The relevance of business ethics in defining the role of internal company stakeholders
| dc.contributor.advisor | Snyman-van Deventer, E. | |
| dc.contributor.author | van Wyk, Riche | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2015-08-11T10:11:36Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2015-08-11T10:11:36Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2014-06 | |
| dc.description.abstract | English: Over the past 22 years, corporate governance internationally has revealed the following core ethical principles, namely transparency, fairness, accountability and responsibility. King lll, the latest code in South Africa, emphasises the importance of these factors and ethical leadership within a company. The root of ethical behaviour within the company lies in the notion that the company must please society instead of just being a moneymaking machine. Companies should focus more on the triple bottom line approach, namely profit, social and environmental issues. The ethicality of behaviour lies in the balance struck by a person or an organisation between these three bottom lines. A good balance of these bottom lines will result in behaviour being deemed as ethical. The company should draft a code of conduct to aid employees, as the internal stakeholders, in the promotion and maintenance of ethical behaviour. This code of conduct is the “ethical constitution” of a company. Directors have the main obligation to maintain ethical behaviour. King lll refers to directors as being the “ethical leaders” of a company. They must act ethically in all their relations with stakeholders, put the company and stakeholder needs before their own and establish the company as a socially responsible corporate citizen. Companies must comply with the notions of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Social Investment in order to maintain its reputability in society. It must benefit the community as a whole and be a philanthropic being, by granting sponsorships, making donations and investing in society. The importance of ethics in the business world is two-fold: firstly, it has a positive motivation to earn the respect of the society within which the company operates and, secondly, it has a negative motivation in that ethical behaviour will combat fraud and other economic crimes with which our country is associated. It is recommended in this study that all employees should be informed of the role they play in ethics maintenance and management. It is also recommended that a separate ethics committee be established apart from the social and ethics committee to assist the company in more complex ethical issues, such as drafting codes of conduct and steering employees in the right direction. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | Afrikaans: Oor die afgelope 22 jaar is die volgende etiese beginsels van korporatiewe beheer internasionaal gevestig, naamlik deursigtigheid, regverdigheid, toerekeningsvatbaarheid en verantwoordelikheid. Die onlangse King lll Verslag het die belangrikheid van etiese leierskap in ‘n maatskappy onder die aandag gebring. Die kern van etiese gedrag in ‘n maatskappy is vervat in die beginsel dat die maatskappy die gemeenskap se belange bo hul eie belange moet ag, in plaas daarvan om winsgedrewe te wees. Maatskappye moet daarop fokus om die volgende drie beginsels te verwesenlik, naamlik wins, sosiale en omgewingskwessies. Etiese gedrag lê in die balans tussen die bogenoemde beginsels – ‘n goeie balans hiervan word geag goeie etiese gedrag te wees. Die maatskappy moet ‘n gedragskode opstel om die werknemers, as die interne belanghebbendes, te lei in die bevordering en handhawing van etiese gedrag. Hierdie gedragskode sal die “etiese grondwet” van die maatskappy wees. Direkteure se hoofverpligting is die handhawing van etiese gedrag binne die maatskappy en om te verseker dat die maatskappy gesien word as ‘n sosiaalverantwoordelike korporatiewe persoon. Die King lll Verslag verwys na direkteure as die “etiese leiers” van die maatskappy deurdat hulle voortdurend, in alle handelinge met belanghebbendes, eties sal optree en die belanghebbendes se belange bo hul eie sal stel. Maatskappye moet aan die vereistes van Korporatiewe Sosiale Verantwoordelikheid en Korporatiewe Sosiale Investering voldoen om as etiese instansies beskou te word. Die maatskappy moet voordeel gee aan die gemeenskap as ‘n geheel om ‘n filantropiese entiteit te wees. Dit beteken dat maatskappye beurse en donasies moet gee en in die gemeenskap moet belê. Die gevolg hiervan is verhoogde morele waardes van die maatskappy en die gemeenskap. Die kern van etiese gedrag is tweërlei en lê in die positiewe en negatiewe motivering daarvan: Die positiewe motivering is om die respek van die gemeenskap te verdien, en in die negatief om bedrog te voorkom. Dit word in die studie aanbeveel dat werknemers, die interne belanghebbendes, ingelig moet word van hul rol in die etiese welstand van die maatskappy. Dit word verder aanbeveel dat ‘n etiekkomitee, afsonderlik van die sosiale en etiekkomitee, gevestig moet word om komplekser etiese kwessies aan te spreek, soos byvoorbeeld die opstel van ‘n gedragskode en om leiding aan die werknemers te gee. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11660/812 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | University of the Free State | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Corporate governance | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Dissertation (LL.M. (Mercantile Law)) -- University of the Free State, 2014 | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Ethics | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Business ethics | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Social responsibility of business | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Corporate social investment | en_ZA |
| dc.title | The relevance of business ethics in defining the role of internal company stakeholders | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Dissertation | en_ZA |