Ethics In Corporate Social Responsibility: The Case Of Hyundai Company

 In a firm, order and unity are paramount if the objectives of their operations are met. To attain this unity in the company, there is need to instate rules and norms as the core in relations internally and externally while operating (De Coning, 2015). This underlay of standards and rule, are ethics. The corpora today have ethics as its heart and is reliant on it’s for the smooth running of all operations in business (Keane, 2014). This section explores the ethical responsibility aspect of corporate social responsibility concerning the Hyundai Company.

Ethics and CSR must be connected if they are to meet their intended goal. Social responsibility integrates the concern for the stakeholder as well as the society in the operations of the business world. Ethics being the acceptable way to do things in the corpora, therefore has to be included in running operations. When fused, the two bring about the ethical responsibility concept into being. This is the ethical considerations when dealing with the firm’s stakeholders and the society as a whole. The legality of ethical responsibility gives rise to corporate behavior in the corpora (Fu, 2014).

Ethics and social responsibility coupled with legal requirements of firms fused dictates the corporate conduct. Corporate behavior has its basis in principles as well as CSR within legal boundaries (Schrempf-Stirling, 2016). The business should not only consider the internal and external implications of its operations but also strive to meet their requirements in its operations. Thus we see that the room for profit orientation of the corpora engaging in ethical responsibility is constricted.

The Hyundai companies consist of two main lines of production which are the heavy machinery and the motor industries. Initially owned by two brothers, Chung Mong-Koo and Chung Mong Hun. Mr. Hun allegedly committed suicide after his dealings with the North Korea were uncovered. Mr. Hun had purportedly been paying the North Korean president to attain tenders to build major projects for the state. Mr. Koo on the other and dealt in fraudulent accounts from which he sourced funds to bribe government officials so as win tenders. On uncovering these crimes, an investigation was launched against the chairman Mr. Koo and his vice chair Mr. Kim Don Jin (Hwang, 2016).

 In history, the companies have had dark patches where ethics in operations of the firms were in question. Embezzling and illegal dealings stain the past of the Hyundai brand which brought about the need for ethically responsible management practices (Hwang, 2016). These sections ensure that the company deals ethically with all its stakeholders and society. The setting up of the ethics management board was a promise to the South Korean society as reparations for past transgressions. The engagement in illegal and immoral practices affects the moral responsibility of a company. Money laundry by managers in a firm are unethical and against the professional code of ethics. Establishing professional code of ethics governs managerial and employees actions in accordance to ethics and law.

 In ethical responsibilities, there exist various issues that need addressing in the concept of what is ethical. These issues include ethical responsibilities to stakeholders, employees, customers, community and the environment. The community owes businesses an ethical responsibility to participate in corporate social responsibility programs. Law does not necessarily dictate these responsibilities, but if the firms are to act par the social responsibility procedures, they voluntarily engage in practices that promote the ethical code (Cremers, 2016). They also allow room for sustainable growth of the corpora, society, and the environment. Being socially responsible brands the company strongly in the community, this good reputation makes the company more competitive in the industry.

Today, Hyundai’s ethics responsibility as won them awards and seen the corporation attain success in their operations (Shin, 2015). The ethical and transparency in the running of its operations have enabled the company to consolidate the trust of stakeholders and gain success in business. This has taken place by setting up transparency, ethical and fair trade management procedures. These systems are responsible for the monitoring firm operations and overlooking ethical issues in various departments in the company.

Moral responsibility to the employees is crucial to a business if it desires success in its operations (Berrone, 2014). The work environment can be very stressing if not governed in a manner that ensures the comfort and inclusion of the whole employee base. Through communication and cooperation among the employees and its partners, the corporation provides that the company acts in unison towards creating a universal recognized brand. The Company recognizes individual talent. Therefore each employee strives for perfection in the unified goal to grow the firm.

The nation in which a company operates is an entity to which it owes great alliance.   By a company meeting their tax obligations, they guarantee the sustainability of the nation’s economy and thus its development (Zhan, 2016). By the creation of jobs in the local and international company centers, it also guarantees the growth of the country’s economy. It also reduces the rate of unemployment in the country. The environmental preservation efforts also ensure that the state maintains its sustainability for the future purposes.

The society, on the other hand, consists of various factors, including culture and community norms. Hyundai ensures diversity of its employees and managers in the different stores of the corporation (Cho, 2015). This diversity ensures that the society in which the outlets operate gets to promote and integrate their culture into the Hyundai brand culture. The company also engages in cultural and community enhancing programs which ensure the preservation of cultures. These programs aim at providing the community gains trust on the Hyundai brand, and thus its reliability is guaranteed.

The environment is the sustaining entity of all life on the planet we are therefore indebted to it. Following this logic, we are ethically compelled to protect it at all times as we go about our activities. The corpora have an additional debt owing to that some of the firms are directly responsible for degrading of the environment. Hyundai has taken upon itself to ensure that the coming generation sustenance by incorporating environmental preservation practices in their operations (Sagar, 2014).

In the motor section of the company, the manufacture of efficient fuel engines is the core goal (Jo, 2016). In the heavy machinery sector, waste produced in the manufacturing process is subjected to either rigorous treatment processes or recycled and reused for efficiency. The Company also engages in consultation services for green energy production and sustainability. These efforts aim at attaining a conventional environmental process in its operations. 

 In the modern business world, the companies are spreading their operations across borders so as to reach greater market share. To maintain the social responsibility culture of a company may require more effort to pull off. The new markets bring about new pressures in the normal activities due to new competition, legal factors, and culture in the new markets. These challenges may force a firm to abandon the social responsibility culture so as to meet their competing needs (Lampikoski, 2014).

Globalization of operations as its implications in the international market. These include increasing competition globally. Due to production locally and internationally Hyundai faces multiple fronts of competition in the global market. The ability of a company to stick to their moral basis undergo through testing in these cases. Hyundai has had to increase their efforts towards sustainable growth by enhancing their product to sharpen their competitive edge in international markets (Sagar, 2014).

The production is being streamlined into international standards and also being given a modern and technological efficient feel to satisfy the customer (Jo, 2016). These enhancements are geared towards making the brand competitive in any market worldwide. Production of models that have customer requirements in mind is the central concept in the production chain. This ensures that their clients trust the Hyundai brand to meet their need of efficient machinery and motoring experiences.

Globalization has implications on labor and resource mobility in a firm. The various countries also have their laws and legal systems all of which act as constraints to the firms. If a firm is to act par corporate behavior, they must undertake practices that are accommodating to the diverse market practices. Diversification of the employee community of the Hyundai Corporation is one of the many ways in which it ensures that the company keeps up with the diverse cultures (Cho, 2015). The cultural diversity in the personnel helps them to ethically navigate the countries’ legal landscape as well as cultural aspects of the various local communities.

A question on the ethical appropriateness of a situation is never straightforward; it takes turns and twists (Keane, 2014). The only ethical way of doing tins in any situation is one that maximizes on the best outcome for all parties involved. In the corpora, ethics like justice are never rigid but relative in their setting. This undefined nature of ethics, however, does provide enough room for the establishment of standards and acceptable norms in the firms’ practices. Ethical responsibilities of the company thus should incorporate all parties involved in its activities. 

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