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For this week’s discussion assignment, I have chosen the Mott MacDonald, a multinational, employee-owned management, engineering and development consultancy with headquarters in the United Kingdom. It employs 16,000 staff and is active in 150 countries in Africa, Asia Pacific, Asia Subcontinent, Australasia, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and Caribbean, Middle East and North America (MacDonald, 2018).
The stakeholders of the company are manifold and include 1) employees (consultants/advisors, engineers, development workers, supporting staff, management); 2) free-lance experts; 3) sub-contractors/consortium partners and their staff; 4) suppliers; 5) Clients/contracting authorities (national governments, development Partners/donors
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The company is BS10500 certified, implying that it implemented a framework to manage bribery risk, communicated business ethics through all organisational levels and reinforces ethical principles through training, internal audits and enforcement.
The so-called PRIDE values (Progress, Respect, Integrity, Drive, Excellence) are at the centre of Mott MacDonald’s culture and the company goes to great lengths to have these in the DNA of its staff. The most relevant for this discussion assignment are:
•Respect: respecting the environment and the communities in which we work; valuing all peoples and cultures equally; promoting equality, diversity and inclusion; treating everyone with respect.
•Integrity: delivering on promises, behaving ethically, not tolerating bribery or corruption, promoting a safety culture, targeting zero harm to all, and support the wellbeing and security of
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•Members of its executive board continue to show strong industry leadership on ethics, participating in the UK Anti-Corruption Forum, Transparency International and the Institute of Business Ethics.
As a multinational company, depending (to a large extent) on contracts from governments, it is of the utmost importance to uphold a reputation of a company that values integrity, having a zero-tolerance on bribery and corruption and being fully compliant with relevant national and international laws and regulations. This is what ensures new contracts and guarantees the sustainability of the business which, being an employee-owned company, benefits the stakeholders as well. Being an employee of this company, one takes pride in knowing that there are high ethical standards being upheld. The PRIDE values, as described above, are not hollow phrases: the company is really practising what it preaches. As such, in line with the stakeholder theory of business ethics, the company considers the interests of all stakeholders (internal and external). In case these interests are ad odds, an optimal balance is sought. This implies that, under certain circumstances, the commercial interest of the company will be, partially, sacrificed, to meet the interests of other stakeholders. In my view such demonstrates
Values include competence, integrity, objectivity, honesty, loyalty to the employer, responsibility to users of financial...
When a company decides to execute a strategic decision, the decision will concern its stakeholders, either through the making of the decision itself or through implementation of the decision. Although strategic decisions are generally made "to attain superior performance" (Hill, Charles) improving the welfare of the internal stakeholders, the attainment of this goal may cause the entity to disregard their notion of right and wrong moral principles in order to achieve that goal.
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).
In the book, If Aristotle Ran General Motors, Tom Morris argues that the teachings of the ancients can and should be applied to today's corporation. His message is that the four virtues - truth, beauty, goodness, and unity - form the foundation of human excellence. Putting them into practice leads not only to self-fulfillment, but ultimately to an open, nurturing, and ethical workplace that is more productive and successful in the long-term. The purpose of this essay is to examine how Morris treats the system of ethics in relation to these four virtues.
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.
Explain the connection between the economic model of corporate social responsibility and “free market” or “neoclassical” economic theory.
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). Values are a core set of beliefs and principles, one or many. A number of factors contribute to the development of values. These include membership in a community or culture, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.
In today’s global society, a Code of Ethics policy is used to label established, acceptable behaviors among that industry’s business associates, potential investors, and the corporation’s executive officers and employees, and most important, the consumer (Ethics Resource Center, 2003). In an attempt to promote an increased efficiency and productivity potential level, among employees and prospective clients, a corporation’s standard Code of Ethics should guide its members toward a more in-depth examination of their personal moral activity, and how these actions affect the people or acquaintances they encounter. A company should utilize this strategy as a model for the professional behaviors and responsibilities of its constituents, and proves the occupational advancement of that business. Ethics are important in every level of a corporation, but specifically in the day-to-day actions of its members, and the image the company broadcasts to its associates is fundamental in building a stable business foundation. These pledges are a vital communication tool used to covey the firm’s standards for business operations, and predominantly, its relationships with the surrounding communities (Ethics Resource Center, 2003).
The major areas of my values and ethics can be summarized in six words: excellence, personal integrity, responsibility, ambition, accountability, and determination. Excellence guides me when setting targets in all my undertakings; I normally strive to achieve my best. Personal integrity and accountability enable me to make sound judgments to avoid engaging in actions that will hurt me and/or other people around me. Responsibility is important to me as it enables me to identify the part I need to play in my family, at the workplace, and in the community. Lastly, ambition and determination are applicable in providing me with the momentum needed to ensure that all my initiatives and tasks are done to completion.
Hence, the stakeholders which are described as those who are affected by the organisation performance ,actions and duties and those actions includes employees, clients, local community and investors as well. The theory of stakeholders also suggests that it is the responsibility of firm to make sure no rights of stakeholders are dishonoured and make decisions in the interest of stakeholders which is also the purpose of stakeholder theory to make more profit and balancing it while considering its stakeholders (Freeman 2008 pp. 162-165). In the other words organisation must also operates in a more socially accountable approach by carrying out corporate social responsibility as (CSR) activities.
The first value, integrity, refers to a strong commitment to ethics, having respect for diversity, and speaking positively of coworkers even when they are not around. Accountability puts an end to people diverting blame. If people are accountable for their actions, results become the primary focus. Passion is one of the values, and is practiced by employees having pride in their brand, as well as a passion to continually improve and innovate. Humility is a very important value in that it stresses the importance of admitting to mistakes, realizing that there is constant room for learning, and being willing to be taught....
Business ethics simply can be defined as the application of business values in the business practice of a company (Seawell 2010, p. 2). For a multinational company, business ethics is one of the critical aspects need to be taken into account in business decision-making processes. Failure to give attention on ethics may bring consequences on company’s reputation (Meyer & Jebe 2010, p. 159). The company is expected not only to pursue its own profits but also contributing to the environmental and social welfare of the community where it operates (Svensson & Wood 2008, p. 308).
Ethics and social responsibility are integral components in developing a strategic plan while considering stakeholder needs. As such, ethics and social responsibility should be deemed as an essential strategic concern within all organizations. Ethics and social responsibility has the capacity to make or break an organization; the success of an organization’s strategic plan is dependent upon it. This paper will explain the role of ethics and social responsibility in developing a strategic plan while considering stakeholder needs. Lastly, this paper will elaborate as to how my ethical perspective has evolved throughout the program.
Values remind me of ethics and morals, necessary in any walk of life and imperative in the work place. These concepts are guidelines in which employees need to follow to be successful. “Values represent basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence.” (Robbins, 136) Integrity, courage, service, wisdom, respect and goal setting are a few of the values that are most crucial to me and what I hope to achieve within any work place setting. Values should be lived every day in the work place and should exemplify the
Stakeholders are interest of an individual or groups that directly or indirectly affected by the organisation’s activities, policies and objectives (Henry Frechette, 2010). Stakeholders can be divided as internal (managers and employees) and external (shareholders, customers, and suppliers) (BPP F9). Different stakeholders may have common interests or conflict interests with company. Company board members or management must take care about stakeholders’ interest. They can’t make the decision based on their own interest or their relation with others organisation. Conflict of interest will arise when interests of organisation act in concert with managers’ personal interests or interests of another person or organisations, (Anon, no date).