BA Core 5: Good Governance and Social Responsibility

Topic I

Moral principles: The nature of Morality

1. Moral Principle 1 Human Dignity in the Priority of Labor over Capital
1. What you mean by “man above other M's”?
1. Man, the human person, is above other M's (material resources, machine,
methods, management, money, etc.).
2. The human labor, the spiritual worker, the intelligent capital, with God-
sublime dignity, is the real wealth creator (John Paul II, 1981).
2. What business factors create wealth?
1. Providers of capital, otherwise known as shareholders lay claim to most
wealth that corporations create or generate.
2. Marjorie Kelly (2001) underlines the importance of labor, otherwise known as
the human capital or intellectual capital, the intelligent entrepreneur, the
strategic manager, the diligent worker. Human resource (labor) is also called
human capital, and human knowledge is known as intellectual capital.
3. Where did all material capital come from?
1. In philosophical terms, all capital is apparently the result of the historical
heritage of human labor, which means it is human labor that give birth to
capital.
4. Did Abraham Lincoln ever say that “capital is the fruit of labor”?
1. Lincoln said that “capital is the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if
labor had not first existed; that labor can exist without capital, but that capital
could never existed without labor. Hence, they hold that labor is the superior -
greatly the superior - of capital” (1859)
5. Is human labor a sacrificial lamb?
1. It may happen that management hits rank- and-file the strongest in times of
regional or global “stagflation” (stagnation and inflation combined), recession,
or period of reengineering. As Richard Gwyn (1997) puts it, “Labor is
sacrificed on the inflation rate's altar of oblation.”
6. Is labor the means to economic development?
1. The human person is not the means to be used for economic development.
The other way is true, that is, the economic development is a means for the
total development of the human person (Mehrotra & Jolly, 1998).
2. Economist Mahar Mangahas (cited in Maximiano, 2003) said that “in
assessing what we should first service - labor or capital and its high interests
- we have chosen to service the latter when it is the welfare of the former we
should be most concerned with at this time.”
7. Is the spirit superior over matter?
1. John Paul II, in Centessimus annus (1991), emphasizes the “priority of ethics
over technology, the primacy of the person over things, and the superiority of
spirit over matter.”
8. Is it easy for business to practice this principle?
1. Some managers argue that people are hired to work and it is “not our
business to train them.” Total manpower training and development, wrongly
perceived as “all cost and no return,” are therefore last among the priorities of
some corporate management (Kelley, 2006).
9. How is human dignity preserved among migrant workers or OFWs?
 1. It is unfortunate that overseas or migrant workers, considered as modern-day
heroes, are almost always prone to all sorts of exploitation by their employers
in the host countries.
10. Is there a more philosphical understanding of human dignity?
1. Human dignity is in the laborer, as it is in the customer who has the right to
be served beyond satisfaction. It is in the community, the beneficiary of CSR
program, as it is in those in the bottom of the pyramid.
11. Is human labor at times reduced to some aspects below his dignity?
1. The human person is reduced from homo sapiens (thinking being) to homo
faber (working man), as if the whole being of the worker is equal to his work
only and nothing more. From homo faber, labor is at times reduced to homo
oeconomicus, as if the whole essence of the human person is equal only to
his quantified materiality, position occupied in the corporate ladder, income
bracket, number of credit cards, insurance or financial worth. It should not be
so.
12. Why is the idea of imago Dei relevant to human labor?
1. As professed by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “ All men
are are created equal in dignity and rights,” that is every man , woman, and
child possess intrinsic dignity, regardless of race or color, religion, sex, party
affiliation, or business connections.
13. What should be the appropriate assessment of human labor in trade and industry?
1. Jose Concepcion, Jr. (Chairman of the ASEAN Chamber of Commerce ,
1996) proposed the rationale why business has to consider the issue of
human dignity. He said that the agenda of business should express a
deliberate commitment by all to feel the pain and agony of people who do not
live in the dignity of the human person. He added: “We cannot push free
trade for free trade's sake. Our objective is to improve the quality of life,
especially that of the poor.”
14. What is a more sublime paradigm of the human dignity?
1. The correct concept of labor and human dignity is that of divine image, and
this concept of labor is possible regardless of various beliefs or religious
affiliations. The human person's natural mission is to subdue the earth and
dominate it. By his labor, the human worker honors the gifts and talents he
received from the Creator.
15. Should the priority of labor over the capital at the heart of business?
1. Yes, this moral principle should be at the heart of every business, where
labor is the primary efficient cause, while capital, the whole collection of
means of production, remains a mere instrument or instrumental cause.
16. “Companies cannot survive nor thrive in an environment where its only concern is
profits. In the long run, the company itself must depend on people for its survival.” -
Cesar A. Buenaventura
2. Moral Principle 2 Respects for Basic Employee Rights
1. What is the business of human rights in business?
1. “All human rights are universal, indivisible..interdependent and interrelated.”
2. What is the right to work?
1. The right to work is fundamental because it flows from nature, as it is inborn
in every person. The human person is created to work, to till the soil and
raise the cattle, to subdue the earth and its natural resources. Social
responsibility means making an attempt to fill up this innate vacuum in the
human person (Francis, 2013; John Paul II, 1981).
3. Why is the right to work fundamental to all? WHY? Addressed to: First Reason
Survival needs Self Second Reason Natural obligation to support others Dependents
Third Reason Psychological need Self
 4. What is the right to equal employment oportunities?
1. Equality in employment embraces all without discrimation: Women, gay, the
aged, and those with heavy Ilocano accent. Employers cannot and should
not discriminate in job application procedures; the hiring, advancement or
discharge of employees; employee compensation; job training; and any other
terms, conditions and privileges of employment (Mendes, 1996).
5. What is the right to just wage and compensation?
1. In the legal sense, the just wage is the minimum wage that will not only
enable the worker to meet the bare cost of living, but will also provide a
means of desirable improvements in the quality of life. Just wage is not only
the bread to win but also the means to enjoy a better quality life.
2. Anything less is morally unacceptable.
6. What is the basic employee right to security of tenure?
1. Security of tenure means that, in case of regular employment, the services of
any one of the workers cannot just be terminated except for a just cause or
after a due process.
2. The employee right to due process consists of an objective evaluation of
his/her case, a fair hearing and a chance to appeal, a process very
fundamental in firing and even in demoting.
7. What is the right to due process and a grievance procedure?
1. Due process is the procedure by which an employee can appeal a decision
or action made by a superior in order to get a rational explanation of the
decision and objective review of its propriety.
8. Do employees have the right to be trained, to grow, and develop?
1. Change is what ancient philosophers and modern hi-tech experts refer to as
the “only permanent thing in the world.” • Change can actually make the
knowledge and skills one has learned today obsolete in the near future, and
that is the reason why there is a need to train. Randolf (1995) insists that
training is an empowerment that “consists of a few simple steps and a lot of
persistence” - and it is both your right and duty.
9. What is the right to collective bargaining?
1. As a mode of settling labor disputes and a just means of compromise
between the employer and the laborers, the collective bargaining is always
directed to some issues and conditions of employment,which are over and
above those mandated by law.
3. Moral Principle 3 Social Justice
1. What is social justice?
1. Justice is traditionally defined as suum cuique tradere meaning “the
disposition by which we render to each one what is due to him/her.” • Justice
implies that everybody plays fair and square, practicing, honesty and fairness
in dealing with others, that is, if everyone wants to keep the business
environment sound, orderly, and intact (see John Rawls, 1971).
2. Is the issue of justice pertinent to business and market system?
1. Justice dictates that everyone is recognized and respected for what he/she
is, regardless of race, religion, political connection, or sexual orientation, in
the company's active fight against any kind of bias, prejudice, and
discrimation; that no one is mistreated or shortchanged and no one is
exploited or verbally abused in the workplace - domestic helper, factory
worker, driver, gasoline boy, and all others.
3. What are the different forms of justice?
1. General Justice - directed to the “norms of right order,” specifcally towards
the promotion of the common good.
2. Distributive Justice - disposes the legitimate authority to justly distribute the
benefits and burdens to particular individuals (Aristotle). * The distribution of
burdens in taxation requires proportionate equality, and proportionate
equality is not necessarily an equal share but a fair share of carrying the
burde of taxes
3. Commutative Justice - main concern is the strict mathematical equality that
requires us to give to others what is due to them (Aquinas).
4. Social Justice - from the Christian point of view requires the private sector, all
business institutions, NGOs, and the government to acknowledge that the
greatest benefits should go to the four L's: less fortunate, least advantaged,
the last and the lost. * preferential option of the poor.