1. The Indian Institute Of Business Management & Studies
Subject: Business Ethics Marks: 100
Note: Section[I] iscompulsory.
Sections[II] solve any six questions.
SectionI
CASE STUDY:
No Minor Offence
Censusdatarevealshighlevelof under –age marriages
Censusstaticsare generallyfullof surprises.Butthisone isstartling: 6.4 millionIndiansunderthe age
of 18 are alreadymarried.That’snot all.Asmanyas 1.3 lakhgirlsunder18 are widowedandanother
56,000 are divorcedorseparated.The legal marriageableage forwomenis18, for men21. A century
and a half afterIshwarchandraVidyasagar’scrusade againstchildmarriage,the practice persists.
Obviously,the ChildMarriage RestraintAct,1929, existsonlyonpaperandhas notbeenable todeter
parentsfrommarryingoff under –aged sonsand daughters.The incidenceisunderstandablyhigherin
rural areas,butnot lowas expectedinthe cities.It’smore commoninthe BIMARU states,with
Rajasthanleadingthe wayironically,the Actrendersall under-agemarriagesillegal butnotvoid,which
meansthat an illegallymarriedcouple canstaymarried.Itis,therefore,violatedwithimpunityand
hardlyanyone iseverhauledup.Despite the factthatchildmarriage isa criminal offence,actionis
rarelytakenbythe police.Evencivil societyremainsapassive spectator.There’snotenoughpenalty-a
fine of Rs.1, 000 and imprisonmentuptothree showsthatthe state doesnotview the crime seriously.
The practice is linkedtothe curse of dowry.“ChhotaChhora dhhej kammangta” (the youngerthe
groom,the smallerthe dowrydemand) justifiesmanysuchalliances.The grimmestpartof the scenario
isthe physical havocthatearlymarriage wreaksupongirlswhoare tooyoungto bear the burdenof
maternal andchildmortality.There isalsothe beliefthata daughters’marriage isascared obligation
that parentsmustfulfill atthe earliest.A new legislation,Preventionof ChildmarriagesBill,2004, to
replace the loophole-ridden1929 Act isawaiting parliament’sapproval.Butlegislationaloneisnot
enough.Compulsoryregistrationof marriagesisone wayof tacklingthe problem.Creatingawareness
aboutthe ill-effectsof suchmarriagesandmobilizingcommittedsocial workerstointervence are others.
However,social workershave tooftenfunctioninhostileconditions.The 1992 case of Bhanwari Devi,
the Rajasthansaathinwhowas rapedfor preventingachildmarriage,ischilling.Inthe endonly
education,economicsecurityandincreasingempowermentof womencaneliminate the problem.
Questions
1. Discussethicallythe drawbacksyoufindinthe under-age marriages?
2. How doesthe increasingempowermentof womenhelpeliminate problemsif thistype?
2. The Indian Institute Of Business Management & Studies
Subject: Business Ethics Marks: 100
SectionII
Solve anysix questions:
Q2.
a) What are moral hazards andwhyis itimportant?
b) What isemergentstrategy?
Q3.
a) What are the objectivesof abusiness,andwhichisthe mostimportant?
b) How manystepsare there inthe decisionmakingprocessandwhatare they?
Q4.
a) What CSR issuesexistforNFPs?
b) What measuresof performance are typicallyusedbythese organizations?
Q5.
a) How globalizationeffectCSR?
b) Is globalizationthreatforCSR?
Q6.
a) Why isthe measurementof performance important?
b) What isISO14000 and whatfactors doesitcover?
Q7.
a) What are the responsibilitiesof businessintheircorporate decision?
b) What isthe relationshipbetweenCSRandcorporate behavior?
Q8.
a) What are the 4 factorsof sustainability?
b) What are the factors of distributablesustainability?
Q9.
3. The Indian Institute Of Business Management & Studies
Subject: Business Ethics Marks: 100
a) What justificationdoesstakeholderTheoryuse forconsideringstakeholder?
b) What are the stepsinvolvedinthe incorporationof environmentalaccountingintothe risk
evaluationsystemof anorganization?