Students are expected to know relevant examples of ways in which a…

The idea

Ethical behaviour means acting on moral principles beyond what the law demands. Examples include paying suppliers a fair price, refusing child labour, honest advertising, safe working conditions and charitable giving. A business may source Fairtrade cocoa, audit overseas factories or publish supply-chain reports. Benefits: stronger brand reputation, customer loyalty, motivated staff, easier recruitment and possible price premium. Drawbacks: higher costs, lower short-term profit, slower supply chains and risk of accusations of greenwashing if claims are not genuine. Assessment requires applying an example to a named business and weighing both sides before judging.

What earns the marks

• Identifies a specific ethical action, such as paying above the minimum wage or using Fairtrade suppliers, rather than a vague statement about being nice.
• Explains how the action affects a stakeholder group, for example customers, employees or overseas suppliers.
• Develops a benefit with a chain of reasoning, such as ethical sourcing improving brand reputation, which raises repeat purchases and revenue.
• Develops a drawback with a chain of reasoning, such as higher ingredient costs reducing profit margins if prices cannot be raised.
• Applies the point to the context given in the question, for example a named supermarket or clothing retailer.
• Reaches a supported judgement that weighs the benefit against the drawback for that specific business.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Confusing ethical behaviour with illegal behaviour.

  Put it right: Ethical choices go beyond legal minimums, so a lawful decision can still be unethical.

• Listing benefits without any consequence.

  Put it right: Extend each point into an effect on costs, revenue, reputation or staff.

• Treating all ethical actions as cost-free.

  Put it right: Recognise that ethical sourcing, audits and safer conditions usually raise business costs.

Exam tips

• Anchor each example to a named business or industry so the answer is applied rather than generic.
• Use connectives such as therefore and which means to build cause-and-effect chains instead of isolated points.
• Finish with a short judgement that states which effect is likely to matter most and why, rather than repeating both sides.