SPECIALIZED SUBJECT-ABM

BUSINESS ETHICS AND SOCIAL

RESPONSIBILITY
_____ Semester, SY _____________
QUARTER 1, MODULE 2
PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING FAIRNESS,
ACCOUNTABILITY, AND
TRANSPARENCY

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Business Ethics and Social Responsibility
Self-Learning Module
____ Semester – Quarter 1, Module 2: Principles Underlying Fairness, Accountability,
and Transparency
First Edition, 2021

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 THE CORE PRINCIPLES
UNDERLYING FAIRNESS,
ACCOUNTABILITY, AND
LESSON
TRANSPARENCY IN BUSINESS
OPERATION AND
STEWARDSHIP

Being an Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM) student, you can

be employed later in an enterprise or even in a big corporation. Hence, it is
important for you to know the ways on how fraud or problems can be prevented
in work areas or offices. As such, the core principles of fairness, accountability,
and transparency should be learned so that you can apply the knowledge in case
you encounter those fraudulent or problematic situations in the future.
This lesson was designed and written in the hope to produce young
entrepreneurs. This will help you understand what the nature of business is, as
well as its forms. It is also explained in a way that could easily be understood by
Senior High School students who, at the end of this module are expected to:
• Illustrate how fairness, accountability, transparency and stewardship is
observed in business and non-profit organizations. (ABM_ESR12-IIIa-d-
1.4; ABM_ESR12-IIIa-d-1.5)

DISCUSSION OF THE LESSON

To help the business organization get on the right track, there are three core
principles that should be implemented in its operation - fairness, accountability,
and transparency.

Fairness
This is the standard of judging which is exempted from bias or prejudice. When
someone displays fairness in making decision, he/she pleases all involved parties
and offers a solution that is beneficial to everyone. In business context, fairness
means balancing the interests involved in all decision-making including those
related to hiring, firing, and the compensation and reward system. Employees

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think of their organizations as just when the rewards and the way they are
distributed are fair.
Fairness is giving to a person what is due to him/her. It has something to do with
justice because the employer checks whether the members have the benefits and
burdens distributed evenly to them.
Examples of fairness:
1. A boss listening to both sides of the story before judging who is right and
who is wrong.
2. An employer giving 13th month pay to all his/her employees.
3. A person paying the right price for a product purchased or for a service
received.

Accountability
The most important aspect of preventing and detecting corruption is the sound
accountability structures. A civil society organization without proper systems of
accountability is fragile and open to rumors of mismanagement and abuse of
authority. Worst of all, lacking it will prevent the organization from enjoying full
respect and legitimacy in the eyes of its stakeholders, including those bearers of
duties that it intends to advocate with.
Accountability is the explication and justification process. It is about testing,
forming a judgment, and taking an action if necessary. It also comes with
responsibilities. Holding people to account for those actions which they are
responsible for is fair.
Accountability is therefore an obligation to demonstrate that work has been
carried out in accordance with agreed rules and standards, or to report on
performance results fairly and accurately in relation to mandated roles and/or
plans.
Examples of accountability:
1. A cashier admits he/she lost the company’s collection and it is his/her
mistake.
2. An engineer who is assigned on a project is the one to be blamed if the
project did not meet the deadlines.
3. Employee A recommended his cousin to be their company janitor, but the
latter stole the cellular phone of their secretary. Therefore, Employee A
may be blamed for recommending his/her cousin and should pay or
replace the lost cellphone.

Transparency
Transparency, at the individual level, considers intrinsic or ethical salience as
an important feature of the relational dimension of a person. It is described as a
personal quality which is necessary to develop unity between and among
individuals. A transparent approach makes a person more honest and sincere in
his/her relationships, in communicating his/her points of view, and in working
actively to find shared meanings and goals.
Organizationally speaking, the instrumental salience of transparency is
identified as an important mechanism for ensuring social responsibility. For
example, adequate disclosure is required to inform donors of how an organization
uses its money.

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 Transparency helps people to consider how the actions of social organizations
such as multinational agencies and non-governmental groups offer meaningful
support to civil society and whether funding is being properly spent.
Examples of transparency:
1. Reporting accurately the company’s financial situation and risks to
investors
2. Holding and selecting bids according to an open pre-defined process
3. Having an open process of decision-making such as in hiring additional
employees

ACTIVITY 1
DIRECTIONS: Explain each situation stated below. Answer each of the following questions in
two to three sentences. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Maria always got failing grade in every test given by her teacher. She have been
blamed for cheating by her classmate in their summative test because she got a
passing grade. If you are the teacher, how will you show fairness to Maria?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

2. You’re working at the convenient store that uses barcode scanner all the time.
Accidentally brown-out happens without prior notice. You see few of your customers
in line and waiting to pay. How will you show transparency in encoding the items bought
by the customers?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

3. Jose is an ABM student of Magdiwang National High School. He needed a calculator

for his accounting subject, so he borrowed from his teacher. But one of his classmates
also borrow from him. When it is time to return the calculator, he cannot find it. Is
Jose accountable for the lost of calculator? Why?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

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ACTIVITY 2
DIRECTIONS: Cite two situations on how you can apply fairness, transparency, and
accountability in dealing with your teachers and family/parents. Copy the table below and write
your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

Criteria Teachers Family / Parents

Fairness

Transparency

Accountability

ACTIVITY 3
DIRECTIONS: Make a short paragraph for each number below beginning with the given
phrase. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
1. I could show fairness by
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

2. I could show accountability by

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

3. I could show transparency by

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

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INSTRUCTION: Please write your learning from the above discussion. Write your
learning in your answer sheet.
Upon reading the lesson above, I learned that…
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________ and realized that…
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

A. DIRECTIONS: Match the term in Column A to its definition/description in Column B. Write

only the letter of your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
A B
1. transparency A. It is the explication and justification process.
2. reporting B. It is giving to a person what is due to him/her.
3. fairness C. This act should be done accurately to the company’s
4. decision-making investors.
5. accountability D. This approach makes a person more honest and sincere.
E. An example of this act involves hiring of workers.

B. DIRECTIONS: Complete each sentence below by filling in the blank/s. Choose your
answers from the box and write them on a separate sheet of paper.

Efficiency Fairness Transparency

Bias Accountability

(6) _________________, (7) _________________, and (8) _________________ are the

three important core principles in business organization.
(9) _________________ is shown when one listens to the two sides of a story before giving
his/her judgement.
(10) _________________, is shown when one admits his/her mistake and is responsible
for it.

C. DIRECTIONS: Read each sentence carefully and identify whether it is correct or incorrect.
Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

11. One exercises fairness when he/she pays the right amount for an item purchased.
12. Transparency is shown when one hides the records from the other shareholders of
the company.
13. Bong is exhibiting transparency when he holds an open bidding for company’s next
project.

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 14. Lito should pay the money collection which he lost in the restaurant, being the
treasurer of the lending company where he works.
15. A boss may choose who among his/her employees will be given Christmas bonus.

DIRECTIONS: Assume that you formed a non-profit organization during this time of pandemic.
It aims to accept donations from concerned individuals or groups and distribute to those who
are in need. As its founder, think of ways on how you could show fairness to your members
and to the beneficiaries, accountability with the office properties and donations, and
transparency in the transactions of your organization.

Plan of Actions:

Fairness
To Members To Beneficiaries
1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

4. 4.

5. 5.

Accountability
To Office Properties To Donations
1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

4. 4.

5. 5.

Transparency in Transactions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

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 REFERENCES

DepEd 2016. DepEd’s Curriculum Guide for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, s.
2016.

DepEd 2020. DepEd’s Most Essential Learning Competencies MELC for Business Ethics and
Social Responsibility, s. 2020

Racelis, Aliza. Business Ethics and Social Responsibility. Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc., 2017.

Roa, Floriano. Business Ethics and Social Responsibility. Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc., 2011.

Simplicable.com. “11 Examples of Transparency.” Accessed August 17, 2021.

https://simplicable.com/new/transparency.

KEY TO PRACTICE EXERCISES

PRACTICE EXERCISES
ACTIVITY 1 : Answers may vary.
ACTIVITY 2 : Answers may vary.
ACTIVITY 3 : Answers may vary.
WRITTEN WORKS
(6 - 8 in any order)
1. D 6. Fairness 11. Correct
2. C 7. Accountability 12. Incorrect
3. B 8. Transparency 13. Correct
4. E 9. Fairness 14. Correct
5. A 10. Accountability 15. Incorrect
PERFORMANCE TASK : Answers may vary.