SOCIAL AND ETHICAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS

1. Describe the changing nature of the population, the labor force, and their impact on businesses. Discuss how the values of Americans have changed and how business has adapted to those changed values. Debate the dilemma posed by the need for business to grow and the need to protect the natural environment. Suggest ways in which businesses can be socially responsible. Predict how changes in society and business will affect employment in the future. 2 SOCIAL AND ETHICAL ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS

2. HUMAN RESOURCEISSUES • Population • Growing population – determined by the birth rate, the death rate, and the level of immigration • Changing population – more than 80% of Americans can be racially classified as white • Baby boom – high birth rates in 1945-1965 • Baby bust – the low birth rate period that followed the boomer period (shortage of young workers called “busters”) • Moving population – 1 out of every 5 Americans change their address each year • Frost Belt – The colder northern half of the country • Sun Belt – the warmer southern half of the nation • Rust Belt – the north central and northeastern states – lower wage rates (manufacturing once dominated)

3. Population of the United States HUMAN RESOURCEISSUES

4. HUMAN RESOURCEISSUES • Labor force • Includes most people 16 or over who are available for work, whether employed or unemployed • Labor participation rate • The % of the labor force that is either employed or actively seeking employment • Poverty – 12-15% of the population live in poverty • Equal employment – “Equality for all” • Glass ceiling – an invisible barrier to job advancement (women & minorities) • Sticky floor syndrome - the inability of workers to move up from low-paying jobs requiring little skill and education • Comparable worth • Paying workers equally for jobs with similar but not identical job requirements (“equal pay for comparable work”)

7. HUMAN RESOURCEISSUES • Societal values • Generation X – workers from the post-baby-boom generation • Net Generation – those persons born btwn 1977 -1997 • Employer practices • Redesigning jobs – to make them varied and challenging • Improving health and safety • Family-friendly practices • Telecommute – Allows employees to work at home using computers rather than at the business

8. NATURAL RESOURCEISSUES • Managing the environment • Recycling – reusing products and packaging • Controlling environmental pollution • EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) – helps to control and reduce pollution in the areas of air, water, solid waste, pesticides, noise, and radiation (1974)

9. ETHICALISSUES • Ethics • The code of moral conduct that sets standards for what is valued as right or wrong behavior for a person or group (closely linked to personal values) • Business ethics • The principles and rules that define right and wrong conduct for an organization • Code of Ethics • Is a formal, published collection of values and rules that reflect the firm’s philosophy and goals • Business Confidentiality – keeping sensitive company information secret • Ethical dilemmas • What is the value or worth of a specific behavior for society as a whole? (The best behavior is that which does the most good for the most people)

10. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF BUSINESS • Social responsibility • The duty of a business to contribute to the well being of society • Primary goal for a business is to make a profit for the owners • Stakeholders • Individuals or groups that are affected by the firm’s actions, such as owners, customers, suppliers, employees, creditors, government, and the public. • NGOs (Non-governmental organizations) • Independent groups that influence businesses through lobbying, publicity, and pressure tactics