Ethics and Morality of Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Ethics and Morality of Business - Essay Example Career development programmes are not just altruistic pursuits. These are followed keeping the future human resource requirements in mind. Similar is the case with ethics. Given a level playing field, most organizations do not shy away from ethical behaviour. With the explosion of information and the communication revolution, the media plays a crucial role in building and tarnishing reputations of businesses. Hence, every organization tries to enhance its reputation among all its stakeholders. Ethics is a novel outlook for businesses that have single mindedly pursued the bottom line so far. Hence, there exists a twilight zone where business and ethics meet. In the modern world, differences are blurring and concepts are getting re-defined constantly. Business can reap benefits without compromising on basic human values. There is no need to give up on competitiveness to be morally right. Hence, it is possible to conduct business ethically, which is essentially a win-win situation. Conc epts Rationalism dictates that everything should be useful and justifiable. Utilitarianism and utility analysis as used by business vary significantly. When a firm uses a utility, it weighs the positive and negative consequences of a certain action as it relates to itself; and a utilitarian analysis weighs these  'results of an action on everyone affected by it' (De George, 2010, pg 44). Morality is concerned with creating good consequences, not having good intentions. One should do whatever will bring the utmost benefit to all of humanity. Morality guides people’s actions in order to create a better world. Bentham (1748–1832) is rightly considered the father of modern utilitarianism. He explained utility as the balance of pleasure and pain that a human being experiences (as cited in Binmore, n.d.). â€Å"The principle of utility . . . is that principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever according to the tendency which it appears to have to aug ment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question.† (Bentham Jeremy, B. E. 1748-1832). Bentham thought that entire morality could be derived from ‘enlightened self-interest’, and that a person who always acted for his own satisfaction in the long run, would always act rightly. However, there are critics of Bentham. ‘The good’ cannot be quantified or measured. Similarly, the notion or definition of ‘the good’ was extreme. At the same time, other considerations like human rights and justice, which are relevant, are ignored. John Stuart Mill said that happiness in not the same as pleasure. Man shared the lower quality ones with animals for e.g. food, water etc. The higher quality pleasures were unique to man and involved the higher faculties (Mill, 1863, Pg 11). He showed that utilitarianism was in sync with moral rules. Utilitarians ought not to calculate beforehand whether each action would maximize utility. Instead , following a general principle (under which a particular action falls) leads to happiness. Henry Sidgwick highlighted common sense morality, which is morality accepted by the majority without detailed thinking involved, in his book Method of Ethics (Crisp, 2000). He stated that not all principles of common sense morality are apparent. He was in favour of ethical hedonism according to which any action should produce the greatest amount of pleasure. He was of the opinion that no man should destroy his own happiness (Ibid).

(Q5.'Traditional' methods of project procurement have no further use Essay

(Q5.'Traditional' methods of project procurement have no further use within modern construction procurement'; is this so Discuss) - Essay Example Traditional methods of procurement have been the source of an enormous debate in regard to their current suitability especially in this modern era. Are they of any use or not? The paper will examine whether the statement that they have no use for the current construction procurement is right. It has been stated by Adenuga (2013) that the traditional technique of project procurement involves a group of specialized consultants entering into a contractual arrangement with the contractor and the client. The group of specialized consultants may constitute quantity surveyors, engineers, and other professionals. Their role is to oversee the contractor, who works on the real construction, and deliver a suitable design. Normally, the specialized consultants ply their trade in different corporations. However, they come together and offer their expertise to the client for a certain amount of money. The agreed amount is made possible by the bills of quantities. The contractor gets the work after going through a competitive bidding process. In addition, the contractor and the design can be conducted at the same time up to a certain point. However, the cost know-how is not estimated accurately. Under this method, there are cost reimbursement, lump sum, and measurement contracts. The t otal cost of the contract can be assessed as per the definite materials, labor, and plant cost; it can be done before the beginning of the construction through an agreement; or after the construction is complete respectively (Davis, et al., 2008). Do the traditional methods of project procurement have no use in the current procurement method? To determine if this is so, the pros and cons of the traditional forms of project procurement are examined. Under the pros, the client regulates the specialized group of consultants working on the design. Many clients may have familiarity with the methods. The

Leadership - Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leadership - Communication - Essay Example Yet the most effective managers, those whose executive action is likely to have the highest level of value within an organization, have the qualities of leadership in addition to management skill. Strategic decision-making depends upon those who have both of these skill sets. An executive who understands the mechanical nuances of his/her organization and is able to manipulate processes to achieve desired outcomes is an effective manager. Add to that the ability to articulate a vision and to influence others to work toward it and you have an effective manager with leadership qualities. This manager, trained to exercise independent, critical judgment, is well equipped for strategic decision-making (Hellwich, 2004). The characteristics of leadership that foster strategic decision-making are often tied to the personal characteristics or qualities of the executive. Leadership is more ability than a skill, although there has been significant debate about whether leadership characteristics can be learned. The dimensions of a leader fall into the categories of charisma, vision, interpersonal skill, and ethical responsibility, to name but a few. These qualities, when possessed by an organization's executives, are strongly linked to strategic decision-making. Without them, an executive is merely a high level manager or administrator without the ability to impact the strategic direction of the organization. Leadership is somew