a. Johnson and Scholes: Four possible ethical stances for a business entity
i. An ethical stance is a position that someone or an organization takes on an
ethical issue. In a company, it comes from the moral values and ethical
positions of key individuals who work within the company and from the
corporate culture. For example, a company might decide not to do business
with certain types of customers or suppliers on ethical grounds.
ii. Four Possible Ethical Stances (Johnson & Scholes Model)

•  Maximising short term shareholders interest
• Maximising long term shareholders interest
• Multiple stakeholders obligation
• Being a shaper of society
  The explanations are given below:

(i) Maximising Long Term Shareholders’ Interest
Corporate Stance: An organisation needs to maintain its existence. This objective may conflict with the need for short-term returns. The organisation will therefore attempt to protect the long-term shareholders’ interest in terms of capital growth as this ensures that shareholders retain their investments. Large-scale selling of shares will be taken as weakness, which may affect the going concern of the organisation.

Personal Stance: Shareholders will be concerned with security of their investment as well as capital growth. This aligns with the organisation’s objectives. However, the organisation will put its own interest first where there is perceived conflict between its existence and shareholders’ return.

(ii) Maximising Short Term Shareholders’ Interest
Corporate Stance: An organisation needs to provide adequate returns to its shareholders. Although there may be a conflict between the need to pay dividends now or to invest in the future of the company.

Personal Stance: Short-term interests depend on the type of shareholders. Small shareholders will require some annual returns on investment, while long-term investors (e.g., pension schemes) will have little interest in annual returns. They will be more interested in long-term growth, so dividends in the short term may not be required by long-term investors.

(iii) Multiple Stakeholders’ Obligation
Corporate Stance: Since an organisation has many stakeholders, it will identify those with much power and influence and involve them in decision-making or provide them with expected returns. There may be conflicts between obligations to different stakeholders. For example, employees expect a safe and clean working environment, while shareholders expect higher profit.

Personal Stance: Each stakeholder group will expect its interest to be understood and protected. The organisation should find a way to trade off these interests against one another.

(iv) Being a Shaper of Society
Shaping society means changing conditions in society and altering the way it operates. Companies control resources and make decisions that can influence the future of technology.