...Abstract The assignment/paper is an ethics exercise with two different cases to analyze and determines what direction/decision I would take in each case. The first case is to justify my decision to allow a top performing staff member, Kay, to apply for a different position within the company. Kay and I both are aware that I would not be allowed to replace her due to budget cut and a friend of the boss is also applying for the position. The second case is Marty has miss applied an expense for a local community development committee dinner meeting. Case 1: Stephanie Lyncheski, after careful consideration and working through the Checklist for Making Ethical Decisions matrix (Schermerhorn Jr., 2010), I have made my decision to allow Kay Smith to apply for a new position within the company. I know that I would not be allowed to replace Kay due to budget cuts and she is a high performer for my group. The decision is what is best for the company and Kay. I want to walk you through my decision process to provide you an understanding of why I believe it is the best decision to allow Kay to apply for the new position within the company. I utilized the Checklist for Making Ethical Decisions matrix with the steps below: • Step 1: Recognize the ethical dilemma. • Step 2: Get the facts. • Step 3: Identify your options. • Step 4: Test each option: Is it legal? Is it right? Is it beneficial? • Step 5: Decide...
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...Discuss the importance of business ethics in an organization We hear about this word ‘Ethics” almost every day. We are all aware of the fact that there is a public consciousness which is related to ethics that is way much more important than it was few years back. It is obvious that business ethics are important throughout every area of the business. Most businesses are often more likely to become successful when they are known for dealing honestly with people from its employees and customers to shareholders and vendors. What does the word ‘business ethics’ really mean? Business ethics are nothing more than the code of values and principles that govern the actions of an individual, or a group of individual, regarding what is right and what is wrong. Business ethics are not just about the difference between right and wrong, but they are the actual application of that knowledge to business. Their absence in an organization can be harmful to the progress of any businesses or organizations. Every time a new business is launched, whether it is business of a sole trader or an enterprise, the owner or owners must first legally adopt a code of ethics. For small businesses, the code of ethics is usually unwritten and sometimes not even discussed and decided upon, but still it exists. Where as, for larger businesses such as a full-blown brick-and-mortar corporate enterprise, they often have written codes of ethics and employees are trained and required to adhere to it. It is...
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...Ethics and Organizational Design- A Literature Review Abstract This literature review observes the views of organizational design and business ethics as they relate to one another in business. The first portion of this paper defines organizational design and business ethics to establish their importance and also examines managerial ethics and corporate social responsibility, sources of ethical principles. The second portion pursues to explain the relationship between business ethics and organizational design and how managers shape ethics through use of value-based leadership and formal structure systems. The third portion pursues to review the importance of ethics to organizational design and the structures that support or enforce ethical behavior in organizations. The fourth portion links literature reviewed and published over the past few years together based on their reference to ethics and organizational design. The literatures are linked together based on commonalities found in the opinions of the authors relating to a spiritual perspective, ethics and corporate structure, organizational and ethical theories, and ethical strategy. Last but not least, the review concludes with a summary of the important role that ethics plays in the organizational design and structure of a business and how it applies to members of management. Keywords: business ethics, organizational design, corporate social responsibility Outline INTRODUCTION I. Organizational Design/Business...
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...Introduction The history of business ethics is as old as the religious books like the Bible and the holy Quran. These religious books have talked about truthfulness, transparency and honesty among people. The prohibition of theft, self-interest at the cost of others, and malice in these religious sources have a direct application the world of business. The history of business ethics has evolved during the long course of time and is still in this phase of development. The application of business ethics varies in different context. There have been radical changes in the world of business which has evolved the business ethics to its current form. And with continuously changing business world we can presume that in the future business ethics will undergo more changes. It will evolve continuously. The business ethics has an immense scope touching every human living in the society. The affects the daily decision making in the society, irrespective of whether it is a big decision affecting large masses or small decision affecting just one person. Business ethics can be looked at by different perspectives. One perspective is that of organization point of view which concerns about the things that an organization should do. While the other perspective is the things that must really be done irrespective of an organization. The latter one gauges the different aspects of an organization. The literary evidence for the history and development of modern era business ethics can be traced back to 1930s...
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...BUSINESS ETHICS 'COLLECTIVE ACTION PROBLEMS' IN PARTICULAR HOW MUCH RESPONSIBILITY DOES AN INDIVIDUAL MANAGER HAVE FOR THE ETHICAL CULTURE OF HIS/HER ORGANISATION? Ram Visvanathan Business Ethics May 28, 2014 Introduction. Ethics is very important for the prosperity of any organization. Every employee or stakeholder of an organization has got an important role to play in nurturing an ethical culture in an organization. This research paper discusses the level of responsibility that an individual manager has in the ethical culture of his or her organization. This is done with close attention to academic journals and research. The paper will derive its arguments from veteran theories like the Utilitarian and the Kantian theories. The paper will also relate its discussions with the case study about Enron a USA company that collapsed as a result of unethical behavior in the management. Some of the components that will be highlighted in the paper include; the importance of an ethical culture in an organization, the dangers of lack of ethics in an organization and the strategies that can be used to promote ethics in an organization. Justification of the research. The study of the role of individual managers in the ethical culture of an organization is a justified venture. This is because of the increased calls for ethical behaviors in organizations. The expectations of the staff and the society at large on ethical behaviors have increased tremendously...
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...Ethics KEY TERM and WHY YOU ARE INTERESTED IN IT Ethics is the key term chosen this week to research, secondary to the significant relevance ethics plays in all aspects of life. As a child, it was emphasized what was right and wrong, good and bad, to be the best one can be, and to make sure the decisions that are made are based on a common set of values and principles. As an adult, the adherence to these values has played a fundamental role in my own success as a business leader in my profession. EXPLANATION OF KEY TERM The general definition of ethics is ”the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation” (Satterlee, 2009, p. 48). Every culture in the world will have some form of ethics and the society would have a set of values or moral duties and obligations. In some instances, these values may become law. Many of these moral values are based on a religion; for example, Christianity refers to the Ten Commandments, which forms a set of values. Some ethics are secular in nature. In business, ethics plays a major role on how companies act in relation to their core values. A world viewpoint would look at international business ethics as compared to domestic business ethics. The international business ethics would focus on the culture of that society along with their values and core beliefs. With our growing global economy, it is important to understand the ethical duties and obligations for businesses wishing to conduct business...
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...Business Ethics and Efficiency RWT1 Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Subject and Purpose 3 Introduction 5 Discussion 5 Ethics and Economic Efficiency 6 Organization Goodwill and Competitive Advantage 7 Risk Management and Credit Facility 9 Recommendation 9 Conclusion 10 References 12 Executive Summary Due to increased globalization and competition in industry, organizations are facing tough challenges in the keeping their business operations sustainable and ethical so that they continue to grow and develop in a successful manner. When we talk about driving the organization towards success it is not any different from steering a car or vehicle in the right direction towards the required destination. That is why roadmaps and directions are developed and changed constantly so that the organizations and management are able to keep their business current and follow the latest trends and requirements as demanded by the external environmental factors that are constantly changing. It is extremely important that on its way to growth and improvement, the organizational management must look out for any new developments like technological advancement, globalization, new regulations, and laws or policies with regards to their business industry in order to maintain the performance and reputation of the business. On their way towards growth many leaders and management often ignore and forget the importance of business ethics and corporate...
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...Organizational Design & Business Ethics: A Literature Review Abstract A review of the current literature regarding business ethics was conducted analyzing scholarly peer-reviewed articles about business ethics and their relation to leadership, managerial decision making, corporate social responsibility and overall corporate structure. Increased corporate scandals and the discovery of a rise in unethical business practices have thrown the topic of business ethics into the spotlight. Organizations are expected by their stakeholders to implement strong ethics within their corporate structure and culture. This expectation could be accomplished through strong ethical leadership, formal structures and regulations that place emphasis on ethics, and by making a commitment to corporate social responsibility. Using these guidelines will help organizations overcome the various challenges allowing the business to build a strong ethical foundation that will ultimately benefit the company through increased customer and employee satisfaction, which could result in increased profits, organizational sustainability and social status. The review of the literature reveals that there is still plenty of room for exploration on the topic of business ethics and particularly with the topic of ethical leadership. It is recommended that more focus be placed on understanding the influence of strong ethical leadership within an organization and how this influence flows down the organizational...
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...What is business ethics? There are many different definitions of business ethics. In general, the term is used to mean a form of applied ethics in which a system of ethics and morality is applied in the business world. The exact application of business ethics will differ from organization to organization, and place to place. Different organizations deal with different stakeholders, different clients and customers, and different dimensions of the work world, industry, and market. The way business ethics must be applied is determined by the nature, mission, purpose and goals of a given company. The universal purpose of business ethics is to ensure that companies treat their workers, partners, clients, and any other involved shareholders or stakeholders with ethical and moral integrity. Business ethics used to be taken for granted and assumed, almost as an extension of the personal ethics of those involved in the business. In more recent years, however, following different issues including the 2001 Enron scandal, individuals and businesses have focused more on analyzing and formalizing business ethics (cf WiseGeek, retrieved 2010). A Model Organization: Integral business ethics in terms of social issues, legal issues, and profit. Taking a fictitious restaurant food supply organization called The Ultimate Deal, as an organization that serves as a model of business ethics, the practical implications of business ethics can be explained. The Ultimate Deal, as a restaurant...
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...BUSI610: Organization Design and Business Ethics Mitzi N. Harvey Liberty University Abstract This literature review examines the concepts of business ethics and how it is related to the organizational design of a corporation. The first section of this review defines the concepts of business ethics and organizational design to establish their meaning and use throughout this paper. The second aspect of understanding the relationship between business ethics and organizational design comes from understanding how and/or why ethics is important to organizational design. This will illustrate any underlying influences ethics has on business structure and design. The third section of this paper reviews and groups the literature found linking ethics and organizational design. Literature is grouped together based on the similarities found in authors’ opinions, research and/or results. The next section discusses the ideas of micro and macro ethics; first defining them, illustrating the differences and then explaining how they come into play when examining the link between ethics and design. The following sections of the review, provides examples of formal organizational structures, ethical programs, and the ethical decisions that impacted them. Finally, in the conclusion of the review it summarizes the relationship between business ethics and organizational design, how this relationship impacts business, and what this means for business managers. Introduction To sustain...
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...BUSINESS ETHICS Business ethics is nothing but the application of ethics in business. Business ethics is the application of general ethical ideas to business behavior. Ethical business behavior facilitates and promotes good to society, improves profitability, fosters business relations and employee productivity. The concept of business ethics has come to mean various things to various people, but generally it‘s coming to know what it right or wrong in the workplace and doing what‘s right - this is in regard to effects of products/ services and in relationships with stakeholders. Business ethics is concerned with the behavior of a businessman in doing a business. Unethical practices are creating problems to businessman and business units. The life and growth of a business unit depends upon the ethics practiced by a businessman. Business ethics are developed by the passage of time and custom. A custom differs from one business to another. If a custom is adopted and accepted by businessman and public, that custom will become an ethic. Business ethics is applicable to every type of business. The social responsibility of a business requires the observing of business ethics. A business man should not ignore the business ethics while assuming social responsibility. Business ethics means the behaviour of a businessman while conducting a business, by observing morality in his business activities. According to Wheeler Business Ethics is an art and science for maintaining harmonious...
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...BUSINESS ETHICS Student’s Name: Ce Wang Student’s ID: 1226656 Instructor’s Name: Peter Goalby Course Name: New Advances In Business University Of Bedfordshire Date Assignment is due: 20/03/2015 Abstract Business ethics looks at whether the company is heading in the right course by adhering to the various factors such as integrity, fairness and reliability. The ethics set up by the organization plays a vital role in the hiring process and the business management practices. Running an ethical organization is vital in financial matters and in creating the morale and loyalty of the personnel. Ethics are also relevant to the business as it ensures that there is ethical behavior among the workers in the organization. Ethics are also relevant to the business as it aids in creation of an ethical organizational culture. Most of the organizations when posed this question believe that it is the employees who are chiefly responsible for ensuring that their work meet the ethical considerations. However, the employees are not the only ones responsible for business ethics, the employees need support from the management or from the employer. This paper has a look at the ethical issues surrounding the steel manufacturing industry and the Healthcare industry. It also looks at the relevance that ethics have on business, sustainability and corporate responsibility. The paper also looks critically at the connection of business ethics to the organizational culture. Lastly, it...
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...Calhoun Community College Abstract Business leaders struggle to balance the desire for profit and maximum shareholder return with corporate ethics and social responsibility. Unfortunately, short-term financial bottom line has taken the place of maintaining strong moral character in today’s business practices. In the United States alone, about two-thirds of the top corporations have been guilty of some type of corporate malfeasance. In the face of both damaging and publicly embarrassing litigation, business leaders now recognize the need for sound, straightforward ethics management programs in their companies that makes ethical business practices a top priority at all times. Top executives must lead by example and actively and willingly encourage ethical behavior in their peers as well as employees. The need for stronger ethics in business has prompted business schools to critically examine their business curricula and place greater teaching emphasis on ethics and social responsibility to ensure future generations of new business graduates enter the workforce with the highest moral standards. Keywords: ethics, social responsibility, malfeasance, business schools, business curricula Managing Ethical Decision Making in the Workplace Introduction Ensuring that the necessary steps are taken to create and foster a high level of ethics in the business practices of the workplace is critically important regardless of the size of an organization. A commitment to a strong ethical code...
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...Code of Ethics Analysis Paper PHL/323- Ethics in Management March 24, 2014 Code of Ethics Analysis Paper In today’s business environment, codes of ethics serve the purposes of guiding the everyday conduct of professionals, and all those (consultants, volunteers, and board members) who operate within a particular business or organization. The everyday conduct of professionals becomes important when servicing consumers, and is known to directly impact the community. Because codes of ethic govern ones conduct, it is imperative for business to consider the effectiveness of such codes that are outlines in their profession. The purpose of this analysis is to analyze the code of ethics established by the Arrow. In conducting such an analysis, I will first determine what is to be considered based on importance, and why such codes are important, and a justification will proceed. After providing a justification on the importance of such ethics, I will then attempt to analyze Arrow’s code of ethics, by considering how the code will be implemented, possible reactions from employees, and the effects the code will have on the organization as a whole. System of Inquiry After much deliberation, the following will include a system of inquiry that will be used to analyze the code of ethics established by the Arrow. Areas of inquiry will include: the organization definition of ethics, people issues, consumer confidence, corporate social responsibility, leadership responsibilities/activities...
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...paper, I will discuss how social responsibility and ethics interacts with the business world. I will discuss different styles to management ethics, the benefits companies will find from acting ethical and socially responsibly and some examples of unethical behavior in the workplace. I will also look at social responsibly and its benefits, as well as give my opinion on both topics. Businesses have always been known to shoot for maximum profits in order to please both those inside and outside their company. However, the concept of business ethics and social responsibility has put principled boundaries on organizations so that they cannot achieve their profit goals in any way they please. In order for a company to function within today’s global business society, they must be able to take a strong stance ethically on how they are going to sell their products and conduct their everyday work activities. Alongside being ethical, companies must also take on social responsibility; showing their community that they are involved, alert and willing to be philanthropists even in tough times. Corporate ethics and social responsible, if overlooked, can be detrimental to an organizations outward appearance and customer base. It is not only the right thing to do, but it has always been seen as good business. Both business ethics and social responsibly, although different, play fundamental roles in an organization’s successes. Ethics can be defined as the study of standards of behavior...
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