BUGEN 5930 BUSINESS, SOCIETY AND THE PLANET

NANYANG INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT PTE LTD

UNIVERSITY OF BALLARAT
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
Submitted to: Mr. Lance Dubos
Name: Vo Thong Tu
Student ID: 30120200
Due Date: 07 January 2014

After 5 weeks studied business, society and ethic. I found that, in the past, I only
though that the most important purpose of doing business is making profit. However,
after this course, I could profound understand the three main topics of the course,
Ethics & Business Ethics, Sustainable Development and Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) are very relevant in todays business world. I will explain clearly,
what I have gained from the course in the next part.
For me, the most meaningful learning arose from business ethics is the study of what
is right or wrong, good or bad in doing business, taking into consideration about duty,
obligation, rights, fairness, using a process of logical reasoning about moral in
business. Business ethics help business people to approach ethical issues more
systematically and with better tools, help to make changes for the better. Moreover,
the significant experiences were sustainability and sustainable development.
Previously I though that profit is the only motivate of the business. At the time, I
though, business can do anything at any cost to make profit. For example, when a
pharmaceutical company, they advertise a lose weight pill, they claim that this pill can
help to reduce 5 kg in a week. However, the pharmaceutical company did not tell
their customer about the side effects of their pill. My understanding from lecture
notes, videos, and handbook is that there are three major approaches in sustainable
development. At first, we focus on organic, animal rights, restoration ecology, ethical
priority and voluntary simplicity. The second is driving efficiency in allocation of
resources. The third is concerned with earth ecological health to sustain a
prosperous humanity that balances economy, human rights, ecology and ethics.
Sustainability is related to the environment, as many resources are irreversible and
finite in quantity. In an environment, plant and animals are living beings and has
natural rights on well beings as well. I find it surprising that on a global basis,
sustainability of the world has to deal with the possible solution of equitable
distribution of goods, wealth and standard of living between the poor and rich
countries. By a recommendation of taking from the rich country to give to the poor
countries, which will never happen as it destroy the motivation of working hard of a
country, be innovative to becoming a rich country. Hence, a more sensible solution
would be to accelerate the development of poor countries to attain greater economic
wealth without waiting for the donations from the rich countries. However, this
attracts the notion or contention that our globe is a natural system whose capacity for
retaining it is equilibrium under the impact of economic development is increasingly in
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doubt. Sustainability issue with the depletion of world resources, irreplaceability in

energy and possible extinction of species through habitat changes raised the
question of the sustainable economic development in the long term. From now on, I
know that sustainability has a strong link to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), in
particular corporate environmental responsibility, social responsibility and corporate
governance, with potent combination of environmental, economic, equitable,
scientific connotations, contemporary moral and political factors. CSR means that
business organizations should make some direct voluntary contribution to the
resolution of broad social and environmental problems. Business with CSR will have
greater direct community role and may change or shape or influence public policy.
Corporations need to demonstrate CSR to earn the license to operate and benefit
from differentiation against competitors in reputation, image, relationship with
community, employee morale, teamwork, retention, customer goodwill, employee
personal development. With CSR, businesses have found a way to make capitalism
work for societies driving social betterment. Corporation need to earn the license to
operate and ensure intergenerational equity across region or countries. Practices of
triple bottom line (Profit, People, Planet) reporting is new but necessary for the sake
of sustainability especially in ecology protection, economic growth and social reform.
I also realised that the ecological impact due to increased population, shrinking grain
harvesting due to alienation of land for housing, urban development and the disparity
of better yield of food production in developed countries compared to less developed
countries, existence of urban poor, deforestation (deprived of CO2 absorbers). In
addition, with the greater consumption of resources due to urbanization and
pollutions from industrialization and usage of cars are creating bigger greenhouse
effect that leads to global warming, resulting in severe weather, rising sea level and
extreme changes in weather, all of which are costly to the future wellbeing of
mankind in general. Therefore, corporation with huge financial capacity and political
influence should seriously undertake sustainability reporting as an integral part of
their annual reports for the common good of humanity.
Having learned from this course, I now understand different perspective on the role of
business in todays society. Additionally, I have learned that there is the
interdependence of people, planet and profits and the challenges this poses to
business. I am familiar with concepts of sustainability and the potential for
sustainable practices to create economic value. The knowledge from this course will
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be useful because I can recognise potential ethical issues in a business environment

and be familiar with ethical decision-making model. Furthermore, I can understand
alternative business decision-making frameworks. From this course, it describes the
nature of corporate social responsibility and I have significantly

improved my

knowledge of being familiar with strategies for influencing socially responsible

change in business, and it also improve my understanding of being familiar with
business practices that integrate social and environmental commitment with
economic performance. This knowledge is very essential to me as a learner, because
I have not yet known it before. I will now need to develop my personal ethical
standard, develop skills for identifying and analysing ethical challenges and
developing critical thinking skills by exploring question for which there are no right
or wrong answers.
Reference
Davis, K. & R. Blomstrom. (1975). Business and Society: Environment and
Responsibility, New York: McGraw-Hill.
Frederic, R. E. (2002). A Companion to Business Ethics. Massachusetts: Blackwell