Evaluation of a Business Code of Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Evaluation of a Business Code of Ethics - Essay Example And to manufacture them in a socially responsible way† (IKEA Services, 2004). Locally and globally the company does not hesitate to declare its devotion to values like trust, integrity and honesty. Another plausible statement can be found in IKEA’s Code of Conduct, the IWAY Standard (IKEA Supply, 2008). It is firmly stated there that â€Å"we can do good business while being a good business†. Thus, within the business environment and activities of the company one can find ethical messages like â€Å"better living† and â€Å"socially responsible way† while in its ethical code (the IWAY) the message is about being and doing a good business. The IWAY is based on international conventions and declarations like the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Fundamental Principles of Rights at Work, ILO declaration (1998), the Rio Declaration on Sustainable Development (1992) and the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact (2000). Marcoux (2008) agrees that a â€Å"common approach in international business ethics is to refer to or to construct lists of norms that ought to guide transnational business conduct†. ... ) diversifies these principles by adding the features of a duty-driven ethical system to the code of ethics Following IKEA’s business operating network structure the IWAY is a Code of IKEA directly with its suppliers (contractors). It is about what a supplier should do in the right way. Suppliers are responsible for communicating the content of the IKEA code of conduct to sub-contractors and workers. Relations to applicable law and regulations are at the core center of the subject. Workers or as Ikea familiarly calls them â€Å"co-workers† and managers are not directly addressed. Trade unions are only mentioned, while nothing is related to civil groups and voluntary organization and to religious topics. The development of a company’s code of ethics can be motivated by the sole requirement of life and human experience or by personal moral values and national cultural traditions. Working in favor of social responsibility can be a basic value in the behavior of grou ps and individuals. Prior to the current state of affairs Friedman in his article â€Å"The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits† (1970) rigorously raises a discussion on the topic of the "social responsibili ­ties of business". He argues that social responsibilities are of the individuals and not of the business. There he reminds about his book â€Å"Capitalism and Freedom† (1962), where the author postulates that "there is one and only one social responsibility of business–to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits". Amazingly contrasting to this position appear IKEA’s guiding principles for working in the interest of the child, the worker and the environment. Implementation of a Code of Conduct may be driven by international agreements and by