Chapter 4 - Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

Vocabulary terms covering basic ethics, corporate ethical standards, and dimensions of corporate social responsibility.

Ethics

Moral principles that allow us to make decisions in knowing the right thing to do, based on values, beliefs, and standards of behavior accepted by society.

The Golden Rule

A moral principle that states: "Do unto others, how you want done unto you" or treat others how you want to be treated.

Basic Moral Values

Positive standards of behavior including integrity, respect for human life, self-control, honesty, courage, and self-sacrifice.

Plagiarizing

The most common form of cheating in schools, often monitored by teachers using tools like Turnitin.

Ethical Dilemma

A complex situation where an individual must choose between two or more conflicting moral principles.

Compliance-based ethics codes

Ethics codes that emphasize preventing unlawful behavior by increasing control and penalizing wrongdoers, often led by lawyers.

Integrity-based ethics codes

Ethics codes that define an organization's guiding values, create an environment supporting ethically sound behavior, and stress shared accountability.

Whistleblowers

Insiders who report illegal or unethical behavior within an organization.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

A law that protects whistleblowers by requiring public corporations to allow accounting and auditing concerns to be submitted confidentially and anonymously.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

The concern businesses have for the welfare of society, not just for their own, based on commitment to integrity, fairness, and respect.

Corporate Philanthropy

A dimension of social performance that includes charitable donations to nonprofit groups of all kinds, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Corporate Social Initiatives

Enhanced forms of corporate philanthropy that are directly related to the company’s specific competencies.

Corporate Responsibility

The dimension of social performance that includes everything related to acting responsibly within society, such as treating employees fairly.

Corporate Policy

The specific position a firm takes on various social and political issues.

Four Basic Rights of Consumers

Rights proposed by President John F. Kennedy: ($1$) right to safety, ($2$) right to be informed, ($3$) right to choose, and ($4$) right to be heard.

Insider Trading

The illegal practice of using private company information to further the fortunes of an insider or their family and friends.

Regulation FD

A "fair disclosure" regulation requiring companies that release any information to share it with everybody simultaneously rather than a select few.

Social Audit

A systematic evaluation of an organization’s progress toward implementing socially responsible and responsive programs.

Ethisphere

A socially conscious research organization that analyzes and reports on corporate social responsibility efforts.

ISO 26000

A standard published by the International Organization for Standardization regarding social responsibility, including guidelines on manufacturing and employee treatment.