Dennis Kozlowski Case Study

There are factors that can effect a person’s ethical or unethical decisions, which consist of individual, organizational, and opportunity factors. Individual factors can be defined as an individual that bases their ethical or unethical decisions on their beliefs of what is right or wrong (Thorne, O. Ferrell, & L. Ferrell, 2011, p. 185). Organizational factors are when individuals base ethical or unethical decisions on a set of values and norms shared by members or employees of a company (Thorne, O. Ferrell, & L. Ferrell, 2011, pp. 190-191). Opportunity factors are defined as a set of conditions that can either limit or reward an individual and hinder or permit misconduct (Thorne, O. Ferrell, & L. Ferrell, 2011, pp. 193-195). All people cultivate

Dennis Kozlowski seemed like he was always about himself and that he would do anything to improve his situation. Individual factors are what led Kozlowski down his dark road and what contributed to his demise. Who knows if Kozlowski had a conscious or if his greed clouded it, but we know that he had an ego and wanted to live a lavish lifestyle. Egoism is “a philosophy that defines right or acceptable conduct in terms of the consequences for the individual” (Thorne, O. Ferrell, & L. Ferrell, 2011, p. 186). Egoists make decisions that benefit themselves and their own self-interests, which Kozlowski can be classified as. Kozlowski also fits in the category of a consequentialist. Consequentialism is “a class of moral philosophy that considers a decision right or acceptable if it accomplishes a desired result such as pleasure, knowledge, career growth, the realization of self-interest, or utility” (Thorne, O. Ferrell, & L. Ferrell, 2011, p. 186). Kozlowski based all of his decisions on his personal finances and his own self-interest. Organizational factors probably did not play a role in the decisions that Kozlowski made. The only thing that may have influenced him was his personal relationship with his mentor, Joseph Gaziano. Kozlowski was so impressed by Gaziano’s style of living that Kozlowski would have basically done anything to get that. This may have influenced his aggressive behavior and unethical decisions to grow the company quickly and achieve the maximum amount of compensation possible. The opportunity factors did not exist until Kozlowski became the CEO. Once Kozlowski was the CEO of Tyco he began to use his position and power to place people he could trust in positions around him. He basically handpicked the board of directors and made sure to keep people close to him that he could trust and manipulate. Kozlowski