Lying a common behavior in business

Lying a common behavior in business

Question 1 answer

Lying has been a common behavior in business as well as politics. Individuals lie for different reasons. Utilitarianism ethical theory by Mill, unlike the imperative theory, promotes actions that optimize the well-being and happiness of all people concerned. According to utilitarianism theory, there are five reasons why individuals lie in business. First, enterprises are concerned about changing the world, and as a result, business people require a capacity to deny reality. Secondly, businesses need a good image, and liars provide plausible stories for making the company have a good reputation.

Thirdly, communication in business is about opinions rather than the fact (Helphand, 2018). Moreover, lying in the industry provide a leeway to disregard uncomfortable signal. All these reasons are to make the businesses succeed, and they do not affect the stakeholders. Lying in business could lead to a company having a good image and attracting many customers. As a result, this will lead to high revenue, resulting in the business’s growth. Therefore, it is legitimate to tell lies in business if these ‘white lies’ do not harm stakeholders.

Question 2 answer

Corporate governance refers to the management and the control system of a company as per the code and best practice.  It strives to provide a structure for the distribution of authority and duties among directors, shareholders, and the management (Fernández,  Odriozola & Luna, 2020). Corporate governance gives an apt control mechanism and rules upon which the different governance levels could be controlled. Anglo-Saxon and European are a type of model for corporate governance. Apple Company and Wesfarmers Company.

Anglo-Saxon Model

 

The Anglo-Saxon is a model of corporate governance which its main characteristics depend on the capital market. The model is used in the companies operating in Australia, United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. For example, the Anglo-Saxon model is used by the Apple Company in the US. The company deals with the manufacture of electronics such as phones.  Anglo-Saxon is characterized by domination in the corporation of the individual shareholder.

The director is accountable to the board of managers as well as the shareholders. The manager is also interested in activities that are profitable and received shares (Ahmad & Omar, 2016).  In this model, the investors who have expressed interests or disapproval management action through purchasing or selling the company’s share exercise supervision. Besides, the management is not subjected to strict control within the corporation because of its high liquidity. Directors and shareholders have an official and short-lived relationship.

The Anglo-Saxon model has many features. However, one of its essential characteristics is that its share ownership is distributed. For example, Wesfarmers Company is an Australian Farmers Corporation, and the shares are distributed among the shareholders. Secondly, the board of directors has internal supervisory powers. The directors of Wesfarmers Corporation are responsible for the internal supervision of the company. Also, the capital markets are described by high transparency (Rutland, 2016). In Wesfarmers Company, there is high transparency regarding the capital markets. Fourthly, success is measured by the price of shares and dividends. In Wesfarmers Company, the success of a company is regulated by the cost of the shares. Lastly, the company has many incentives for directors, which is demonstrated by increasing their prices.

European Model

It is a model that is characterized by a high concentration on the capital. Usually, shareholders have common interests with the corporations (Rutland, 2016). They also participate in the management and control of the corporation. Directors are accountable for the large group of stakeholders.  Also, the shareholders include unions and business partners, among others. One of the European model features is that the shareholders have more decision-making power than the managers.

In the Apple company, the shareholders make a significant decision since they are contributed their shares to the company (Rutland, 2016). The shareholders of the company include Arthur Levinson. He holds about 1.16m shares in Apple Company.  Besides, the model is characterized by deficient in the number of equity suppliers. The European model is more fair and efficient. It encourages hard work. It also allocates production factors efficiently. This makes the model fair and efficient.

Question 3 answer

Employers and workers have many rights and responsibilities in the workplace. Workplace responsibilities make employers liable for the actions and ensure that staff behaves conscientiously and ethically (Chan & Warner, 2017). Furthermore, the work rights protect personnel from the harmful events that include discrimination and unsafe working conditions. The workers’ rights include rights to fair treatment, safe working conditions, privacy, and violations. All these rights protect the employees from employees in the workplace.

Moreover, employees have rights. They are responsible for protecting employees from injury and meeting health and safety requirements, respecting human rights, avoiding discrimination, and providing equal job opportunities (El-Garah & El Mahdi, 2020). Also, employers have the right to ensure fair and suitable remuneration and collective bargaining. All these employees’ rights aim to protect the workers.

Employees and workers believe that the First Amendment to the United States constitution guarantees them freedom of speech. However, the First Amendment applies to the government institution only (Jenero & deMenza 2016).  Therefore, it does not limit the private employers’ right to regulate their workers’ communication and give any rights for those staff to express views at the workplace. Consequently, freedom of speech rights is not protected in the private employers’ office.

Even though the workers have the right to freely express their opinions while at home or malls, at the workplace, they do not have such a wide range of constitutional rights, private employers could refuse to employ or fire employees because of political opinions. Political discrimination is not unlawful discrimination (Jenero & deMenza, 2016). Therefore, companies should be allowed to influence their workers’ political beliefs.  Company owners may communicate their views to their employees.

According to the 2010 citizen united case, the Supreme Court held that political spending is a type of a protected speech as per the First Amendment (Clinton, 2012). Therefore, the government should not prohibit organizations or unions that wish to spend their resources on supporting a particular candidate. The unions may have different approaches in which they could support the candidates. For instance, a company may encourage the candidates by influencing the employees’ political opinions. The company owners have a reason for supporting the company. For example, a company may support a candidate whose manifestos would contribute to its success. Therefore, employers need to influence the workers to vote for the candidate for the companies’ growth.

Employers have the right to monitor workers’ activities in the workplace. This assists in understanding activities that take place at work. However, the parameters need to ensure mutual respect and understanding between workers and employees. Monitoring is essential for a company. On the other hand, employers should inform the employees that they are monitored. Different parameters would be used to track employees in the workplace. They include observation, performance, and video monitoring.

Observation involves observing workers at the workplace. This helps to monitor whether they are doing the rights thing. Performance monitoring consists in checking whether the workers have achieved the expected results. This will help to ensure that the workers are doing their work right to obtain the expected output. Therefore, leading to the success of an enterprise. Performance monitoring aids in improving the production of the workers. When the workers are aware that they are monitored, they will carry out their duties and responsibilities. As a result, it will lead to high production, thus high revenue for an enterprise.

Video monitoring is a prevalent parameter that business owners use to monitor the workers’ activities at work. Most companies use video surveillance to minimize workers’ misconduct. Moreover, video monitoring could also provide evidence that a crime such as theft occurs in the office. Employees have the right to privacy. Thus, surveillance could not be placed in areas where the workers expect privacy.

 

Question 4 answer

A company could use various pricing strategies to sell its goods or services (Ndumia, Ng’ang’ a, & Kabata, 2020). Price plays a pivotal role in a business. Therefore, choosing the best strategy is essential. A price could be set to optimize profitability for every unit sold or from the entire market. It also could be set to defend a market from the new entrants. Price could also enhance the market share within the market. There are four pricing marketing strategies. They include excessive pricing, price-fixing, predatory and deceptive pricing.

Excessive pricing

Excessive pricing refers to a strategy of pricing that involves setting pricing significantly above the level of competition due to market power. It is also known as price gauging. Excess price is based on the concept of fair prices have been exceeded (Boers, 2018).  For example, an institution selling textbooks would set excess prices for the books. This is because the learners have no choice in buying the books regardless of the price charged. The instructors are the one who decides on the book to use. So, the learners will buy the books even if the price is high.  An example of the use of price gouging is during the Coronavirus. Many companies have shifted to the medical masks’ production since it has been a business opportunity in the countries. Amazon Company has shifted to the production of the medical masks. Due to Covid-19, all individuals are supposed to wear face masks. Hence companies increasing the prices since individuals must buy the masks. They do not have a choice of deciding they will not buy face masks. Therefore, excessive pricing results from the market power and the company could take advantage of the demand and supply law.

Price fixing

Price fixing is a strategy that rival corporations use to come into an illegal agreement not to sell or provide services below a particular price (Jampala, 2016. In this strategy, the companies set prices for the goods and services rather than being determined by free-market forces. Price fixing gives the monopolies a competitive edge since it disrupts the normal demand and supply law.

Besides, the price-fixing does not have concern over customers. It is a strategy that companies use to enforce high prices on the clients, increase entry for the new enterprises, and minimize the incentive to invent. An example of a company that has used the price-fixing strategy is oil companies. For instance, British Pipeline Agency could have an agreement with the top UK oil companies to set oil prices at a certain level.

Predatory pricing

Predatory pricing is a type of pricing strategy that involves selling goods and services at lower prices in such a manner that the companies could not compete (Kaplo, 2018). Therefore, they are forced to leave the market. Predatory pricing is an unlawful act since it tries to eradicate the competition. Additionally, it violates antitrust law since it leads to the market being more vulnerable to a monopoly.

Predatory pricing is a strategy that permits companies with a competitive advantage to use their power to prevent competition. As a result, companies dominate the market and exploit more favorable marketing conditions. For instance, the Total oil company could use predatory pricing by setting low oil prices to force out oil companies.

Deceptive pricing

Deceptive pricing is a strategy that involves setting prices to mislead the clients. It usually has an implication on consumers’ behavior or client’s decisions concerning the goods and services. Fundamentally, all advertisements comprising pricing should tell the truth and not mislead the customers (Johnen & Somogyi, 2019). In simple terms, deceptive pricing is unfair pricing. It could occur when corporations’ price is set so that customers’ actual cost is intentionally obscured. The strategy of pricing hurts the company. Consumers could not trust the company, thus making the corporation to have a bad reputation. An example of a company that has used deceptive pricing is the Kashi Company. The corporation claimed that its products are natural; however, they are unnatural and full of synthetic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

Ahmad, S., & Omar, R. (2016). Basic corporate governance models: a systematic review. International Journal of Law and Management.

Boers, M. (2018). Excessive pricing causes poor access to biologics. The Journal of Rheumatology, 45(6), 876-876.

Chan, A. W., & Warner, M. (2017). Employers’ associations in Hong Kong: Continuity in the absence of collective bargaining. In Employers’ Associations in Asia (pp. 102-124). Routledge.

Clinton, C. (2012). Can Companies Influence their Employee’s Vote?. Tilting the Scales. Retrieved 18 July 2020, from https://www.tiltingthescales.com/2012/11/05/you-have-the-right-to-vote-my-way-can-companies-influence-their-employees-vote/.

El-Garah, W., & El Mahdi, A. (2020). Business ethics in business schools in Morocco. In Ethics, CSR and Sustainability (ECSRS) Education in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region (pp. 92-126). Routledge.

Feng, S., Hu, X., Yang, A., & Liu, J. (2019). Pricing Strategy for New Products with Presales. Mathematical Problems in Engineering, 2019.

Fernández Sánchez, J. L., Odriozola Zamanillo, M. D., & Luna, M. (2020). How corporate governance mechanisms of banks have changed after the 2007–08 financial crisis. Global Policy, 11, 52-61.

Garcia, J. L. (2017, April). From Neighbor-Love to Utilitarianism, and Back: Uncovering Some Structures and Dynamics for Ethical Theory. In Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association.

Helphand, D. H. (2018). Political Freedom between Arendt and Foucault. The University of Chicago.

Jampala, R. C. (2016). Pricing Strategy’. Strategic Marketing Management in Asia. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 383-402.

Jenero, K., & deMenza Jnr, W. (2016). Retrieved 18 July 2020, from https://www.hklaw.com/en/insights/publications/2016/07/politics-in-the-workplace-what-must-employers-allo.

Johnen, J., & Somogyi, R. (2019). Deceptive products on platforms. Available at SSRN 3468458.

Kaplow, L. (2018). Recoupment, Market Power, and Predatory Pricing. ANTITRUST LJ, 82, 167.

Managing Workplace Monitoring and Surveillance. SHRM. (2019). Retrieved 18 July 2020, from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/workplaceprivacy.aspx.

Ndumia, S. W., Ng’ang’a, W., & Kabata, D. (2020). Product and pricing strategy influence on the sales performance of registered commercial printing firms in Nairobi. International Academic Journal of Human Resource and Business Administration, 3(8), 113-132.

Rutland, P. (2016). Understanding Civil Society: The Anglo-Saxon Model. Russian Civil Society: A Critical Assessment: A Critical Assessment.

What is Pricing Strategies? Definition of Pricing Strategies, Pricing Strategies Meaning – The Economic Times. The Economic Times. (2020). Retrieved 18 July 2020, from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/pricing