Assignment Cover Sheet

Programme Bachelor of Comerce in Law

Module Name Business Ethic
Assignment Number 1
Surname Kapena
First Name/S Barnabé
Student Number 12241412
Date Submitted 16 April 2024
Postal Address 37 Cromwell Road

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confirm that the assignment submitted herein is my own original work.
Date: __16/04/2024______________
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Marks per question (Q)
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10
1. When it comes to ethics and whether or not something is morally right or wrong, often, the
question of where these ethics and morals come from. There are three main sources of ethics
which play a factor on what is seen as right or wrong. These three sources are: Self Interest;
Conscience; and Religion.

Conscience is an inner voice or feeling that a person has that tells them what is wrong and what
is right. A person is able to sense and be aware of moral worth or value and a lack of them, while
feeling obligated to act accordingly with the conscience. For example, if a women does
something that she consciensly feels is wrong, she will feel personally obligated to rectify her
actions. This takes a Moral-Rights approach to ethics, as it acknowledges that everyone has
fundamental morals built within them.

The Intuition theory of conscience perceives that knowledge of right and wrong is immediate and
part of one’s intuition, not a result of processes of association and reflection. This it is a source
profound reaction.

The problem comes in the fact that conscience cannot be fully explained understood nor proven,
so it isn’t seen as a reliable source of ethics.

Religion is the belief that what is right a wrong is determined by God who is the highest authority
and had revealed or willed what is right or not. Thus everyone should be guided by the rules of
religion. Most people view religion as a clear source of morality, it’s authority and its
fundamental reason for being.

Despite there being many different religions, a lot of principles upheld by each religion are
similar.

All religions’ views on morality have a long been determined, making it easier to use as a source
of ethics as what is right and wrong.

Religion can take many approaches to ethics, mainly: Deontological, Teleological, Justice and
Utilitarian.

The issue that some people have with religion being a source of ethics is that there is no tangible
proof that God exists nor what his will is.

Self Interest is an interest of one’s personal benefit. It takes an Individualism approach to ethics.
It suggests that all actions are to be motivated by the want to achieve what is best for you.

In addition there is also the concept of enlightened self interest, which suggests that true self
interest is the same as the interest of others as the true nature of a person can’t be separated from
it’s relation to those around them and their surrounding as a whole. If one acts solely for their
own it is self defeating and irrational.

Enlightened self interest helps motivate that acting in self interest is not non-moral. There are still
strong criticisms towards self interest, however, as the subjective aspect of it is still considered
not moral enough.
In the case of Mr. Jones, he, as a devout Christian, would be strongly influenced by religion as a
source of ethics, which would compel him to do what benefits the most amount of people and
what his religion sees as right and truthfully expose the company’s wrong doing, as in
Christianity, lying and deceitfulness is wrong.

However, as a businessman, he would be influenced by self interest and want to cover it up in

order to protect himself, the company and it’s members.

His conscience could easily persuade him to lean either way between what’s best for his self
interest and what is right according to his religion, but in this scenario it would most likely
support his religious beliefs.
2.1. King IV defines corporate governance as the exercise of ethical and effective leadership by the
governing body towards the achieving of: ethical culture; good performance; effective control; and
legitimacy. These are referred to as governance outcomes.

King IV sets out voluntary principles and leading practices that apply to all organisations of all for and
incorporations.

King IV uses a philosophy of apply and explain. This approach provides that organisations don’t just have
a compliance mind-set, but to rather apply their minds in order to achieve the principles set out, and that
organisations provide an explanation of the practices implemented and why the were chosen. This is a
Teleological approach to ethics.

These Governance outcomes help guide organisations in their actions, as by understanding that the aim is
to achieve these outcomes, an organisation can assess whether or not a particular action or practice helps
them to achieve these outcomes or not and make the right decisions regardless of whether or not they
comply with principles. Providing an explanation on why the chosen actions were taken allows the public
and shareholders to understand the decisions of the organisation. This helps organisations understand
what is required by them in order to uphold to their corporate social responsibility, as well as helping
them achieve it and be more accountable for it.

2.2. The King IV recognises that corporate governance is issue of leadership. Ethical leadership is
exemplified by integrity, competence, responsibility, accountability, fairness and transparency.

King IV explains the governance of ethics as the role of the Board in ensuring that the ethical culture
within the organisation is aligned to the tone set by the Board through the implementation of appropriate
policies and practices.
BIOGRAPHY:

Bowie, Norman E. (1999) Business Ethics: A Kantian Perspective. Oxford: Blackwell.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/business-ethics.asp

https://barnowl.co.za/knowledge-centre/integrated-grc-insights-blog/king-iv-report-risk-compliance-and-
assurance/#:~:text=The%20definition%20of%20corporate%20governance,Legitimacy

https://www.pwc.co.za/en/publications/king4.html

https://beyondgovernance.com/king-iv-
code/#:~:text=The%20King%20Code%20also%20understands,leadership%20by%20the%20governing%
20body%E2%80%9D.