Difference between Matters of Law and Matters of Ethics in Business Situations (Report)

docx

School

Kenyatta University School of Economics *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

MISC

Subject

Management

Date

Nov 24, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by GeneralParrotPerson786

1 Difference Between Matters of Law and Matters of Ethics in Business Situations Student’s Name Professor’s Name Institutional Affiliation Course Name Due Date

2 Difference Between Matters of Law and Matters of Ethics in Business Situations Introduction Law and ethics are interrelated factors that influence how businesses make decisions. Law is a body of laws and regulations that are enforced by governing bodies, while ethics are moral principles and values that people and organizations use to judge what is right or wrong. While they both encourage moral conduct, their origins, ranges, and methods of enforcement are different. In addition to meeting legal requirements, corporate social responsibility (CSR) highlights a company's commitment to societal and environmental responsibilities (Manuel & Herron, 2020). CSR include initiatives including charity, environmental sustainability, and moral corporate conduct. Analysis It is critical to examine the ethical and legal implications of a recent data breach event in the context of Mountain Top View, a company that makes outdoor gear and is run by Clare Applewood. This research seeks to clarify the challenges of distinguishing between legal and ethical issues in this commercial setting. Ethical and Legal Issues Ethical Issues The values of integrity, openness, accountability, and fairness often underpin business ethics. The ethical dilemma in the data breach case mostly revolves on accountability and openness. A portion of consumers who made online purchases had their privacy violated, revealing their names, addresses, and phone numbers. From an ethical perspective, the business must notify the impacted consumers of this compromise (Ferrell et al., 2021). In every business-

3 client relationship, trust-building and trust-maintenance depend on transparency and accountability. Legal Issues The data protection and privacy rules that regulate the management of personal information bring the legal aspect into play. There may be legal requirements with respect to data breaches, depending on the jurisdiction in which Mountain Top View does business. When a data breach occurs, these regulations often mandate that enterprises inform the impacted parties as well as the appropriate regulatory bodies (Gerke et al., 2020). Such statutes have serious legal repercussions and punishments for violations. Relevant Stakeholders Customers at Mountain Top View were affected by the data breach event, and their personal data was exposed. Owner Clare Applewood is in charge of upholding the company's moral and legal standards. The Store and Online Operations Manager, Carlos Rodriguez, is a key player in daily operations and decision-making. The weakness, which has ramifications for the business's moral standing and probable legal repercussions, was found and fixed by Steve, the IT Lead. Regulatory agencies may enforce data protection and privacy regulations based on the company's location (de Bakker et al., 2019). Together, these parties have an impact on the ethical and legal framework of the circumstance, and their viewpoints and interests affect the suggested course of action. Key Facts The ethical and legal issues surrounding the Mountain Top View data breach event are shaped by a number of important aspects. Notably, the breach compromised a particular set of consumers' personal information, including names, addresses, and phone numbers, who had

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

4 made online purchases during the first quarter of the year. By identifying the flaw that caused the intrusion and swiftly patching the underlying code, Steve, the IT Lead, played a crucial part. His belief in the database's existing level of security is crucial to his choice. Additionally, Carlos, the Store and Online Operations Manager, questioned Steve's choice to not disclose the breach because of its small scale, underlining the necessity for a careful examination of the ethical and legal ramifications of the circumstance. Implications The Mountain Top View data breach has wide-ranging and complex repercussions. First off, the breach has the potential to harm both the company's brand and consumer confidence. Customers may start looking for alternatives if you don't announce the breach right away since it can make them doubt the security of their personal information. There are repercussions on a legal level as well. If data protection regulations are not followed, the firm risk fines, penalties, and legal repercussions. Ignoring these commitments might result in drawn-out legal disputes and significant financial costs (Gerke et al., 2020). In addition, from an ethical standpoint, the reluctance to reveal the breach raises questions about accountability and transparency, which are fundamental concepts in morally righteous corporate operations. In order to address these issues, it is important to strike a careful balance between adhering to the law, upholding moral principles, and protecting the company's brand. Recommendation for Action The Mountain Top View data breach situation presents significant ethical and legal issues, making a swift course of action necessary. The business should immediately inform all impacted consumers of the incident while making sure that the communication is transparent and truthful. Legal advice should also be retained to guarantee complete compliance with data

5 protection rules and to reduce any possible legal risks. A thorough ethical framework should be adopted in order to avoid such moral and legal quandaries in the future (Ferrell et al., 2021). All organizational levels should follow this framework when making decisions, with an emphasis on accountability, openness, and adherence to applicable rules and regulations. Such preventive steps will strengthen the company's moral standing and legal resistance going ahead in addition to addressing the present incident. Conclusion In the contemporary world, the fusion of technology and commerce has significant effects on both law and ethics. Technology advancements allow businesses to gather, store, and analyze enormous volumes of data, which calls for a higher level of ethical responsibility and regulatory compliance. Mountain Top View must in this situation strike a delicate balance between its moral commitment to clients and its legal responsibilities under data protection legislation. Failure to disclose the breach puts the business's reputation and trust, which are crucial for its long-term survival, at danger in addition to legal repercussions (Ferrell et al., 2021). In the end, companies must understand that in the modern digital world, moral and legal issues are linked and essential to responsible and sustainable operations.

6 References de Bakker, F. G. A., Rasche, A., & Ponte, S. (2019). Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives on Sustainability: A Cross-Disciplinary Review and Research Agenda for Business Ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly , 29 (03), 343–383. https://doi.org/10.1017/beq.2019.10 Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell. (2021). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. In Google Books . Cengage Learning. https://books.google.com/books? hl=en&lr=&id=o38xEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Ethical+and+Legal+Issues+in+ business+situations&ots=Vz-z0V6L_c&sig=rt4HBVbv3gTm5_fgvpSqvRYOheQ Gerke, S., Minssen, T., & Cohen, G. (2020). Ethical and Legal Challenges of Artificial intelligence-driven Healthcare. Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare , 295–336. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818438-7.00012-5 Manuel, T., & Herron, T. L. (2020). An ethical perspective of business CSR and the COVID-19 pandemic. Society and Business Review , 15 (3), 235–253. https://doi.org/10.1108/sbr-06- 2020-0086

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Difference between Matters of Law and Matters of Ethics in Business Situations (Report)

Related Documents