Abstract
As human resource managers and organizational leaders strive to build high-trust organizational cultures, those who guide their organizations must carefully assess not only the implicit and explicit assumptions of their own social contracts but must also carefully tune in to the perceptions of others. Ethical duties owed in responding to complex issues are encompassed in a stewardship obligation that rises to the standard of a covenantal relationship. Ethical leadership provides a valuable framework for examining the subtle nature of ethical obligations owed to stakeholders and reflects the growing importance of business leaders understanding the implications of their moral choices.
There cannot be a situation where a businessman says, “I base all my business on moral considerations.” Equally, you can't say you can run a business without morality.
Sir Timothy Bevan (1927–), British banker, said as Chairman of Barclays Bank Ltd, when asked about Barclays’ withdrawal from South Africa.
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Notes
- 1.
In India, traditional forms of bonded labor in agriculture have been historically largely associated with men and boys, with instances of women, especially girls, working as bonded laborers being relatively rare (see Marla 1981:20–22 and Patnaik and Dingwaney 1985:259). In his report, Marla estimates the population of the bonded laborers in the late 1970s in India. According to him, 97.7 % of bonded laborers are men and boys, while 2.3 % of them are adult women. There are no girls working as bonded laborers.
- 2.
A brief profile of MNCs involved in cottonseed business in India is presented in Sect. 4.3.
- 3.
The Hindu Businessline, 25–6–2001.
- 4.
CMS technology makes emasculation obsolete and halves the labor required for pollination. Pollination is one of the two main tasks performed by child labor, the other being emasculation.
- 5.
Interview with Mr. Bapairaju, production in charge of Mahyco in Kurnool area, 21–1–2002.
- 6.
Interview with a company official who requested anonymity, Kurnool 22–2–2002.
- 7.
Dresdner RCM Global Investors, an international asset management firm based in the UK, had a meeting with top management of Syngenta in January 2002 to discuss the problem of child labor in production of cottonseeds in India. It has requested the company to take necessary steps to eliminate the child labor in production of its seeds.
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Gupta, A.D. (2014). Ethics in Business Practice: Human Resource Management. In: Business Ethics. India Studies in Business and Economics. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1518-9_4
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