MANAGEMENT IN ACTION –

SOCIAL, ECONOMICAL AND ETHICAL

ISSUES

PSDA – 04

SUBMITTED BY: SAIM SHABIR MIR

ENROLLMENT NO.: A0102321008
COURSE: MBA HR
BATCH: 2021-2023
ETHICAL ISSUES AND PRACTICES

1
Running a business comes with many responsibilities. As a business
owner, you're expected to focus on growing your business while
ensuring that you maintain a healthy working environment that
contributes to your employees' welfare. Unfortunately, ethical issues in
workplace are still prevalent. If not taken seriously, they risk not only
ruining your hard-earned reputation, but may have legal ramifications.
It's crucial to identify such issues early and address them effectively.

An ethical issue is a problem or situation that requires a person to

choose between two options, where both options are morally wrong.
Ethical issues can be divided into three categories: personal,
professional, and social.

What are ethical issues in business?

When an activity in a business environment conflicts with moral human

principles and affects individuals involved working within the
organization, it becomes an ethical issue. While government-enforced
rules can hold employees and employers accountable for lawbreaking
conduct, they can't entirely prevent individuals from acting unethically.
Thus it's your responsibility as a business owner to address ethical
concerns and establish clear guidelines on what behavior is and isn't
permissible in the workplace.

Common ethical issues in business :

2
 1. Discrimination

Discrimination is still a major concern in this modern world, and a

workplace is no exception. Workplace discrimination happens when an
employee is treated unfairly due to prejudice towards a particular
gender, age, ethnicity, religious views, and more. For example, if a
female employee who does the same amount of work as her male
coworker is refused equal pay owing to her gender, it can be identified
as discrimination. Regardless of whether a person is discriminated
against intentionally or not, these toxic behaviours must never be
entertained and must be reported to the law when necessary.

What you can do to stop discrimination in the workplace:

• Ensure that all your employees are aware of behavioral rules

before joining your organization, and give people the confidence
to bring discrimination to light.

• Develop a diverse workforce by hiring individuals who represent

various backgrounds. Having a diverse workforce will lower the

3
 risk of discrimination and bring in different perspectives and
knowledge.

2. Workplace safety

According to a 2019 report by Safe Work Australia, 183 Australian

workers lost their lives at work due to injuries sustained doing a
workrelated activity. Although the overall the number of fatalities has
been decreasing since 2007, every number above zero is one number
too many. Regardless of the size of your business or the industry you’re
in, as a business owner, you are ultimately responsible for ensuring the
health and safety of employees in your workplace. It's also wise to
remember that an employee's psychological well-being is just as
important as their physical health, and it's important to pay attention to
both.

What you can do to create a safe working environment:

• Regularly inspect your workplace for any potential hazards and

assess if your business follows all necessary safety standards.

4
 • Make sure your business meets the mandatory requirement for
having an adequate number of trained first aiders. Apart from that,
you can also train all your employees on how to handle
emergency situations and give them a hands-on demonstration to
use basic first aid equipment.

• Talk to your employees about their work-related stress and

regularly check in to see how they're doing.

3. Social media use

It's hard to determine the ethics of dismissing or disciplining workers

for their social media behaviour outside of work hours. In most
situations, an employee can be fired for their online behaviour given
that there's a justifiable reason (such as breaching your business policy)
rather than an attempt to cover up a business's unlawful activities.
However, when the process of determining the valid reason is
mishandled, it can cause serious trouble for your business.

What you can do to address ethical concerns related to your employees'

social media use:

5
 • Set a clear social media policy for your business to help
employees understand what online behaviour is expected from
them, why it's important, and what consequences they may face
for violation.

• Use clear and simple language while drafting your social media
policy to ensure that its objective is not misunderstood.

4. Employee privacy

With advancements in surveillance technology, you can now track

every step your employees make on your business-owned devices.
While this move is intended to ensure productivity, it can quickly
become unethical when it crosses the line into snooping. At times,
employees might use their work devices to read personal emails and
store private files, increasing the risk of exposing sensitive data such as
health information, bank account details, personal phone numbers, and
browsing history. Therefore it's necessary to have a clear set of rules for
both parties to ensure the data is being handled responsibly.

What you can do to develop good privacy practices in your

workplace:

• Have a workplace privacy policy that clearly defines what

information your business collects about your employees, the
areas you monitor, where their information will be stored and
why.

6
 • Create strict guidelines to restrict the use of business-provided
gadgets for personal use.

• Specify how you will respond to a lawful or third-party request to

share an employee's personal information.

FEW COMPANIES WITH THEIR ETHICAL

ISSUES/PRACTICES

1. WIPRO :

About the company

Wipro Limited (formerly, Western India Palm Refined Oils Limited) is

an Indian multinational corporation that provides information
technology, consulting and business process services. Thierry
Delaporte is serving as CEO and managing director of Wipro since July
2020. Wipro's capabilities range across cloud computing, cyber
security, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, robotics, data
analytics, and other technology consulting services to customers in 167
countries. Wipro has committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by
2040, with an intermittent goal of reducing emissions 55% by 2030.In
October 2021, Wipro's Net Zero plans were certified by the Science-
based Targets

7
Initiative. The third-largest company in India, Bangalore-based Wipro
Limited is an ever-growing and ever-diversifying global company that
manufactures and sells products and services ranging from cooking oil
and soaps to healthcare instruments and information technology (IT)
consulting. Although Wipro's chairman and managing director Azim
Hasham Premji is committed to the company's diversified business
model, its future clearly lies in its continued successes in software and
IT services, which make up nearly half of the company's sales and has
consistently outpaced the growth of Wipro's other businesses. Wipro's
world-class technologies division provides a range of high-tech
services such as global IT consulting, e-business integration, and legacy
systems maintenance to clients such as Cisco Systems, Thomas Cooke,
and NEC. Wipro's IT efforts are so reliable that in 1998 the company
became the first in the world to have been awarded the Software
Engineering Institute's (SEI) coveted Level 5 Certification for quality.
After an impressive debut on the New York Stock Exchange in 2000,
Premji, who owns 75 percent of Wipro, became one of the top
billionaires in the world.

WIPRO’s ETHICAL PRACTICES/ISSUES

• Lead by example. Managers are expected to exemplify the highest

standards of ethical business conduct and to model the “Spirit of
Wipro”.
• Support implementation of ethics and business conduct
programmes and monitor compliance of Wipro’s values and
ethical business conduct guidelines through such programmes.
• Help create a work environment that focuses on building
relationships.
• Recognize effort and value mutual respect and open
communication.
• Communicate to employees and business partners (such as
dealers, distributors, agents) about how the COBC and policies
apply to their daily work.
• Be proactive.

8
 • Look for opportunities to discuss and address ethics and ethically
challenging situations with team members.
• Create an environment where everyone feels comfortable asking
questions and reporting potential violations of the COBC and
policies.
• Never ask another or pressure anyone to do something that is in
violation of the COBC.
• Be aware of the limits of your authority and do not take any action
that exceeds those limits. Delegate authority only where
permissible and never delegate authority to any individual who
you believe may engage in unlawful conduct or unethical
activities.
• If you supervise third parties, ensure that they understand their
ethics and compliance.

2. NESTLE :

About the Company

Nestle is one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies in
the world with a history spanning over a century. Nestle was founded in 1906 by
way of a merger between the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company and the Farine Lactée
Henri Nestlé Company. It is headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. The company
operates in over 86 countries and employs more than 352,000 employees. Nestle
ventured into India in 1912 when it began trading as the Nestle Anglo-Swiss
Condensed Milk Company (Export) Limited, which was into importing and
selling finished products in the Indian market. Nestle India Limited was

9
incorporated in March 1959 and has grown exponentially since then; the company
today operates 9 production facilities across India. Maggi, KitKat, Bar-one,
Milky-bar, Milkmaid, Nestea, Nestle Milk, Nescafe are just some of the brands
that Nestle owns in India and most of them have been favourites with the masses
for decades.

Nestle’s code of business conduct

Nestle has laid down “Corporate Business Principles” which applies to all its
employees, across all levels. These are principles that every employee is required
to adhere to while dealing with the various stakeholders. The stakeholders include
consumers, employees and the value chain of Nestle. The code lays down that the
company is committed to doing business with high integrity and that the
employees are bound to adhere to the same. The code also lays down data privacy
policy, information technology channels and reaffirms that Nestle complies with
all the laws and regulations.

Briefly, the following aspects are covered in the code with respect to its
stakeholders.

• Consumers
The code assures the consumers that Nestle is guided by and follows all nutrition,
health and wellness standards and also conforms to the quality assurance and
product safety standards prescribed by the concerned authorities. The code also
reiterates that the communication made to the consumers is reliable and enables
them to make an informed decision and that these principles apply equally, across
the world.

• Employees
The code provides that the company provides proper working conditions, and
health and safety conditions to all its employees. The code also assures the
employees that the company promotes the inclusion of all communities and
cultures and that it nurtures diversity.

10
• Value chain
The code draws attention to Nestle’s Responsible Sourcing Standard and requires
all its suppliers to comply with the same. This essentially endorses the
commitment of the company towards sustainable living, environmental protection
and sustainability, protection of biodiversity etc. It also reiterates that society,
farmers and other people along the supply chain are treated fairly.

Additionally, Nestle India has framed a “Code of Business Conduct” (CBC)

which complies with the Companies Act, 2013 and SEBI regulations. Briefly, the
CBC re-emphasizes on;

• Nestle’s commitment towards compliance with all applicable laws.

• Avoidance of conflicts of interest by employees.
• Restrictions on outside engagements on employees.
• Fair hiring practices.
• Prohibition on insider trading and antitrust practices by employees.
• Protection of confidential information.
• Prohibition on indulging in fraudulent activities, bribery and corruption.
• The company’s commitment against discrimination and harassment of all
forms.

The code also specifies the mechanisms of reporting about non- compliances and
misconduct; and seeking advice from the concerned departments when faced with
dilemmas.

Nestle’s code of conduct is thus, comprehensive and in line with the best practices
on human rights, labour rights, regulatory compliances and sustainability.

3. INFOSYS :

11
About the company

Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational information technology

company that provides business consulting, information technology and
outsourcing services. The company was founded in Pune and is
headquartered in Bangalore. Infosys is the second-largest Indian IT
company, after Tata Consultancy Services, by 2020 revenue figures,
and the 602nd largest public company in the world, according to the
Forbes Global 2000 ranking.
On 24 August 2021, Infosys became the fourth Indian company to
reach $100 billion in market capitalization.

Infosys was founded by seven engineers in Pune, Maharashtra, India.

Its initial capital was $250. It was registered as Infosys Consultants
Private Limited on 2 July 1981. In 1983, it relocated to Bangalore,
Karnataka. The company changed its name to Infosys Technologies
Private Limited in April 1992 and to Infosys Technologies Limited
when it became a public limited company in June 1992. It was renamed
Infosys Limited in June 2011.

Infosys provides software development, maintenance and independent

validation services to companies in finance, insurance, manufacturing
and other domains.

Its key products and services are:

• NIA – Next Generation Integrated AI Platform (formerly known

as Mana)
• Infosys Consulting – a global management consulting service
• Cloud-based enterprise transformation services[21]
• Infosys Information Platform (IIP), an analytics platform
• EdgeVerve Systems, which includes Finacle, a global banking
platform
• Panaya Cloud Suite
• Skava (now Infosys Equinox)
• Engineering Services
• Digital Marketing

12
Infosys Code of Conduct & Ethics

Infosys enjoys a hard-won reputation for honesty, integrity and fair

dealing. Without question, this reputation for integrity is an invaluable
part of our success. There are certain regulations that Infosys is subject
to and we should ensure that we comply both in letter and in spirit with
these as is applicable.

1. Preventing Corruption

Corruption diverts public resources from priorities such as health,

education, and infrastructure and impedes economic growth.
Corruption undermines public accountability and the rule of law.
Corruption is anti-competitive, increases costs of doing business
globally and introduces significant uncertainty into business. Bribery
thus raises the risks of doing business, putting a company’s bottom line
and reputation in jeopardy. Companies that pay bribes to win business
ultimately undermine their own long-term interests and the best
interests of their investors. As a global company, apart from the
Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (India), Infosys is subject to all
relevant anticorruption laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act (FCPA) (as if it were a U.S. incorporated company) and
the Bribery Act 2010 (U.K.). These prohibit bribery of government
officials and commercial partners.

We should never offer, directly or indirectly, any form of gift,

entertainment or anything of value to any government official or
commercial partners including customers or their representatives to:

Obtain or retain business;

Influence business decisions
Secure an unfair advantage

2. Conflict of Interest

This is the situations when an Infosys employee or director may have

an interest of any kind in the Supplier's business, whether through
personal relationships, investments, directorships or any kind of

13
economic ties with the Supplier. In event of any conflict of interest
arising at the time of empanelment or during engagement, Suppliers are
required to promptly disclose such situations to the company

3. Quality & Product responsibility

The company ensures that the quality of product and service delivered
shall be in-line with all the contract terms and conditions. Suppliers
shall adhere to all applicable laws and regulations regarding prohibition
or restriction of specific substances, including labelling of products, if
required.

4. Fair Business, Advertising and Competition

Company upholds standards of fair business, advertising and

competition. And employee shall not engage in collusive bidding, price
fixing, price discrimination, or other unfair trade practices in violation
of applicable antitrust laws

5. International Trade

Suppliers will comply with all applicable laws and regulations

concerning importing, exporting, re-exporting or transfer of Infosys
products and services.

6. Confidentiality

Employees must ensure that confidential or proprietary information

about Infosys, our clients, employees or other parties, which has been
gained through employment or affiliation with the company, is not used
for personal or professional advantage. The confidential information
also extends to any employee data, personal data or third - party
information as shared by Infosys.

7. Intellectual Property Rights

The company take all steps to adhere to the intellectual property rights
of including copyrights, patents, trade secrets and trademarks.

14
8. Business Continuity

The company ensures that there are plans and procedures to resume
business in the event of any physical disaster (e.g. Such as fire, flood,
wind, earthquake, explosion, etc.) or work stoppage of any kind (e.g.
Labor strike, economic/social structure breakdown, etc.). Subject to
mutual agreement on business continuity plan terms by both parties, the
company shall resume services within committed timelines following a
disaster or work stoppage event.

15