...ETHICS & PRACTICES Spring 2015 ------------------------------------------------- Maria Sison Assignment 1 ------------------------------------------------- The Seven Steps in Ethical Decision Making Step 1: Identify the Ethical Dimensions Embedded in the Problem I work in a meat packing plant and I know that we have policies regarding the quality and safety of the meat that we distribute. As the product control manager, my job is to ensure product safety. With the routine safety test showing that E. Coli is present in a product sample, our product safety has been compromised. What I choose to do next can result to consequences that will affect my position in the company, the company itself, other employees and the whole community. Therefore, an ethical analysis has to be done in order for me to come up with the best possible solution. Step 2: Collect Relevant Information I spoke to the “kill floor” superintendent and he said that he would deal with the employee who made a mistake on his own, but is that enough? I know that I should address the bigger issue and threat, which is the danger of distributing products that may possibly have E. Coli. As a newly hired product control manager, I would like to establish myself as an employee who knows how to do my job not only well, but also right. It is my job to report any findings that may affect our company. Even if what I find is something that can negatively affect the business, I should be transparent...
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...An Analysis of Personal Ethics and Decision Making University of Phoenix COM 526: Managerial Communication Group MIAA0CWRK6 Barbara Nagle, MA August 11, 2008 An Analysis of Personal Ethics and Decision Making I am running late to work. I have a meeting scheduled with senior management at the start of the business day to propose a new project. The project will generate new revenue for the organization. I am two blocks from the office, and the meeting starts in five minutes. As I approach an intersection, I see the traffic light change from green to yellow. Two cars in front of me pass through the traffic light while it is yellow. I know I will not be able to traverse the intersection before the traffic light changes to red. No other vehicles appear to be crossing the intersection. What do I do? What would you do? Every day one faces decisions resembling the one presented in one’s personal and professional lives. Often one has little or no time to deliberate the alternatives. How does one analyze the available choices and make a decision? What guides the decisions? – Personal ethics. Ethics can be described as a set of values that guide individual or group conduct. One’s “set of values” is derived from one’s personal experience, one’s culture, and one’s workplace (Taft, 2007). Thus, personal, cultural, and organizational values influence one’s decision making process. Types of Values Personal values originate from one’s background...
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...When discussing ethics in decision making, there are a lot of factors that go into how the decision should be made. Your own personal feelings, the position that you are in, the possible outcomes, the backlash, and basic human rights are all things that one has to consider in the decision-making process. In the situation where a highly visible privately-owned television company is receiving criticism from politicians and the pubic due to its employee's discussion of political matters on social media, a decision needs to be made to make sure that these criticisms come to an end since public opinion can have a detrimental impact on a television companies well-being. As the CEO of the company, the decision that I will have to make will affect...
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...Chapter 5 – Business Ethics and Ethical Decision Making – Summary Business ethics comprises principles and standards that guide individual and work group behavior in the world of business. Stakeholders determine these conventions, and they may change over time. The most basic of these standards have been codified as laws and regulations. Business ethics goes beyond legal issues. Because individuals and groups within a company may not have embraced the same set of values, ethical conflict may occur. Questionable decisions and actions may result in disputes that must be resolved through some type of negotiation or even litigation. Codifying ethical standards into meaningful policies that spell out what is and is not acceptable gives businesspeople an opportunity to reduce the possibility of behavior that could create legal problems. Business decisions involve complex and detailed discussions in which correctness may not be clear-cut. It is important that a shared vision of acceptable behavior develop from an organizational perspective to create consistent and reliable relationships with all concerned stakeholders. Understanding the ethical decision-making process can help individuals and businesses design strategies to prevent misconduct. Three of the important components of ethical decision making are individual factors, organizational relationships, and opportunity. Significant individual factors that affect the ethical decision-making process include personal moral...
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...HAROLD PUPKEWITZ GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Project 1: role of ethics and social responsibility in business decision making Tobias Endjala 200414518 Business Law & Ethics Project 1 Dr Jacqui Meyer 14 January 2015 Part A Roles of Ethics 1. Definition of business ethics: Business ethics (also corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations. Or Business Ethics: can be defined as the critical, structured examination of how people and institutions should behave in the world of commerce. In particular, it involves examining appropriate constraints on the pursuit of self-interest, or (for firms) profits, when the actions of individuals or firms affect others. Why it is important to understand ethics’ role in business? * To attract customers to the firm's products, thereby boosting sales and profits * Make employees want to stay with the business, reduce labor turnover and therefore increase productivity * Attract more employees wanting to work for the business, reduce recruitment costs and enable the company to get the most talented employees * Attract investors and keep the company's share price high, thereby protecting the business from takeover. Unethical behavior or a lack of corporate social responsibility...
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...Critically assess the view that utilitarianism is of no use when making decisions about sexual ethics. (35 marks) Utilitarianism is a theory mainly derived and developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stewart Mill. Bentham was headanistic and stated that happiness consisted of pleasure minus pain. This essentially is what makes the ethical theory difficult to use when making decisions about sexual ethics as everyone’s ideas of pain and pleasure varies therefore it is hard to come to a solid decision, especially as sexual acts mostly involve more than one person, this can cause conflict. However, It would not be fair to say that Utilitarianism is of no use at all when making decisions about sexual ethics as it can provide a useful tool when considering such issues in some cases. Although, it seems that if ‘use’ is taken to mean the clarity of decision making in a practical sense, Natural Law would be a better alternative on matters such as contraception as more of a clear response would be provided. A theory’s usefulness depends on your definition. Thus, with different definitions, Utilitarianism’s use can change. One important area of sexual ethics is the issue of contraception. A utilitarian approach may be considered of use when applied to the subject of contraception, when use is defined as fitting in to modern society. Utilitarianism considers the maximising happiness and minimising pain for the maximum number. It must consider the consequences of an action. It can be...
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...between the ACA and the AMHCA code of ethics, they both providing training, guidance, and direction in making ethic decisions for their members (ACA, 2005) (AMHCA, 2010). The ACA and AMHCA codes of ethics cover a wide range of ethical and professional situations common to the practicing professional. An example of not having the correct training in multicultural counseling is in the case study of “Allison: The Case of the Well-Meaning Feminist”. Allison, a 28 year old student was counseling Carmen, 19- years old Latina, did not understand the Latina cultural. If Allison would of have training on the Latina cultural, she would have understood the importance that Carmen’s father plays a significant role in the family (Herlihy & Corey, 2006). The other similarity is the commitment of students, employee, and supervisory relationships. The commitment of students, employee, and supervisory relationships are similar in both codes of ethics emphasizing that it is unethical to engage in any relationships (ACA, 2005) (AMHCA, 2010). I have seen this first hand, where I used to work they did not like management having any relationship with employees. It could have cause friction between employees and management. Differences in Codes of Ethic Although, there are similarities between the ACA and the AMHAC codes of ethics there are some distinct between the two. One of the most noticeable is the difference in how violations of the code of ethics are addressed by the two organizations...
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...Several businesses such as Primark, Lidl and Gap have been accused of being unethical in recent years. Do you think it is essential to take ethics into consideration when making business decisions nowadays? (40 marks) Ethics are moral principles that govern a person or a group’s behaviour. When applied to business this involves the examination of how people and institutions should behave in the world of commerce. For example, when the actions of a firm may affect others. One reason why it is essential to take ethics into consideration when making a business decision nowadays is because there is more awareness and interest in how ethically a company conducts its business. This may mean that it is a lot easier for people to find out about whether a business is behaving ethically or not. If discovered this could have a harmful effect on the business. As seen in April 2013, when an eight storey building, in Bangladesh collapsed on itself. This building was making garments for several Western retailers. Primark so far is the only retailer that has taken responsibility for this and decided to pay compensation. This horrific accident gave Primark lots of bad publicity, including protesters campaigning outside the stores doors. It is not just the conditions of the buildings that affect the workers, but also their overall treatment. Retailers like Gap, H&M and Lidl have been found subcontracting work to factories who force employees to work 13 hour days, some workers have been known...
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...Abstract Ethics are paramount to the healthcare management field, and the American College of Healthcare Executives has undertaken a number of initiatives to demonstrate the organization's commitment to ethics and support its members in making ethical decisions. (ACHE, 2013). This paper will examine the influence of individual ethics on decision making within the health care industry. It will discuss what the self-assessment taught me about my own ethical decision making, the effect of professional ACHE standards on my own ethical decision making, how individual ethics influence my decision making, and what strategies I can adopt to improve my ethical decision making in the future. Self-assessment Results The American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) offers a self-assessment in which you examine yourself enabling you to learn more about yourself. The self-assessment is not a scoring assessment and therefor requires each individual to recognize the areas in which they have strong ethics, and areas that may need improvement. Any questions answered with “always” identified an area of potential weakness where ethics could be compromised. The self-assessment enabled me to see my strengths and weaknesses so that I could identify the areas in need of improvement. ACHE Standards ACHE standards have been established to help educate healthcare professionals regarding ethical decision making. Healthcare executives are often faced with difficult decision making and conflict...
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...Critical Thinking and Ethics John Smith University of Phoenix GEN201/ Foundations for University Success January 14th 2012 Critical Thinking and Ethics Critical thinking and ethical decision making both play a vital role in both your academic and your career success as well. The relationship between critical thinking and ethics is an important one because it is a determining factor in the decisions we make and the outcome of those decisions. The definition of critical thinking is “disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded and informed by evidence”(dictionary.com, 2015). Our decisions not only have effects for us as individuals but also others and it’s important for us to weigh those effects when making any decisions. In order for us to make an informed decision and become a good critical thinker we must consider the six levels of critical thinking. Steps one and two of the critical thinking process revolve around remembering and understanding. These two steps are crucial in any critical thinking or decision making process as you must first remember and completely understand what you are reading or what you are discussing with someone. It is important to take the time out to make sure you understand because a misunderstanding can lead to a completely different outcome than the desired one. The third and fourth steps are applying and analyzing. This is the step where you can identify cause and effect of your decisions and analyze the...
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...requires of an organisation and the free/personal choice there is inevitably a ‘grey area’, this can be interpreted as ethics. Lewis (1985) described defining ethics will be like ‘nailing jello to a wall’ there by suggesting it is virtually impossible to pin point exactly what ethics truly is. There are many factors, which distinguish what is right, and wrong however they are decided predominantly by values and decisions of individuals, in this case managers. In order to comprehend the importance of ethics one must critically take into consideration all parties involved in the process of ethics and ethical decision-making. Why ethics is important for managers? Ethics is defined by the Oxford English dictionary to be ‘morally correct’ as well as Velasquez (2001) who has a similar definition of ethics, suggesting ethics as the ‘principles of conduct governing an individual or a group, it is the study of morality’. However it is difficult to pin point the exact definition of ethics as many authors and instructors have their own distinct meaning of the term ethics, Lewis (2008). In the face of it, it would seem it is a simple problem where there is a right or wrong answer. However as ethics is nor the legal requirement and it isn’t a personal choice but rather in the middle it is subjected to the ‘grey area’, this allows a person or an organisation to make decisions from their own values. For instance an ethical situation will arise when the action of one person or an organisation...
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...Ethics MGT/498 November 19th, 2012 Dr. Tug Gokaydin, Ph.D., MBA, PMP, CISA, CISM Introduction to Ethics Ethics is known to be a moral philosophy; it involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. Business ethics reflects the philosophy of business, one of whose aims is to determine the fundamental purposes of a company. Company's that’s purpose is to maximize shareholder returns, then sacrificing profits to other concerns could be a violation of its fiduciary responsibility. The role of ethics in business and the social responsibility as it relates to the strategic plan should satisfy the needs of the stakeholders ("Ethics", 2012). The Role of Ethics in Business Making decisions in business is critical and being ethical when making those decisions is vital to the integrity of the company and the individuals making the decisions. There are many ethical theories to choose when making decisions. Moral systems give a unique perspective on situations and can help to predict the outcome of a decision. Managers and business owners should consider various schools of thought when ethically making decisions. The function by identifying the consequences of each action, not only for the person taking the action, but for everyone else involved. The effects of the decision by mentally calculating and weighing the costs and benefits to the company or department affected. Look at the benefit to establish solutions that...
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...Business Ethics: The Responsibilities of Employees and Employers Debra J. Scott Columbia Southern University Business Ethics: The Responsibilities of Employees and Employers Ethics are an extremely important aspect of every successful business; they are crucial on the end of the employer as well as every employee. Employees and executives need a clear definition of business ethics and a clear explanation of the significance of ethics in relation to the position and to the business as well. It is shown to be beneficial to employees and executives to use a decision making process in the development of making important decisions; there are many approaches as well as many consequences to making ethical decisions. Good ethics start with the employer and how they handle and execute their ethics and provide a good working example for their employees. There are many viewpoints on what ethics are, especially in relation to business, “Ethical obligations are a set of “ought to” standards that define a moral course of action and draw a line between right and wrong” (Lohrey). Business ethics can be comprised of written and formal guidelines in relation to an organization’s morals. Many businesses use their code of conduct or credo as their guidelines to communicating their organizational ethics, “Business ethics manifests both as written and unwritten codes of moral standards that are critical to the current activities and future aspirations of a business organization. They can differ...
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...Ethical Decision Making Ethics are principles that define behavior as fair and proper and they are concerned with how a moral person should behave when it comes to making an ethical decision (Josephson Institute of Ethics, 2002). Evaluating and deciding among competing options is often key in making a fair choice since principles do not always dictate a single "moral" course of action. The decision of whether to lay off workers to enhance profits or to cut corners on quality to meet a deadline are examples of some choices regarding ethics business owners may face (Poznak Law Firm, 2003). The use of extremely low-wage foreign workers, like in the Nike organization case, is a current concern and the subject is a complex one. There are many valid differences of opinion regarding what constitutes ethical behavior and how ethical decisions should be made and the subject is a complex one (Poznak Law Firm, 2003). There are always pros and cons involved with any choice and the decision itself can be quite time consuming. When it comes to deciding whether or not to use cheap labor to cut costs, businesses must examine the ethics behind their decision-making processes. Four approaches that business owners commonly use to analyze ethical dilemmas are the utilitarian approach, which focuses on taking the action that will result in the greatest good for the greatest number of people; the moral rights approach, which is concerned with moral principles, regardless of the consequences;...
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...of Marketing Ethics O.C. Ferrell, Ph.D. Professor of Marketing Creative Enterprise Scholar The Robert O. Anderson School And Graduate School of Management MSC05 3090 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 Phone: (505) 277-3468 ocferrell@mgt.unm.edu Nature and Scope of Marketing Ethics INTRODUCTION Marketing ethics is viewed as important because of marketing’s interface with many diverse stakeholders. Marketing is a key functional area in the business organization that provides a visible interface with not only customers, but other stakeholders such as the media, investors, regulatory agencies, channel members, trade associations, as well as others. It is important when addressing marketing ethics to recognize that it should be examined from an individual, organizational, and societal perspective. Examining marketing ethics from a narrow issue perspective does not provide foundational background that provides a complete understanding of the domain of marketing ethics. The purpose of this chapter is to define, examine the nature and scope, identify issues, provide a decision-making framework, and trace the historical development of marketing ethics from a practice and academic perspective. DEFINITION OF MARKETING ETHICS Ethics has been termed the study and philosophy of human conduct, with an emphasis on the determination of right and wrong. For marketers, ethics in the workplace...
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