Overview

A major Sri Lankan e-platform website was selling necessities like food for much
more than the allowed maximum retail price, according to the article "Kapruka
retail website raided for selling vital commodities at exorbitant costs" (MRP).
During the COVID 19 curfew, the government. Dulith Herath, CEO of Kapruka,
vehemently refutes assertions that the raid was conducted in response to citizen
complaints. Many people think that using this expensive strategy during a
national trial is unethical. A decision must be made on the morality and ethics of
Kapruka's overpricing technique in view of the numerous claims of immorality in
this commercial process.

Theories

Moral decision making

Moral decision-making involves figuring out how to balance competing personal

interests and how they affect social well-being. For a choice or action to be
morally right it must advance the social well-being; Not doing so is unethical.
Professionals have a responsibility to protect their stakeholders when making
business decisions. Stakeholders are all those who can be affected by the actions
or decisions of the business. A critical perspective should be the application of
ethical decision-making in managerial decision-making. But management ignores
this fact because they believe that protecting morality will interfere with the
business's desire to maximize profits.
As a result, they previously ignored social responsibility to act in their own best
interest. Generally, under capitalist economic systems, business decisions are
made primarily for the self-interest of the individual, which raises questions about
the ethics of making choices that are good for society. Simply put, viewing
problems with company ethics as a management problem is a flawed
management approach. By adopting an ethical stance, it can be argued that
business ethics can be a management tool with due consideration of all other
morally justifiable interests. In the above-mentioned case, Kapruka management
deliberately raised their retail prices and misled their customers to buy expensive
products even in tough times. Morally, this practice is reprehensible. In order to
be acknowledged as socially responsible organizations, they must acquire the idea
of moral reasoning, create ethical norms, and behave in accordance with them.

EGOISM

The assumption that an action is morally justified if and only if it advances the
agent's long-term interests is based mostly on self-interest. An agent may be
a person, a group, or a coalition. This notion ties selfishness and morality
together. The ego enables us to act in ways that benefit our own long-term
interests, which sporadically benefit other people's interests. There are two
ways to display ego: physical ego and moral ego. According to physical
egoism, all activity must be directed by self-interest; They cannot be
motivated by anything else. In addition, it is designed to fulfil the individual's
selfish desires. To some extent, our own self-interest acts as motivation, but
we have all heard of cases where someone appeared to be acting morally, but
his real motivation was selfishness. For example, although businesses never
want to reduce their profits, they occasionally act in accordance with ethical
principles. In relation to the above example, while they seem to be motivated
by a desire to help their customers by delivering essentials to their doorsteps
during the harsh curfew, their high pricing strategy reveals that their real
motivation is not social security. Instead, they are motivated to increase their
profits. According to ethical egoism, one's interests can influence the
opinions, attitudes, and actions of third parties or external parties. Pursuing
the third party's long-term interests is advantageous in the long run, even if it
goes against his immediate desires. Therefore, Kapruka can maintain its
commercial goodwill and grow its customer base in the future if Kapruka
conducts its business operation as an ethical egoist and abides by
government directives.
Utilitarianism

Corporate Social Responsibility.

For the purpose of making money, a corporation is a legal entity apart from its
owners or shareholders. They represent an economic force within an economy
and operate with limited responsibilities. Businesses understandably have a
longer lifespan than natural organisms. Corporate social responsibility or CSR is
the idea that an organization's interaction with society takes on a human
dimension. Although it is not required, social responsibility represents the moral
value of the company and has many advantages. CSR is a broad concept that can
be applied in many ways. A company's CSR strategy can be developed taking into
account the environment, stakeholders, and internal activities. The general
consensus is that corporations act in their shareholders' best interests.
However, the economic and social effects of corporate activities on society
are much more desirable than the interests of its owners. The goal of the
stakeholder approach is to take into account all parties' needs when
conducting company operations.
CSR initiatives need not involve constant financial outlays. Corporate
responsibilities can be done in non-monetary forms. For example, making
commercial decisions considering the interests of the majority is a socially
responsible act. So, if Kapruka is able to run its retail business without misleading
its customers or overselling it, it can be considered socially responsible. By doing
so, you can gain the support and goodwill of customers without alienating them.
Conclusion
Businesses must conduct their activities ethically and business ethics provides a
lens to see that dimension. This document critically examines the web store
"Kapruka" in this context and provides examples of ethical theories that can be
used to create ethical standards and rules. Being good is good for business.