Week Two Assignment
Who determines what is right or wrong? People do! Is the ethical standard based on the values and morals of you and me? No, at least not individually! It takes a society or community to identify the concepts of right and wrong. In terms of business, making decisions that resonates with laws; policies and public interest are crucial elements in succeeding. Another association to ethics is realizing the culture differences that exist in, out and around an organization and how those differences can benefit or paralyze an organization. "Corporate governance is the system of governing a company so that the interests of corporate owners and other stakeholders are protected" (Bethel University, 2017, p. 75). Can an organization foster high ethical standards and identify cultural differences as it relates to global awareness?
Discussion One
Having a sound understanding of ethics gives a certain trust relationship between stakeholders and those who governs the organization. Organizations should exhibit not good ethics but great ethics. Typically, when a business shows no concern for ethics within its structure that business tend to struggle or fail. There are certain expectations that society place on
…show more content…
Sure, and it should be the norm. When CEOs keep up with the values of the corporation inside and outside, others are influenced to do the same. It is imperative that management not only "talk the talk" but also "walk the walk". Doing right and having a sense of values and morals in one's personal life tends to spill over into their work life. The notion that the world is watching may just have some truth to it. People are watching and waiting for mistakes and unethical issues to arise. All levels that govern any organization need to follow ethical standards but the executive level has a higher expectation than the
More and more people are holding businesses to a higher ethical accountability. A companies decisions effect its employees, costumers the environment, and even the community, so decisions should not be taken lightly. It also becoming more obvious that managers feel that trustworthy employees with good worth ethics are an intangible asset to their company. Managers will not receive such employees if they do not have high ethical and moral standards themselves. I think that people ultimately want ethics that will produce a productive and honest workforce that also increases profits.
The Ins and Outs of Ethics is a Business Week Online magazine article from May 13, 2001, it was written by Eric Wahlgren. In the article he interviews Michael Rion, the author of The Responsible Manager. Rion is also a leading business ethics advisor who consults many Standard and Poor’s 500 companies. In the article Wahlgren asks Rion why it is important for businesses to have a high ethical standard. In his responses, Rion explains that effective organizations utilize ethics programs to clearly define ethical expectations, resolve ethical issues quickly, and to remove moral constraints. Additionally, employees who understand how to deal with ethical dilemmas will also be more productive and have strong core values to guide them. According to scripture, Rions concepts are biblically sound, relevant, and desirable, proving that ethical organizational behavior is shaped and influenced by sound ethical principles.
The first case that I have chosen to analyze is case #3. The standards from the Code of Ethics that comes into play regarding this particular case would be the first and most valuable one will be commitment to client. With this code the social worker primary responsibility is to promote any type of well-being to the clients. The social worker has to remain loyal to their clients. Another standard from the Code of Ethics would be the privacy and confidentiality with this code only as a social worker you are only allow to discuss with persons who are legally incapable of giving informed consent and also their legal representative. Social workers can not disclose confidential information that could lead to identification of a client/ patient with
While reading Daniel Terris’s opinion on Lockheed Martin’s ethical program, I noticed he observed that the company does not commit enough effort to counteracting ethical violations when pertaining to those in higher leadership positions. I would have to agree with the author, throughout the book I began to realize that the ethical program was geared more towards the employees who were located at the “bottom of the food chain”. Top level leadership has no issues displaying and voicing that they stand behind the ethical program and those in charge of it; for instance, the CEO Brain Sears at times sits in on the training sessions to listen and view the different perspectives of the employees (Terris, 2005). Although it is important for the Lockheed
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).
For a company to be successful ethically, it must go beyond the notion of simple legal compliance and adopt a values-based organizational culture. A corporate code of ethics can be a very valuable and integral part of a company’s culture but I believe that it is not strong enough to stand alone. Thought and care must go into constructing the code of ethics and the implementation of it. Companies need to infuse ethics and integrity throughout their corporate culture as well as into their definition of success. To be successfully ethical, companies must go beyond the notion of simple legal compliance and adopt a values-based organizational culture.
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).
From the cultural vantage point, an organization is a tribe. As tribal members gather, they develop their own language, stories, beliefs, assumptions, ceremonies, and power structures. These elements combine to form a unique perspective on the world called the organization’s culture (Pacanowsky, M.E., & O’Donnell-Trujillo, N, 1983). How an organization responds to ethical issues is a part of this culture. Every organization faces a special set of ethical challenges, creates its own set of values and norms, develops guidelines for enforcing its ethical standards, honors particular ethical heroes, and so on.
Ethics in business is a highly important concept, as it can affect a company’s profits, salaries paid to employees and CEOs, and public opinion, among many other aspects of a business. Ethics can be enforced by company policies and guidelines, set a precedent when a company is faced with an important decision, and are also evolving thanks to new technology and situations that arise due to technology usage. Businesses have a duty to maintain their ethical responsibilities and also to help their employees enforce these responsibilities in and out of the workplace. However, ethics and the foundation for them are not always black and white. There are many different ethical theories, however Utilitarianism, Kant’s Deontological ethics, and Virtue ethics are three of the most well known theories in existence. Each theory is distinct in that it has a different quality used to determine ethicality and allows for a person to choose which system of ethics works best with both the situation and his or her personal ethical preferences.
An integrative model for understanding and managing ethical behavior in business organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 9(3), 233-242. Doi: 10.1007/BF00382649
Ethics are the driving force behind good business. Every ethical choice made by a professional can and will have a much different outcome than any unethical choice. Bad ethics can ruin many aspects of a business and as (Gaye-Anderson, 2007) states how quite easily the lives and professional reputation of the employees can even be severally damaged (para. 3). Everything from morale to motivation can be severely affected by poor ethical choices. Customers will take their business elsewhere. Employees will abandon ship. Other, competing businesses reap the benefits of the bad moral choices. Ultimately, the entire business can be brought down by one poor ethical choice.
Ethics is the responsibility of each individual person, but starts with the CEO and the Board of Directors, setting the right tone at the top and moves down through the organization, including setting the tone in the middle. A company’s culture and ethic standards start at the top, not from the bottom. Employees will almost always behave in the manner that they think management expects them, and it is foolish for management to pretend otherwise (Scudder). One of the CEO’s most important jobs is to create, foster, and communicate the culture of the organization. Wrongdoings or improper behavior rarely occurs in a void, leaders typically know when someone is compromising the company
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.
Business Ethics are much more than the buzz word stories on late night news. The Corporate Social Responsibility of a company goes well beyond that. “Business Ethics are moral guidelines for the conduct of business based on notions of what is right, wrong and fair.” (Bellow, 2012). Individual backgrounds play a huge role in person by person code of conduct can vary from employee to employer. To help solve some grey areas in what is ethically correct, companies now make a code of conduct that is over everyone in the company. This code of responsibility helps employees have better understanding of what is required of each and every one of them. “Corporate Social Responsibility is a business philosophy which stresses the need for
Why is it so important to understand the importance the ethics role in business? Business ethics and social responsibility are creating obligations for corporation to do more in the business than just obey the law. The acceptability behavior found in business is not only determined by the organization but like the stockholder, costumers, competitor, government and etc.