Business Ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Ethics - Research Paper Example One such area that a business organization should adequately address involves the issue of ethics in business. In line with this, the definition of business ethics vary based on the conception of the topic under discussion. One topic of discussion in business ethics involves the issue of child labor, which is crucial as business organizations seek to achieve a global perspective in conducting business. In effect, it is important to understand the issue of child labor, as an important topic in business ethics, and highlight approaches that business organizations take in order to deal with this issue. To begin with, it is crucial to understand the concept of child labor. There are varying international principles provided by labor organizations, such as ILO, which provide different definitions of intolerable and tolerable forms and definitions of child labor. For tolerable work, the ILO Convention No. 138 (1973) identifies work that does not make children fail to attend school with the work being light and harmless to the growth and development of the child as tolerable work (ILO, n.d.). Consequently, the convention stipulates the right age for this work being 13 years although the age can go down to 12 years depending on various circumstances such as the economic situation of the child and their family, which is crucial since such work can be crucial for the growth and the development of the child in question (UNICEF, 1997). On the other hand, intolerable work is abusive and dangerous with the work being exploitive on children. In this case, the ILO Convention No. 182 (1999) identifies child labor as any form of slavery or practices that are similar to slavery with actions related to the sale of children, debt bondage using children, serfdom, and the involvement of children in armed conflicts (ILO, n.d.). Importantly, this definition covers the use of children in issues related to child prostitution, using children in illegal activities, and in other areas that might harm the growth and development of children in regard to their moral values, health, and their safety. At this juncture, it is crucial to point out this convention, and other international codes and standards such as the UN convention on the rights of children, define a child as any individual below the age of 18 years (UNICEF, 1997). Nonetheless, it is important to point out that perceptions about child labor may vary depending on the culture although business organizations should use the definitions provided by ILO and other international organizations such as the UN. According to data from the International Labor Organization, one in every seven children is in some form of child labor. This puts the figure at 218 million children involved in child labor, which is a decrease from the 240 million children involved in labor in 2002 (ILO, 2006). Nonetheless, it is crucial to point out that this is not ethical practice in business since children are supposed to enjoy their child hood and not working under harmful conditions. In line with this, these children work in various sectors of the global economy with these sectors located in various parts of the world. However, a majority of these children work in the agricultural sector, which is a result of the non-regulation of this sector in terms of regulating the human resource capital working in the sector (Kolk & Tulder, 2002). In

Role of the Entrepreneur Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Role of the Entrepreneur - Essay Example Managing the business is the next step the business must take and the entrepreneur must ascertain that the incomes the business makes are higher than the expenses incurred while conducting the business. Understanding the drivers in the industry is important in as it makes the entrepreneur innovative which is a chief success attribute of an entrepreneur (Kingsland, 2007). Making the right decisions is paramount for the entrepreneur and he must ensure that resources are directed towards the right channels to ascertain there is no squander of resources, which would lead to losses. The actions of a firm earning profits add the value of resources as the firm is able to procure more resources into the business and operate at economies of scale. When a firm earns profits, the entrepreneur will be able to expand operations because they will have more money to spend to purchase more resources from the profits the organization makes. The organization will also be able to venture more into technology and move with the trends in the market so as to compete favorably with other business because they have enough revenues and this helps the organization to venture into new markets or improve their business operations. When losses are present, the value of resources diminishes, and this is because the business does not have adequate revenue to continue with its operations. Losses will eat into the capital of the business and some resources will be lost because the organization cannot put up with the high operational costs. When losses are present, operational costs will be high and this means that resources of the business will not be put into full potential hence the value of the resources will diminish. Some businesses are even forced to let go of some of the resources so as to maintain operational costs and this means that the value of the resources is diminished. It is not bad if a company making losses goes out of business, and this is because the central