Ethics and Policies in Managing MacDonalds UK Essay

Ethics and Policies in Managing MacDonalds UK - Essay Example When operating, a company should consider its mission (what it will seek to do and become over the long term), its objectives (specific performance targets to fulfil its mission), and strategy (the means to fulfil its objectives). Daniels, Radebaugh & Sullivan (2004) suggested that the three major operating objectives that may induce companies to engage in business. They are Kotler and Keller (2006) deemed that companies should strive to raise the level of socially responsible marketing that calls for a three-pronged attack that relies on proper legal, ethical, and social responsibility behaviour. In this case, companies must adopt and disseminate a written code of ethics, build a company tradition of ethical behaviour, and hold its people fully responsible for observing ethical and legal guidelines. In fact, Kotler and Keller (2006) revealed a 1999 poll by Environics International, a public opinion research firm, found that 67 percent of North Americans are willing to buy or boycott products on ethical grounds. With the globalization of business, the issue of ethical positioning had become vital because "ethics emerge from the degree of agreement among societies, corporations and other organizations regarding the appropriate ethical frameworks and behaviors in a given situation" (Buller, Kohls & Anderson ,1991). Furthermore, Buller, Kohls & Anderson (1991) had explained that business ethics take into account both moral attitudes and moral reasoning. However, the relationship between these two elements is unclear. How do reasons and attitudes diffuse in the development of an ethical position Recent studies in business ethics have shown both remarkable similarities and differences across cultures with respect to attitudes toward questionable business practices. During the decades of the 1980s and 1990s business ethics was predominately a subject taught at business schools and debated by academics. It had little impact in the international business world, where the prevailing attitude was tha t anything goes and everyone is paid to cut a deal. Many governments (including France, Japan and Germany), recognizing the reality of doing business in certain parts of the world, actually allowed businesses to write off bribe payments on their corporate income tax (Mitchell 2003, p. 7). Recently, business leaders and CEOs already have realized the repercussions of not having solid ethical guidelines. Corporations of all sizes, especially multinationals, are more attuned to the bottom-line value of being a good corporate citizen and playing by the rules. Individual business people are seeking to do "what is right" (though this is often prodded by corporate ethics standards and local laws) rather than maintaining an attitude of "anything to close the deal." For example, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines was indicted for criminal violation of the Clean Water Act. The company acquired much costs as it put together an all-star defense team including two former federal prosecutors and two former United States attorneys general to defend itself (Sorkin 2004, p. A1). Briefly identify the ethical pressures present in the food industry, making reference to one organisation in particular. As the