma:
Ethical behavior meets several standards
It is lawful
It is consistent with company values and policies
It does not harm some while benefiting others
If the actions and results become public, it will not embarrass the company

12. Ethical behavior for employees should be outlined in the mission statement.
Core values- The important principles that will guide decisions and actions in the company.

13. Why is ethics important in the business world?
It keeps customers happy
More profit
It keeps employees happy
More efficient workers
It gives the company a good name
More business

14. Types of ethical reasoning
Consequence-based ethical reasoning- Looks for alternative ways to alter the situation. Then tries to predict the outcome, and determines which outcome would create the greatest good.
Rule-based reasoning- Universalizing an action in order to make a decision.