Ethics in Production

This area of business ethics deals with the duties of a company to ensure that
products and production processes do not cause harm.
 Defective, addictive and inherently dangerous products and
 Ethical relations between the company and the environment
include pollution, environmental ethics, carbon emissions trading
 Ethical problems arising out of new technologies.

What Is Social Responsibility?

Social responsibility is a viewed as a framework that is made up of different
components that are tied to procurement management in some way.
For many procurement professionals, social responsibility is about being aware
of your actions and the effects they can have throughout the supply chain.
Social responsibility is a theory that is tied to ethics, with many of the same
concepts being applied to encourage morally correct behavior. There is nothing in the
theory that states a single person is completely responsible for all of the effects their
actions take, thus you can’t be blamed for things that may be outside of your control.

Principles of Social Responsibility in Procurement

Procurement teams who want to be socially responsible need to make sure that
their actions positively support the principles of the framework, which include:

1. Community - The community that you operate in is going to be both directly and
indirectly affected by your actions.

2. Ethics - Adhere to the ethics of society, of the company you work for, the
procurement industry, your team, and your own personal code of conduct if you
really want to make sure that you are being socially responsible.

3. Environment - Environmental responsibility makes sense in the long term, and

procurement teams should keep that in mind when they make decisions.

4. Safety and Welfare - A misunderstanding that many have with social

responsibility is that they need to think of the effects that their actions have on
things that are removed from them by several degrees of separation. While this is
a part of social responsibility, things that are much closer to you can also be
affected. The safety and welfare of yourself, your employees and peers, and
every person in the supply chain should be a priority.
5. Diversity - Diversity in social responsibility isn’t just about the diversity of staff
and demographics- although non-discriminatory practices are encouraged as a
part of social responsibility.

6. Financial Responsibility - Paying attention to financial responsibility in the social

responsibility framework isn’t just a good thing to do, it’s also smart. Ethical
financial practices and choices tend to have beneficial, long-term, and consistent
economic effects for everyone involved.

7. Human Rights - The principle of human rights is occasionally grouped with the
principle of safety and welfare.

8. Legalities - Being socially responsible means being aware of the laws attached to
your actions and acting in line with the laws relevant to your actions.