Running Head: ETHICS AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY IN THE WORKPLACE

AND THE WORLD

ETHICS AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY IN THE WORKPLACE

AND THE WORLD
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ETHICS AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY IN THE WORKPLACE AND THE

WORLD

A stakeholder can be anyone who is associated with a project and plays a central role in
the success of a project. They are individuals, groups or organizations with interest in project
outcomes. They include people who could influence project decisions or those whose
interests are critical to project success. Stakeholders can be internal or external depending on
the basis of their position relative to the organization. They can also be direct or indirect
depending upon the effect or the project on them. In the current scenario, the internal
stakeholders include the employees and the executives of the company. The customers can
also be considered stakeholders. Apart from that the external stakeholders are the indigenous
tribes of Colberia who are affected by these projects.
There are also various human rights issues at the base of the Pharmacares treatment of the
indigenous populations of Colberia. Throughout history, the rights of the indigenous people
have been being violated. Special measures are also required to protect the rights of the
indigenous people. Often their land and cultures have been being overridden by the more
dominant societies. They have been viewed as primitives or savages by the imperialists like
the Europeans who tried to grab their lands and exploit them for labor and other advantages.
(Shah, 2010) Some similar kind of exploitation may be going on in Colberia behind Pharma
cares venture there. It is not that labor is significantly cheaper there. Instead the truth is that
the people have never seen development and their lifestyle comes very close to that of the
beggars who live in temporary houses. They do not have access to running water or
electricity and most probably, they rely on natural resources for water. It is not true that they
do not want a better life.
The truth is that they do not hope for a better life amid the resources they have. They
cannot imagine electricity, running water or other amenities. All they can imagine is just
enough for living on the earth. They live in a nearly natural habitat within huts and have

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natural tanks and rivers for drinking water. So, they do not want much from life either.
However, the key issue is that even if they do not want more, whether it is right to make use
of them as cheap labor and exploit them to do something as hard as carrying 50 pounds for
miles at just a dollar a day. At no cost can this be aid to be conforming to ethics. Definitely,
there is a more ethical way to go. At least there are three such changes that Pharmacare could
make to be more ethical. If you are taking something like lands and resource from the
indigenous tribes, then it is right to compensate them fairly in return.
1. The first step is to compensate them fairly in dollars for the manual work the
indigenous people do.
2. The second step is to help people raise their living standards by making available
better housing and access to drinking water as a part of corporate social responsibility.
3. Apart from everything the company should take steps like literacy programs for the
welfare of the indigenous tribes.
Taxes like Superfunds are sad to be effective at making the polluters pay. They were enacted
in 1980 and taxes were imposed on chemical and petroleum industries for the cleanup of
orphan sites. The orphan sites are hazardous sites for which any responsible party could not
be identified. It is said that these superfund taxes became a part of the federal governments
general revenue and only a part of the collected tax was spent on the clean up. The lobbying
activities of pharmacare had been successful at defeating environmental laws and regulations
that included an extension of the superfund tax. Reinstatement of these taxes can be harmful
for many businesses. On the one hand while Pharma care has been successful at defeating
these taxes, on the other hand it takes proper care of environment through its own
environment care initiatives including. (ACC, n.d.) If we carefully see then it is visible that
taxing those businesses who have not created the waste sites for their clean up would not be
called responsible since the burden is being on the wrong business. Moreover, these taxes

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will only become a source of revenue in the prolonged period and it is not sure that all the
revenue earned from thee taxes will be spent on clean-up activities. As such Pharmacares
efforts at repelling such regulations through lobbying are appreciable. However, every
business should focus on environmental care and sustainability. Sustainability is not just a
new trend but in fact unless the businesses are held accountable for the environmental
damage they do the future would hold us all accountable. So, rather than just compensating
for the harm a business may do it has to focus on environmental care and best practices.
Pharmacares environmental initiatives are appreciable from the point of view of
environmental care. Companies have to try their best to reduce their carbon footprints
whether in production, packaging or even in terms of waste management. In this regard
Pharma care has taken appreciable steps to reduce its environmental burden in packaging,
recycling and other environmental initiatives.
With regard to the indigenous tribes of Colberia, however Pharmacares actions cannot be
said to be ethical. The low compensation for physically torturing hard work and a lack of
initiatives to help the tribes improve their living condition would not count as ethical. To be
ethical in this regard the company would have to do much more. The companys actions can
also be judged under various ethical theories.
a. Utilitarianism: As per utilitarianism actions are ethical proportionate to the happiness
they create. The indigenous tribes of Colberia have been economically backward for
generations. They do not have access to quality living and have make do
arrangements for nearly everything including their housing and food needs. As such it
as a basic responsibility of a company employing them to work for their development.
Apart from that the ratio in which they are being compensated by pharmacare for the
work they do is hardly any better than exploitation. A dollar for a days hard work will

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not make any significant change in their living condition and they would also
continue to be needy and poor as they have ever been. In this way Pharmacares
actions do not promote happiness in the proportion they should. Here, where the
indigenous workers are being exploited, Pharmacares actions are producing the
reverse of happiness and as such are unethical.
b. Deontological ethics are also known as duty based ethics or are concerned with what
people do rather than what are the consequences of their actions. Even if we measure
Pharmacares action by deontological ethics, the Pharmacare is not doing the most
ethical thing with regard to the indigenous tribes of Colberia. What it is doing can be
called exploitation only. Carrying 50 pounds for miles and being compensated only by
a dollar cannot be ethical or social responsible. Pharmacare should act with
responsibility towards the indigenous society.
c. In case of virtue ethics, the focus rather than being on the action or the consequences
is on the person or the doer and his moral character. A right action is what a virtuous
person would do under similar conditions. (BBC, n.d.) So, the point to ponder upon is
that whether every good company would do what pharmacare under similar
circumstances. But that is not what any good company would do. The indigenous
tribes should be compensated as per the industry standards and given the rights as
every hired worker is given. Pharmacare may claim that it is giving them a way to
earn when they have very scarce resources to earn their food and living. But what it is
paying is nearly close to no pay and would hardly help the tribes at raising their living
condition. Moreover, the company has other methods also like teaching them new
skills, providing them access to education as well as sanitary and improved living to
compensate for their contribution. Instead, what it does will count as manipulation
and exploitation.

ETHICS AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY IN THE WORKPLACE AND THE

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d. Ethics of care: The ethics of care is based on the motivation to care for those who are
dependent and vulnerable. The indigenous people of Colberia barely get what they
need to keep themselves alive and live in huts. They are dependent and vulnerable and
as such it is the duty of pharmacare to care for them and help them progress and grow.
They are instead paying trifle wages and neither compensating the tribes in any other
manner.
e. As per my own ethical compass also this would be wrong to not to compensate the
indigenous tribes properly for the physical hard work they do. It may be true that they
are used to t and do not expect much in return. But it is because they are illiterate and
do not know the value of things they do or they own. However, for a wise and read
person or a well-known company like pharma care to benefit from their ignorance and
not to pay the right wages would be considered unethical.
Corporate irresponsibility is not damaging just for the businesses but for the society also.
It does not erode only the value of the businesses but also affects the society in many
ways. However, there have been various cases where the managers of various companies
have violated the ethical standards of business and corporate responsibility. Enron is
among the most well-known cases of ethical violations. As the Enron case brought to
light, it is imperative for the managers to maintain their integrity. The Enron managers
had chosen to deceive the stakeholders and short term financial gains for themselves.
(Petrick & Scherer, 2003)
The frauds they committed did not just lead to loss of reputation personally and for the
business but also lead to loss of social standing for the firm. The employees were also
deceived by the managers at Enron for their personal gains. Enron is among the biggest

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cases of corporate fraud in US. The investors also lost millions of dollars as they were
misinformed about the firms financial condition and the accounts were fudged.
The fraud did not just affect the primary stakeholders but the secondary and tertiary
shareholders were also affected. Regarding ethics, Enrons managers seemed to be overly
confident of their actions. (Petrick & Scherer, 2003)
If we compare Pharmacares actions with that of the managers of Enron then it would
seem that Pharmacares actions are miles behind that of Enron in terms of being called a
fraud or unethical action. However, if we replace the indigenous tribes with American
workers we can find the unethicality of Pharmacares actions in Colberia. While its
managers are living in well managed houses, the indigenous people live in huts and are
made to work hard to earn a dollar a day. It is more than visible that the poor and illiterate
indigenous tribes are being exploited. They are being the victims of exploitation only
because they are not acquainted with progress and a higher living standard. As such, it is
clear that the company is taking advantage of the poverty and ignorance of the tribes.
Ethically, what the companies should do id to take responsibility of the environment as
well as the society. It is essential to give the society in return as they take a lot from it.
The relationship between the society and businesses is that of mutual trust ad benefit and
the businesses should not try to break this trust. Companies who would dare to do it will
lose much as Enron did which went bankrupt. However, Pharmacare can easily make up
for its actions if it decides to do so. It has still got methods through which it can
compensate the tribes well and aid their development. What it should do is to make the
care of indigenous tribes a part of its corporate social responsibility program. To be
ethical is necessary for businesses as what matters today is their social image and
standing and they should not neglect it any cost. The costs will be really too large if they

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try to ignore these factors and in the long run especially, it will result in an incompensable
loss of reputation. They should care for every stakeholder and their rights whether they
are internal or external.
References:
Shah, A. (2010). Rights of Indigenous People. In Global Issues. Retrieved August 18,
2014, from http://www.globalissues.org/article/693/rights-of-indigenous-people
Superfund Taxes (n.d.). In American Chemistry Council. Retrieved August 18, 2014, from
http://www.americanchemistry.com/Policy/Environment/Superfund
Virtue

ethics

(n.d.).

In BBC.

Retrieved

August

18,

2014,

from

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/virtue.shtml
Petrick, J. A., & Scherer, R. F. (2003). The Enron Scandal and the Neglect of
Management Integrity Capacity. In American journal of Business. Retrieved August 18,
2014, from http://www.bsu.edu/mcobwin/ajb/?p=126
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