Ethics is a fundamental issue that provides a framework for every human relationship, including people involved in politics, business or public relations. Every decision, negotiations or other elements of interpersonal communication that directly or indirectly affect people should be considered through the lens of ethics. Recently, it has received due attention as it turned out that ethical issues appear very often in every working environment and they have a great influence on the course of actions in the country, company or family.
As James Brusseau (2012) writes, business ethics is about “providing reasons for how things ought to be in the economic world” (p, 8). It includes arranging values to guide decisions, and this initially means that every need should be assessed in terms of its priority and clearly justified. People should understand what is more valuable and important. The second component is called ‘understanding the facts’. Brusseau (2012) suggests that the values that should be clearly stated for every company have to be remembered in every situation (p. 9). Therefore, any decision made in the company is expected to be in compliance with the corporate values and principles. The third element requests that decisions or other ethical situations in the business environment should be supported by solid arguments. Therefore, it makes an emphasis on the urgency and importance of proofs that serve as a basement for comprehensive reasoning.
Social and corporate responsibility has its origins in ethics. The more competitive the market becomes, the more obvious employees and customers claim attention and funds. The decision whether to participate in social development and provide financial support to those who needs this is up to each company, but nowadays they are under such pressure of competition that social involvement has become a necessity. In addition, social and corporate responsibility is often intertwined with the ethical code of the company which dictates what activities it may support. At the same time, the company may be involved in regional development, and being governed by the aim of increasing its profits, provide significant support to the rural or underdeveloped regions.
The case of the Firestone Company refers to the attempt of maintaining monopoly and profitability by assisting rural development in Liberia. Firestone had been present in the country for a very long time, and it was interested in maintaining the status of the primary employer as Liberia was very rich in raw materials for rubber. Both the Liberian government and the company were satisfied with mutual cooperation, because the authorities were able to solve unemployment problems as well as to collect taxes and enrich their budget. The country was at least able to maintain its poor development. Firestone benefited from the cheap workforce and control over the resources.
Despite the civil war that was tearing the country apart, both governments, the old one led by Samuel Doe and Charles Taylor’s rebel one, were interested in keeping the Firestone’s presence in the country. However, the company has recently encountered probably the most serious ethical accusations that cost it its reputation and money. It has been officially reported that Firestone corrupted the rebel government, namely Charles Taylor, in order to maintain its presence in the country and be able to operate in the country when the war was over. The issue is even more serious as it turned out that Taylor used this money for financing the revolution. According to law, Firestone can face very serious consequences if such participation is evidenced. It is possible that the company will be sent out from Liberia with significant losses and damage to its reputation worldwide.
The company now survives isolation in terms of business contacts and cooperation with governments of other countries where its subsidiaries are present. However, the company has some obvious trump cards. The current management made public the report which demonstrates a huge contribution made by the company to the development of Liberia. Firestone was always involved in providing better conditions for Liberians who worked for it. People got comparatively high salaries and maintained normal standards of living. The company also provided employees with well-qualified medical care. During the outbreak of Ebola, the Firestone’s hospitals provided the needy with necessary preventive measures. Moreover, the very idea of staying in Liberia during the war was quite costly for the company, but it felt social and corporate responsibility (Mallet, 2015).
This is an example of the situation when unethical behavior of top management when they corrupted the rebel government has become obvious after years and resulted in exceptional hardship for the entire company, including its headquarters. The mistake was in organizing and assessment of the risks. Moreover, the situation gets complicated when one takes into account significant contribution to the Liberian economy made by the company, with its positive effects prevailing over the negative ones from the possible corruption. Finding solid proofs of this seems to be the only option of saving the Firestone’s reputation. However, in terms of ethics, things do not work like this: one positive deed does not cover the consequences of the negative one.
Consequently, nowadays compliance with ethical issues that are commonly recognized and also those which are specific for the particular company is crucially important. A single mistake can damage the entire history of the company. Social and corporate responsibility is rather taken as granted by the society than is the expression of the generosity of the company. With such high standards being established, multinationals and big business should comply with them, otherwise, the business may suffer great losses.
References
Brusseau, James. (2012). Business Ethics. Retrieved from http://2012books.lardbucket.org/pdfs/business-ethics.pdf
Mallet, Aleisha. (2015). Firestone Case Study. Discussion Mania. Retrieved from http://www.discussionmania.com/firestone-case-study/
