Ethics and Social Responsibility in Business
Business ethics are the moral principles that govern the conduct of individual in the business environment and the entire organization. These are contemporary standards that outline the actions and behavior of the organization. They are both normative and descriptive in nature. Barclay bank did not act accordingly a there some conspiracy, collusion with other organization and even deceiving the public. The executive of Barclays bank manipulated the LIBOR interest rate by giving lowest interest rates to create an image of more stability to the public when in actual sense the bank was not that stable. The level of ethical development by the executive was high because the executives were more determined to create an appealing image more than practicing the ethical standards. They acted in deception as they mislead the investor and loan-seekers to create profit for the bank at the cost of others (Treviño & Nelson, 2011).
An organization should be socially responsible. It is an ethical theory of any organization to behave ethically by being accountable and being able to fulfill their civic duty. In this way, there comes a balance between the welfare of the society and environment together with the economic growth of the society. The bank did not act in a socially responsible manner in that the actions of social responsibility are believed to be fair. They are meant to be beneficial to the society and not solely to an individual (Treviño & Nelson, 2011). The executives of Barclays bank failed in this aspect as they were only interested in the organization profit other than the society welfare by exploiting them indirectly. The organization was not interested in assisting the society in any manner. The organization could have adopted and implemented measures that would make them more socially responsible. This could have been made possible by educating the member of the society about their policy and shedding the light of the true status of the organization. The organization could have also have adopted a policy of enhancing and ensuring the integrity and making sure that the environment is protected (Treviño & Nelson, 2011).
After the scandal LIBOR came into light, the image of Barclays bank was damaged. This eroded the public confidence in Barclays bank due to the adverse publicity. Trust no longer existed and the members of the bank were ready to hop for other financial institution. To embark on this tragedy Barclays bank could have engaged in social responsibility to set thing right. Barclays bank should have launched reactive programs which will change the real practice of the executive and back on the code of conduct (Treviño & Nelson, 2011). This program will ensure that the business will run quite swiftly. Proactive programs will also ensure that the organization is back on track. This will ensure that real market problems are solved. Accountability and transparency will help to demonstrate non-financial performance which could have helped the bank to gain public confidence gradually. This strategy could have involved marketing promotion to create more awareness that could have made the public believe that the bank wanted to make it right (Treviño & Nelson, 2011).
If the executive asked themselves if what they were doing was right then there would have been some changes in the way they performed their duties. A much as they wanted a perfect image for the company to the outside world they would have placed the interest of the public as a priority. The morality level would have been better if the interest of the public were placed first together with the social responsibility (Treviño & Nelson, 2011).
Ethics and social responsibility are important aspects of marketing. In this scenario, Barclays bank could have been in a position to avoid adverse publicity if they practiced in proper ethics. It would have been seen a normal mistake of the interest rates which could not have been discovered as a mega scandal if the bank performed it act to solely transform the benefits to the society rather than the bank only (Treviño & Nelson, 2011).
Reference
Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2011). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. New York: John Wiley.
