The Ethics and the Social Responsibility of Management in the Ever-changing Modern World

Abstract

Ethics is a part of every area of economic activity. Businesses can influence the local community in different ways.From the point of view of ethics, businesses should secure the interests of local communityas well as those of shareholders, owners and employees.Ethics of management is very important too. We can define it as a set of duties that anemployer owes to his employees or as a set of employees rights. In the other words, theemployee has the right to benefit from the work he does. Thereferore, ethics of managementdeals with:

a) the setting up of ethical principles, which govern the behavior of every member of a com-munity,

b) the introduction and implementation of moral standards into the management strategy,

c) the setting up of punishment for those who violate the ethical principles.

Polish businessmen are becoming more and more interested in the issue of Corporate SocialResponsibility (CSR). They care for both economic growth and the goodness of the society andthe natural environment. More and more companies like to be involved in projects that havebeneficial impact on the local community. By taking into account the best interest of the public,the firm improves its image and wins more trust.CSR is a tool in the hands of good management. It can be used when talking to the coownersabout improving the business strategy. The aim of these talks is to better estimate the weaknesses and strengths of the business in question. There are also always many possible threats andopportunities that the management must take into account. The right way to run a business is tomake long-term plans. These plans must take into account the interests of the local community.It can be achieved through talks. Talks let you know what your employees, executives, custo-mers, suppliers, representatives of the local community, media, local authorities and state autho-rities expect from your business. The implementation of a system of CSR management is aimedat improving the interpersonal relations, discipline, mutual trust, employee loyalty to the busi-ness and cultivating good relations with the society.Ethics of management should be seen in the broad context of internal marketing. Internalmarketing (IM) is an ongoing process that occurs strictly within a company or organizationwhereby the functional process aligns, motivates and empowers employees at all managementlevels to consistently deliver a satisfying customer experience. Internal marketing is concernedwith the following four areas of a business: internal communication within the business, thegeneral atmosphere, the organizational skills of employees and the identity. The aim is to achie-ve such a combination of these four elements that the employees will feel secure with everychange in the business and with every long-term plan. Internal marketing is here to help overco-me the opposition and resistance of employees towards change. Its here to increase understanding and involve employees in the process of introducing change.Ethics of management is inseparably connected with the protection of the natural environ-ment. Many businesses create their image around environment protection. But environmentprotection also means the introduction the environmentally friendly technologies and mana-ging processes. If the needs of customers change, the business should try to quickly satisfy thenew needs. When a customer buys a product from a company that acts responsibly he is supporting a process that will have a good effect for future generations. If he chooses to buysomething that he thinks is good then he can feel his voluntary choice is ethical. So the businessmust try to make products both competitive on the market and environmentally friendly. An organization in the constantly changing society must make a product that will make thesociety more physically healthy and moral. From the point of view of ethics, free competition incommerce is good. But it needs to be adapted to suit the needs of the new civilized way ofmaking business. It also needs to be adapted, to be environmentally-friendly and safe for thecustomer.