MSc CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

SIB7505-A

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 Executive summary
The problematic situations that have arisen at Pakistan's largest market research
organisation, 'Markematics,' are the subject of the study presented. The prime
motive for completing this report is to analyse an Ethically Problematic Situation that
occurred inside Markematics, in which workers were required to conduct a monthly
performance appraisal of their work in relation to four key performance indicators
(KPIs). There are three reasons why it is considered ethically problematic: Due to a
lack of objective measurement of the key performance indicators (KPIs), as well as
the influence of these KPIs on day-to-day operations, colleagues who voiced
concerns about the new system were granted garden leave or had their employment
contracts terminated. Stakeholder theory is used to explain and analyse the
problematic elements of the Markematics organisational issue, which is included in
the report as well. Ultimately, the paper makes the recommendation that the four
KIPS be transformed into a goal statement, rather than being used as benchmarks
for a performance evaluation.

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 Table of Contents
Executive summary......................................................................................................1

Introduction...................................................................................................................3

An overview of the organizational issue.......................................................................3

Ethical analysis of the organizational issue..................................................................4

Management analysis of the organizational issue.......................................................5

Proposed recommendations for resolving the organisational issue.............................6

Conclusion....................................................................................................................7

References...................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Ethical issues arise when a difficult choice must be made involving two or more
options, none of which resolves the problem in accordance with recognized ethical
norms. In an ethical scenario, adopting a realistic judgment about what should or
should not be performed is required (Loughran, 2002). A troublesome situation
(Dewey & Sharpe, 1989) includes these types of ought issues and more and the
complexity that aren't immediately evident. While delving into this topic, he observes
how his opinions diverge from others on occasion. One of his concerns in Ethics, for
example, is to explain how moral circumstances contain questions and perplexities
caused by "opposite impulses promising contrary benefits".

In this assessment, I'll look at a problem situation that I've seen in the workplace.
Then I have to choose one morally difficult subject. I'll explain why the issue I picked
is ethical and what ethical traits this difficult scenario has once I've chosen a
problematic situation. To determine the scale of the issue, I'll use one of the theories.
Then, when I take this problem to management, I'll do a management analysis to
evaluate what implications this situation has for management. When management
gives their analysis, I'll assess if it suits our difficult situation. Then, based on the
aforementioned challenging circumstances, I will provide my own suggestions for
what the organization and the supervisor should do in the present situation.

An overview of the organizational issue

In 2018, I worked for a Markematics (market research firm). Pakistan's leading
market research firm, Markematics, is based in Karachi and has five regional offices
around the country. Despite its relative youth, Markematics now employs more than
125 full-time and part-time people on a permanent and contractual basis.

In 2018, markematics lost a significant client who contributed to about one-third of its
overall profits. After recevinf feedback, workers were required to submit a monthly
performance appraisal of their work using four key performance indicators (KPIs):
'efficiency,' 'caring,' 'empathy,' and 'proactivity,' which was evaluated to their line
manager's rating. For three reasons, the new performance evaluation was unethical:
first, the KPIs could not be objectively monitored, preventing workers from getting an
appropriate track of their accomplishments and receiving constructive criticism.
Secondly, the day-to-day effect of these KPIs, such as efficiency, encouraged unpaid

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overtime, team streamlining, and extra workload, which was hurtful to coworkers and
violated employment rights to a healthy and safe working environment (Crane et al.,
2019). The third problem is that employees who voiced concerns about the new
regime were granted gardening vacation or had their agreements terminated based
on their duration of service, which was a violation of their right to due process as well
as their freedom of conscience and expression (Crane et al., 2019).

Ethical analysis of the organizational issue

The first question is whether or not an ethical perspective can be used in a business
setting, given the nature of business. We must first enquire: can an ethical viewpoint
be used in a business situation, considering that the major purpose of business is to
produce money, which follows the tradition of egoism, where the interests of oneself
are prioritized above those of other people? (Crane et al., 2019). According to Collins
(1994), who mentions Friedman's stakeholder theory believed that profit
maximization is the primary purpose of business management.

All people who can influence a company's strategy are stakeholders, and their
demands should be prioritized before profit. Many people believe business has no
ethical standards (Freeman, 2010). However, the executive must conform to the
basic rules of society, both those embedded in law and those embodied in ethical
custom.. a corporation must consider the interests of all stakeholders to remain
profitable. According to Elkington and Rowlands (1999), the interests of both people
and the environment should come first. I believe it is more ethical to prioritize how an
organization treats its people above its bottom line.

Ethics may be divided into two categories: consequentialist (also known as

teleological) and deontological (also known as ethical). Morality may be deciphered
by using the repercussions of an ethical decision whereas morality can be
deciphered by adherence to Kant's categorical imperatives and other moral
principles (Crane et al., 2019). When these two schools of thought were attacked for
being too prescriptive and rigid, virtue ethics was born as a reaction (Crane et al.,
2019). Solomon (1992) Aristotelian approach to business ethics is criticized for its
unabashed relativism, where "if you are a utilitarian, you will do this, if you are a
Kantian, you will do that," and recognition of the situation of individuals as inherently
social animals who derive traditions and rules from their societies.

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The terminology "efficiency," "caring," "empathy," and "proactivity" are effective
business attributes, and it would be ethical for workers to enhance these behavioural
traits as part of their accountability in connection to their employer's community. At
the same time, it would be unethical for employees to deny these behaviours. In my
opinion the capacity to arrive at a competent judgment in an ethical dilemma comes
only when one is aware of all the particularities of the circumstance. Also, according
to Koehn (1995), an act can't be explained effectively for virtue ethicists without
detailing the thinking processes that lead to it. Even though management's directive
that employees cultivate moral behaviour at work may be ethical, the directors of the
company would be violating their own personal responsibility to act with integrity if
they were to launch an efficiency campaign aimed at making employees work harder
for less pay to reduce costs and increase profits.

Now I'll examine at a situation where the company revoked the contracts of people
who objected to the new rule. The concept of hardness, which asserts that
occasionally firm leaders must make unpleasant choices concerning personnel to
'reach a higher aim,' confuses the discussion (Solomon, 1992). Consequently, if the
firm is in financial problems, an ethical manager may need to remove excellent
personnel. However, Solomon (1992) points out that toughness entails perseverance
and that, in the context of the condition overall, the company was too hasty to
terminate diligent workers over the loss of a sole customer, which violated Aristotle's
notion of moderation, which states that no attribute would be implemented to its
extreme. Furthermore, the corporation's willingness to terminate long-serving
workers who spoke out against its practices rather than address the feedback
indicated its priority for profit above people.

Management analysis of the organizational issue.

Many CEOs see ethics as a matter of personal morality, a private problem between
people and their moral sense. According to Solomon (1992), human virtue and
integrity matter; good corporate and social policies will follow. In other words I must
say that, one may conclude that bad corporate and social policy results from weak
virtue and integrity on the part of management. Is it better to obey policies put in
place by people who lack integrity or raise concerns about the policy and cultivate
their own sense of self-worth, which is a fundamental part of virtue ethics that
supports all morality. As Solomon (1992), points out, persons must practise their
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judgment to assess what is probably the right decision, and in this situation, the
pleasure of all parties was overlooked
In the frim the project administrator made an appointment with the line manager to
clarify how he was working extra hard without pay every day and couldn't see a
straight vision to progress within the company ambiguous of the performance
evaluation, attempting to point out that the concept 'caring' and 'empathy' are nearly
identical, that no standards could be objectively measured, and that the doubt could
lead to assessment bias. After speaking with the team's director, the line manager
told the project administrator that he couldn't expect to progress without 'proving
himself,' noting their own two-year experience working outside of typical business
hours before rising to account manager. They also said that the project administrator
had not met performance requirements that had not been raised before this meeting.
After that meeting, the project administrator was dissatisfied with the idea of
continuing his career with this organization, so he gave his notice, with no action
made by the company to fix the situation. The response provided by the firm is not
particularly effective. The method in which it carried out this action was unethical.

Laws and regulations are just the beginning of a company's ethical responsibility.
Society also expects corporations to conduct themselves in an ethical manner.
Accepting unethical behaviour requires companies to take on accountability for
activities that aren't necessarily outlined in a code of conduct. It's not always easy to
tell the difference between legal and ethical obligations. Ethical standards, of course,
underlie all laws, but they transcend much beyond that (Marquina & Morales, 2012)

According to CSR, the following are ethical duties. Performance must be consistent
with the requirements of society, recognize and appreciate ethical and moral
standards that are new or developed and adopted by society, preventing the
violation of ethical standards in order to achieve objectives, doing what is ethically or
morally required as a reputable business citizen, acknowledging that company ethics
and integrity expand outside obedience to laws and regulations (Portmore, 2001).

Proposed recommendations for resolving the organisational issue

Assuming the position of Managing Director, I will now describe what I would have
done to handle this scenario. The company's response to losing a customer is the
first point of contention. Because of budget constraints, the customer decided not to

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use our services in the new fiscal year. Our service had no flaws that could have
been addressed to change this choice. This loss should not fall on the shoulders of
the workers, but rather I would hunt for new customers and set up sales pitches to
get the firm back on track, according to shareholder theory. Any employee who has a
new client concept or service enhancement suggestion is welcome to come to the
director's office, which would promote the virtue of innovation and, ideally, boost
profitability under the guise of the virtue ethics framework (Solomon, 1992). If these
methods fail to bring in profits, the community may be forced to make painful choices
about its workforce if the company's survival is at danger. However, this is the final
resort.

An environment where individual duty is fostered and co-workers are made to sense
like they are part of a collective community is conducive to developing good
character in the modern workplace. As an alternative to using the four values of
"efficacy, caring, empathy, and proactivity" as performance metrics, I'd turn them into
a mission statement to guide its actions. It is recommended that managers avoid
using generic words when assessing colleagues' effectiveness. Performance
evaluations must be considered a reflective meeting where colleagues can express
their opinions on the organization's management and how they have established
their values, integrity, and skills while working in the company. When an excellent
employee applies for a promotion, I would not inform them that the firm is unable to
provide promotions at the moment because I want to nurture the virtue of toughness
in them. As a manager, I would inform them that we would schedule another
performance evaluation after the new business had been secured so that we could
re-evaluate the situation. I would do this because I wanted to be honest with my
employees.

Conclusion
Virtue ethicists believe that an individual's character can only measure morality;
however, this is a widespread fallacy, and a thorough investigation of the actor, the
goal, and the consequence is necessary to determine the ethics of a business action
(Koehn, 1995). As a result of managers lying about why such measures were
implemented and creating an unwelcoming work atmosphere for their employees,
the decision to launch an efficiency campaign was motivated by profit rather than

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concern for the well-being of the employees. Because of this, the firm's leadership
behaved unethical.

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References
Collins, J. W. (1994). Is business ethics an oxymoron? Business Horizons, 37(5), 1-
9.
Crane, A., Matten, D., Glozer, S., & Spence, L. (2019). Business ethics: Managing
corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford
University Press, USA.
Dewey, J., & Sharpe, A. (1989). 1931-1932: Essays, Reviews, and Miscellany.
Southern Illinois University Press.
Elkington, J., & Rowlands, I. H. (1999). Cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of
21st century business. Alternatives Journal, 25(4), 42.
Freeman, R. E. (2010). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Cambridge
university press.
Koehn, D. (1995). A role for virtue ethics in the analysis of business practice.
Business Ethics Quarterly, 533-539.
Loughran, J. J. (2002). Effective reflective practice: In search of meaning in learning
about teaching. Journal of teacher education, 53(1), 33-43.
Marquina, P., & Morales, C. E. (2012). The influence of CSR on purchasing
behaviour in Peru and Spain. International Marketing Review.
Portmore, D. W. (2001). Can an act-consequentialist theory be agent relative?
American Philosophical Quarterly, 38(4), 363-377.
Solomon, R. C. (1992). Corporate roles, personal virtues: An Aristotelean approach
to business ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly, 2(3), 317-339.

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