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There is one and only one social responsibility of business–to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraudMilton Friedman, 1970.

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There is one and only one social responsibility of business–to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraudMilton Friedman, 1970.

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Do you agree or disagree - or are unsure?

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Do you agree or disagree - or are unsure?

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I agree with this statement on a personal level, meaning individualistically. However I also do believe that there is deeper reflection needed as this might change based on organizational and cultural/national views on how businesses should operate.

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How did you start to engage with the proposal? Did you think about it as a question of morality (right or wrong) or as a question of utility (is this a practical code for business ethics)? Or something else?

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How did you start to engage with the proposal? Did you think about it as a question of morality (right or wrong) or as a question of utility (is this a practical code for business ethics)? Or something else?

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My first engagement with this proposal was at a very morality based viewpoint. I do believe there is rights and wrongs and how it will play into my everyday life, however through my experience working at several different levels of business in Maldives I have come to understand that there is a very huge difference in what is right and wrong. It is layered with a lot of shades of grey and if you want to operate in the Maldives there are certain ethical conundrums that you face day to day based on that.

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What personal values inform or influence your response? How important are they in your professional practice? 

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What personal values inform or influence your response? How important are they in your professional practice? 

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My personal values are very much lawful good, however when it comes to my religion and freedom of expression I believe in spirituality rather then the rigid structures and what is wrong and right. Although this influenced me in how I was working professionally in the first few years it has changed severely and even though my personal view on something might be "This is wrong" I do go ahead with it in terms of "This is good for the business", "Every other business is operating the same way". Though there are some steps I have taken to ensure that the legacy of corruption, ethical mismanagement in Maldives and the whole structure of resource utilization (Human or otherwise) is slowly being changed. I cannot say that I am going to be the one that changes things, but I do believe the good outweighs the bad.

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Another highly influential school of ethical thought comes from the ideas of Immanuel Kant. Kant argued that we are required to determine the right way to act, and that we should do this by only acting in such a way that we would be happy for it to be treated as a universal law.

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Another highly influential school of ethical thought comes from the ideas of Immanuel Kant. Kant argued that we are required to determine the right way to act, and that we should do this by only acting in such a way that we would be happy for it to be treated as a universal law.

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Can there ever be any exceptions to the moral law?  

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Can there ever be any exceptions to the moral law?  

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I believe there might be exceptions to the moral law based on the nature of the organization and where it is based (be it in a place that is not globalized as much and has much more different views on morality)

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Should we ever consider outcomes, or motivation when making a decision? For example, in your own management practice, or your experience of managers, do you always adhere rigidly to every rule no matter what the consequences?    

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Should we ever consider outcomes, or motivation when making a decision? For example, in your own management practice, or your experience of managers, do you always adhere rigidly to every rule no matter what the consequences?    

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Rules are there to be adhered to, but it is not as strictly enforced and a lot of it is bent based on the consequences that we would face based on an action taken. Outcomes and motivations I believe are important when we are making a decision, as the effects especially in a business go through the whole organization as a whole.

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Do you sometimes judge that some discretion might be appropriate?  

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Do you sometimes judge that some discretion might be appropriate?  

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Based on the possible outcomes and based on what motivates my actions yes, I do believe that there should always be some discretion.

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Kant would say that this is ultimately wrong. How would you feel about managing like that, and being managed?

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Kant would say that this is ultimately wrong. How would you feel about managing like that, and being managed?

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Universal law in itself is debatable. What society and the western influenced school of thought from Kant might be feasible in most countries or organizations but that might not fit into the narrative of others whose culture and other social aspects might differ. There is also the fact that outside stakeholders such as other organizations, governmental bodies, suppliers etc. might influence that law and it might not be as Universal as it is supposed to be. Do I believe that we should determine the right way to act, and that this should be Universal? Yes, however that thought does not allow the freedom to minorities and those are still voices that should be heard as well. And even if we try to believe the school of thought outside and inside influences shade in a paint of grey rather then the black and white that is right and wrong.

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Imagine you are designing a society. Assume that everyone is born equal and free to determine and pursue their own interests. However, you don’t know what state you will be born into or what resources or talents or status will be available to you. You therefore have to design rules for this society that you would be happy with, regardless of whatever state you entered into the world. In other words, you would have to design it to be fair to all people: to give everyone basic rights, and to design it to minimize possible inequalities. And this highlights fundamental questions about what actually constitutes a just and fair society – questions which are also relevant to business and organizations. 

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Imagine you are designing a society. Assume that everyone is born equal and free to determine and pursue their own interests. However, you don’t know what state you will be born into or what resources or talents or status will be available to you. You therefore have to design rules for this society that you would be happy with, regardless of whatever state you entered into the world. In other words, you would have to design it to be fair to all people: to give everyone basic rights, and to design it to minimize possible inequalities. And this highlights fundamental questions about what actually constitutes a just and fair society – questions which are also relevant to business and organizations. 

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How can, and should we, balance individual people’s innate talents, the effort they put in, the opportunities they started with, and the extent and nature of their needs? 

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How can, and should we, balance individual people’s innate talents, the effort they put in, the opportunities they started with, and the extent and nature of their needs? 

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By having a collaborative discussion with every single citizen of that society and involving them in it every single one of them can have a similar start in life, however there is no way that I believe we can balance their innate talent and the effort they put in. However the opportunities they have started with and their needs can be balanced by giving everyone a similar start in life.

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How much should we support those with more and subsidise those with less? 

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How much should we support those with more and subsidise those with less? 

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Based on each individuals efforts, they can be either supported or subsidized. Although this comes with its own shortcomings, as people will judge and come out with frustrations of favoritism.

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Should we value talent more than effort?  

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Should we value talent more than effort?  

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I believe that effort in itself is a talent as well. Even though innate talent cannot be duplicated effort can be something that can overtake that, so we should value both equally.

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Should we value effort and achievement more than opportunity? How can we measure either?  

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Should we value effort and achievement more than opportunity? How can we measure either?  

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Effort and achievements can be measured by the work output of whatever the individual puts in their effort into. I do not believe that opportunity can be measured though, and its value in itself is questionable.

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Do business practices challenge, or reinforce, structures which create and sustain social inequalities? 

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Do business practices challenge, or reinforce, structures which create and sustain social inequalities? 

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Again, this depends on the society and its norms, there might be some business practices which challenge or reinforce structures that create and sustain social inequalities (for example racial discrimination when hiring)

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Can you think of any examples where one or more of these ethical frameworks was relevant? Perhaps you used it yourself, or you observed it being used, or the example seems to exemplify the use of a particular approach. Briefly summarise the example and add it to the Ideas Board - and see what examples others have come up with.

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Can you think of any examples where one or more of these ethical frameworks was relevant? Perhaps you used it yourself, or you observed it being used, or the example seems to exemplify the use of a particular approach. Briefly summarise the example and add it to the Ideas Board - and see what examples others have come up with.

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I have seen that Egoism is intrinsically a form of the ethical framework that managers and business use in Maldives (the use of plastic based solutions even though it is harming the environment)

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After a pretty huge debacle in the last government, the new government in place now placed more rights and social contracts for migrant workers, and the naturalization process of illegal migrant workers in the Maldives took place

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Whether you were a high ranking government official or an important business executive, or from a lower income family everyone was mainly treated fairly for the greater good during the Covid-19 pandemic by the government. No one other then essential personnel were given limited access to travel through the country and everyone was in lockdown quarantine with every house being provided regular testing and most big private organizations provided food and basic necessities to those in need

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We began reflecting on this week’s topic of business ethics by considering the ideas of Milton Friedman. An ethic of care seems to be the polar opposite of Friedman’s concept of business and the extent of its social responsibility. So we end this week’s reflections by considering the extent to which an ethic of care can practically be applied to a business. Is it an ideal or can it be operationalised? Is business, and are organisations, truly compatible with such an ethic? What compromises might have to be made and where would those take place? Perhaps you think that an ethic of care does not – or should not – apply to business at all. Please note your key thoughts on the Ideas Board – there are no right or wrong answers here, but we can all learn from each others’ perspectives and experiences.  

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We began reflecting on this week’s topic of business ethics by considering the ideas of Milton Friedman. An ethic of care seems to be the polar opposite of Friedman’s concept of business and the extent of its social responsibility. So we end this week’s reflections by considering the extent to which an ethic of care can practically be applied to a business. Is it an ideal or can it be operationalised? Is business, and are organisations, truly compatible with such an ethic? What compromises might have to be made and where would those take place? Perhaps you think that an ethic of care does not – or should not – apply to business at all. Please note your key thoughts on the Ideas Board – there are no right or wrong answers here, but we can all learn from each others’ perspectives and experiences.  

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To what extent do you think that an ethic of care can be applied to business?

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To what extent do you think that an ethic of care can be applied to business?

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To the extent which it will not affect the profits or the mission of the business itself.

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Are there limits, and what/where might they be?

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Are there limits, and what/where might they be?

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Even though there are several ways ethics of care can be applied (flexi hours, Maternal and Paternal leave, Religious freedom and what that entails, etc.) there should be a limit as it should not affect the business and its profits. This should not however come at the cost of the Human resource part of that business

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Are there any aspects of business that are incompatible with an ethics of care?   (Why?)

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Are there any aspects of business that are incompatible with an ethics of care?   (Why?)

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Ethics of care might not apply I believe in the cases of either Children or the Elderly. There are certain ages where business practices and profits might be affected by trying to cater to them, and even then it is not like businesses will be hiring children, however to a certain extent businesses can offer day care services or flexi hours, but then again it becomes a bit incompatible as where or how are they going to come with the resources or manpower to cover that. When it comes to the Elderly there are already care being provided by the government in stipends to them after they reach a certain age, and how and why would businesses try and accommodate them when this might hinder their operations.