Learning Reflection Journal

Introduction

The following is a collection of thoughts concerning the experience I have had in the course of taking up this module. The experiences that have been documented below encompass the different elements of the subject including what I learnt in class, the materials provided and also the group project which I participated in. My understanding of ethical theories and how they relate to me as an individual as well as how they relate to the business community will therefore be highlighted in depth. A summary of what I learnt from the different exercises carried out in class will also be highlighted below.

Individual Learning

Out of all the unit outcomes that had been formulated at the begithe nning of this module, the introductory part which is learning outcome 1 titled “To develop an understanding of business ethics in organisations, including basic knowledge of ethical theories” was the most impactful in my learning of business ethics. This is because it laid a firm foundation and this grounding was maintained throughout my study of the subject. The arrangement and inclusion of fundamental concepts of business ethics as well as the fact that they all pertain to an individual’s understanding of the same enabled me to personalize the content and thus take it to heart. The assignment that was given exposed to me the importance of upholding ethics in business.

Learning outcome 3 which is titled “To Understand the consequences of unethical conduct” is the one that least contributed to my understanding of business ethics and this is because I felt that the introduction’s coverage of the benefits of ethical behavior in business in a way also dealt with this part which is basically the opposite of the benefits. The oral presentations given by different students however exposed me to alternative perspectives to this analysis of the ill effects of ethics being absent in the business environment.

EBL Learning

The enquiry based learning approach to business ethics helped me to understand the topic better because of the mind provoking nature of the questions that were posed at the beginning as well as during the learning process. The first way in which my learning process was enhanced by EBL was through the introspective analysis that I conducted while learning the various components of business ethics with relation to the individual and society. In the business ethics introduction PowerPoint there was a question that read “Is there a conflict between what would be good for you personally and what is the morally right thing to do?” and this made me think about myself and situations with relation to the subject.

The second way in which this mode of learning helped me was through the motivation that I had when reading the materials that were provided. I was reading with the intention of answering these questions. The question “Can organisations be legally right, but morally wrong? Visa-versa?” motivated me to identify the learning issues and this made my presentation of the Visser (2010) article more effective as I had a better understanding of CSR and how it relates to morals in business.

Group Theory & UN Hearing Presentations Moderation Rating:

With respect to the group’s overall EBL performance, I believe I contributed mainly to the description element of the DIEP intentions. This is because of the unique way that inquisitive guidelines lead me in my studies of Business Ethics. Evidence of this can be found in my individual presentation of the Visser (2010) article that focused on the development of CSR over the years. The questions regarding the significance of ethics for business entities enabled me to appropriately identify the learning outcomes that we were meant to pursue in the presentation and report we were working on. This is evidenced by the final product of our efforts which is in the form of the group report and presentation. I helped to guide the members towards properly describing the elements of Abraaj’s operations that pertained to business ethics.

On an individual level, I believe the components of EBL which strongly improved were the area of peer teaching in combination with description. Though a six stage process, these two stood out for me during the brainstorming sessions. This is because I could implement EBL in my effort to bring other members to speed with the discussions we were having. I could for instance illustrate the significance of Ethics in an organization by asking a fellow member to put themselves in the position of a customer of a water bottling company.

Business Ethics

A moral dilemma that I was faced with in recent times took place a few years back when one of the customers at an establishment I was volunteering in came in with an order for work we had already done previously. It was only until we started it when we realized that it had been recently worked on. The customer’s unawareness resulted in him pre-paying for the service. At this stage we were divided over the best way forward. One school of thought was for the idea of keeping the money and pretending to complete the task. Another school of thought proposed we inform the customer about the mix-up. Eventually the manager told us that he would inform the customer about the same and organize a refund. We never got to know if this actually happened.

At the time I supported the idea of keeping the money but with the ethical knowledge I have gained, it I must say that my opinion subsequent reaction would have been different. The studies of ethics have exposed to me the fact that the maintenance of ethics by an organization starts with individual employees. By withholding the information from the client we would be effectively defrauding him due to confusion on his side. In the event that this customer made a discovery of how things really unfolded had things gone my way, the repercussions would have affected other workers who were innocent. According to Arzola (2010), the members of an organization have the duty of maintaining moral integrity in their work while they are dealing with customers. This moral responsibility needs to be maintained with or without the knowledge of the customers (Arzola, 2010). As a result, I would advocate for the immediate informing of the customer about the anomaly in the order he had made as this would have possibly influenced not just the manager but also my fellow employees to be more assertive about what is morally upright.

An understanding of ethical theories & moral reasoning will assist me to apply business ethics in my future professional practice by making it my mission to be an ambassador of ethical behaviors both within and outside the organization. One opportunity for me to exhibit business ethics is by being a disciplined and diligent worker and this will be seen in the quality of work I do. It is a norm for employees to be at their best when they know they are being watched and supervised and lackluster in the absence of their bosses. As an ethical ambassador, I will be consistent in my work whether I am being supervised or not. This will not only increase my output but also provide a good example for those who work around or alongside me.

I will also be confident in whatever I do in the organization because of having nothing to hide. This will result in deadlines being met and customers who I serve impressed with the organization I work for. When it comes to the scrutinizing of records for instance, I will not cut corners to shorten the work if the documents are of a high volume. This will oblige me to painstakingly go through the materials provided as this will yield the desired result of the job without any shadow of doubt on my part.

If I am self-employed, I will make every effort to ensure that my employees understand the importance of upholding business ethics. Their understanding of the reasons for applying ethical behavior in the work will be more prioritized than them merely following them to please me and other superiors they may have. This will guarantee me that my customers are getting value for the money they are bringing into the business.

References

Alzola, M, 2008, When urgency matters. On non-discretionary corporate social responsibility. Human Systems Management, 27(3), 273-282.

Visser, W. 2010, CSR 2.0, the evolution and revolution of corporate social responsibility. Responsible Business: How to Manage a CSR Strategy Successfully.