BEH ASSIGNMENT

Submitted To: 
Prof. Shivaji Gupta Roy 
  
Prepared By: 
Ashish Sengar BM18001 

Binoy Agarwal BM18012 

Gopi Shankar S BM18017 

Rishab Agarwal BM18035 

Shruti Singhal BM18045

Sourav Basu BM18050 

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The ethics of economic fairness are important

To start with, the article gives us a leading insight in terms of the segregated distribution of
wages of the different classes of employees. A few concepts of ethics has been highlighted
wherein “​fairness principle​” plays a vital role. According to the author, his thought process has
always been standardization of salaries across all horizontals in a organization, right from the
top of the hierarchy to its constituents.

The segregation of payments of contract workers and permanent employees is a matter of

issue which needs to be properly dealt with, taking into account the fact that both the
categories of workers perform the same task diligently. Herein, comes the rift between the
principles of socialism and capitalism.

Socialism as a philosophy appeals to socialism on ethical and moral grounds as opposed to

economic, egoistic and consumeristic grounds.It emphasizes the need for a morally conscious
economy based upon the principles of service, cooperation and social justice while opposing
possessive individualism. ​In contrast to socialism inspired by rationalism, historical materialism,
neoclassical economics and Marxist theory which base their appeals for socialism on grounds of
economic efficiency, rationality, or historical inevitability, ethical socialism focuses on the moral
and ethical reasons for advocating socialism.
● The means of production are owned by public enterprises or cooperatives (the state),
and individuals are compensated based on the principle of individual contribution.
● There is equal opportunity for all. Large-scale industries are cooperative efforts, and
thus, the returns from these industries must be returned to and benefit society as a
whole.
● Economic activity and production are planned by the central planning authority and
based on human consumption needs and economic demands.
● Socialists believe economic inequality is bad for society, and the government is
responsible for reducing it via programs that benefit the poor.

On the contrary, capitalism is an economic and political system in which a country's trade and
industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.

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 ● A chance of a monopoly of power - Firms with monopoly power (when a specific person
or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity) can abuse their position by
charging higher prices.
● Inequality - A capitalist society is based on the right to pass wealth down to future
generations. If a small group of people hold all the wealth and that wealth continues to
be passed down to the same groups of people, inequality and social division occur.
● Recession and unemployment - An economy based on the market of consumers and
producers is invariably going to experience growth and decline.

IDEAS TO APPLY

● Focus on fairness. In particular, be attuned to whether employees feel fairly treated and
feel that decisions are made in fair ways. Recognize that these judgments are just as
important as—and sometimes more important than—how employees feel about their
overall level of pay, benefits, opportunities for promotion, etc.
● Make fairness clear. Give employees more information about decision making. Provide
clear explanations for decisions, especially those that may be unpopular and
uncomfortable to discuss. Give them an opportunity to voice their perspective, and
provide adequate responses to the points they raise.
● Focus on status, not power. ​Research finds that when people are focused on the power
that they wield (i.e., their control over valued resources), they treat others less
fairly.However, when they are focused on their status—on the respect they have in the
eyes of others—they treat others more fairly. Focus managers more on issues related to
status and tone down the focus on power.
Reciprocity ​makes the practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit, especially
privileges granted by one country or organization to another.Having said that, both the
principles of reciprocity and honour have strongly shaped societies.

For an organization to excel, we think that the principles of capitalism or socialism blended with
the characteristics of populism cannot solely run on moral grounds.A decorum, rather a
standardised manual of policies has to be executed.An equilibrium between the two can be an

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ultimate solution.The “​fairness principle​” of reciprocity herein plays a vital role which makes it
quite possible to nurture talents as well as treat each of its employees equally. A hierarchy of
levels that exists in an organization always needs a standardised rule and equal opportunities.

Repeated organisational research consistently finds that employees are more motivated when
they feel that organizational resources are allocated fairly, that organizational decisions are
made in fair ways, and that their organization treats them fairly​.

Moreover, employees who experience fairness at work are more likely to internalize the
organization’s goals and values, and to develop close bonds with other organizational
members. In this way, a ‘​management-by-fairness​’ approach motivates employees to work
collaboratively for the long-term good of the organization and its members. Such a long-term
collaborative focus tends to produce ethical behavior.
To conclude with, one can say that for every organization, whether it’s fair or not, is never
determined by how the top level executives are compensated rather its the uniformity it
maintains and how it treats its constituents and people at the very bottom level of the
pyramid.To add with, how they as a entire body contributes to the society we all live in.Not only
from its business perspective but also by how it improves the condition of the world it leaves
behind.