12

Business Ethics
and
Social Responsibility
Quarter 3 – Module 4 & 5:
Belief System and the
Conduct of Business
(2 weeks)

Prepared by:
Joan L. Llido
Introductory Message:

This learning module is a collaborative effort between the institution, Ganaan Christian
Academy and the teachers. It aims to provide students meaningful and effective learning amidst this
difficult time. This module is self- paced and self- explanatory, the instructions given in each part of
this module are clear and concise.

This is what we consider a “handiwork,” it is done from the heart through the hands of
the teachers. We would like to encourage you to go through with this module chronologically and
comprehensively. Please feel free to message us for feedback. May you be guided by our Almighty
Father as you go through with this module. Enjoy your journey!

For the Students

Read and follow each instruction carefully. Understand the content of this module
comprehensively. Any following activities in this module shall be answered with honesty
and integrity. Write your answer on a Notebook intended only for this subject Follow the
instruction and perform all the activities of this module.

For the Facilitator/ Parent

Read and follow each instruction carefully. Make sure that there is a learning
space at home provided for your assigned student/ child to work on. At most, each
module should be done during the scheduled time of the subject and may be extended
as necessary. The role of the facilitator or the parent is to clarify any content that
requires further guidance and explanation. Let your assigned student/ child write the
answers on a Notebook intended only for this subject. Let your assigned student/ child
read the lessons included in this module comprehensively. Let your assigned student/
child do or perform all the activities set in this module and follow instructions properly.

Prepared by:
Joan L. Llido
 Introduction
The Business Ethics and Social Responsibility attempts to inform and establish
the ABM Strand as principled vocations and life choices. This subject provides upright
guidelines for the career choices in busines management programs.

This module consists of the nature of business for students to demonstrate an

understanding of the business nature and differentiate a businessperson from an
entrepreneur and a capitalist.

The Most Essential Learning Competencies:

 Illustrate how these philosophies are reflected into business practices

 Explain how the belief systems influence business practices
This module includes lessons such as:

 Hinduism
 Buddhism
 Christianity
 Some Commonalities among the Religion in Relation to Business
Conduct

After going through this module, students will:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of the major religions on

the conduct of business
2. Describe various belief system, and their similarities and differences in
relation to the business setting
3. Give examples of how belief systems affect business practices

Prepared by:
Joan L. Llido
Lesson Proper
The aim of this discussion is not to compare which religions is better or worse. Neither
do we promote one religion nor belittle another.

On the contrary, amid the apparent differences among these religions, we will attempt
to find their possible commonalities that would be helpful in the conduct of ethics in
business, an institution that may not be so particular about religious affiliations and
orientations.

Hinduism
- Is the oldest among the major religions of the world
- Scholars speculate that it started in the Indus Valley (an area found in modern-
day Pakistan)
- Hindu is derived from the name Sindhu – ‘the people of the Indus River region of
Northern India’
- Is a unique religion because it has either a single or specific human founder nor a
definite historical beginning
- It is not a religion with unified body of belief systems, ethical codes, absolute
doctrines, religious rituals and practices
- It is one of the most diverse world religions
- Traditionally, the Western world sees Hinduism as a polytheistic religion
- Polytheistic religion mean Hindus believe in many gods: 330 million of them all
- Hindu scholar, Swami Vivekananda, say that there is no polytheism in India and
that every Hindu believes that there is but one God.
- Everything, including lesser gods, emanates from Brahman, the Supreme Being.
- Members of Hinduism comprise of 15% of the 84% of the world’s people who are
affiliated with a religion
- The center of Hindu teachings are the Vedas.
- Veda is a Sanskrit word which means “knowledge”
- The Vedas are collection of the religious writings of ancient Hindu spiritual
masters.
- The Rig Veda is the oldest among the Hindu sacred scripture
- The most popular for Hindus and non-Hindus alike are the Upanishads
- Upanishads consist of the insights of the enlightened Hindu mystics and sages
- The Upanishad is also most influential in the formation of Hindu philosophy

There are at least 4 common Hindu assumptions:

1. The universe has no beginning and will never end
It eternally undergoes cycles of creation and destruction.

2. All living things undergo cycles of birth, death, and rebirth until they are totally
liberated from this cosmic journey.
Each living being’s karma is instrumental for their liberations

3. The practice of asceticism is helpful in the goal of liberation from the cycle of
rebirth
4. The privileged members of the Hindu priestly class are authorized to interpret the
revealed truths of the Vedic scriptures

Prepared by:
Joan L. Llido
Scholars agree that it is very difficult to extract codes of ethics for economic life in the
Hindu tradition. “It has a wide variety of cults, sects, and philosophies, Hinduism has no
unified doctrine or philosophy from which prescriptions about economic issues can be
clearly established.” (Brammer, Williams, and Zinkin, 2007)
Some of the main principles of Hindus in business conduct:

1. Hindus have a positive outlook towards the business institution

“Hinduism has never expressed shame about the desire for wealth”. Brammer
and Zinkin (2007) asserted that the Hindu tradition is not just concerned with
spiritual liberation but also with earthly welfare. For a Hindu, the goals of life
concern not only moksha, or spiritual freedom, but also artha, or material well-
being.

2. Hindu businessperson must treat the business’ stakeholders with honesty

and fairness.
There are at least two reason for this:

a. If you hurt others, then you are, ultimately, hurting yourself

b. You cannot escape the law of karma
Your soul cannot attain liberation until you use your free will to choose rightly and
perform good acts (Chan and Shenoy 2011)

3. Hinduism’s belief in and tolerance of the caste system may also shape the
conduct of business
Caste System pertains to the social hierarchy in the Hindu society which also
institutionalized social roles and jobs by caste rather than by merit or talent

The major castes or classes of people are the following:

Brahmins or Brahmanas (priests and scholars who exercise spiritual powers)

Kshatriyas (the administrators and the military who exercises secular powers)

Vaisyas (businesspeople and farmers whose role is to produce the material needs of
the society

Sudras (the peasants and workers who are supposed to serve the higher castes

Untouchables (the lowest members of the society designated to do the dirtiest and
most menial works.

Though the caste system has been vanished through an Indian law in 1976, this has
been continued as a source of discrimination in the workplace.

Buddhism
- Originated from India
- It can a reaction against the complex rituals and the caste system of Hinduism
- Buddhists also believe in the law of karma, reincarnation, and the ultimate goal of
attaining liberation and nirvana
- A dominant religion in China
- Founder is Siddharta Gautama (566-486 BC)
- Siddharta Gautama, a rich and young prince who renounce his royal inheritance
to search for true meaning of life
Prepared by:
Joan L. Llido
 - Siddharta Gautama became Buddha which means “the enlightened one”
- Buddha did not write anything but his teachings were transmitted through oral
tradition

The Four Noble Truths (the most important principles of Buddhism)

1. No one can deny that suffering is the condition of all existence
2. Suffering and general dissatisfaction come to human beings because they are
possessive, greedy, and above all, self-centered.
3. Egocentrism, possessiveness, and greed can, however, be understood,
overcome, rooted out.
4. The rooting out, this vanquishing, can be brought about by following an Eightfold
Path of behavior in thought, word, and deed. Changes of viewpoint will manifest
itself in a new outlook and new patterns of behavior

The Eightfold Path

1. Right View
- Means that one should understand that the main cause of suffering is ignorance

2. Right Intention
- Means that when one understands the causes of suffering, he or she must intend
to transform those causes

3. Right Speech
- Means that one must be truthful and constructive when communicating with
another

4. Right Action
- Means that one must avoid violent and destructive actions

5. Right Livelihood
- Means that one’s means of subsistence must not be destructive to other people,
other living things, and the environment

6. Right Effort
- Means that one must accept that the path to liberation is difficult and requires
effort and perseverance

7. Right Mindfulness
- Means that one must aspire for self-awareness to fight aggression and other
negative tendencies

8. Right concentration
- Means that one should realize the importance of meditation in order to gain
deeper insights (Brown 2008)

One of the most relevant aspects of Buddhism’s Eightfold Path in relation to conduct of
business is Right Livelihood. Brown (2008) says that from a Buddhist perspective’s
consideration of right livelihood, one may ask these questions: “As a person involved in
trade, what do you produce?”, “How do you produce it?” For Buddhism, products that
are proven to be harmful to human beings raise moral questions. Furthermore, even if
your product is not harmful but is produced in such a way that compromises the
environment or causes unjust treatment of people, the business activity still raises
serious moral issues.
Prepared by:
Joan L. Llido
Buddhism firmly believes in interconnectedness and interdependence of all things in
the universe. Business policies and decisions will surely affect the various stakeholders
of the business organizations. Thus, “because business are integral parts of the
community, decision making cannot be reduced to profits without considering the
impact on people and the environment” (Brown 2008)

One of the central tenets of Buddhism is the overcoming of human suffering. The
conduct of business, therefore, must be seen as an activity to eliminate human
suffering and not to increase it. “The goal in Buddhism is to eliminate suffering, so
allowing businesses to profit while exploiting people and polluting the environment
increases the amount of suffering and counterproductive to the overall goal” (Brown
2008)

Confucianism
- Confucianism is not a religion
- It is more of a body of philosophical teachings
- Considered as an ethical system and thus mainly seen as a way of life
- Has dominated Chinese philosophical and religious thought
- Widely practices in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Singapore
- Believed to have a great impact on the economic development of the said
countries
- Confucius (551-479 BCE) is the founder if Confucianism
- He is considered as one of the most influential thinkers in the history of humanity
- Confucius is the Western translation of the Chinese phrase K’ung Fu-tse or
“Master Kung”
- The Analects of Confucius is deemed to be the most authoritative text of
Confucianism
- It is composed of sayings and stories of the life of Master K’ung
- The center of Confucianism is the ideal virtue or Ren – “humaneness” or
“benevolence”
- It is believed that each person must aspire to attain Ren because it encompasses
other virtues such as kindness, trustworthiness, tolerance, courage, propriety,
and prudence.
- Confucianism values the development of human character more than material
success

For Confucianism, “the nature and duties of the human being must be studied diligently
and cultivated, and humanity is to be loved”

Another virtue of Confucianism is Li, usually translated as “propriety”. Every member of

the society belongs to a particular gender, social position, and social role. Thus, there
are proper and correct ways of living for each other according to his or her social
position.

Li is it the code of conduct that assures harmony and respect toward each other
person’s role in the society. “Ren and Li govern human relationship and underline a
civil and harmonious Chinese society” (Wu and Wokutch 2008)

The Confucian ideal of Ren leads its followers to give higher priority to character and
virtues over and above the pursuit of profit.

Prepared by:
Joan L. Llido
“In light of this, Confucius distinguished between two types of individuals: gentlemen
whose conduct is governed by moral principles and small men whose character is
driven by profit” (Wu 2008). Thus, in one’s conduct of business, what is more important
is that the business person develops his or her moral character as he or she work for
the success of his or her business enterprise.

“Confucianism ethics reminds us that if the sole goal of business activities is profit
making or wealth accumulation, that would run afoul of Confucian doctrine (Chan and
Shenoy 2008).

Judaism
- Is the oldest among the major monotheistic religions
- Its ethical precepts are more than 3000 years old
- Is founded on two main sources: Jewish Bible (written Torah) and the Talmud
(oral Torah)
- Jewish Bible tells the story of how God (Yahweh)made a covenant with Abraham
and his descendants
- It centers in the story of Moses helping liberate the Jews from the Egyptians
through intervention of Yahweh
- The Ten Commandments of the Decalogue seals the relationship between
Yahweh and Israel (Jewish Nation)
- Written Torah is a record of the faith-experience of the Jews, it is the story of
their loving relationship with God

Moses Pava (2008) explored five prominent themes in Jewish ethics that are
particularly useful in the conduct of business especially in the modern times. Jewish
Ethics, exhorts the contemporary businessperson to show his or her goodness through
concrete acts.

Five Prominent Themes in Jewish Ethics:

o Right action
- A good or right act is more certainly more valuable than the grandest intention.
The notion of corporate social responsibility is compatible with the principle of
right action.

o Free choice
- Expresses human freedom, which pertains to each person’s inherent capability to
choose his or her course of action freely

o Balance
- The businessperson must strike balance between the gaining of profit as
manifestation of love toward self and his or her family, and sharing of profit as a
manifestation of love toward the other members of the society

o Covenant
- The notion of covenant may be used as one of the central themes in the attempt
of various nations to make agreements for the sake of ecological sustainability

o Dialogue
- Practicing an open and free dialogue, contending that the discussion on
corporate transparency and accountability will benefit from the Jewish notion of
dialogue

Prepared by:
Joan L. Llido
Christianity
- Is the world’s largest religion
- There area many sects and denominations such as; Roman Catholic.
Protestantism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodox, and others
- Formerly, the Philippines was considered as the only Roman Catholic nation in
Asia
- With the gaining of independence of East Timor, the Philippines can only claim to
be the largest Roman Catholic nation in the continent
- Center of Christian faith is Jesus Christ
- Christ comes from the Greek word Christos means the “Anointed One”
- Christos is the equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah
- Christianity is rooted in Judaism
- Christian faith is centered in conviction that Jesus Christ is both man and God
- Through the power of God’s infinite love toward all of creation, the power of
goodness prevails over the power of evil
- Christianity grew to become one o the most influential religions in the world

The Bible is one of the most important sources of guidance for the Christians in the
conduct of good business. Just like the Jews, Christians also take the Ten
Commandments or the Decalogue seriously. The ongoing challenge for Christians is to
address “the problem of the ‘historical gulf’ between biblical times and our present
experiences- that is the challenge of historicity of social orders” (Janichen 2013)

In other words, Christian thinkers must be able to interpret the Biblical teachings taking
into consideration its relevance to the challenges of the contemporary society. A moral
decision inspired by the Bible cannot be a product of literal and strict reading of biblical
texts. A narrow interpretation of Biblical texts will miss the wealth and dynamism both
of the Bible and of Christian Ethics itself.

At least 3 themes relevant to conduct of business:

1. Love one’s neighbor is relevant for the Christian businesspersons.
Both Old and New testaments are replete with texts that support the commandment of
loving one another. This does not mean that the businessperson will not consider his or
her personal interest to gain profit and economic success.

It means that ruthless, excessive, and greedy pursuit of economic benefits cannot be a
characteristic of a Christian businessperson who is faithful to the biblical exhortation to
love one’s neighbor.

2. The value of human labor

The Creation story in the Book of Genesis conveys the message that God is an active
worker in his creation. Since man is created in the likeness of God he or she is
mandated as well to be an active worker.

The challenge for man the worker is to continue working to improve and perfect God’s
unfinished creation while at the same time avoiding the aspects of human labor that
are destructive to the earth.

3. The notion of private property

Prepared by:
Joan L. Llido
Under fair and just social relationships, the person who labors must enjoy the fruits of
his or her labor. Private property is one of the manifestations of the person’s effort,
perseverance, and industry. Thus, it must be understood as a blessing from God.

Islam
- Literally means “submission” and it pertains to “submission to God
- Followers are called Muslims
- Muslim means someone “who submits or surrender”
- Is the world’s second largest religion next to Christianity
- Has been claimed that there are more Muslims than there are Roman Catholics
(the largest Christian denomination) in the world (Aloisi 2008)
- Statistics shows that Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion
- Majority of the Muslim are not Arabs
- Majority of the members inhabit the Asian countries of Indonesia and Malaysia
- Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world
- Islam is mostly inhabiting in Mindanao part of the Philippines
- Was founded by in the 610
- Muhammad, Islam’s Holy Prophet, was believed to have received revelatios from
Allah (God)
- The Quran is the Holy Book that contains the revelations to Muhammad
- Islamic Ethics is mainly based on the Shariah, the Sacred Law or the Islamic
legal/social system
- Shariah’s main purpose is the advancement of the goodness for the humankind
and the protection from evil

Shariah consists of two major written texts: Quran (Revelation of Allah to Muhammad)
and the Sunnah (Life of the Prophet). The general ethical rule of Islam consists of this:
“Whatever leads the welfare of the individual or society is morally good an whatever is
injurious is morally bad”

Islam therefore lives not for itself but for humanity and lays out clear guideline for
Muslims to be righteous and, thus, socially responsible through their actions in life.

The Five Pillars of Islam

Shahadah (the declaration of faith in one God) – There is no God but Allah, and
Muhammad is His messenger.
Salat (obligatory prayers) – facing the direction of Mecca, every member of the
Islamic faith is obliged to pray five times a day
Zakat (Islamic tax) – Every Muslim must give a minimum of 2.5% of his or her
income for charity and for the mosque. It is also called “purification tax”
Sawm (fasting in the month of Ramadan) – Ramadan is the 9 th month of the
years when Muslims are obliged to fast
Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) – at least once in their lifetime, every able-bodied
Muslim who can afford the journey is instructed to go to Mecca to pray and to
proclaim his or her faith in Allah. When you meet a Muslim with the title of al-Hajj
(pilgrim) in his or her name, it means that he or she has already fulfilled his or her
religious duty of Hajj

Islam in conduct of business:

1. It does not just uphold the value of business and trade, it even encourages the
Muslims to participate in business activities that are nor against Islamic laws.

Prepared by:
Joan L. Llido
 2. The concepts, Halal and Haram are very important considerations for the
businesspersons, Halal means “lawful” and haram means “unlawful”

Businesses considered as Halal:

- Legitimate earnings
- Trade contract with mutual consent
- Truthfulness in business dealings
- Trustworthiness in business matters
- Generosity and leniency in business transactions
- Honoring business obligations
- Fair treatment of workers

Business considered as Haram:

- Prohibited items such as meat, statues, and alcoholic beverages
- The sale of Al-Gharar (risk, speculation) such as insurance and other financial
derivatives
- Indiscriminate price-fixing
- Hoarding of basic necessities such as food
- Exploitation of one’s ignorance of market conditions
- Fraud and trickery in business dealings

Some Commonalities among the Religions in Relations to Business Conduct

The prominent thinkers Hans Kung once said that “the world’s religions are very, very
different and have very different bases.” Thus, it may not be proper to dream of unity
among religions. The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religion says: “The
problem with seeking unity among religions is the risk of loss of the unique and
precious character of each individual religious and spiritual tradition.”

But we also believe that even though there are many differences among various
religious beliefs, practices and rituals we can still observe many similarities in their
central values that are very relevant in the conduct of business. Stephen Gould (1995)
said: “While there are many differences often rooted in ethnicity, ideology historicity,
and geography which give rise to various cultural constructions of ethics, nonetheless
the similarities are striking in the shared concerns for applying ethical standards to all
matter involving human interactions.”

The Main Tenets of “An Interfaith Declaration: A Code of Ethics on International

Business for Christians, Muslims, and Jews”

One of the main aims of the gathering “is to discover the basic values that their
respective faiths have in common which were relevant to economic activity. The four
common principles among the three monotheistic religions that are relevant to the
conduct of business and economic activity are the following:

- Justice (fairness)
- Mutual respect (love and consideration)
- Stewardship (trusteeship)
- Honesty (truthfulness)

According to the document, justice pertains to “just conduct, fairness, exercise of

authority in maintenance of right.” In the conduct of business, people are expected to
observe fair dealings. The businessperson must be guided by justice and fairness in
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Joan L. Llido
his or her transaction with the various stakeholders of the business. The three
monotheistic religions agree that as God is a God of justice and mercy, human beings
must also deal with each other in justice and fairness.

The three monotheistic religions also agree that mutual respect or love and
consideration of other is also intrinsic and common among the three Faiths.

The thirds commonality is regarding the notion of stewardship of the natural

environment as God’s creations. By stewardship, businesspeople are reminded that
human beings are not the absolute owner of things in this world. Rather, they are just
the caretakers trusted by God to improve upon and share the wealth of the earth.

The fourth common principle is the value of honesty. It incorporates the concept of
truthfulness and reliability and covers all aspects of relationships in human life-
thought, word, and action. It is more than just accuracy; it is an attitude which is will
summed up in the word integrity.

Module 4 & 5: Exercises

Problems and Application

Instruction: Answer the following in your notebook or in MS word. Send a picture

format thru an online app.
NOTE: Answers taken from the internet will demerit 50 points.

Module 4.

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Joan L. Llido
 1. After our discussion on the relationship between religion and business, do you
believe that religion and business are two compatible areas? Explain your
answer.

2. Transparency International, an international organization that monitors the

corruption activities of different governments and businesses, showed that China
ranks second when it comes to bribing people just to close business deals.
PEWS, another organization, says that Confucian ethics is pervasive most of all
in China. Do you think there is a correlation between these two facts? Defend
your answer with the aid of doing further research on Confucianism and doing
business in China.

3. How would Buddhist ethics deal with the issue of the manufacturing of
cigarettes? Defend your answer.

4. Give other concrete implications of Buddhism on the conduct of business.

Module 5

You are a member of a religion that does not allow you to join a labor union. You
found that your employer violates many labor laws that have, in turn, affected you
and your coworkers. You wanted to join the labor union in your company. You
colleagues also encourage you to join them.
- Considering the situation, do you think you are justified in joining the labor union?
- If you are really convinced to join, what steps would you take so that your
religious beliefs and your labor rights could meet halfway?
- If you are convinced that your religious responsibilities are greater than your
labor rights, what actions can you take in order to contribute in the resolution of
your company’s labor problems?

Deadline: March 20 before 12 midnight

For submission earlier than Friday, March 20; 10 points will be added from final
score
*excess point beyond perfect score will be added on the next activities or
exercises.
For late submission 10 points will be deducted from final score

References:

Prepared by:
Joan L. Llido
Books:
Cortez, Franz Giuseppe. Business Ethics and Social Responsibility. Revised
Ed.Vibal Group Inc. 2019
Sites:
Department of Education. “Most Essential Learning Competencies.”
https://commons.deped.gov.ph/K-to-12-MELCS-with-CG-Codes.pdf

Prepared by:
Joan L. Llido