INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE IN ABM 2A

Business Ethics and Social Responsibilities

Week 10

TIME ALLOTMENT: 4 Hours

CONSULTATION HOURS: ABM 12A F1:00-3:00PM
ABM 12B F3:00-5:00PM

CONTENT: Chapter III “Social Responsibility of Entrepreneurs”

LEARNING COMPETENCIES:
At the end of the week, learners are expected to:
1. discuss the responsibilities and accountabilities of entrepreneurs to:
a. employees
b. government
c. creditors
d. suppliers consumers
e. general public
f. other stakeholders ABM_ESR12-IVi-l-3.2.
2. formulate a morally defensible position on ethical issues in entrepreneurship like basic fairness,
personnel and customer relations distribution dilemmas, fraud, unfair competition, unfair
communication, non-respect of agreements, environmental degradation, etc.
ABM_ESR12-IVi-l-3.2;
ABM_ESR12-IVi-l-3.3

LEARNING RESOURCES:
Book:
1. Roa, Floriano C., Business Ethics and Social Responsibility 2nd Edition: Unlimited Books Library
Services and Publishing Inc., Manila, 2016
2. Flores Marivic F. DBA, Organization and Management: Mindshapers Co., Inc., Manila, 2017
3. Robert G. Medina, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management: Rex Book Store, Manila,
2010

DISCUSSION:
Chapter III
“Social Responsibility of Entrepreneurs”
Moral Reasoning About The Natural Environment
There are many different principles on which to draw in moral reasoning about specific
environmental problems. The three basic pairs of principles are justice and sustainability, sufficiency
and compassion, solidarity and Participation.

 Justice and Sustainability

The principle of justice says that equals should be treated equally unless there is an
enough basis to treat anyone (or anything) unfairly. It is clearly relevant in the field of ethics
called environmental justice. Environmental justice is concerned with the unfair access to
environmental resources like clean food, air and water and the injustice of greater pollution that
often typify lower-income communities.
Sustainability extend as justice into the future. Sustainability is meeting the needs of the
current generation without sacrificing the ability of future generation to meet their own needs.
Today, people are consuming or degrading many resources like fossil fuel energy, topsoil and
water faster than they can be replenished by nature. This means they will not be accessible to
people in the future.
The principle of justice is true in this sense because it emphasizes the call to equitably
balance the needs of those living today both the rich and poor with upcoming generations. Thus,
ethics on environment takes the belief of fundamental fairness and extends it to embrace those
yet to be born.

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  Sufficiency and Compassion
The principle of sufficiency consents that all forms of life are free to have sufficient
goods to live on and grow. It also means no one must squander or hoard resources intended for
the adequacy of all. Keeping the standard of sufficiency obliges upon individuals to share, to
live more simply and to think creatively. On human communities people ought to guarantee
that everyone has access to the goods that they need to live a life of dignity.
The ethical standard of sufficiency is closely tied to the idea of moral significance, which
means that something is worthy of ethical concern. In order to be worthy of ethical concern the
needs of others in consideration should be important, or worthy of concern. When people
consider the needs of others, like poor individuals in the society or poor countries in the world,
they are stressing the moral principle of sufficiency. This principle helps people think about
whom else they need to consider, to whom they have moral duties. It underlies the practice of
empathy.
Compassion stretches the view of sufficiency to the Earth. Ethics on environment claims
that other animals, plants, and the elements like water, soil or air are morally significant.
Therefore, humans have responsibilities to take steps so that their needs are met too.

 Solidarity and Participation

The principle of solidarity considers how people relate to each other in community. It
assumes that they are aware of their being a part of at least one family which could be their
biological family, their local community, or their national community. However the challenge is
to consider, the full range of relationships with others. In a globalized economy, people
participate in a vast, international economic community, one in which goods and services are
provided for by those on the other side of the world. Solidarity requires people to think of this
kind of extended community, and to act in such a way that reveals concern for the wellbeing of
others.
Participation extends the idea of solidarity to make it useful. The demands of solidarity
lead people to the principle of participation, so that those involved in an environmental decision
can figure out how it is made. A lot of environmental problems can be traced from decisions
being organized by private individuals or companies that have extensive implications. In some
instances, in this country and others, governments make environmental decisions without
completely soliciting the approval of the public. Time and again, those most affected are ignorant
of the decisions or the long-term effects on their health and the welfare of their environment. The
principle of participation obliges people to recognize all of the parties both human and non-
human that are likely to be affected by a decision. It also tells that all parties should have a say
in how the decision is prepared. Genuine participation necessitates transparency, implying that
each individual has admittance to the identical information that everyone else has.

Causes of Environmental Problems

Environmental problems include the pollution of air and water sources, erosion of soils, increase
of world temperature, and the rise of ocean levels by global warming, as well as the loss of biodiversity.
Among the main causes of environmental problems are the following:
1. High quantity of exhaust gases - Excessive amount of gases which are harmful to the
environment is released by the various industries, Mayor amongst these gases are C02, S02
and NH3. Of course there are still more, and these are the main reasons for ozone holes and
global warming.

2. Deforestation - Deforestation all over the world harness forest resources, clear land, for wood
and for various other reasons. Deforestation causes major problems for one simple reason
that it decreases the number of trees, which clean the environment, provide oxygen and also
affect rain patterns. This is the major reason why there are calls for tree plantation in order
to make up for this loss.

3. High number of industries such as mining - Mining creates a lot of pollution, mainly because
it releases particulate matter, which qualifies as respirable particulate matter (RPM). RPM is
the particulate matter which can enter lungs and can harm the entire respiratory system.

4. Chemical effluents - Effluents are another by-product of industries which poses threat to the
environment, leather and tanning industries, petroleum industries and chemical

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 manufacturing industries create major waste products which are released directly into
nearby streams without treatment, creating river pollution and causing harm to aquatic life.

5. Transport - As the spending power of the population increases and as cars become available
more, the number of vehicles on the road increases. The amount has grown exponentially in
countries like the Philippines and this is a point form of pollution which directly affects
humans. Smog is a nuisance that is created because of vehicular pollution which is a problem
in China. On the other hand, hydrocarbons released from engines are the cause of creation
of lower level ozone that is also harmful to humans.

6. Unprecedented construction - Urban heat island is a direct cause of the unprecedented

construction activities that are being carried out right now, and urban heat island causes
trapping of pollutants. Urban heat island is an effect caused due to trapping of solar radiation
by concrete and cement which are materials that trap heat extremely well. Construction
causes removal of vegetative cover which usually allows for better exchange of heat. This heat
island effect causes constricted circulation of air, which traps pollutants released in urban
areas and does not allow for mixing of the air, thus decreasing the air quality.

7. Secondary pollutants - Secondary pollutants are ones that are not directly emitted. However
they get created when primary pollutants react amongst themselves. Major amongst them
is the creation of ozone from reaction between non-burnt hydrocarbons and nitrous oxides.
There are various other secondary pollutants and the reaction between these pollutants
cause reactions that lead to formation of ozone holes. Stratospheric clouds are the main
reaction sites for such pollutants.

8. Ruinous agricultural policies - Overloading the land with fertilizers, overgrazing and shifting
agriculture are ruinous agricultural policies that degrade land, creating soil erosion that
leads to silting in major rivers and reservoirs. Soil degradation is a continuous cycle and it
ultimately leads to desertification and degradation of land quality by allowing the direct
action of eroding agents on cultivable land.

9. The population explosion - More than 7 billion people currently inhabit the planet, compared
to only 3 billion in 1967. Every year about 135 million people are born and 55 million people
die, adding 80 million to our global population. Almost half of the global population is under
the age of 25 and their decisions during their reproductive years will determine whether we
have 6 billion or 14 billion people by 2100. The increasing population creates a load that the
entire environment has to support, not only in terms of food and lodging, but also in terms
of the amount of waste that it generates and the ability of the environment to sustain this
growth.

10. Unplanned Land-use policies - Land models are available these days which help in proper
planning and use of land resources. However, failure to use these models and land
management policies can lead to land pollution and degradation of the worst kind.
Extraction from mines renders them unusable for habitation. If rehabilitation work is not
carried out, the piece of land is sure to lose all its value and become unusable. Land
classification is one of the major activities that help in proper land use, and it should be
followed with utmost care.

11. Increasing waste generation - Overflowing landfills can cause many environment problems,
including the pollution of oceans and the decrease of marine biodiversity. Some household
wastes like batteries are not only pollutants but also toxic, causing environmental
contamination over time. Most materials, including plastic, paper, glass, and metals are
recyclable today, which reduces soil and water contamination by landfills. Industry
generation of waste materials, such as carbon dioxide, is a cause of global warming.

LEARNING TASKS:
Learning Task will be given on Week 11 Module.

Prepared by: Approved by:

CRISTINE S. DAYAO, LPT AISEN FAITH C. MARRERO, LPT, MPA

Teacher Principal, Senior High School
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