LT1: Code of Ethics/Conduct Discussion As one of the world’s largest airline, United Airlines employs over 80,000 people and transports over 143 million people a year ("United Airlines newsroom," 2017). These staggering numbers equate to billions of interactions between the public and United Airlines employees and subsidiaries. It is understandable that a company with such a large public audience and employee base would have a code of ethics statement to help its employees so that they can make decisions that are in line with company expectations. The code of conduct for United Airlines starts out with a brief purpose that is not unlike many other large companies. The document is clear that the purpose is to help everyone covered by the document …show more content…
It appears a money loosing route was reinstated as a quid pro quo action. David Samson, then the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, requested the route be reinstated so he would have easy access to his second home. United was then allowed to build a hanger in New Jersey. This action resulted in several million dollars in fines (Morgenson, 2017). The action by the United Airlines employee is in direct violation of the current version of the code of conduct. On page 14 the code says in part “... You may not give special consideration to government officials based on their political status” ("Code of ethics and business conduct," 2016, p. 14). Not all applications of the code are negative …show more content…
Since deicing is an environmentally sensitive procedure, we are subject to the environmental portion daily. During the deicing season we routinely spray several aircraft at the gate in the early morning. The application is limited to frost on the wings and vertical stabilizers. The airport allows this and even allows the fluid to drip on the ground as the gates have drains that lead to a glycol recycling facility. As part of United’s code of conduct, they have a statement that they will be “environmentally responsible” ("Code of ethics and business conduct," 2016, p. 20). With the possibility that the fluid could be tracked out of the drain area, we are required to clean the gate area as soon as the aircraft has cleared. This is not negotiable and United will call a contractor that is on field and bill my company if the cleaning is not completed in a timely manner. Locally, this part of the code is taken seriously. United Airlines has been around for many years and has perfected its code over its lifetime. It is difficult to find specific items that could be missing from a 66 page document as the company has experienced a lifetime of situations. One are that may be lacking is the list of policies. I have seen other Code of ethics that list the related policy in the margin. The entire policy does not necessarily need to be written, but the policy number would
The ethical code of an organization illustrates the importance of being honest, acting with integrity, and showing fairness in decision making (Bethel, 2015). Ultimately, “laws regulating business conduct are passed because some stakeholders believe they cannot be trusted to do what is right” (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2015, p. 95). In the last couple of years, culture has become the initiator for compliance, which means from the top down there has to be a commitment to act in a way that represents the company’s core values (Verschoor, 2015).
The U & T Labor Relations Consulting Firm works together with clients to provide expert, professional advice to solve labor relation and human resource problems within an organization. U & T strives to cater to meet the specific needs of the targeted company. Our consultants work one on one with the clients to identify the key needs of the organization, prescribe labor relations interventions, and explain to our clients how to implement them. Labor costs can charge a company over half of what their operating expenses are for the financial year. We help our clients retain a competitive advantage by helping to reduce labor costs while increasing productivity within a company. Any company can become successful when labor costs are managed. U & T provides services that include analyzing labor costs, administer labor relations training, advisement and administering of collective bargaining agreements, and mediation.
Southwest Airlines is also well-known for having a very productive and loyal workforce. Such loyalty and productivity among the employees were brought by the way Southwest’s management treats them. As they say, the employees are willing to work hard for the company because they feel appreciated by the top management. Southwest maintains good employee relations because what they believe in is that if employees are happy, satisfied, dedicated, and energetic, they'll take real good care of the customers.
Ethics or rather morals entail mechanisms that defend, systematize as well as recommend conceptions of right or wrong. Many organizations develop ethical codes to ensure employees and employers understand the difference in doing good or bad. In that respect, ethics are an essential aspect of successfully running of any organization or government. Ethics ensure employee’s productivity levels are up to the required standards. It also assists them to know their rights and responsibilities. Additionally, employers, as well as any persons in management, are guided by them to ensure they provide transparent leadership. Ethics also defines how customers should be handled. Ethical codes govern the relationship between customers and an
United, ROC. 16 Things the Restaurant Industry Doesn't Want You to Know. 10 02 2014. 29 04 2014 .
United's average passenger fare currently is 5% 10% higher than Southwest and the recent $10 increase may price them out of the market.
Many unions are at battle with their respected employers. Some of these fights are better known than other fights. United Airlines is trying to renegotiate contracts to save their company money. This has been a long battle for United, that some may see as having begun with the events of September 11, 2001. In truth, the International Association of Machinists, the union that represents a majority of United employees and United have been locked in a heated battle for some time now, even before the events of that September.
Chief Ethics Officers (CEOs) may not have been very popular around a decade ago, but the demand for such a position is beginning to grow within larger companies. From this point forward, when I mention CEOs in this paper, please understand that I am referring to Chief Ethics officers and not Chief Executive Officers. CEOs began appearing in corporate America around the same time as the inception of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for corporations. According to these guidelines, the companies who have instituted compliance and ethics programs within their institutions wouldn’t have received as severe a punishment as those without the programs in place[2].
An organization needs to adhere to ethics in order to effectively implement its mission, vision, and objectives in a way in which offers a solid foundation to management and their subordinates to properly develop and implement its strategies. By doing so, the organization as a whole is essentially subscribing to one commonality that directs all of the actions of the employees of the organization. Additionally, it assists in preventing such employees from divergence in regard to the proposed strategic guideline. Ethics additionally ensures that a strategic plan is developed in accordance to the interests of the appropriate stakeholders of the organization, both internal and external (Jin & Drozdenko, 2010). Likewise, corporate governance that stems from various regulatory parties makes it necessary for organizations to maintain a high degree of ethical standards; this is done by incorporating ethics within the organization’s strategic plan so as to foster a positive corporate image for the stakeholders and general public (Min-Dong Paul, 2009).
This is an area where Southwest Airlines needs to focus more of their attention. Currently, Southwest Airlines, is approximately 85% unionized and the airline is trying to negotiate seven contracts concurrently. The ramp, operations and cargo unions have been working without a contract since 2011. The pilots and mechanics have not had a contract since 2012 and the flight attendants contract expired in 2013 (Leff, 2015). In a statement made by the president of Southwest Airlines’ Pilots Association, union representatives must do something while ongoing poor decisions are being made by management that are affecting our airlines passengers (Schlangenstein, 2016). Additionally, the union is also demanding the removal of CEO Gary
Broadly defined business ethics is, knowing the difference between what is right and what is wrong. It is the written and unwritten, principles and values that govern how decisions are made within a company (Cross & Miller, 2012). The focus of business ethics is to identify the moral standard, and provides guidelines to follow when making tough ethical decisions. Unethical behavior is typically the result of corrupted interactions between individuals within the organization (Brown & Mitchell, 2010). Many times, unethical acts steam for behaviors that are socially or culturally acceptable within the organization. Ethical behavior can enhance a work environment and maximizes contentment, while unethical behavior may have the opposite affect. Not only can this behavior cause stress in the work place, there is the possibility of it ruining a business (Cross & Miller, 2012). Unlike corporate governance, ethical standards are not as easy to define. A code of ethics expresses fundamental principles and provides guidance to decision makers, but there are no set rules written into a code of ethics. A code of conduct is created using a company’s code of ethics. It is a statement of standard that discloses how a company chooses to conduct its business activities (Driscoll &Hoffman, 2011). Following the scandals of the early 2000’s, many companies adopted a code of conduct to ensure the compliance
...ns covering certain employee categories, and union relations were considered to be generally good. The American Maritime union had cited Carnival (and other cruise operators) several times for exploitation of its crews.
... when dealing with the code of ethics. When becoming an employee at a Dunkin’ Donuts establishment it is important for them to have a personal responsibility to understand and apply ethical behavior and act with the highest degree of ethics. The Code of Ethics provides managers and employees with guidelines and expectations on how to behave when working in the workplace. It is extremely important to provide workers with a Code of ethics because without it employees would be lost and wouldn’t have guidelines on how to be their best when working at the said Dunkin’ Donuts establishment. The Dunkin’ donuts industry is extremely dependent on they’re every day dealings with their co-workers. The Code of Ethics makes it easier for each worker to do the best they can when working for Dunkin’ Donuts and comply themselves to all their responsibilities the greatest they can.
In April 1992, American Airlines launched "Value Pricing" -- a radical simplification of the complex pricing structure that had evolved over more than a decade following deregulation of the U.S. domestic airline industry. American expected that the new pricing structure would benefit consumers and restore profitability to both American and the industry as a whole. The critical issue raised is: Would American's bold initiative work?
...f these programs, and allows them to offer these strategic benefits. We feel that American and Continental Airlines are overlooking an important strategic hiring strategy, by not offering free flights to all their employees, since cost of flights are fixed. For example, a flight that is only at 85% capacity will fly for the same price as a flight that is at 100% capacity. Continental Airlines, has a competitive benefits program as well, but it lacks the flight area which both United and American Airlines offer. We felt that American and United Airlines offered the best benefit programs, although American does not offer free flights from day one of employment, they offer many other compelling incentives such as, personal emergency assistance, vacation buying programs, credit union assistance, as well as flight discounts for their employees.