Legal vs Ethical
- Legal:
- Laws, regulations.
- Court, prison, jail.
- Ethical:
- Cultural norms, morality laws.
- Discussion, public condemnation.
- Legal is mainly ethical:
- Bribery is illegal.
- Violating copyright is illegal.
- Damaging property.
- Causing injury or health issues.
- Legal is sometimes unethical (Crane and Matten 404):
- Emiratization.
- Producing and marketing goods.
- Using natural resources.
First, it is important to identify the difference between legal and ethical issues. Legal issues are associated with laws, regulations, or, in simple terms, rules developed and enhanced by the corresponding authorities. Ethical issues are related to cultural norms and laws of morality. These are usually things accepted in this or that society. Ethical norms can also be written in some religious sources (for example, the Bible). The way these issues are resolved also differ. Legal issues are brought to the court, and the one who has violated a law goes to jail or prison. Ethical issues are often discussed and can attract significant attention of the public. However, there are no particular ways to punish the one who violates some ethical norms. Such people are often condemned.
Being legal does not always mean being ethical. In many cases, legal is ethical. For instance, it is both illegal and unethical to give or receive bribes, violate copyright, damage other people’s property, cause injury or pose threats to people’s health. At the same time, there are cases when some unethical norms are absolutely legal in some countries. For instance, Emiratization presupposes unequal treatment of employees by their ethnicity, which is regarded unethical in the western world but is a legal norm in the UAE. The production of goods can also be regarded as unethical as the consumer society increases an alarming amount of wastes that can hardly be managed. Some companies are accused of excessive use of natural resources, which is regarded as unethical but is not prohibited by the law.
Unethical practices
Williams and Esposito identify several types of unethical practices (61).
- Company – Environment;
- Company – Community;
- Company – Company;
- Company –Employees;
- Employee – Employee.
The major terrains where unethical practices are quite common include such dyads as company and company, company and employee, employee and employee, company and environment, company and community or the entire society. It is noteworthy that some unethical behaviors can be associated with several areas (in such dyads as company – environment, and company – community).
Examples of unethical practices
- Pepsi Co and Coca-Cola have to address the rising condemnation in India for:
- the excessive use of natural resources,
- negative impact on the environment,
- negative impact on the community (Sen).
- Those against the campaign stress that the company:
- contributes to the economic growth of the region,
- provides employment to thousands;
- supports local companies (through their supply chain).
It is possible to consider numerous instances of unethical behavior. One of the latest ethical issues that have taken place in the business world is associated with such well-established brands as Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Young people became the most active participants of the campaign against the multinational producers claiming that these companies take natural resources from Indian people. It is noteworthy that many people emphasize that the campaign is mainly aimed at helping local producers of beverages rather than helping the environment. These people stressed that local producers also use water from the same sources, but no one complains about it.
Ways to address the issue
In the case mentioned above, people have come up with several strategies (Huffington Post):
- bringing the issue to the fore,
- trying to ban products (in other words, make the product unethical and illegal),
- boycotting the product.
Indian people are trying different ways to address the ethical issue mentioned above. First, they make the issue noticeable through arranging protests, marches, discussions and so on. Furthermore, they attempted to turn the unethical practice into an illegal activity. They launched a petition aiming at the products ban. This step was unsuccessful as the products are still legal and all restrictions that were introduced are already removed. Another strategy they plan to implement is associated with boycotting the products. The effectiveness of this strategy is yet to be evaluated as Indian people have developed certain attitudes to the beverages existing in the market.
Examples of unethical practices: Patagonia case
Patagonia, like any other producer of apparel, has been accused of unethical behavior mainly related to the negative impact on the environment (Martin and Johnson 158). The company is accused of:
- promoting the principles of the consumer society,
- contributing to the increase in the amount of wastes.
People stress that the consumer society focuses on material things, and companies willingly provide new and new things without understanding the negative impact they have on the environment.
Ways to address the issue: Patagonia case
Patagonia has chosen a very specific and quite effective strategy that involved (Martin and Johnson 158):
- drawing people’s attention to the problem,
- raising people’s awareness,
- promoting sustainability,
- improving its image.
To address the issue, the company launched a new and quite innovative advertising campaign. Patagonia promoted such values as repairing, reducing, reusing, and reimagining. The company stressed the need to buy durable products and reuse, recycle or repair old ones. The strategy was successful as the company managed to improve its image and increase its sales.
Apple Case
Apple is one of the most famous brands and one of the leading companies in the field of consumer electronics (Crane and Matten 343). The company is accused of many things that are associated with some areas mentioned above:
- company and employee,
- company and environment,
- company and community or the entire society.
Apple produces a variety of products that are extremely popular across the globe. Each year the company comes up with new versions of existing products and brand-new products. For instance, the company was accused of unethical treatment of employees in its Asian subsidiaries. Of course, the company’s environmental footprint is one of the major concerns. It is not only about the resources used. It is more about the products manufactured that turn into wastes in a year or two. People are fascinated with the products and are willing to buy a new model each year while old models become a problem. The company also contributes to the development of the global consumer society.
Addressing the issue
It is necessary to develop a comprehensive strategy that could help the company cover all the spheres mentioned above (Bevan 223). The strategy will involve:
- bringing the issue to the fore,
- raising people’s awareness,
- promoting sustainability,
- developing new products
- becoming a change agent,
- improving its image.
The company should use a strategy employed by Patagonia. First, Apple should draw people’s attention to the problems associated with the use of natural resources, waste management, local communities sustainable growth, and so on. The company should also launch campaigns that would teach customers to be more responsible and contribute to the sustainable growth of the environment and their communities. People should understand the benefits and threats of particular behaviors (buying new products quite often). The company should also develop products that could be updated online or with a need to change only some parts (instead of buying a new model). Apple can become the change agent that will develop new ethical norms in the industry that will be followed by other manufacturers. Clearly, such actions are likely to have a positive impact on its development as people try to buy from companies characterized by ethical and sustainable practices.
Conclusion
- Acting legally does not ensure ethical conduct.
- Companies can negatively affect employees, other companies, environment, and the community or the entire society.
- Manufacturers of goods tend to have quite a significant footprint that can make the public develop a negative attitude.
- These companies should promote sustainable development and produce products that could be reused, recycled, and even repaired or upgraded.
Works Cited
Bevan, David. “Ethics and Marketing.” Business Ethics: A Critical Approach: Integrating Ethics Across the Business World, edited by Patrick O’Sullivan, Mark Smith, and Mark Esposito, Routledge, 2012, pp. 223-238.
Crane, Andrew, and Dirk Matten. Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the Age of Globalization. Oxford University Press, 2016.
Huffington Post. “Tamil Nadu Traders Will Not Sell Coke and Pepsi From March 1: Report.” Huffington Post. 2017.
Martin, Kelly D., and Jean L. Johnson. “Marketing Ethics and Differentiation: Implications for Normalized Deviance.” Handbook on Ethics and Marketing, edited by Alexander Nill, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015, pp. 150-168.
Sen, Sunny. “Court Restores Water Supply to Pepsi, Coca-Cola in Tamil Nadu, but Retailers Ban It.” Hindustan Times. 2017. Web.
Williams, Lloyd C., and Mark Esposito. “The Impact of Ethics on the Issues of Organizational Congruence.” Business Ethics: A Critical Approach: Integrating Ethics Across the Business World, edited by Patrick O’Sullivan, Mark Smith, and Mark Esposito, Routledge, 2012, pp.