My knowledge surrounding the subject of responsible commerce has en deepened and extended through tutorial and lecture engagement, as well as study of the textbook. My newfound understanding of this topic can be highlighted through the theory of utilitarianism. The focus on utilitarianism coupled with what we have learnt over the semester has further deepened my knowledge of responsible commerce and how corporations operate.
In the final section of my essay I highlight my knowledge of responsible business and ethics through the case study of The News International phone-hacking scandal In which employees of News International ere Involved In phone hacking with the Intent of breaching privacy for their own gain. The scandal was uncovered In 2005 and has been In the media ever since with new allegations being made years after the Minimal Inquest. My understanding of this case demonstrates my knowledge of responsible commerce and how it has evolved during this course.During our week two tutorial we were given the task, which assessed our understanding of the need to 'engage in responsible business'.
It seemed then like such a daunting task, as my knowledge surrounding this topic was practically non-existent. By doing this task I was forced to really think about the question 'What is your understanding of the need to 'Engage in Responsible Business? Why is it, or is it not, important? " by doing so I was able to established a starting point for my learning Journey in COMMIT .My Initial understanding surrounding responsible business, which was that "Engaging in responsible business is Important as It affects the views and pollens that are placed on the business. " This has been significantly built upon and developed, I now understand that engaging in responsible commerce is so much more than simply focusing on the sews that will be placed upon the business.
It includes employee satisfaction, financial performance, environmental sustainability and much more. Through the use of case studies I have been able to apply my newfound knowledge of responsible commerce to real cases.The study of Enron in particular greatly extended my knowledge, through studying the failures that Enron endured I realized the importance of honesty between not only the business and its shareholders but also the importance of honesty between the business and its stakeholders. "Being irresponsible in business may have been acceptable in the past but in today's day ND age It Is not. " My Minimal understanding of being responsible in the 21st century has been further reinforced through this course, living In an era of such globalization It Is now more Important then ever for businesses to engage In responsible business.My learning journey in COMMIT has transformed my understanding of responsible Utilitarianism is one of the most powerful and persuasive approaches to normative ethics in the history of philosophy.
Utilitarianism approaches the issue of our social relations from the perspective of the group or the whole of society. It is a moral citrine that we should always act to produce the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone affected by our actions. By good, utilitarian's understand pleasure happiness.Thus, the greatest happiness of all constitutes the standard that determines whether an action is right or wrong.
This concept of utilitarianism and my understanding of it throughout the course has changed substantially. At first I thought that Utilitarianism was only a good approach that all businesses should adopt to ensure efficient operations between them and stakeholders. Then throughout the course I soon realized that Utilitarianism can also e a double-edged sword as highlighted through the James Hardier Industries Ltd.Case.
James Hardier, CEO of James Hardier Industries was a major producer, importer and manufacturer of asbestos-based products. Asbestos has been found to cause many medical conditions many of which take a long time to actually transpire to the victim, and these health affects are not only limited to the employees but include neighbors of mines and manufacturing plants and demolitions. The facts about the health issues surrounding asbestos can be linked back to the late sass's and thatHardier had known due to his workers compensation claims in the ass's which showed that manufacturers 'knew at an early stage about the dangers of asbestos and made a commercial decision to keep producing it thereby Jeopardizing lives' (Spender, 2003:325). In this case Utilitarianism showed how it could result in a bad circumstances for a business. A utilitarian view would show that Hardier thought he acted to produce the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone, with the continuing of production, manufacturing and importing to provide Jobs for everyone in the industry and also to provide cheap building resources.
In theory it sounds good, but in reality the continuing production of asbestos ruined so many lives and put a large number of people in risk of getting terminal illnesses. Vive mentioned this case as it was the case that made me aware of the bad side of utilitarianism. Throughout my time in COMMIT, it has taught me to view aspects under different principles and theories. With a greater understanding of responsible commerce, I have learnt that a case can be viewed in many different ways, depending on how a person analyses a scenario.The way my understanding of utilitarianism has changed s a mere aspect of how my knowledge has expanded in the area of responsible commerce. The case study I have chosen is about the controversy which has been surrounding Rupert Morocco and the phone hacking scandal since the initial allegations made in 2005.
"The facts of the case are astonishing in their scope. Thousands of private phone messages hacked, presumably by people affiliated with the Morocco-owned and actor Hugh Grant to murder victims and families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan" (C.Bernstein 2011. It wasn't until 2011 that news came to light over the hone hacking of murder victim Emily Doodler and families of soldiers that had died Iraq and Afghanistan, these allegations struck a nerve with the public resulting in Public outcry leading to the closure of News the World, bringing an end to 168 years of publication. Once police investigations ceased British PM David Cameron announced that a public inquiry would investigate the scandal. The investigation resulted in the resignation of multiple high profile employees.
Rupert Morocco openly confessed that News of the World had attempted to cover up the scandal. Morocco rejected the idea that he was directly to blame for the scandal, "At one mint, the senior Morocco, questioned by Labor PM Tom Watson about why he did not pursue and investigate evidence of wrongdoing, said, "The News of the World is less than 1 percent" of his holdings and that "l employ 53,000 people around the world" and could not keep track of every new problem" (R.Maryland 2011). In 2011 Morocco released a signed apology letter in all of his publications apologizing for the wrongdoing that had occurred.
Although Morocco has attempted to right the wrong that have occurred, such a PR disaster that has cost millions of dollars for the company simply can't be fixed by an apology. This case highlights a plethora of moral and ethical dilemmas with the issue of phone hacking and privacy.Its also breaches certain human individual rights and in any aspect is morally and ethically wrong for a media company to hack the phones of those effected by certain events for their own personal gain and advantage in the news industry. As stated previously in the essay utilitarianism is a moral doctrine that we should always act to produce the greatest possible balance of good over bad for everyone affected by our actions and By good, utilitarian's understand pleasure happiness.Thus, the greatest happiness of all constitutes the standard that determines whether an action is right or wrong.
With this definition of utilitarianism from the textbook, we are able to see through the Morocco case that his subordinates and his company didn't act with a utilitarian view which would have noted that the hacking the phones of those involved in media incidents put the balance in the favor of effecting everyone badly by the actions posed by News of the World.Although there was lots to gain by hacking the phones of the people involved providing News of the World with information that no other sews broadcasting station had which would have put Morocco and his company at the forefront of news media, the issue was the privacy of these people was breached illegally and in turn once the public found out, proved devastating for the company. If Morocco and his company were to have acted with a utilitarianism view they would have noted that the bad far out weighed the good in this situation, not realizing the actual implications that could have transpired when the public became aware of the phone hacking.Something as serious as this tarnishes a business name and petition to all its stakeholders and shareholders, which showed in the case as it led to the foreclosure of News the world after a long 168 years due to one incident.
Although businesses should act with a utilitarian view they should assess and review the good and the bad and critically analyses whether or not the situation they are putting themselves into is achieving maximum 'happiness'. My progression from week two to week eleven.In my week two task I stated "My understanding of engaging in responsible business, is a business's ability to be responsible and ethical in all aspect of business", this excerpt clearly highlights my ace of knowledge surrounding the area. When I started this subject I struggled having to write a page on responsible business but now a mere nine weeks later I am able to write a two thousand word essay on the same topic I had struggled with in week two.
Not only has my confidence towards COMMIT grown but also my confidence in my degree has grown, I feel as though regardless of what major I choose to studying in the upcoming years the understanding of responsible business I have gained in the this course will be easily applied to all areas. Reflecting on my learning Journey in COMMIT has really given me the opportunity to reflect on my application towards the course and to reflect on how much I have learnt in the past eleven weeks. Throughout my learning Journey in COMMIT I have gained a deep understanding of responsible commerce and what it entails.My understanding of this course can be highlighted through my thorough understanding of utilitarianism and my awareness of case studies surrounding it. The week two task we were given has given me a starting point in which I can now reflect on and see Just how much my knowledge of responsible business has grown.
Throughout my COMMIT course I also learnt the importance of group discussions, sharing ideas and being given the opportunity to not only get help with my own learning but to also help other with their learning can be really beneficial.
