Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example

? Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility of the of the Number: the Paper: Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Evaluating Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Ethics Ethics deals with the norms and values of the organisation and judge what is right and wrong for the organisation whereas Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is about expressing those values by applying different programmes and policies (Jennings 47). Ethical codes are considered by organisations to help members in understanding the right and wrong decisions that are taken by them. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) a pharmaceutical giant operating all over the world has their own code of ethics which make them unique in the pharmaceutical industry. They conduct their business honestly and with integrity. They abide by the rules and regulations that are applied to every pharmaceutical industry and encourage their employees to stick to it. The CEO of GSK, Sir Andrew Witty, supported Global Ethics and Compliance team is responsible for providing supervision and direction to ensure obedience with applicable law, regulation and the company policies as well as promoting a positive and ethical work environment for the employees (GlaxoSmithKline “Policy-Code of Conduct”). Audits are conducted to see whether the company employees are performing with the line of the company code. Environmental Stewardship GSK accepts that the existence of harmful pharmaceutical chemicals in the environment is the critical area to be looked at and so GSK is performing deeper scientific experiment for understanding the problems in order to deal with the concerns. Thus GSK ensure that their products do not affect people, environment or the aquatic life. GSK have expertise knowledge about the chemical and biological compounds and thus the opportunity to invent new products without affecting the environment. The company has a deep learning in chemical and biological attributes of pharmaceutical compounds and thus has the expertise knowledge about the environmental impacts of the pharmaceutical compounds. GSK also performs pharmaceutical risk assessment programs to evaluate their position with respect to the current regulatory requirement as well as the Global Environment. They regularly update the environmental testing protocols as their knowledge and testing methods improvise both for long term and short term development (Simpson 124). Human Resource Stewardship The company respect their employees and support them to the fullest to grow their talent and give positive contribution to the company (Schwartz 28). The employment practices of GSK are made in such a way that they create a culture in which all the employees feels that their work are valued and respected. Thus they feel inspired and accomplish their goal without much hurdle. The company also protect the Personal Identification Information (PII) of the employees including their sensitive personal information and thus creates a sense of trust among the employees. The working environment thus provided to the employees is comfortable and the employees are satisfied regarding the quality of work they do. But the staffs or the senior management who fail to comply with the code of conduct are penalized for them and also are terminated from the company. Community Service and Impact GSK has undertaken a number of projects and programs for improving the quality of life in the community in which they are working in. In India, GSK undertakes a number of rural development programs by giving specialized skills and making the unemployed youths employable. Training is provided to them on computers and lessons on agriculture are given. GSK provided anti-parasitic treatments to the school children in all the developing countries. It helped the children to fight against the effects of intestinal worms and the cycle of poverty to which they contribute. Broader Social Causes GSK engages in a lot of social activities all over the world. They have established many community colleges to educate the youths and train them to get employment. They even build schools for children to make them educated. They invented new vaccines to fight against diseases and have donated them to the different villages all over the world. GSK promotes their products through advertisements in posters, flyers, newsletters, billboards and also through public relations like CSR, partnership with similar charity organizations etc (GlaxoSmithKline “Explore”). Rules and regulations of the company are strict. Plants in some local markets in UK outsource the raw materials who do not meet the requirements internally. In the past it has been seen that GSK factory has been checked upon by the FDA [the US regulator], Saudi Arabian and Turkish regulators. Code of Conduct GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is one of the companies which perform acceptable and unique CSR activities all over the world. GSK is the science-led global healthcare company that explore and build up a broad range of innovative medicines and brands. GSK manufacture products for millions of people all over the world and help them to fight disease and live longer (GlaxoSmithKline “About Us”). They operate in three business areas like pharmaceutical, vaccines and consumer healthcare. The company focuses on the delivery of three strategic areas which aims at increasing growth, reduce risk and improve long-term performances. GSK follows a promise to be responsible for the types of work they are undertaking and keep the society safe and also make policies which will enhance their sales and marketing by creating good relationship with suppliers (GlaxoSmithKline “Our Behaviour”). GSK follows definite code of conduct such as: GSK staffs must always act with honesty and integrity and must safeguard the company’s public status and the relation with the suppliers, customers and competitors. The staffs of GSK must raise voice against the possible illegal conducts happening in the company (Sims 223). GSK will examine the genuine areas of dispute and take appropriate steps while maintaining the confidentiality of their actions. The staffs of GSK are likely to be free from actual and potential clashes of interest that might persuade or appear to persuade their judgement or action when executing their company duties on behalf of GSK. There is a conflict of interest when a close relative of an employee is employed within a reporting line. The reputation of GSK must not be comprised by accepting any kind of gift or favour by the employees. The appointed company spokesperson should handle the external audiences like the investors or the media so as to reduce risk against the reputation of GSK (GlaxoSmithKline “Code of Conduct”). Failure by any employee to obey the Code of Conduct of the company or policies is subjected to disciplinary actions and even termination from the job (Weiss 69). The rule is also applied to the higher executives who will ignore the regulations. Complementary worker disciplinary issues are also dealt along with the employee disciplinary codes. Supply Chain GSK is responsible for managing the hazardous chemicals and add standards to the supply chain management. They encourage the suppliers not to use unfair means and also established global EHS requirement key suppliers. They are also responsible for conducting periodic audits against the requirements of the regulatory board and even provide encouragement and assistance to help contract manufacturers and key suppliers to improve environmental performances (Crowther 234). Social causes GSK also provided primary health care services to the villages all over the country and provided support to neonatal, prenatal and postnatal care for mother and child of the rural areas as they frequently faced with reproductive problems and health care problems. GSK even established community colleges in the villages at different parts of the world for giving education to the children as well as the youths. The youths are given training to face the employment market by making them prepared for the works that are common for them. In 2012, GSK has invested ?3.5 billion for global developmental works.GSK has been researching on 50 drugs which target the cancer and diabetic patients. GSK has provided 3 billion albendazole tablets to the patients fighting from intestinal worms and filariasis and even look forward to provide one billion tablets more. GSK even initiated programs to give training to community workers in the least developed areas of the countries and even promise to invest 20% of the profits of the company to these least developed areas of the world to build health infrastructures. GSK introduced Synflorix vaccines in Pakisthan by investing around ? 4.8 million (GlaxoSmithKline “Our Vaccines”). Marketing strategies and programs must be developed to support marketing objectives. Thus, to achieve its objective GSK penetrate into new market with their products to expand their territory and increase their sales (Shimp 28).The reason which is helping GSK to continue making asthma drugs in Britain is a lack of competitors for the same line of products. Tablets and capsules are easily replicable once their patents run out (GlaxoSmithKline, 2013e). GSK undertake different marketing programs to make the customers aware about their products. MyAsthma is a convenient and easy-to-use digital programme providing information that can help to better manage asthma triggers such as pollen, pollution and weather. It includes a simple 30-second test called the Asthma Control Test (ACT), done by leading asthma experts that gives asthma patients a trustful measure to control asthma in an easy way. For Sensodyne, the company has developed innovating marketing campaigns to educate as well as create awareness for consumers to understand Dental Hyper Sensitivity as a growing issue in the country (GlaxoSmithKline 2013i “Corporate social responsibility report”). New GSK representatives are trained by GSK on the medicines they promote, which are designed to treat the diseases of the mass suffering. GSK abides by industry guidelines and codes established by national industry associations. Research programs are expensive but it can be balanced if the sales are high which in turn raises the market share of the company (GlaxoSmithKline “Corporate responsibility report”). In GSK the employees who succeed in achieving their target assigned to them are rewarded to appreciate their effort and encourage them for future performances (GlaxoSmithKline “Our People”). The rewards play a motivational role for the employees and thus they become serious about their work and do it with more sincerity. TotalReward is given to the employees with two main philosophies: one is for the pay for their own performances and the second one is given as the share of the company success (GlaxoSmithKline Rewards and Benefits”). Works Cited Crowther, David. Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility. England: Ashgate Publishing Company. 2004. Print. GlaxoSmithKline. “About us.” GlaxoSmithKline. GlaxoSmithKline plc, 2013b. Web. 3 July 2013. GlaxoSmithKline. “Code of conduct.” GlaxoSmithKline. 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