ETHICS IN THE WORLD OF BUSINESS

Patriann Monteith
International College of the Cayman Islands

GR 509
Reflection Paper DePaul University
Lecturer: Dr. David Marshall
22nd May 2016

ETHICS IN THE WORLD OF BUSINESS

On 19th May 2016, we visited DePaul University and received lectures from the School
of New Learning Dean Marixsa Alicea, Director of the Institute for Business and Professional
Ethics, Dr. Summer Brown, Wicklander Chair in Professional Ethics, Dr. Darrylinn Todd and
Associate Director of International Admission, Antonia Creteanu. From the lectures, I gained a
lot of knowledge at it related to ethics in the workplace which was presented by Dr. Summer
Brown and Dr. Darrylinn Todd.
In regards to the lecture we received from Dr. Brown, the topic was Ethics in the World
of Business. From the lecture I learned that more if then than not, you will be making a decision
under stress or dealing with complex issues that have no clear indication of what is right and
what is wrong. In order to make an ethical decision, there items needed to be considered. These
are individual standards and values, managers and coworkers influence and codes and
compliance requirements.
The issue of ethics is also tired to the corporate governance of an organization. There are
Ethical guidelines in place to assist organizations with dealing with ethical issues. These
guidelines are codes of conduct, legal guidelines such as laws and constituency values such as
theories. In regards to the constituency values, the Stake holder theory vs. the shareholder theory
is one of the theories that is analyzed and used. Less than 20 years, the position has changed in
regards to organizations only being concerned with maximizing profits in order to meet the
demands of shareholders. Now stakeholders demands are being taken into consideration.
In relation to taking into consideration the demands of stakeholders, this relates to
stakeholder approach to business, society and ethics from an environment of business
perspective. A stakeholder is a party (individual or organization) that has an interest or stake in
the organization. Stakeholders can affect and be affected by the decisions and objectives of an

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organization. Stakeholders include includes employees, board members, investors, suppliers,

business partners, customers, governments, regulators, competitors, creditors, etc. Due to
stakeholders being influential, organizations have to consider their views, opinions and
suggestions in order to remain successful.

During the lecture, there was a discussion of benefit corporations. This was a term I never
heard of. Benefit Corporations are for-profit corporations but also have social purpose. For
example, an organization that produces products in an environmentally friendly way and an
organization that donates some profits to charities are benefit corporations. An example of a
company that donates profits to charity is the shoe brand called Toms. For every pair of Toms
bought, a second pair is donated to children in need. I found it interesting that DePaul University
has their own benefit corporation. This benefit corporation is in the aspect of a gateway. The
Benefit Corporation Gateway a collection of papers from scholars, guides from organizations and
original content that are put into one place. It is constantly growing, and DePaul University is
making improvements to it on a daily basis.
As it relates to the Cayman Islands, it would be interesting and serve as healthy
competition of benefit corporations were in existence. The competition that benefit corporation
would bring would provide a positive impact in the Cayman Islands in regards to giving back to
the community. Society tends to support a business that offers everything they need which also
includes them being a good citizen. Apart of being a good citizen is giving back to the
community. As an individual who is very passionate about community service, I believe that the
citizens of the Cayman Islands are not doing enough to give back to the community. There some
organizations and non-profit organizations such as Rotaract, Rotary, Leos, Lions, Human

ETHICS IN THE WORLD OF BUSINESS

Society, etc. that give back to the community but in my opinion there could and should be more
individuals and organizations doing the same. By having Benefit Corporation in existence,
existing organizations in the Cayman Islands would be pushed to give back to the community
which would be beneficial to the community on a whole.
In conclusion, ethics has an impact on how well the organization will perform in the long
run. Organizations need to maintain a positive image which in turn will make the stakeholders of
the organization confident that the organization is not conducting any unethical practices and are
responsible.

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5
Reference

1. Brown, Summers (2016). Ethics in the Business World