Management Ethics

Management Ethics in Singapore 's Oil Industry Social responsibility is a new buzz phrase that people are applying in many different situations . One application involves business and its responsibility to the public and to society in general . Lately , more and more people are demanding that business take a greater role in facilitating positive change in society . However , others are not so sure that this particular responsibility should fall on the shoulders of business . The viewpoints range from the most narrow , which argues that businesses have only a responsibility to their shareholders , to

the most broad , which argues that businesses not only have the right to do no harm but to also act as catalysts for positive social change

Espousing the narrowest viewpoint is Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman His opinion is that business has one responsibility , that being to itself and its shareholders . Business role , according to Friedman , is to maximize profit within the scope of applicable law (Friedman , 1970 This viewpoint earned him much criticism as an apologist for the actions of businessmen whom he calls schizophrenic (Friedman , 1998 . He maintains that businessmen tend to , on one hand , look far into the future when it comes to their own personal interests , but to lose that ability when they emerge into the public sphere . He gives the example of American protectionist policies concerning the steel industry and argues that these policies of tariffs and duties on steel imports have not helped the American steel industry in the slightest

Another example includes privatizing American schools to increase competition and therefore , in his opinion , quality (Friedman , 1995 His , and others who are of the same ideology , feel that competition in a free system provide for the greatest amount of profit . This profit is the company 's main responsibility

Undoubtedly , this type of competition will affect the quality of the products , guard against overly high prices and serve to nurture an increase in product development . In this regard , by pursuing this profit schema , the business is truly benefiting all of society However , another school of though broadens this economic theory to include the concepts of negative and affirmative duties . These duties have been an integral part of the formation of societal justice theories for hundreds of years . Basically , a negative duty is one that a person has to NOT do something considered negative . A positive duty , then , is one that a person has to DO something that is considered positive . A negative duty is considered more vital because it seeks to avoid hurt toward someone or something while a positive duty is a noble gesture to be helpful or generous (Lalor , 1899

Modern theorists who follow this principle claim that doing no harm (such as in the Hippocratic Oath ) is of more importance that doing good deeds . A business first priority then would be to avoid harm in the pursuit of profit . In modern times , this distinction has become important in liability suits in which a determination must be made as to who is...