1. Introduction
Government authorities have sets of policies with which every business enterprise is expected to comply. Various regulatory authorities exist to that effect, for example, environmental management authorities, financial regulators and business operations authorities.
In order to enforce compliance with the legal and ethical guidelines, every regulator requires business operators to submit periodic standard reports with parameters indicating the scales of compliance. At the same time, there are remedial actions following acts of non-compliance with legal and ethical frameworks. Oblivion to the legal and ethical requirements places the business operators in various dilemmas. For example, newly established businesses have to obtain valid registration documents from government authorities, certificates of good conduct and business operation license. Further to that, government authorities expect business organizations to pay taxes in various forms, a requirement whose violation can be extremely costly to the business.
2. Legal and Ethical Dilemmas
Business operators face Legal and ethical dilemmas in various areas. However, three areas have highly critical impacts on the operations of the business enterprises. The dilemmas arise because government authorities have the mandate to protect consumers from violation of their rights by business operators. The government also has legal obligations to ensure that business operators are not engaged in illegal activities.
2.1. Technology
There are policies set by government authorities and technological regulatory bodies concerning the procedures of controlling technological advancements into business operations. A good example involves innovative users of machines in the manufacturing industries. The organization is expected to have acquired insurance covers for the business operators before launching the use of the machines. It has to consider the effects of the technology on the environment and the health and safety of people around it. The second issue is the influence of technology on the ethical values of the society. It is obvious that the use of technology can determine whether the business activities are legal or ethical or whether they comply with the morals of the society or not. For example, certain business operators use information technology skills to perpetrate fraudulent financial transactions. Others use technology to blackmail innocent members of the society while others still use the technological to conduct immoral activities such as the sale of pornographic materials. Additionally, as many government authorities have realized, many businesses operate without valid licenses after using technological skills to develop fake ones. Others even evade tax payment using technology, prompting business regulatory authorities and tax management authorities to enforce heavy penalties on them.
2.2. New launches
Legal and ethical frameworks also affect the processes of launching new businesses and scale to which they are able to operate. Of course, new launches as the government authorities require must have passed through the approval. For example, financial institution regulators expect the business operators to address the risk aspects of the product. The operator must, therefore, operate within a special set of guidelines in alignment with the geographical orientation, the cultural values, functional effects and organizational value. Of course, in different geographical locations and cultural settings, the issue of legality or ethics varies from one culture to another. The Information systems are the common facilitators of the spanning of the disparities such that different and the ethical boundaries. For example, having subsidiaries of a business in different countries, an organization must observe the two subsidiaries in two different aspects. It has to avoid imposing rules in the organization, which may violate the cultural environment. At the same time, the organization has to consider the legal and ethical factors before launching a new subsidiary in a different country. In decision-making, the business must articulate the ethical and legal implication of its policies and expectations from the target group. This also extends to the launch of a new product in any of the subsidiaries. One particular product may be legally and ethically acceptable in one country while in another country; it can amount to violation of government policies and make the target population lose confidence with the organization.
2.3. New business Models
The development of the unique Capstone project has to designs models that recognize the policies set by the regulators. For example, in the establishment of a co-operative society, the business model of its operation is not entirely based on its innovations. It goes further to the level of its compliance with the financial institution regulators and the ministries of co-operative societies. Without central regulatory bodies in such sectors, there are risks of critical dilemmas such as mismanagement of funds and gross misconduct including robberies, forgeries, labor disputes and even physical assaults in extreme cases. New business models also have to consider the health and safety of the environment. It means that the landscape has to be surveyed to establish its validity as a business structure. Operational Space, for example, is a vital factor which the decision-making team has to consider. Business model also has to conform to the government regulations in the departments of labor. It has to ensure that the businesses run professionally. The recruitment process is a critical test for organizations because human resources departments have to keep a record of every employee to ensure that each worker is qualified for the task he or she has been given. However, there are hazards in the sense that hospitals can employ doctors who are not qualified, or companies employing non-qualified drivers. Non-compliance also provides room for businesses to employ individuals with wrong criminal records.
