Ethical Review of Tata Group - Paper Example

Ethics refers to a structure of moral laws that affect the decisions individuals make. The ethical choices could be the result of great consideration or may revolve around choices made intuitively without taking note of an ethical dimension. Nevertheless, the collection of moral principles that defines peoples moral and ethical acts (either unconsciously or consciously) has a deepened effect on the way they make a choice and deal with other. Ethics as a discipline resonates with politics, business, and social interactions. For matters revolving around the business, a branch of ethics called corporate ethics is involved (Cappelli, Singh Singh, and Useem, 2015). Corporate ethics is also known as business ethics or professional ethics, and it is a branch of knowledge that puts into consideration ethical principles and moral or ethical challenges that occur within a business setting. An ethical review refers to a formal method for determining or measuring whether a business entity is in conformity with corporate ethical standards. This paper will give invaluable insights on the results of an ethical review on Tata Group.

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Tata Group: Overview

Tata group is an Indian multinational corporation holding based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The company was established in the year 1968 by Jamshedji Tata and it garnered international recognition and accolades after making significant acquisitions of a number of global corporations. It is worth mentioning that Tata Groups total assets amount to US$120.6 billion as per the companys annual reports of 2015-2016. Moreover, the combined revenue of all the Tata Companies amounts to US$ 103.51 billion. These corporations jointly have accorded employment to more than 660,000 workers. The fact that each of Tatas company or enterprise operates independently under the supervisions and guidance of its own board of directors and shareholders is a sure fire way of proving Tata observes ethical standards and corporate coordination. The products manufactured by the Tata group include airlines, consumer goods, motor vehicles, chemicals, electrical distribution, healthcare, financial services, steel, telecommunication, real estate, defence and aerospace, locomotives, and engineering services.

Tata; Ethics in Companys Internal Environment

Within the internal environment of business, the key players and the determinants of success include the management and the employees. These two groups of people need to make sure that their coexistence is defined by ethics. For instance, Tata has a strict policy when it comes to matters revolving around the use of backdoor and underhand methods, such as nepotism, when it comes to employing individuals. Consideration of ethics is important when it comes to proper delegation of tasks and the development of proper professional relationships and interpersonal relationships. In essence, Tata Group of companies is well aware of the need for ethical conduct in the workplace because it is a necessary component on the way to achieving increased output. The workers at Tata abide by a strict company policy that prohibits any manner of corruption; it warns workers and managers from using bribes to get the favours of others or to win votes.

Within the companys internal environment, consideration is given to the board of directors and shareholders who control that all funds are managed in a responsible manner and there is no embezzlement of funds. The carrying out of duty in a manner that is ethically responsible is a sure-fire way of cultivating good relationships between the principals and its operatives.

Tata; Ethics In Companys External Environment

With consideration to the external environment, Tata is well aware of the fact that the there is a need to consider the suppliers to the business, the customers, the issue of environmental conservation, and the community at large. Regarding the community, Tata Groups management and operatives work together to be proponents of environmental awareness and humanitarian programs aimed at education and healthcare provision among other things. On the other hand, Tata Group does well to offer good prices to suppliers because they are part and parcel of the companys lifeblood. This way suppliers are appreciative and become loyal to the company; as such they deliver supplies in time and see to it that they are of a high quality. It is also worth mentioning that for Tata, corporate ethics revolve around a customer centred approach. Customers are located within the external environment of the business, and to them, ethics will centre on increased quality of products. Besides, proper after-sales service is also a crucial factor to consider.

As a large conglomerate, Tata Group is always mindful that it does not prioritize profits forgetting the needs of people and the environment. With such a commitment, Tata Group ensures that it does not have a negative impact on rivers such as the Ganges and that the smoke it releases to the atmosphere is treated and contains minimal chlorofluorocarbons. With such a predicament, Tata is unlikely to get into trouble with the Indian authorities on the grounds of pollution of the environment. In addition to that, the conglomerate would get in the good books of customers as they would appreciate the effort.

Tata, Ethics, and Factors of Production

The main factors of production are labour and capital. Tata Group of companies oversees that the right capital and technology are used so that consumers can enjoy quality products (Tata and Matten, 2016). For businesses, it is expedient to utilize better technologies to the fullest extent so that customers are happy in the long run. Labour is also another important factor of production that Tata usually puts into consideration. Through proper work-life balance, timely and sufficient remuneration, employees become a happy lot and are bound to deliver their best to realize productivity for Tata. The management of Tata Group is well aware of what corporate ethics are all about. Corporate ethics dictate that businesses are mindful and shrew in the manner in which they handle their resources to maximize on quality and production. Holding on reserve capital so much and refusing to invest in labour and technology is detrimental to the stability of a business.

Normative Ethics

Tata uses myriad corporate ethics principles that resonate with normative ethics. Normative ethics revolves around the determination of why particular acts are wrong or right. When it comes to matters of business ethics, normative ethics would have a connotation of what a business should do in the right way so as to attract customers. In addition to that, normative ethics also gives businesses like Tata Group insights on what should not be done lest it makes customers less attracted to the business. The marketing departments within the Tata conglomerate help in the determination of what normative and corporate ethics deem to be befitting of the business. In essence, normative and corporate ethics are some sort of checklist in the determination of what the consumers and the market at large prefer and what is correct or incorrect businesswise. This way business is able to offer high quality and desirable products to all its consumer niches. As above mentioned, the marketing executives of the business, through Research and Development usually want to find out what it would take to maintain customer loyalty and to lure more customers to the business when it comes to existing product end users. Tata Group manages to achieve it from the point of view of one or more different positions, sets of moral beliefs that combine together to give a normative view of a well-defined or even ambiguous corporate situation.

In as much as the executives and managers at Tata may take different views, individually, or as part of different managerial factions, there are many commonalities and ways of investigating these views to find out what would be most tasteful to customers and what would not cut customer wants. Normative ethics gives Tata Group several useful and universally used methods of thinking through its most basic moral ideas (Karayil et al., 2016). It helps the company to find out and get rid of incoherent arguments. Thinking that revolves around normative and corporate ethics provide the essential moral toolkit that Tata Group needs to properly understand corporate laws, codes of conduct, and professional standards so that the business runs smoothly.

Tata Group executives can attest to the importance of business ethics; this is because business ethics, over the years, has managed to offer Tata an enduring competitive advantage. Consumers and investors have learned to put their trust in Tata Group as a brand and to remain loyal to them, even at times when the economy does not augur well for the business. As a longstanding tradition, the society (inclusive of customers) place their trust in businesses like Tata Group that adhere to business ethics, such types of companies are recognized by their social responsibilities (Shah, 2014).

Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is an ethical principle that resonates with social ethics, political ethics, and economic ethics. This theory was established by the British theorist Jeremy. It anticipates that the perception of moral laws is at the centre of morality and characterized by important messages and key guiding principles. Utilitarianism states that the greatest happiness of the greatest number is the measure of right and wrong. Such an idea of ethical principles is utilized to make sure everyone affiliated with the Tata group is contented with their immediate job and with their respective working environment (Kanahalli and Jayaram, 2014).

To realize utilitarianism on a daily basis, Tata Group management makes sure that every within the organization gets a fair deal with respect to salaries, working conditions of employees, and terms of service to customers. Besides, utilitarianism also has an effect on the manner in which investors and shareholders of the company are usually treated. The greatest happiness is achieved in the company when all parties affected by a decision are involved in making the said decision (Karayil et al., 2016). For instance, the principles and the management of Tata have a tradition of convening meetings every time a decision affecting any individual affiliated with the operation is concerned. This has worked successfully to reduce strife within Tata and has built a company policy of coordination.

When it comes to matters of maximizing happiness at individual and group settings (employees), Tata advises its operatives and management always to have a knack for working hard. Work ethics would increase the companys top line and subsequent bottom line growth. With such increased profit, Tata would be able to award its employees with the quarterly well-deserved bonuses it usually directs their way.

This idea of maximizing happiness, welfare, or well-being, relies on fully understanding what these things mean. Different interpretations lead to different forms of utilitarianism such as hedonistic utilitarianism and perfectionist utilitarianism. Hedonistic utilitarianism is a short term approach to the wider concept, and it is grounded upon the immediate act, and the direct well-being of a business like Tata experienced as a result (Tata et al., 2013). The degree of pleasure is a quality of the total experience that comes with a business. In addition to that, perfectionist utilitarianism is achieved in the business by the determination of the subjective desires of individuals replaced with an objective list of properties that somehow characterizes a business venture worth doing (Kanahalli and Jayaram, 2014).

Ethical Conduct of Tata with Respect to Consumers

Tata Gro...