第单元商业道德和社会责任

第9单元　商业道德和社会责任
Unit 9 Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

Text A

Ⅰ．课文导读

商业道德和企业的社会责任一直是一个有争议的话题。随着经济的不断发展，企业对经济利益的单纯追求对社会造成了种种负面影响。人们逐渐意识到企业在保证经济利益的同时，也必须对人们生活质量的提高和环境保护承担相应的责任。事实上，社会与企业活动之间一直都存在着一种隐性的“社会契约”，它制约着我们的企业，也就是说企业在做出任何商业决策时，都必须考虑整个社会系统将因这些决策而受到什么样的影响。

Ⅱ．Text

The rival position to that of Friedman and Levitt is simply that business has other obligations in addition to pursuing profits．The phrase“in addition to”is important．Critics of the narrow view do not as a rule believe there is anything wrong with corporate profit．They maintain，rather，that corporations have other responsibilities as well—to consumers，to their employees，and to society at large^[1]．If the adherents^[2]of the broader view share one belief，it is that corporations have responsibilities beyond simply enhancing their profits because，as a matter of fact，they have such great social and economic power in our society．with that powermust come social responsibility．As professor of business administration Keith Davis puts it^[3]:

One basic proposition is that social responsibility arises froMsocial power．Modern business has immense social power in such areas asMinority employment and environmental pollution．If business has the power，then a just relationship demands thatbusiness also bear responsibility for its actions in these areas．Social responsibility arises froMconcern about the consequences of business's acts as they affect the interests of others．Business decisions do have social consequences．Businessmen cannotmake decisions that are solely economic decisions，because they are interrelated with the whole social system．This situation requires that businessmen's thinking be broadened beyond the company gate to the whole social system．Systems thinking is re-quired．

Social responsibility implies that a business decision maker in the process of serving his own business interests is obliged to take actions thatalso protect and enhance society's interests．The net effect is to improve the quality of life in the broadest possible way，however quality of life is defined by society．In this manner，harmony is achieved between business's actions and the larger social system．The businessman becomes concerned with social as well as economic outputs and with the total effect of his institutional actions on society．

Adherents of the broader view，like Davis，stress thatmodern business is intimately^[4]integrated with the rest of society．Business is not some self-enclosed world，like a private poker party．Rather，business activities have profound ramifications throughout society．As a result，although society expects business to pursue its econoMic interests，business has other responsibilities aswell．

Melvin Anshen has cast the case for the broader viewin a historical perspective．Hemaintains that there is always a kind of“social contract”between business and society．This contract is，of course，only implicit，but it represents a tacit understanding within society about the proper goals and responsibilities of business．In effect，in Anshen's view，society always structures the guidelineswithin which business is permitted to operate in order to derive certain benefits froMbusiness activity．For instance，in the nineteenth century society's prime interest was rapid economic grow th，which was viewed as the source of all progress，and the engine of economic grow th was identified as the drive for profits by unfettered^[5]，competitive，private enterprise．This attitude was reflected in the then-existing^[6]social contract．

Today，however，society has concerns and interests other than rapid economic grow th—in particular，a concern for the quality of life and for the preservation of the environment．Accordingly，the social contract is in the process of beingmodified．In particular，Anshen writes，“Itwill no longer be acceptable for corporations tomanage their affairs solely in terms of the traditional internal costs of doing business，while thrusting^[7]external costs on the public．”

In recent yearswe have grownmore aware of the possible deleterious^[8]side effects of business activity，orwhateconoMists call externalities^[9]．Externalities are the unintended negative(or in some cases positive) consequences thatan economic transaction between two parties can have on some third party．Industrial pollution provides the clearest illustration．Suppose，for example，that a factory makeswidgets^[10]and sells theMto your firm．A byproduct of this economic transaction is thewaste that the rainswash froMthe factory yard into the local river，waste that dama-ges recreational and commercial fishing interests downstream．This damage to third parties is an unintended side effect of the econoMic transaction between the seller and buyer of widgets．

Defenders of the new social contract，like Anshen，maintain that externalities should no longer be overlooked．In the jargon^[11]of econoMists，externalitiesmust be“internalized．”That is，the factory should bemade to absorb the cost，either by disposing of itswaste in an environmentally safe(and presumably more expensive) way or by paying for the damage the waste does downstream．On the one hand，basic fairness requires that the factory's waste no longer be dumped onto third parties．On the other hand，froMthe economic point of view，requiring the factory to internalize^[12]the externalitiesmakes sense，for only when it does so will the price of the widgets it sells reflect their true social cost．The real production cost of the widgets includes not just labor，raw materials，machinery，and so on but also the damage done to the fisheries downstream．Unless the price ofwidgets is raised sufficiently to reimburse^[13]the fisheries for their losses or to dispose of thewaste in some otherway，then the buyer ofwidgets is paying less than their true cost．Part of the cost is being paid by the fishing interests down stream．Some advocates of the broader view go beyond requiring business to internalize its externalities in a narrow econoMic sense．Keith Davismaintains that，in addition to considering potential profitability，a businessmustweigh the long-range social costs of its activities aswell．Only if the overall benefit to society is positive should business act．

For example，a firMthat builds row upon roWof look-alike housesmay be saving$ 5，000 on each house and passing along$ 4，000 of the saving to each buyer，thus serving consumer interests．In the long run^[14]，however，this kind of construction may encourage the rapid development of a city slum^[15]．In this instance，the lack of long-range outlook may result in serious social costs．

In sum^[16]，the expectation of the social responsibility model is that a detailed cost or benefit analysiswill bemade prior to^[17]determining whether to proceed with an activity and that social costs will be given significantweight in the decision-making process．A lmostany business action will entail some social costs．The basic question is whether the benefits outweigh the costs so that there is a net social benefit．Many questions of judgment arise，and there are no precise mathematicalmeasures in the social field，but rational and wise judgments can bemade if the issues are first thoroughly explored．

Ⅲ．Notes

1．Melvin Anshen．Melvin Anshen has published a series of books on business，including:Managementand Corporations(1985)，An Introduction to Business(1942)，Private Enterprise and Public Policy(1954)，Corporate Strategies for Social Performance(1980)，Managing the Socially Responsible Corporation(1974)．

2．Externalities(外在性)．　In econoMics，an externality(or transaction spillover) is a cost or benefit，not transMitted through prices，incurred by a party who did not agree to the action causing the cost or benefit．The benefits of externalities，in this case，are called a positive externality or external benefit，while its cost is called a negative externality or external costs．In these cases of both negative and positive externalities，in a competitivemarket，prices do not reflect the full costs or benefits of producing or consuming a product or service．Also，producers and consumersmay neither bear all of the costs nor reap all of the benefits of the econoMic activity，and too much or too little of the goodswill be produced or consumed in terms of overall costs and benefits to society．

Ⅳ．Useful Expressions

1．in addition to:加上

2．society at large:整个社会

3．as amatter of fact:事实上

4．be interrelated with:与……相联系

5．be integrated with:与……形成整体

6．tacit understanding:默契

7．in effect:实际上

8．side effect:副作用

9．dispose of:处置

10．in the long run:从长远看来

11．in sum:总之

Ⅴ．Reading Comprehension

Questions

1．Why does Keith Davis think“Systems thinking is required？”

2．How should a corporation internalize its externalities？

3．What dose Melvin Anshen mean by“social contract”？

4．What is the difference between the traditional and new social contract？

5．What is the expectation of the social responsibility model？

Decide whether each of the following statements is true or false．

1．The narrow viewersmaintain that a company must lay emphasis on both social responsibility and economic interests．　(　)

2．Since business has immense social power，it has the responsibility to bear the negative consequences of econoMic development．　(　)

3．Systems thinking is required because business decisions are interrelated with the whole society．　(　)

4．Businessman has responsibility solely to their company，to their customers and to their employees．　(　)

5．Social responsibility refers to remedial measure that a company makes to remedy the damage during the process of serving its own profits．　(　)

6．The social contract represents an implicit understanding that the business should be progressed with a goal of charity．　(　)

7．Social contract is beingmodified according to the concerns for the quality of life and the preservation of the environment．　(　)

8．Externalities are the unexpected negative consequences to some third party．　(　)

9．A factory should internalize the externality to realize its social value．　(　)

10．There aremany questions in building a precisemathematicalmeasure to judge the commercial activities．　(　)

Ⅵ．Discussion

Share your opinionswith your partners about how a corporation can balance the social responsibility and the benefits of its own？

Text B

BEC Reading Texts

PART ONE

Questions 1—8

·Look at the statements below and the five extracts about business ethics froMan article．

·Which extract(A，B，C，D or E) does each statement(1—8) refer to？

·For each statement(1—8)，make one letter(A，B，C，D or E) on your Answer Sheet．

·You will need to use some of these lettersmore than once．

1. Business ethical norms reflect the norms of each historical period．As time passes norms evolve，causing accepted behaviors to become objectionable．

2. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the interaction of profit-maximizing behavior with non-economic concerns．

3. In recent years，the issue of business ethics has garnered increased attention．

4. Ethics implicitly regulates areas and details of behavior that lie beyond governmental control．

5. Business ethics applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations．

6. A firm's employees should practice business ethics，which involves following a set of principleswhen conducting business．

7. Quite apart froMthe issue of rightness and wrongness，the fact is that ethical behavior in business serves the individual and the enterprisemuch better in the long run．

8. As part ofmore comprehensive compliance and ethics programs，many companies have formulated internal policies pertaining to the ethical conduct of employees．

A. Each firMhas a social responsibility，which is the firm's recognition of howits business decision can affect society．The terMsocial responsibility is sometimes used to describe the firm's responsibility to its community and to the environment．However，it may also be used more broadly to include the firm's responsibility to its customers，employees，stockholders，and creditor．Although the business decisions a firMmakes are intended to increase its value，the decisionsmust not violate its ethics and social responsibilities．

B. Business ethics is a forMof applied ethics or professional ethics that exaMines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment．Ithas both normative and descriptive dimensions．As a corporate practice and a career specialization，the field is primarily normative．Governments use laws and regulations to point business behavior in what they perceive to be beneficial directions．

C. The term‘business ethics’came into common use in the United States in the early 1970s．By themid-1980s at least 500 courses in business ethics reached 40，000 students，using some twenty textbooks and at least ten casebooks along supported by professional societies，centers and journals of business ethics．The Society for Business Ethicswas started in 1980．European business schools adopted business ethics after 1987 commencing with the European Business Ethics Network(EBEN)．

D. Organizations can manage ethics in their workplaces by establishing an ethicsmanagement program．Corporate research and watchdog groups such as the Ethics Resource Center and the Council on Economic Priorities point out that the number of corporations that engage in ethics training and initiate socially responsive programs has increased dramatically over the course of the past two decades．

E. If a business owner treats employees，customers，and competitors in a fair and honest manner—and suitably penalizes those who do not perforMin a similar fashion—he or she is far more likely to have an ethicalwork force of which he or she can be proud．“It is perfectly possible to make a decent living without compromising the integrity of the company or the individual，”wrote business executive williaMR．Holland．

PART TWO

Questions 9—14

·Read the text about the ethical dilemmas that U．S．firms faced in global business．

·Choose the best sentence to fill each of the gaps．

·For each gap(9—14)，mark one letter(A-H) on your Answer Sheet．

·Do not use any lettermore than once．

G lobal Business，G lobal Ethics

U．S．firms typically have a code of ethics that provides guidelines for their employees．(9)．．．Consider a U．S．firMthat sells suppliers to foreignmanufacturers．Both its code of ethics and the U．S．Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prevent the firMfroMoffering payoffs(“kickbacks”) to any employees of the manufacturing companies that order its suppliers．Competitors based in other countries，however，may offer payoffs to employees of themanufacturing companies．(10)．．．Thus，the U．S．supplier is at a disadvantage because its employees are required to follow a stricter code of ethics．This is a common ethical dilemma that U．S．firms face in a global environment．(11)．．．

Another ethical dilemma that U．S．firmsmay face involves their relationship with certain foreign governments．(12)．．．Officials of some foreign governments commonly accept bribes froMfirms that need approval for various business activities．For example，a firMmay need to have its products approved for safety purposes，or its localmanufacturing plantmay need to be approved for environmental purposes．(13)．．．Those firms that pay off governmentofficialsmay receive prompt attention froMthe local governments．Employees of Lockheed Martin were charged with bribing Egyptian governmentofficials to win a contract to build new aircraft．Executives of IBM's Argentina subsidiary were charged with bribing Argentina subsidiary were charged with bribing Argentine government officials to generate business froMthe government．

Many U．S．firms attempt to follow a worldwide code of ethics that is consistent across countries．(14)．．．Although a worldwide code of ethicsmay place a U．S．firMat a disadvantage in some countries，itmay also enhance the firm's credibility．

A. Firms that conduct business in foreign countries are subject to numerous rules imposed by the global government

B. American business ethics are based around the idea that it is possible to maximize wealth and profitwhile also being comMitted to upholding values and laws

C. However，these guidelinesmay be much more restrictive than those generally used in some foreign countries

D. The process of approving even minor activities could takemonths and prevent the firMfroMconducting business

E. The employees of U．S．firmsmusteither ignore their ethical guidelines or be ata disadvantage in certain foreign countries

F. In some countries，this type of behavior is acceptable

G. This varies froMplace to place，based on countries'specific cultural or societal beliefs

H. This type of policy reduces the confusion that could result froMusing different ethical standards in different countries

PART THREE

Questions 15—20

·Read the following article on the reasonswhy somany companies do not adhere to business ethics．

·For each question(15—20) mark one letter(A，B，C or D) on your Answer Sheet for the answer you choose．

Business ethics are the behaviors that a business adheres to in its daily dealings with the world．They apply notonly to how the business interactswith theworld at large，butalso to their one-on-one dealingswith a single customer．

Business ethics are also the principles of conduct by which a company operates．This includes how the company owners want to manage the business and how the owners expect the employees to conduct themselves．Actions that result in civil lawsuits，criminal liability，or that simply damage the reputation of a business can all be considered examples of bad business ethics．

Dishonesty is a common example of bad business ethics．For example，if a company makes false claims in its advertising，the company is being dishonest to its customers．Making false advertising claims and failing to replace damaged or defective products or to refund their purchase price are examples of bad business ethics that can give a company a poor reputation and that can lead to civil lawsuits．

Many businesses have gained a bad reputation just by being in business．To some people，businesses are interested inmakingmoney，and that is the bottoMline．It could be called capitalisMin its purest form．Makingmoney is notwrong in itself．It is themanner in which some businesses conduct themselves that brings up the question of ethical behavior．

Many global businesses，includingmost of themajor brands that the public use，can be seen not to think too highly of good business ethics．Many major brands have been fined millions for breaking ethical business laws．Money is themajor deciding factor．

Many companies have broken anti-trust，ethical and environmental laws and received fines worth millions．The probleMis that the amountofmoney these companies aremaking outweighs the fines applied．Billion dollar profits blind the companies to their lack of business ethics，and the dollar sign wins．

A businessmay be amulti-million seller，but does ituse good business ethics and do people care？Business ethics should eliMinate exploitation，froMthe sweat shop children who aremaking sneakers to the coffee serving staffwho are being ripped off in wages．Business ethics can be applied to everything froMthe trees cut down to make the paper that a business sells to the raMifi-cations of importing coffee froMcertain countries．

In the end，itmay be up to the public to make sure that a company adheres to correct business ethics．If the company ismaking large amounts of money，they may not wish to pay too close attention to their ethical behavior．There aremany companies that pride themselves in their correct business ethics，but in this competitive world，they are becoming very few and far between．

15. Which of the following is not true about the business ethics？

A. It is the behavior that a business adheres to in its daily dealingswith the world．

B. It includes themoral principles or codes a company implements to ensure that all individualsworking in the company actwith acceptable behavior．

C. It is the principles of conduct by which a company operates．

D. It has nothing to do with advertising and a reasonable cost for the quality of the product．

16. Why does the author say“many businesses have gained a bad reputation just by being in business”in the 4th paragraph？

A. Because the business ethics is considered to be an oxymoron．

B. Becausemaking money is notwrong in itself．

C. Because a company can notmakemoney and simultaneously adhere to the business ethics．

D. Becausemany companies did notmean to violate the business ethics．

17. Which ismain reason why so many companies do not adhere to business ethics？

A. Billion dollar profits blind the companies to their lack of business ethics

B. Making money and profits should ignore the business ethics．

C. The amount of the fines is not even worth mentioning when compared with profits．

D. Many companies lack the consciousness of the business ethics．

18. What is considered to be a dishonesty？

A. Companies received fines because itmakes false claims in its advertising．

B. Companies recall the defective products or to refund their purchase price．

C. Companies conceal the deficiency of products．

D. Companies become the link in the chain of unethical businesses．

19. What does the author suggest to dealwith the ethics violation？

A. Business ethics should eliminate exploitation

B. The authority is urged to give stricter levels of punishment．

C. Companies should pride themselves in their correct business ethics．

D. Public should put pressure on those bad business ethics．

20. Which is not one of the phenomena in the present businessworld？

A. Many popular companies have been fined time and time again．

B. It is considered that businesses are interested in making money．

C. The issue of business ethics has garnered increased attention．

D. Those which adhere to business ethics are becoming very few and far between．

PART FOUR

Questions 21—30

·Read the article below about the ethical standards of behavior in small business．

·Choose the correctword to fill each gap froMa，B，C or D．

·For each question(21—30)，mark one letter(A，B，C or D) on your Answer Sheet．

Establishing Ethical Standards of Behavior in a Small Business

Entrepreneurs and small business owners(21)．．．great influence in deterMining the ethical philosophies of their business enterprises．Employees often follow the lead of the owner in (22)．．．their duties and(23)．．．to their responsibilities，so it is incumbent on the owner to establish awork environment that embracesmoral standards of behavior．Business experts and ethicists alike point to a number of actions thatowners andmanagers can take to help(24)．．．their company down the path of ethical business behavior．Establishing a statement of organizational values，for example，can provide employees—and the company as a whole—with a specific framework of expected(25)．．．Such statements offer employees，business associates，and the larger community(26)．．．a consistent portrait of the company's operating principles—why it (27)．．．，what it believes，and howit intends to act tomake sure that its activities(28)．．．with its professed beliefs．Active reviews of strategic plans and objectives can also be undertaken to make certain that they are not in conflictwith the company's basic ethical standards．In addition，business owners and managers should(29)．．．standard operating procedures and performance measurementswithin the company to ensure that they are not structured in away thatencourages unethical behavior．As Ben＆Jerry's Ice CreaMfounders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield stated，“a values-led business seeks tomaximize its impactby(30)．．．socially beneficial actions into asmany of its day-to-day activities as possible．In order to do that，valuesmust lead and be right up there in a company'smission statement，strategy and operating plan．”

21. A. employ　　　B. implement　　C. wield　　　　D. execute

22. A. executing　 B. performing　 C. fulfilling　 D. exerting

23. A. presiding　 B. attending　　C. devoting　　 D. participating

24. A. navigate　　B. steer　　　　C. drive　　　　D. lead

25. A. standard　　B. scene　　　　C. action　　　 D. behavior

26. A. together　　B. similarly　　C. alike　　　　D. equally

27. A. appears　　 B. exists　　　 C. occurs　　　 D. arises

28. A. tally　　　 B. coherent　　 C. dovetail　　 D. match

29. A. read　　　　B. guarantee　　C. test　　　　 D. review

30. A. integrating B. completing　 C. gathering　　D. putting

PART FIVE

Questions 31—40

·Read the article below about pressures on ethical principles．

·For each question 31—40，write one word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet．

CoMpetitive Pressures on Ethical Princip les

American society places a great emphasis on success，(31)．．．in and of itself is not a bad thing．It is perfectly justifiable to want to make full(32)．．．of one's talents and provide for oneself and one's faMily．People involved in the world of business，(33)．．．，often face situations in which advancement—whether in position，influence，or financial stature—can be gained，but only by hurting other individuals or groups．Small business owners are confronted(34)．．．these choices evenmore often than other people of the businessworld because of the greater degree of autonomy in decision-making that they often enjoy．Moreover，the ethical decisions of small business owners are likely to impact far greater numbers of people(35)．．．are the ethical decisions of that business owner's employees．Very often，an employee's ethical choices(to claiMcredit for the work done by another，to falsify number of hours worked，etc．) have (36)．．．impact on a relatively small number of people，usually co-workers or his or her employer．The ethical choices of business owners，however—whether to use inferior materials (37)．．．preparing goods for customers，whether to place employees in a poor HMO，whether to lay off a dozen workers(38)．．．of careless personal financial expenditures，etc．often have far more wide-ranging repercussions．Indeed，the pressure tomakemorally compromised choices on behalf of the company you lead can be quite powerful，(39)．．．the enterprise is a lone clothing store or a regional chain of record stores，especially when you feel the health and vitality of your enterprisemay be at(40)．．．

PART SIX

Questions 41—52

·Read the text below froMa report about ethical dilemmas．

·In most lines(41—52)，there is one extra word．It either is grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the sense of the text．Some lines，however，are correct．

·If a line is correct，write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet．

·If there is an extra word in the line，write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet．

Ethical Dilemmas

41. Most of people involved in business—whether functioning as a small business owner，employee，

42. or chief executive officer of amultinational company—eventually face ethical ormoral dilemmas

43. in theworkplace．Such dilemmas are usually complex，for they force the personmaking the wrong

44. decision to weigh out the benefits that various business decisions impart on individuals hiMor

45. herself and groupswith the negative repercussions that those same decisions they usually have on other individuals or groups．LaRue Hosmer，a business ethics expert who teaches at the

46. University of Michigan，observed that reaching at a“right”or“just”conclusion when faced with moral problems can be a bewildering and vexing proposition．But he contended that business

47. people are likely to reach and act on morally appropriate decisions if only they do not lose sight of

48. the fundamental issue of fairness．Those who get sidetracked by issues of profitability and legality

49. in gauging themorality of a business decision making，on the other hand，often reach ethically

50. skewed choices．As has been proven time and again in the business world，the legality of a course

51. of action may be utterly irrelevant to its“rightness．”In addition，any such discussion of business

52. ethics is a subjective one，for everyone brings in different concepts of ethical behavior to the table．

Thesemoral standards are shaped by all sorts of things，froMhome environment to religious upbringing to cultural traditions．

【注释】

[1]society at large:整个社会

[2]adherent:支持者;跟随者

[3]As sb．puts it:正如某人所说

[4]intimately:紧密地

[5]unfettered:不受约束的

[6]then-existing:当时存在的

[7]thrust:强使接受

[8]deleterious:有害的

[9]externalities:外部性

[10]widget:小机械玩意儿

[11]jargon:行话

[12]internalize:内在化

[13]reimburse:补偿

[14]in the long run:从长远看来

[15]slum:贫民窟

[16]in sum:总之

[17]prior to:之前