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Business Ethics Leadership Alliance Case Study The Business Ethics and Leadership Alliance formed in 2008. The goal of BELA is to create a set of standards that group members adopt in order to prevent ethics violations. Consequently, alliance members are required to conform to BELA’s legal, transparency, conflict identification, and accountability standards. The goal is to increase the positive reputation of businesses by meeting ethical and social responsibilities. While some see the alliance as a positive step for organizations, others see another façade to pacify an angry public. BELA’s values and enforcement of compliance remains to be tested in a macro environment of mistrust. BELA members are required to meet four specific core values. The four values are: • Legal Compliance – Following both the letter and spirit of the law to counter fraud, …show more content…
Intense competition, scrutiny from the media and the public, legal responsibilities, and cultural change from bottom to top are all factors to consider when introducing transparency in an organization’s value system. Moreover, joining BELA adds another burden for implementing transparency through the alliance’s compliance procedures. A company that fails an audit will be removed from the alliance (Ghillyer, 2014). While BELA’s core values are well intentioned, their enforcement of these values seems to be a facade for the public. Skeptics of BELA point out that some organizations join the alliance to cover scandals in their recent history. For example, Walmart was involved in hiring illegal immigrants and is now an alliance member (Ghillyer, 2014). Clearly, organizations like Walmart have failed ethical standards of our society; however, a failure is a learning opportunity for organizations. Indeed, joining BELA may be a public relations opportunity for some organizations. Yet Walmart and other organizations may learn from their mistake through BELA’s
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).
It's difficult not to be cynical about how “big business” treats the subject of ethics in today's world. In many corporations, where the only important value is the bottom line, most executives merely give lip service to living and operating their corporations ethically.
Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2011). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. New York: John Wiley.
German Philosopher, Immanuel Kant once said, “In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so” (1800). The word ethics refers to “character” and “conduct” (Northouse, 2015, p. 330). It is deeply “concerned with the virtuousness of individuals and their motives” and “the kinds of values and morals an individual or a society finds desirable or appropriate” (Northouse, 2015, p. 330). Thus, “in regards to leadership, ethics is concerned with what leaders do and who leaders are” (Northouse, 2015, p. 330). Ethics in leadership allows leaders to make decisions regarding what is virtuous or not in a situation. All throughout the history of American government, difficult decisions have been made and the fight for ethics has always been “implicitly or explicitly involved” (Northouse, 2015, p. 330).
According to Ferrell (2004), “Organizations create ethical or unethical corporate cultures based on leadership and the commitment to values that stress the importance of stakeholder relationships. Establishing and implementing a strategic approach to improving organizational ethics is based on establishing, communicating, and monitoring ethical values and legal requirements that characterize the firm's history, culture, and operating environment” (p. 129). Ethics programs ensure satisfactory relationships with all stakeholders by aligning with all of their demands and needs, and determine conduct with customers and relationships with regulators, shareholders, suppliers, and employees (Ferrell, 2004).
Rule deontologists believe conventionality to common moral standards based on logical ethicalness, were as act deontologist judges the morality or ethics. Employees are recognise whether their particular actions are right or wrong, apart from the consequences. Those who are involved with fraud advantage by their pitiable option but in the long run they may face prison charges. Virtue ethics explain that ethical behaviour engaged, not only remain to predictable moral values but also allowing for what a person could do with good ethical quality. Elements of virtue significant to organisation transactions are to be trust, self-control and
Do you agree with Schmeltekopf that business schools are not preparing students well for the for the ethical challenges they will face in the workplace? Why or why not?
Nelson, K., & Trevino, L. (2004). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley
Stead, W. E., Worrell, D. L., & Stead, J. G. (1990). An integrative model for understanding and managing ethical behavior in business organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 9(3), 233-242. Doi: 10.1007/BF00382649
Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2007). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right Fourth ed., Retrieved on July 30, 2010 from www.ecampus.phoenix.edu
This shows how a lack of transparency in reporting of financial statements leads to the destruction of a company. This all happened under the watchful eye of an auditor, Arthur Andersen. After this scandal, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was changed to keep into account the role of the auditors and how they can help in preventing such
Ethical leadership is having an understanding of who you are, what your core values are, having the courage to live them all, in your personal life as well as your work life. Ethical leadership involves leading in a manner that respects the rights and dignity of others. Ethical decision making and leadership are the basis of ethical organizations. Leadership is a relationship between leaders and followers. The foundation of this relationship is trust. The leaders themselves must be ethical in their decisions and actions in order to influence others to behave accordingly. Ethical leadership is to know one’s core values and having the courage to live them through one’s life. Ethics and leaders go hand in hand; ethics is the heart of leadership.
In the business world there are many fundamental aspects and situations that can lead to several issues. In order to find an optimal and professional solution, business decision makers need to apply moral and ethical standards. And it is at that moment in which business ethics perform its role. Business ethics, which is in charge of examine how companies and individuals should act in business situations, is very essential in order to reach a common agreement and to work within the laws of business and solve an arisen dilemma. Working of the hand of ethical business companies, employees, investors, directors, and even individual officers can be beneficiated and obtain most favorable outcomes.
The Facts: Kermit Vandivier works for B.F. Goodrich. His job assignment was to write the qualifying report on the four disk brakes for LTV Aerospace Corporation. LTV purchased aircraft brakes from B.F. Goodrich for the Air Force. Goodrich desperately wanted the contract because it guaranteed a commitment from the Air Force on future brake purchases for the A7D from them, even if they lost money on the initial contract.
Ethics is the study of right or wrong and the morality of the choices that individuals make. That basicly means the set of morals or responsibility that a person, group, or field have. Ethics can also be classified as code of morals. In business there are ethics that portray to business. These are called business ethics, business ethics just happen to be the application of ethics, morals, into the business field. Some examples of business ethics are obeying all rules and regulations even when nobody 's looking, which is pretty self explanatory, you shouldn’t be breaking rules. Even if it is as simple as washing your hands after you use the restroom or straight up lying to your customers, they are the ones making you money so if they find out