...Ethics in Business Communications: The McDonald’s Scandal Ethics in Business Communications: The McDonald’s Scandal Ethics in business are forms of professional personalities that compel all morals to be in line. It separates the right from the wrong, and justice and crime. In business, this goes without saying that one must be as professional as he or she can be when dealing with all sorts of races, cultures, age, and religions. Racism is not something in the past; it still takes place every single day, even more so in the work place. The article titled, “Get the ghetto out of the store”, was very hard to read without feeling shame on the society that we live in. In the state of Virginia, McDonalds restaurants have been subject to racial and sexual harassment. All 10 plaintiffs have come forward and admitted that supervisors would use racial slur at word. The supervisors were using words like, “ghetto”, “ratchet”, and “dirty Mexican”. Furthermore, according to the article, “A large number of white employees were hired in March 2014, and in May about 15 African American employed were terminated, according to the complaint” (Daily Tel, 2015). It goes to show how important Ethics are in business communications. Employers have to maintain a standard in which there is no unethical treatment towards their employees. Employers have to leave race, religion, sex, age, and any other related moral out of the work place. Our team discussion was very interesting to read. Every...
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...Ethics in Business Communications Crystal Poindexter COM/295 September 15, 2014 John Quesnel Ethics in Business Communications This week we learned about various and effect way to communicate in business, we also learned about communications that are ethical and unethical. Ethical communications are a set of principles we live by and expect others to do the same. In a business it is slightly different, there are several dilemmas facing business communicator, some are cosmetic half-truths, which is “buying time until a more favorable action is possible (Management Communication Chapter 7). Another communication dilemma in this next case is the Harmful or potentially harmful actions by a company. This breaks down to the company wanting to save money and increase their profits knowingly cuts corner and produce a defective or subpar product. (Management Communication Chapter7) In 1990’s and 2000’s a serious of internal memos for employees about the quality of the product being subpar, and potential life threatening fell on deaf ears. From 1990’s to 2000’s a series of problems ranging form gas tank explosions to an ignition switch, failure has plague the automotive company. General Motors had full knowledge of its faulty products and...
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...Ethics in Business Communications D’Angelo Costello COM/295 Business Communications December 8, 2014 JOSHUA SINSKI Ethics in Business Communications Many businesses have gained a bad reputation just by being in business. To some people, businesses are interested in making money, and that is the bottom line. This could be called capitalism in its purest form, making money is not wrong in itself. It is the manner in which some businesses conduct themselves that brings up the question of ethical behavior. It is incumbent upon managers in business, education, and industry today, to be very sensitive and forthright in their communications in response to privacy requests regarding communications from their employees. To be less than totally forthright can result in some very unsavory results from disenfranchised employees. As any investigation of these matters will result in multiple persons being made aware of the situation, the Federal Trade Commission announced a formal complaint against AT&T alleging the carrier “misled” customers by charging for unlimited data and then throttling their data speeds up to 90 percent ("FTC Sues AT&T Over Throttling Unlimited Data Customers", 2014). Businesses have a responsibility to not just force ethical practices on their employees, but rather they have a responsibility to the general public to abide by a high ethical standard while serving the public. By applying and abiding by basic ethical principles, companies such as AT&T...
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...Ethics in Business Communications Joseph Mallory COM/295 January, 19, 2015 Jamey Pippert Ethics in Business Communications In a business world driven by profitability, sometimes decisions are made despite the ethical consequences. Business owners are under constant pressure from their company’s share- holders and/or investors to do whatever it takes to cut costs and increase profits. It’s the “what- ever it takes” mindset that often backfires on a company in light of their decisions leading to un- ethical behavior. Many companies in the United States are outsourcing workers from other countries to do their work because the lack of laws in these other countries allow work to be done at a much lower cost. In America, the cost of labor is higher than a lot of other countries because of laws pertaining to the forty hour work week, overtime pay, the minimum wage law, and so on. Some business owners take advantage of the lack of these types of laws and by doing so, their company increases their profitability. According to Blodget (2012) “Your iPhone was built, in part, by 13 year-olds working 16 hours a day for 70 cents an hour….And that's why it's disconcerting to remember that the low prices of our iPhones and iPads — and the super-high profit margins of Apple — are only possible because our iPhones and iPads are made with labor practices that would be illegal in the United States” (p.1). Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-child-labor-2012-1#ixzz3PJSvC6xS ...
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...Ethics in Business Communication Ethical dilemmas happen regularly within a business. These ethical situations range from the common to the rare, and include “half-truths, outright lies, unethical practices, harmful actions, and unsavory company allegations” (Bell & Smith, 2010). It is how a company handles these ethical situations, however, that defines their character. General Motors is a company that has been around for over one hundred years. They have been an industry leader in the manufacturing of automobiles in the United States for decades, but they have recently come under fire for the mishandling of a harmful action. General Motors vehicles manufactured between 2003 and 2007 had a faulty ignition switch installed in them which can cause the car to suddenly turn off, leading to the power steering, power brakes, and airbags becoming inoperable. This factory defect has caused General Motors to recently recall approximately 1.37 million vehicles. However, General Motors has known of this issue for ten years and “elected not to replace a part that would have cost 57 cents a car because of cost and the lack of 'an acceptable business case' for doing so" (Isidore, 2014). From the apathetic handling of the recall to the greed-infused decision to save a few dollars, General Motors has been acting like a company with little ethical compass. CEO Mary Barra has issued a statement of apology, giving her “apologies to everyone who has been affected by this recall…especially to...
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...Ethics and Credibility in Business Communications In 2009, Toyota was accused of ignoring safety concerns in regards to faulty brakes and acceleration pedals which sent the car manufacturer into a public relations crisis. Toyota continued to blame the sticking pedals on faulty floor mats, not electrical error and was found to delay the recall process in order to save money. In order to avoid a massive recall, Toyota ignored Consumer complaints and recalled limited amounts of vehicles during different times in the year while “producing new vehicles with known safety flaws and advertising their vehicles to be the safest and highest quality vehicles on the road” (“Associated Press”, 2010). Building Back Credibility As one of the largest and best selling automotive manufacturer, Toyota lost its credibility by not being forthcoming with all the Consumer complaints received. Toyota was found to have put saving money before Consumer safety. Being a large company with many Consumer’s relying on their automobiles, Toyota is obligated to give back to its Consumer’s by being honest and putting the Consumer’s at ease by letting the Consumer’s know that their concerns are being addressed. In 2010, Toyota was ordered to appear in Congress to face questions about their conduct in recalling of vehicles. During the hearing, Toyota “finally admitted to engaging in unethical behavior when it comes to investigating the safety of its vehicles” (Mack, 2010). This was the first admission from Toyota...
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...Finished and Stapled: The Power of Words Teri Madia COM/295 September 1, 2014 Todd Breton Finished and Stapled: The Power of Words Was it something I said? Employees are signing petitions, customer satisfaction is low, stock prices are sliding quickly, and profits are down. Ethical business decisions can have a great impact on employees, customers, investors, and the profitability of a company. This is precisely what one of the most successful global office supply stores is facing since it recently issued a policy memorandum to its managers that resulted in accusations that the company was reducing employee hours as a result of the Affordable Health Care Act (BuzzFeedNews, 2014). Old or New Policy; That is the Question On December 6, 2013, Staples distributed a policy memorandum that restricted the number of hours that part-time employees could work to 25 hours each week. The memorandum indicated that the company was issuing the policy with an effective date of January 4, 2014 and would allow managers to hire additional staff to ensure adequate coverage. While employees feel it is a mechanism for avoiding the mandates of the Affordable Health Care Act, a Staples spokesman stated that the policy is not new and that the policy has been in affect for more than a decade. Moreover, the spokesman indicates, the policy is a reiteration of an old policy in attempt to offer scheduling flexibilities and ensure efficiencies. (BuzzFeedNews, 2014)...
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...Ethics and Credibility in Business Communications Kristen Barnes COM/295 March 27, 2016 Randi Barnes-Plante Ethics and Credibility in Business Communications Social Media can be an effective form of communication for business to consumer relationships. Not only does it allow the business to keep everyone up to date on the latest developments within the company, but it also allows the consumer to reach out to the business without having to make a phone call. We all lead busy lives, and being placed on hold for thirty minutes, just to have a simple question answered, can be somewhat of an inconvenience. With social media, that inconvenience is replaced with a few clicks of a button. After visiting Toyota’s Facebook page, the overall presence was mixed, for me. The company made multiple posts throughout the day; some were just for fun, and some were factual. After reading some of the replies, from consumers, those were mixed, as well. Some posts showed pictures of old Toyota’s, and how they’ve always been loyal customers. Others, were full of complaints. I believe that with any company, this is going to happen; but it’s up to the company to communicate and try to make it right. I noticed that Toyota was fairly prompt in replying to the negative comments, and would refer them to the customer service number. While I’m not certain what happened from there, they at least made the effort to let the customer know that their complaint was not something to take lightly. I...
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...Ethics & Credibility in Business Communications COM/295 October 5, 2015 Dr. Lodessa S. Washington Ethics & Credibility in Business Communications Volkswagen is the latest car manufacturer to be caught in the act of purposely manipulating emissions tests results in some of their vehicles. Over the years, several other manufacturers including General Motors, Ford and Honda have also been exposed for the same unethical behavior (Biesecker, 2015). In Volkswagen’s case, the long-term impact to their brand, reputation and credibility is further compounded because their cheating was actually uncovered in 2014, but the organization continued to manufacture cars with the faulty software, and intentionally withheld their trickery from consumers who thought they were buying environmentally friendly vehicles. It wasn’t until the scandal became public last month that Volkswagen finally came clean (Plungis and Hall, 2015). In the United States alone, Volkswagen will have to endure both state and federal investigations, as well as the additional scrutiny of congressional hearings, but the greatest cost Volkswagen will have to pay is the long-term impact to their brand, reputation and credibility. Volkswagen is one of the top automobile manufacturers in the world, with worldwide sales reaching 5.04 million vehicles, from January to June of this year, surpassing Toyota who regularly has held the top sales position (Harrison, 2015). The company now finds itself in the...
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...Ethics & Credibility in Business Communications: WMATA Rail System Gwenda Woodland COM/295 August 10, 2015 Sandra Norris Ethics & Credibility in Business Communications: WMATA Rail System The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (“WMATA”) has been plagued with various problems within its system and on the Metro rails lately. These issues are causing Metro riders much grief and they do not feel safe or find the Metro to be dependable at this time. The problems that the Metro rail has been experiencing are rails smoking due to electrical arcing, derailment of trains, and the constant malfunction of the Metro escalators. Metro riders are concerned that whenever there are serious issues taking place in the Metro system WMATA does not have things under control, or notify the riders in a timely manner so that things do not get out of control. Electrical Arcing Accident On January 12, 2015, there was an electrical arcing accident at the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station which caused the station and two trains to fill with smoke. Panic was definitely in the air because the Metro riders were not notified immediately of an emergency evacuation plan or how quickly the situation was going to be resolved. Unfortunately, there was one passenger fatality and two passengers were hospitalized in serious condition. (National Transportation Safety Board, 2015) Train Derailment On August 5, 2015, a derailment of a non-passenger train at the Smithsonian Metro...
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...Ethics and Credibility in Business Communication Seleta Holtzclaw Business Communication/Com 295 23 August 2015 Dr. Cecilia Perez Ethics and Credibility in Business Communication The Department of Veterans Affairs duties are to provide vital services to veterans. VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) provides health care services, benefits programs and access to national cemeteries for vets and their dependents (VA.gov). There are three main administrative divisions that assist in carrying out its duties: Veterans Benefits Administration, Veterans Health Administration, and National Cemetery Administration. The Department of Veterans Affairs is to assist military veterans to assure they are provided the care and needs they are afforded when separated from service. Veterans rely on VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) on these services. When a veteran wants to claim any disability through VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) they are given options to whom they want to represent them on filing their claim for disability. Houston Rip-offs of Disabled Vets Leland Spencer a disabled ex-Marine had the Department of Veterans Affairs appoint him an Attorney to handle his claims. This Attorney was Joe B. Phillips who is 72. Mr. Phillips and his wife Dorothy stood trial for conspiracy to commit fraud. They both had embezzled over 2 million dollars from close to 28 reported disabled veterans (Housotn, Chron 2011). Pulling off the largest uncovered VA (Department...
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...Ethics of Facebook Study Questioned COM/295 July 16, 2015 Ethics of Facebook Study Questioned I have chosen a recent newsworthy that talks about a study being questioned on ethics of Facebook in San Francisco. The company conducted an experiment using users’ posts in a manipulated way. They gathered news feed posts from users and reposted them as a positive post to one group and a negative post to another group. The purpose of doing that was to see how it affect others responses. The company posted a blog stating how sorry they were on how the paper was described and may have caused any anxiety to others. According to Abc7 News (2015), "I don't think there's any way to overstate this -- you just simply do not play with people's emotions without asking their permission first," said consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow (6). I believe there should have been a better way of doing this research for the sake of all people and their feelings. Facebook’s ethical obligation in their communications to the general public is to be truthful, respect privacy, deception and the right to be informed. Facebook gives individuals the power to share as part of their mission to make connections with others. However, Facebook has not yet responded to the general public nor the researchers due to allegations being made. There is a policy that states how information is collected and how it is used and shared. Due to the way ethics of Facebook...
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...Strategic Communication Ethics Ethics is the subjects that define the difference between the right and wrong, in terms of business it is refereed as the ethical literature of doing business. Ethics has always been a part of our lives, defining our boundaries for deciding whether which side would favor us and which side is the right one. Many ethical philosophers believe that the act of doing right or wrong is totally depended on the situation. Philosophers also believe that ethics is science of conduct that motivates each individual to live under the defined conducts of life. Ethics is not a new subjects, it is from the times of Socrates and Plato around 2500 years back when the theory of ethics came as the “state of art”. Ethics has played a very important role in translating legal laws and regulations; ethical guideline is required for the assessment of new laws. Ethics focus on creating and sustaining more moral values such as honesty, responsibility, respect etc. These values are termed as the moral or ethical principles. Business Ethics When we say Business Ethics, it is subjected to the behavior of working in an office atmosphere. It is important to work right and do what is right at workplace. There is a very special relation that the company has with its customers and stakeholders; the company is always working hard to please them. Business Ethics also involve the ethical behavior of one employee with the other, the healthy conversation between the manager and...
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...goals and targets of the company which directly affects the bottom line. Bottom line is what matters in an organization. It requires lot of effective strategic planning to achieve the set goals and targets which affects the bottom line. It is important to form groups and teams in an organization because it helps in taking better decisions, increased productivity and improves employee morale to perform better. Some of the benefit of having a group is that more ideas are brought in to make sound decision. Members in a group also develop critical thinking skills and conflict resolutions skills. In a group members also develop good communication skills. The survey report says, "Good Communication skills, including written and oral presentations, as well as an ability to work with others, are the main factor contributing to job success." (Communications skills, 2007). Conflict in groups and teams are...
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...the Potter Box, a model created by Ralph Potter as an analytical tool assessing the ethics of corporate decision-making, The facts emerging in news accounts regarding lawsuits against the pharmaceutical company Merck and its painkiller Vioxx are analyzed for ethical consideration. Utilizing the Potter Box model, the case against Merck can be interpreted and studied in light of ethical considerations. The results demonstrate not only how a decision is argued, but what is missing in the overall consideration for the decision. Introduction The mythos of freedom and responsibility in the United States is premised on the ethical actions of members of the society, particularly those in positions of power. And ethics in communication takes a place of preeminence since the words spoken by authorities are often all a public relies upon to pass judgment. How is the citizen or the communication analyst to evaluate the ethics of the utterances of others? And how does the communicator determine the ethical appropriateness of a planned message? This paper is an introduction to an accessible method of ethical decision-making in communication. The Potter Box allows both student and scholar to analyze the ethical responsibilities of communicators in terms that are both practical and theoretically grounded. The Potter Box's four primary dimensions--definition, values, principles, and loyalties--aid the communication analyst in locating the places where most misunderstanding occurs. It is along these...
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