Business Ethics for Managers

Question: Discuss about theBusiness Ethics for Managers. Answer: Introduction Business ethics is very important in every organization as it will allow the enterprise to run smoothly, productively and become a success and a role model. The managers in any company are expected to act within the business ethics to become part of the organizations that are performing and setting out business standards in the industry. Agriculture is one of the sectors that require the managers to be very keen to act within the business ethics stated in the guidelines of the industry. The dairy industry in Australia is seen to be concentrated in the south-east of Australia. The large dairy herds in the country are family owned although the industry is being given a continued interest from the corporate players. In this study, the main focus is on the business ethics of managers, how they can be managed effectively and how these ethics help the agriculture sector. Ethical Issues Facing the Agricultural Sector Agriculture is one major industry in a country that is faced with a lot of ethical issues. In Australia, the dairy farming in the country has been seen to be in a state of crisis. There have been cases of cheap products and variations in the domestic and global markets taking the financial toll on the farmers in the sector. The consumers have been spotted rallying to help the dairy producers although the issue is only seen as one half of the problem in the sector. The outdoor farming has had an idyllic image in Australia. Despite this fact, there are as well several effects that are affecting the dairy cows in a negative manner. These dairy animals are being subjected to a recurring life cycle of impregnation and induced calving and milking so they can meet the production demands in the market (TrevinÃÅ'Æ’o Nelson, 2011). These animals have also been a subject to tail docking and horn removal without pa relief measures. There is also the issue of lameness that is in most occasio ns a result of the environmental pressures. According to research in the industry, cows are capable of living for between twenty to twenty-five years while the average lifespan experienced in only six to seven years. The bobby calves have also been abused leading to the advocacy groups uncovering their routine abuse in the Australian abattoirs challenging them to make a move on the case. The farmers are though not doing anything wrong because the treatment of the animals is operating within the legal context where they are considered absolute property. This is aside from the ethical issues raised over the use and exploitation of the animals (Mendes, Silva Santos, 2013). Sustainability Focus of the Agricultural Sector Just like any other department, the agricultural sector has acknowledged the need for a transition towards an ethical and sustainable alternative. The communities, the government and other regulators have recognized the fact that a cohesive approach of the entire industry is required to promote an effective and extended commitment to the sustainability, aligning efforts and continue to improve on their performances. The extended concern is expected to foster the support for the domestic and the international markets. The dairy industry has at last acknowledged the need to support the dairy sector from outside ensuring that the vision and plans are meeting their expectations. Considering that the dairy animals can have a long lifespan than the average six to seven years experienced, the industry has been looking forward to measures that would improve the health and productivity of these animals (Dowie, 2002). They have been aiming at creating regulations and guidelines that will allow the farmers to learn on the many ways that can be followed to give the dairy animals well maintenance, higher productivity and an extended lifespan. With this, they will be able to give the animals an extensive care, providing their cattle with a health valued nutritional products capable of contributing to the expected good community health outcomes (MeleÃÅ' , 2012). The farmers will also be educated on the measures to take to ensure that they will be offering their dairy animals with a healthy and safety life. Different bodies were developed to govern the activities in the agricultural sector and ensuring that all farmers were following these to the latter. There is the Australian dairy industry council, the Australian dairy products federation among others and also the dairy sustainability consultative forum that educated farmers of ethical measures in the industry (National Farmers' Federation, 2001) . Figure 1 below shows a feeding system towards the sustainability of dairy farming in Australia. Major Stakeholders in the Australian Agricultural Sector (Dairy Farm) The dairy industry in Australia is seen to be concentrated in the south-east of Australia. The large dairy herds in the country are family owned although the industry is being given a continued interest from the corporate players (Moran, 2012). There are major stakeholders in the industry including Warakiri asset management that is milking more than 7000 cows in firms in the south east of Australia. There is also the sustainable agriculture fund that at one time purchased the land in Tasmania where it is milking more than 3000 cows in the region. There are processing companies in the industry that are undergoing consolidation although there are other smaller companies that have found their ways into the market. One of them is the New Zealands A2 Corporation that declared its aspirations to expand their Australian operations. Also, the Aussie farmers are seen to expand the parent company considering its one of the fastest growing business (Sims, 2002). Managing Business Ethics More Effectively The Australian agricultural sector, the dairy farming is seen to be a business with a positive future investment. It is an industry that creates job opportunities for many people and thus calling for the need to manage the ethics in the sector more effectively to ensure it is sustainable in the market. The dairy farming is one of the sectors that make the country appear among one of the most important industries employing up to 40,000 employees. The industry has as well acknowledged the fact that it needs to engage in better job in issuing its credentials to attract much capital in the sector (Ferrell, 2010). The industry has been doing well and attracting more capital and has also been so successful. As such, it has been a major concern to manage the business ethics in the sector to make it more efficient and to allow it generates more revenue to the country. Among the different economic sectors in the Australian government, the dairy farming has been participating well in generatin g revenue to the economy of the country. It is for this reason that the major stakeholders have been acting towards the management of the ethical issues in the department to increase the sustainability and the performance of the same (Weiss, 2009). Figure 2 below shows the contributions made by agricultural sector. Managing Business Ethics and the Agricultural Sector The management of the business ethics in the Australian dairy farming has been seen to be associated with a lot of beneficial advantages in the sector. One can easily see that the poor treatment of the animals could have resulted in the low production and poor health of the diary animals. The management has helped improve the health of the cattle where the farmers started to treat them as important agricultural property. In as much as the farmers were having their cattle generate some income, it was evident that it was not the maximum production and something had to be done (Bailey, 2002). The intervention by the Australian government to formulate certain bodies to regulate the industry has been a greater move to increase the productivity in the sector. The more the industry grew in terms of the sales and the income generated, the more the countrys economy also improved as much capital in the industry resulted in more income to the government. The dairy animals also benefited from th e effective management of the ethics in the sector as they enjoyed better care and nutrition. The cows turned to have better health as compared to the time the farmers were not taking them as serious investment and before the intervention of the government through the formulation of the regulatory bodies (Edwards, 2000). Conclusion The managers in any company are expected to act within the business ethics to become part of the organizations that are performing and setting out business standards in the industry. Agriculture is one major industry in a country that is faced with a lot of ethical issues. In Australia, the dairy farming in the country has been seen to be in a state of crisis. According to research in the industry, cows are capable of living for between twenty to twenty-five years while the average lifespan experienced in only six to seven years. The study is as well associated with certain limitations. One is that it is a challenge to access the important information in the department as questions arise as to why and where the information will be used. The administrators in the industry are all concerned in protecting their businesses and their companies and as such, they might not give out important information needed in the research. References Bailey, J. (2002). Finding solutions for family succession. Australian Farm Journal, January, pp 71-73. Dowie, A. (2002). Jack Green - a legend in his lifetime. The Australian Dairyfarmer, January/February, pp. 15-17. Edwards, G. (2000). A tale of two states: deregulation of the dairy industry in NSW and Victoria, Contributed paper to AARES 2000, University of Sydney. Ferris, A. and Malcolm, Bill, 2001, Sense and Nonsense in Dairy Farm Management Economic Analysis. Agribusiness Perspectives,31.https://www.agribusiness.asn.au/review/Perspectives/99 National Farmers' Federation, (2001). Helping farmers grow Australia. NFF, Canberra. TrevinÃÅ'Æ’o, l. K., Nelson, K. A. (2011).Managing business ethics: straight talk about how to do it right. New York, John Wiley. Weiss, J. W. (2009).Business ethics: a stakeholders and issues management approach. Australia, South-Western Cengage Learning. Mendes, A. B., Silva, E., Santos, J. M. A. (2013).Efficiency measures in the agricultural sector with applications. Dordrecht, Springer Science + Business Media. https://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1083632. Sims, R. R. (2002).Teaching business ethics for effective learning. Westport, Conn, Quorum Books. MeleÃÅ' , D. (2012).Management ethics: placing ethics at the core of good management. Basingstoke, Hampshire [England], Palgrave Macmillan. Moran, J. (2012).Rearing young stock on tropical dairy farms in Asia. Collingwood, Vic, CSIRO Publishing. Ferrell. (2010).Business ethics: ethical decision making and cases : 2009 update. Mason, OH, South-Western Cengage Learning. Damodaran, A. (2012).Investment philosophies successful strategies and the investors who made them work. Hoboken, N.J., Wiley. https://catalogimages.wiley.com/images/db/jimages/9781118011515.jpg.