Edexcel Business A Level Revision

Business ethics - The moral principles that guide the way a business behaves. Corporate Social Responsibility - A business's initiatives regarding the community and environment and willingness to take responsibility for the effects the company's actions have on environmental and social issues and the impact on a range of stakeholders. Pressure groups - A group that tries to influence company policy in the interest of a particular cause. CSR is based on the concept that society needs business to employ staff, make investment and raise taxes from profits and the business needs society to create demand, to use public infrastructure, such as roads and power, and for legal protection. THE SHAREHOLDER CONCEPT Not all business organisations operate in a socially responsible manner. Some argue that it is not the job of businesses to be concerned about social issues and problems. The shareholder concept is closely associated with the writing of US economist Milton Friedman...

Business ethics - The moral principles that guide the way a business behaves Remuneration - Reward for employment in the form of pay, salary, or wage, including allowances, fringe benefits, bonuses, cash incentives etc. Ethics can be reflected in the way the business recruits, motivates and rewards staff. Is it ethical to pay just the living wage? Should London businesses pay above the living wage? Should senior managers be paid higher remuneration than others in the business? Is it ethical for CEO's to be paid hundreds of more times better than the average employee in the business. The recruitment process needs to be fair and free from bias and should at least follow the law. A company needs to spend money regularly on staff training and development. The trade-off is that these strategies require a significant amount of ongoing financial investment which reduces the business's profits, at least in the short term. Rewards for staff, such as basic pay and bonuses, n...

Business ethics - The moral principles that guide the way a business behaves Trade-off - is when one decision results in the loss of an alternative outcome, for each decision made there may be multiple trade-offs In business ethical standards play a crucial role in the decision-making: Used by individuals to make choices about how to behave They define acceptable conduct in business Should underpin decision making An ethical decision is one that is both legal and meets the shared ethical standards of the relevant business community Note: different countries and cultures have different attitudes to what constitutes acceptable ethical behaviour. Ethics in strategic decisions include: 1) Location decisions Ability to exploit workers Impact on the environment 2) Mergers, takeovers and retrenchment (reducing costs of the business e.g. staffing) Impact on workers Ability to exploit customers or control suppliers Transparency of deals 3) Corruption Dealing with auth...