Legal Missteps

466 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on diversity within an organization

Companies with a diverse and ethical workforce don't possess those traits by accident. Instead, the CEO and other key organizational players work hard to create and maintain a positive atmosphere. Ethics within an organization must come from the top down. There are four characteristics that a CEO must possess in order to ensure a diverse and ethical workforce.

Respect for the Law

Legal restrictions sometimes make business transactions more costly and difficult. Laws exist, however, to protect employees, investors and other stakeholders as well as the environment. If the CEO breaks laws when convenient, he should expect those within his organization to do the same. Even accidental legal missteps can create large problems and undermine a company's reputation. A CEO should be well versed in employment law …show more content…

Companies that own up to and fix them outlive those who attempt to cover their tracks. While honesty is important when dealing with the public, it is equally necessary within the organization. Management must acknowledge mistakes and be honest with employees about missteps and the actions taken to correct them. In return, management must embrace employees who own up to mistakes. Employees who believe a mistake will lead to their termination are much more likely to hide errors than report them. Encourage honesty at every level on the company organizational chart.

Open-Mindedness

Encouraging honesty lets employees share important thoughts, but it's only the firs step. In order to achieve organizational greatness, a CEO must be willing to truly consider feedback and input. A CEO's duties often pull him away from the action, immersing him in a world full of meetings and report reading. If he's not careful, he may miss some great ideas from the people on the front lines working directly with customers and suppliers. The most effective CEOs welcome ideas from anywhere and everywhere rather than strictly adhering to their own personal vision.

Show More
Related

  • Del Rio Foods Analysis

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...epartments where needed. His strategy and vision for the company will determine where everyone will focus their efforts.

    Read More

  • General Motors's Ethical Behavior

    1275 Words  | 3 Pages

    Leaders who treat their employees with fairness, honesty, and provide frequent, accurate information are seen as more effective. According to Robbins and Judge (2014), “trust is a primary attribute associated with leadership and followers who trust a leader are confident their rights and interest will not be abused” (p.193). The old General Motor Corporation had eleven different CEO’s from 1923 until 2009 each with their own unique leadership style, which directed employees toward the organization goals. Unfortunately, many of the top level managers under the CEO’s had the tendency of filtering out information that did not match up with their pre-conceived notions about a particular issue and they lacked upward communication. One consumer goal of General Motors was to build trust in the company so people would be repeat customers, but building trust between employees and establishing an ethical culture was not a top priority of the organization. Goal directed leadership alone is important, but differs from a structure of leadership based on ethics. It is important to note, that effective leadership may not be the same as leadership founded on ethical principles. Business competence must exist, along with personal leadership accountability in ethical decisions. Within the General Motors organization, ethics and leadership did not interconnect; there were misalignment between the

    Read More

  • A Corporate Code of Ethics is Not Enough

    2353 Words  | 5 Pages

    After news of the scandal of Enron, one of the hottest items on e-Bay was a 64-page copy of Enron’s corporate code of ethics. One seller/former employee proclaimed it had “never been opened.” In the forward Kenneth L. Lay, CEO of Enron stated, “We want to be proud of Enron and to know that it enjoys a reputation for fairness and honesty and that it is respected (Enron 2).” For a company with such an extensive code of ethics and a CEO who seemed to want the company to be respected for that, there are still so many unanswered questions of what exactly went wrong. I believe that simply having a solid and thorough code of ethics alone does not prevent a company from acting unethically when given the right opportunity.

    Read More

  • Sustainability: Ethics, Legal, and Economic Aspects

    1576 Words  | 4 Pages

    Organizations that are led by management who perform in a principled behavior are probable to be exemplified by an affirmative ethical civilization. Also, when their workforce is rewarded by doing what is right, helps cultivate the positive ethical image throughout the o...

    Read More

  • Leadership, Fear, Characters And Characteristics Of Effective Leadership

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    Up until this point, much of the focus has been centered on defining effective leadership from characteristics and traits that have been identified through research and behavioral science, but what do the followers have to say about the leader’s characteristics and traits? Furthermore, what makes someone want to follow a leader? Thus, there are five specific traits or characteristics a leader must display before being followed, and the first characteristic or trait is honesty (Shead, 2016). While people desire to follow an honest leader, honesty is the key trait that allows the leader to influence others besides power; however, leaders have very few opportunities to demonstrate honesty, especially in large organizations (Shead, 2016). Therefore,

    Read More

  • Ethical Considerations in Global Expansion

    1863 Words  | 4 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Greasex Line Case Study

    1018 Words  | 3 Pages

    When mistakes are made no one takes care of them. Management tends to say they’ll take care of it, then never does. Management has a “lack of quality attitude”.

    Read More

  • Ethical Ethics Case Study

    1665 Words  | 4 Pages

    I discovered how sticking to one’s morals should be the topmost priority for everyone involved in business, whether personal or professional. Regardless of what the consequences may be, the intensity of the problem, and the complexities it may bring, sacrificing one’s integrity should never be an option, as integrity goes hand-in-hand with the morals of an individual (Duggan & Woodhouse, 2011). They further go on to say that having individuals take part in building a code of ethics that supports employee integrity, they will act ethically. Also, I believe that companies should place more emphasis on the moral behavior of their employees, and clear-cut policies should be set regarding such ethical situations. Furthermore, I realized how serving justice while making decisions really helps in the long run, and that opting to go for the ideal rather than they deserved is not always the best option, and could hurt a company in more than one

    Read More

  • What It Means To Be A Leader Essay

    763 Words  | 2 Pages

    Honesty and integrity are the two most important characteristics for leadership success in any work place. The foundation of any relationship is honesty. To be a good leader, one must be honest. My goal is to create a workplace that every people can trust me and I can trust them so that we work together for a common goal. I would like to be a trusted leader because I am sure this characteristic will bring Done Right and On Time result in my career.

    Read More

  • Foster High Ethical Standards

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Ethical Climate Essay

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    Organizations are constantly tested with various moral and ethical problems and dilemmas. Organizational leaders are the key to establishing an ethical climate in the workplace. By understanding and improving their own moral reasoning, and the biases that affect moral judgment, they enable themselves to make better decisions. This has a catalytic effect that positively increases organizational climate, ultimately improving all organizational behavior.

    Read More

  • Honesty And Integrity Essay

    1420 Words  | 3 Pages

    Honesty not only encourages open communication between the employer but also with the employees and their co-workers. It typically leads to effective peer team building relationships with in any organization. When workers are honest about the various aspects of their jobs good or bad and need improvement the employer can take the appropriate action and fix certain situations. Employers also have a responsibility to hold up honesty and integrity. Those employers that are open with all of their employees about company policies and changes that affect not just the organization but the employees as well are more trustworthy and tend to have a great employee consistence rate than other employers that do not practice business like

    Read More

  • Film Analysis Of The Film 'The Corporation'

    1112 Words  | 3 Pages

    When we look at the laws that have been broken by so many of the top named corporations, I see why they continue to operate in the capacity that they do. When you take in to account the amount of money taken in for overall profits each year versus the fines levied “if” they are caught breaking the law I can see why they take their chances at being caught or not. Although the fines given are typically large amounts, they really are a mere slap on the wrist when compared to the money earned each

    Read More

  • The Importance of Ethics in Society

    874 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ethical behaviour is what all career people should aim to have. Not just the ethical attribute but exceptional behaviour with this regard.this is because in order to build a career, one must be governed by the rules of ethics to safeguard oneself and others. Ethics are essential in the workplace because a tough ethical code provides a non-threatening environment with high employee morale. The corporate social responsibility is important to everyone,therefore it should not be neglected by the employees and the organization. Ethics purely center on personal conduct. It involves personal choices that can make or break a person in the workplace or business. The major importance of having good conduct is to maintain a high level of respect not just for people but for the proffession. Most people who begin their working career have aspirations of excelling at their jobs and reaching the pinnacle of their profession while maintaining a sense of values; however employees often become blind with ambition and put aside their sense of ethics in order to obtain financial security and recognition for their efforts. There are many things that one can gain from having good behavioural ethics in the workplace. It will develop a discipline which will propel the work practices to a higher level and will help set a high standard. It will promote teamwork among the workersand will also buil...

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Ethical Leadership

    1684 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

More about Legal Missteps

Open Document