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Pages:
7 pages/≈1925 words
Sources:
10 Sources
Style:
APA
Subject:
Business & Marketing
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Other (Not Listed)
Language:
English (U.S.)
Document:
MS Word
Date:
Total cost:
$ 30.24
Topic:

Company’s Ethical Obligations and Milton Friedman's Argument

Other (Not Listed) Instructions:

Purpose: In this project, you will discuss and analyze the arguments for and against Milton Friedman's thesis that the only purpose of business is to make money. You will apply the arguments for and against to a specific ethical issue that you have previously discussed in a weekly discussion.
Learning outcome met by completing this project:
Identify ethical issues that arise in domestic and global business environments using an understanding of ethical concepts and of legal and business principles.
How to Set Up the Paper
Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced, 12-point font. The format should be in memo form. The final product will be between 8-10 pages in length excluding the title page and reference page. Write clearly and concisely.
Instructions:
You serve as the assistant to the very recently appointed CEO of a prominent start-up that is beginning to grow rapidly. The new CEO, Tara Richmond, is a former general who gained visibility in the military for her outstanding leadership qualities. Since her arrival, the Board of Directors has had spirited debates on several proposals that would increase corporate profits but would work to the disadvantage of some members of the public as well as other stakeholders. Some members of the board are arguing that the only obligation the company has is to make profits for the stockholders. Other members of the board are arguing that the company has an obligation to the community and to stakeholders other than just the stockholders.
Your boss is baffled by the debate. “When I was in the military, my duties to others were clearly laid out. Here, I am unsure to whom the company owes a duty.” She turns to you for advice, requesting that you draft a memo that explains what the company’s ethical obligations are in situations like these. She asks you to start with Milton Friedman's opinion piece in 1970, arguing that a company’s only ethical responsibility is to make profits. That can be found here.
She also asks you to review a much more recent memo from the Business Roundtable that takes a more expansive view of the responsibilities of a company. The Business Roundtable consists of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, many of whom are familiar names to her. That memo can be found here.
You should do additional research on arguments for and against Friedman’s proposition. Using your classroom materials as well as external sources, respond to the following prompts:
Expin Milton Friedman’s arguments supporting that a company’s only obligation is to make money.
Explain the arguments contrary to Friedman’s position including where the Business Roundtable stands as well as other arguments you find in your research.
Using one of the ethical issues that you posted in classroom discussions, illustrate for the CEO, how that issue would be resolved using Friedman’s perspective and how it would be resolved using the perspective of the Business Roundtable.
Which of these positions do you find most compelling and why?
Your memo should begin with an introduction and end with a conclusion where you make recommendations to the CEO.
Course Material and Research
This project requires you to do research on UMGC Library Databases or on the Internet. You are expected to use course material going beyond defining terms. You are expected to explain the 'why and how' of a situation. Avoid merely making statements but close the loop of the discussion by explaining how something happens or why something happens, which focuses on importance and impact. In closing the loop, you will demonstrate the ability to think clearly and rationally showing an understanding of the logical connections between the course material and the question(s) being asked. Using one or two in-text citations from the course material throughout the entire paper will not earn many points on the assignment. The support must be relevant and applicable to the topic being discussed. Points are not earned for mentioning a term or concept but by clearly and thoroughly explaining or discussing the question at hand.
Use this link: BMGT 496 New Project 2 Template (4).docx to complete this project.
Review the Paper
Read the paper to ensure all required elements are present.
*** Sources
https://eds-p-ebscohost-com(dot)ezproxy(dot)umgc(dot)edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=59c3b838-4f8c-4da4-8e9c-f684b9c4da20%40redis&ppid=pp_13&vid=0&format=EB
https://eds-p-ebscohost-com(dot)ezproxy(dot)umgc(dot)edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=3d58be61-983f-4980-996a-97393418ae8b%40redis&ppid=pp_27&vid=0&format=EB
https://leocontent(dot)umgc(dot)edu/content/dam/course-content/tus/bmgt/bmgt-496/document/Ethical%20Issues%20Dilemmas%20Legal%20Issues1.pdf
https://www(dot)thoughtco(dot)com/kantian-ethics-moral-philosophy-immanuel-kant-4045398
https://eds-p-ebscohost-com(dot)ezproxy(dot)umgc(dot)edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=7454eb71-9bf5-4cc5-abb2-b0a860b5d3ed%40redis&ppid=pp_48&vid=0&format=EB
https://eds-p-ebscohost-com(dot)ezproxy(dot)umgc(dot)edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=68dc4fe5-85ae-403b-b99a-08b5fbd88589%40redis&ppid=pp_66&vid=0&format=EB
https://eds-p-ebscohost-com(dot)ezproxy(dot)umgc(dot)edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=101a45a3-fed4-4083-ab5a-9902044048bd%40redis&ppid=pp_83&vid=0&format=EB
https://leocontent(dot)umgc(dot)edu/content/dam/course-content/tus/bmgt/bmgt-496/document/496%20Article%20-%20A%20Framework%20for%20Thinking%20Ethically.pdf
https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=H0CTHVCkm90&t=1s
https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=PrvtOWEXDIQ
https://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=-a739VjqdSI
https://eds-p-ebscohost-com(dot)ezproxy(dot)umgc(dot)edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=4c71b765-af5a-4c03-97d8-e10638e4531f%40redis&ppid=pp_154&vid=0&format=EB
https://eds-p-ebscohost-com(dot)ezproxy(dot)umgc(dot)edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=3dc508b0-91f7-46aa-903b-f413d7b4e2dd%40redis&ppid=pp_181&vid=0&format=EB
https://eds-p-ebscohost-com(dot)ezproxy(dot)umgc(dot)edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=b679f315-49eb-4cce-a681-c0d91f7c3fc5%40redis&ppid=pp_210&vid=0&format=EB
https://eds-p-ebscohost-com(dot)ezproxy(dot)umgc(dot)edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=b17a7d42-d5d8-4256-b886-bba01a6ab546%40redis&ppid=pp_71&vid=0&format=EB
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https://www-proquest-com(dot)ezproxy(dot)umgc(dot)edu/intermediateredirectforezproxy
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Other (Not Listed) Sample Content Preview:
To: Tara Richmond, CEO
From:
Date:
Subject: A Company’s Ethical Obligations
Introduction
As per your request, this memo evaluates Milton Friedman’s view that the sole responsibility of a company should be generating returns for its shareholders. To this end, the memo contrast Milton’s view with the Business Roundtable’s stance that businesses have an ethical obligation to the community. The memo will also explore other arguments offered to counter Friedman’s perspective. To illustrate the differing perspectives, the memo analyzes how the two perspectives would resolve an ethical issue that should arise should a company decide to lower its production costs by relying on child labor.
Milton Friedman’s Arguments
In 1970, Milton Friedman published an article in the New York Times positing that the sole responsibility of a business should be generating profits for the stockholders. According to Friedman, a business can be characterized as an entity formed following an agreement between the managers and the stockholders. In the agreement, the stockholders agree to advance their capital to business managers and business executives in exchange for business ownership. Consequently, the business managers and stockholders enter a voluntary contractual relationship that stipulates the obligation of the two parties. To this end, the business executives are empowered by the contract to serve as agents for the stockholders in the sense that they manage the capital advanced by the stockholder in line with the agreed goals of the stockholders as the principals in the contract (Schaefer, 2008). Friedman pointed out that business executives have an obligation to manage the advanced capital in such a way that seeks to achieve the goals of the stockholders as the principal shareholders. While the goals of a business do not necessarily have to be profit, Milton was mainly focused on exploring the role of corporations and business setups to generate profits (Coelho, McClure, & Spry, 2003). To this end, Friedman observed that the primary goal of such goals should be profit maximization.
Notably, Friedman's position is supported by a deontological ethical viewpoint. Deontological ethics posits that an individual acts in an ethical manner if their actions can be viewed to align with duty and obligations. That is, individuals have a duty to follow actions without consideration of their consequences (Mansell, 2013). In their capacity as agents, Friedman posited that business executives were duty-bound to deploy the capital advanced by the stockholder toward profit generation. In view of this, Friedman noted that the sole gold of corporate owners is to maximize their profits and noted that a decision to pursue goals such as social responsibility was unethical as it failed to focus on the duty imposed by business executives by the stockholders. If a business executive considers social obligation in informing their business decision, Friedman’s argument would consider it unethical if engaging in such actions lessened the amount of profit that such a business generated for its stockholders.
Friedman observed that the failure to pursue social responsibility would not be detrimental to society in the v...
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