 Walt Disney

 and
 News Corporation:


 A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF
BUSINESS ETHICS
•
 Contents

• What is ethics?
• Why Business Ethics?
• Walt Disney and ethics
• News corporation and ethics
• Most liked and least liked aspects
• Beyond a written code?
• Breach of ethical conduct: an
example
•
 We have all
witnessed …..

•
•
•
•
•

RECESSION
The Question that Was All
around:
Are our ethics and
incongruencies in them
responsible for it???
 

 With ethics seen as a possible

cause of such a huge crisis…….its
significance becomes all the more
crucial …………
 What is Ethics?
 “THE STUDY OF RIGHT AND
WRONG”
 ETHICS….
 “The values that an individual uses to
interpret whether any particular action
or behavior is considered acceptable
or appropriate”


 A work culture based on ethics is

transmitted from the mindset of the
businessman



Where does society derive its sense of
right and wrong from?
• W H Y S H O U L D O N E B E E T H IC A L ?
•
•
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• Ensure policies are legal and rightfully unbiased
• Avoid violence and criminal acts
• Promotes a strong public image
• Legitimizes managerial actions
• Strengthens alignment of organization's culture
• Greater trust and greater consistency in relationships
• Major source of competitive advantage
• ANCHOR for the organisation.
• Ethics is something you feel, not something you think


•
 WHY SHOULD ONE BE ETHICAL?

• Values and ethics occupy centre-stage in management

• Integrates core values, such as honesty, trust, fairness
into strategic management, policy making and
decision-making
• Evolving a sound society and workplace dynamics
• Build an ethical culture by example setting
• Improves society
• Stick to moral codes in turbulent times
• Cultivate strong teamwork and productivity
• Support employee growth and meaning
•
 Myths
• Business managers must understand
finance and marketing but not
necessarily Ethics


• Ethics and Business don’t go

together


• “Why should I be worried about

ethics as long as I am making
money and staying out of jail?”
 The reality
• Ethics is as important in business as
it is in life!
• One can only Do well by doing Good!
• Absence of Business Ethics can only
bring in shot-term success,
• Long-term successful businesses
never let go of ethics.
 Walt Disney & News
Corporation
• Driven by strong ethical values
• Leave a lasting impression
• Building relationships….and keeping
them
• It is the foundation that gives
resilience, character and core
strength
• Work like an insurance policy: help
ensure that businesses remain
within legalities and moralities
 Walt Disney: 3 most liked practices

1. Responsibility to cast members and employees:

 Professional development of employees


2. Diversity and Multiculturalism

3.
4. Responsibility to other businesses: our business
associates are an essential part of our team
4.



News Corporation: 3 most liked
practices
• Company funds and property
•
• Dealing with government officials
•
• Accommodation for disabilities
•
•
 Reasons for liking
• Treat all employees with fairness, dignity and respect
• Upholding the basic human rights
• Inclined towards individual career development and advancement
• Respect for privacy of employees: dignity and belongingness
• A great balance of professionalism and compassion
• Makes it very ‘humane’ & captures the very essence of humanity
• Diversity encourages- cross cultural infusion, camaraderie and
relationship building
• Accountability for the proper expenditure of company funds
• No payment to govt. officials to entice them
• Disabilities' not a hindrance….equal opportunities
•
•
 Reasons for liking
• Tapping of unique talents
• A platform for cultural and intellectual learning
• Melting pot
• A mix that reflects all genres of employees and customers: more identifiability
• Belief that diversity is the best way to develop superior products
• Fair competition
• Delivering quality and sincerity to customers
• Developing trust
• Not mislead or cheat customers
• Synergy: free communication and a sense of empowerment
• The employees feel “This is my company…. I am responsible for it!”
Walt Disney: 3 least liked practices

• Safety
•
• Doing businesses with family
members


• Acceptance of gifts


•
 News Corporation:
3 Least liked practices
• Legal disputes- limited expression
•
• Insider trading
•
• Business hospitality
•
 Reasons for not liking
• Safety standards should have been more
detailed and specifically laid out
• Complete abstinence from businesses with
family….. Refutes the basic principle of
free business
• You can lose out on good talent just because
Mr. X happens to be family
• A feeling of devaluing family ties creeps in
• Too much emphasis on not giving or taking
gifts, although it keeps a check on
corruption but sometimes gifts in business
can promote goodwill.
•
 Reasons for not liking
• Hinder individual freedom
• Lessens a sense of propriety
• Stifles out-of the box thinking
• Rigid mental framework in whatever you do…..in
even simple gestures as gift giving
• If a person is engaged in a lawsuit , he should be
free to discuss that matter with anyone he
likes.
• Freedom to exercise free will
• An employee should not be held responsible for
the actions of his family members because he
may not be aware of their actions regarding
purchase of securities by them
• Who will fix the limits of lavishness or otherwise
of entertainment, meals or transportation
 Beyond a written code….

• Ethics need to be within you…..

• Within the manager’s mind….
• Ethics need to be felt first …
• Internalized first and only then can
they be spread in the environment
• A written code can never encompass
the vast world of ethics
• Ethics need to be character- seeped.
 Conclusion
 7 principles of admirable business
ethics
• Be trustful
• Keep an open mind
• Meet obligations
• Have clear documents
• Become community involved
• Maintain accounting control
• Be respectful towards one and all


•
 An example

A n exa m p le
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•

 Thank You