Ethical Strategy

Review of Cisco Systems ethical strategy, what they say, what they do, and how it impacts their stakeholders.

2010

Contents Introduction 3 Background Information 3 Cisco’s Ethical Strategy 6 Stated Ethical Strategy 6 Stakeholder Analysis 9 Employees 9 Customers 13 Government 15 Suppliers 17 Shareholders 18 Communities 20 Institutionalization of Ethics 21 Explicit Components 21 Implicit Components 22 Corporate Environmental Management 23 Environmental Policy 23 Environmental Management Systems (EMS) 24 Crisis Management Policy 25 Overall Evaluations and Conclusions 26 Recommendations 27 Works Cited 29 Appendix 32 Appendix A - Cisco Code of Business Conduct 33 Appendix B - Cisco Ethics Decision Tree 34 Appendix C – Cisco Systems Inc. Board of Directors 35 Appendix D – Cisco CSR Awards and Recognition 36 Appendix E – Cisco’s Supplier Code of Conduct 39 Appendix F – Cisco’s Supplier Ethics Policy 40

Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to see how a Cisco integrates their ethical and socially responsible practices into their business. The paper will look at the company background, and history. It will then analyze the ethical strategy of the company by reviewing the stated ethical strategy, statements and documents that support that strategy and how the strategy impacts the major stakeholders of the company. An examination of how Cisco institutionalizes their ethics strategy into the company. An evaluation of the corporate environmental management and the crisis management policy will be followed by overall evaluation, conclusion and recommendations to Cisco based on what I have learnt in MGMT 567, Social and Ethical issues in Business.

Background Information
Cisco Systems, Incorporated is currently the worldwide leader in networking for the internet (Cisco Fact Sheet).