{"id":8443,"date":"2016-11-10T19:50:28","date_gmt":"2016-11-10T19:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/masterybusiness2xngcxmasterspring2016\/?post_type=chapter&p=8443"},"modified":"2017-02-14T19:58:02","modified_gmt":"2017-02-14T19:58:02","slug":"why-it-matters-business-ethics-and-corporate-social-responsibility","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-introbusiness\/chapter\/why-it-matters-business-ethics-and-corporate-social-responsibility\/","title":{"raw":"Why It Matters: Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility","rendered":"Why It Matters: Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility"},"content":{"raw":"

Why explain the importance of business ethics and corporate social responsibility?<\/h2>\r\n\"Volkswagon<\/a>\r\n\r\nThe car company Volkswagen (which is part of the larger Volkswagen Group) indicates\u00a0that its goal is \"to offer attractive, safe, and environmentally sound vehicles that\u00a0can compete in an increasingly tough market and set world standards in their respective class.\"[footnote]http:\/\/www.strategicmanagementinsight.com\/mission-statements\/volkswagen-mission-statement.html[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nIn September 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that Volkswagen had installed special\u00a0software in its cars to\u00a0manipulate\u00a0emissions\u00a0levels (making it appear that the cars are less polluting than they are). A week later, Volkswagen\u00a0disclosed that 11 million diesel vehicles contained\u00a0the devices, and CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned. The price of\u00a0Volkswagen stock plunged\u2014losing 30 percent of its value overnight\u2014and the company scrambled\u00a0to understand what had happened and control the damage to its reputation.\r\n\r\nIn the months following the discovery of the deceptive devices,\u00a0investigators identified a team of Volkswagen employees who had hatched\u00a0the plan and implemented\u00a0it over a number\u00a0of years. An\u00a0internal evaluation identified a \"culture of tolerance\" for rule breaking at the company. It also came to light\u00a0that Volkswagen's emphasis on \"results at any cost\" had contributed to the\u00a0breach in ethical standards. Industry experts believe that the company's violation of consumers' trust will be will be exceedingly difficult to repair\u00a0and that it may take years to rebuild the Volkswagen brand.\r\n\r\nIn this module you'll learn why business ethics and corporate social responsibility are\u00a0not just means\u00a0of \"doing the right thing\" but in many cases are good business, too.\r\n

Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\r\n