...APRIL 25, 2015 MGMT 204 CRN: 34272 Current Human Relations Challenge: Organizational Ethics Ethics is the moral standard of right and wrong behavior (Lussier, 2013, pg. 72). Organization as defined by Lussier is “a group of people working to achieve one or more objectives” (Lussier, 2013, pg. 457). Organizational ethics is code of conduct for businesses. In this paper, three different ethics studies, from the Business Journal of Ethics, are examined. They are “Boardroom Diversity and its Effect on Social Performance: Conceptualization and Empirical Evidence,” “The Corporate Ethical Virtues Scale: Factorial Invariance Across Organizational Samples,” and “When Organizations Don’t Walk Their Talk: A Cross-Level Examination of How Decoupling Formal Ethics Programs Affects Organizational Members.” Boardroom Diversity and its Effect on Social Performance: Conceptualization and Empirical Evidence” This article, written by Hafsi and Turgut, is a study of the relationship between boardroom diversity and corporate social performance. They compare diversity in boards (encompassing director’s gender, ethnicity, age, experience and tenure) and diversity of boards (consisting of board size, director independence, director stock ownership, and board leadership duality) and incorporate that into the effects of corporate social performance (CSP). They state that boardroom diversity affects organizational performance created the need for Sarbanes-Oxley act of 2002 (Hafsi et al, 2013)...
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...The HR Roles and Responsibilities in Organizational Ethics -Name- Webster University July 1, 2015 Over the years, the role of Human Resources has expanded drastically. When I joined the United States Army back in 1990, my job title was Personnel Actions Specialist. Halfway through my career the title changed to Personnel Admin Supervisor. By the time I retired, the same job was called Human Resources Manager. I eventually learned that “Human Resources” meant something very different in the civilian sector. Be that as it may, just as the Human Resources field had undergone tremendous transition during my 20 years as a soldier, its civilian counterpart seemed to have transitioned even more. Now, HR departments are beginning to have more influence in steering the organization towards its goals. The HR department has a more strategic function in organizations nowadays. This is in stark contrast to its beginning stages when its roles were more clerical in nature. As corporate scandals and corruption have become more high profile over the years, the role and responsibility of Human Resources in an organizations ethics have become increasingly important. The Human Resources Department can be seen as “gatekeepers” since they are the ones recruiting, making initial contact via job fairs, internet job postings and resume reviews. There is some degree of truth in a statement made by Jack Welch that says “The team that fields the best players wins”. Part of recruiting...
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...Leadership and Organizational Behavior Assignment 1 Dr. J. Pionke Strayer University Leadership and Organizational Behavior Assignment 1 Discuss how personal differences and preference can impact organizational ethics. Ethics are defined as the basic concepts and fundamental principles of right human conduct. It includes the study of universal values such as the essential equality of all men and women, human or natural rights, obedience to the law of land and concern for health and safety. Organizational ethics relates to how an organization responds to internal and external stimuli (Business Dictionary, 2011). Unfortunately, while ethics are made up of ‘basic concepts and fundamental principles’ these concepts and principles are not necessarily absolute, or universal. While the law concerns what we must do, ethics concerns what we should do. Such a broad and non-specific definition of organizational ethics can naturally lead to conflicting views on what constitutes ethical behavior and what does not. One person’s view of what the organization should do in a given situation might differ greatly from someone else viewing the same situation. As such, personal differences and preference can greatly impact organizational ethics. As an example, one area that garners significant ethical debate is that involving workplace relationships between supervisors and subordinates (Siegel, 2005). Utilizing this one area of ethical concern we can observe significant differences in how...
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...Organizational Ethics - Team C Paper Darnita Garry, Lyndell Johnson, Christian Mataban, Kathie Lacy Storost ETH/316 September 25, 2015 D. Joseph McCarty Racial Disaster for Local Wine Train KLS On Saturday, August 22, 2015, eleven black women, belonging to the "Sistahs on the Reading Edge" book club, were booted off the Napa Valley Wine Train. Repeated warnings from train employees “of being too loud.” Employees later posted on Facebook; “. . . The women had reportedly become unruly once the conflict escalated. "Following verbal and physical abuse toward other guests and staff, . ” (Rocha, 2015, para. 12). The women feeling humiliated due to the way the treatment by train employees, the book club members felt legal action needs to be taken. Considering a lawsuit for racial discrimination because they were the only group on board seemingly singled out. DG/LJ This essay will highlight the external social pressures that influence the Napa Valley Wine Train's organizational ethics. Considering how these issues may be relevant to the company's organizational and personal decisions, and the relationship between legal and ethical issues. In short, we will delve into how this controversial incident affected the wine train owner’s actions from ethical, personal, and legal standpoints. The Napa Valley Wine Train is one of many companies that has entangled in a web of sticky ethical situations. These situations have brought about some serious ramifications for companies...
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...Abstract In this essay I will explain the results of my research of a major organization’s code of ethics. I will also describe how ethical principles can address organizational issues. Other issues such as external social pressures will also be covered in this paper. The organization I selected to research was the largest retailer in the United Sates of America, Wal-Mart. Over the past decade Wal-Mart has experienced quite a number of controversies that have generated world- wide news. So some individuals may say that there is no reason to research an organization that underpays their employees and forces so many local businesses to close because of a perceived unfair advantage of selling goods at a cut rate price. This paper will not argue for or against Wal-Mart. This report will simply focus on the company’s written code of ethics. Organizational Ethics In all facets of our life ethics play a role, from the way we deal with the local store clerk to the way we file our taxes, we are burdened with a general code of ethics. Organizations have to do the same or more for the image of their organization to remain positive. A negative reputation in ethics in the business world will overtime cost that company more profits. And with the intense media coverage of negative stories… every aspect of the company is an organizational issue. Wal-Mart is in the business of wholesale retail to consumers of the world, and with every new store that opens, also opens the opportunity to criticize...
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...Organizational Ethics Paper Jaime Terreforte II ETH/316 July 27, 2015 Tyra Barnes Organizational Ethics Paper What is organizational Ethics? Well according to definition, organizational ethics is best described as the work standards and principles of all operating businesses. Organizational ethics comprises of acts of compassion, fairness, honor, integrity, and responsibility. It is important for employers to fully make sure that all employees understand the principles of organizational ethics through training. (Small Business.chron.com, 2015) This paper will discuss the organizational ethics in the retail industry. The retail corporation of Dollar Tree is the primary focus of this essay. Some points that will be addressed are external social pressures, organizational issues and the relevance of organizational and personal decision making, and finally the relationship between legal and ethical issues. External Social Pressures The fundamental role of external social pressures are based on social influence. Social influence basically means that an individual’s actions, reactions, and thoughts are influenced by communities or groups. This will include peer pressure, persuasion, marketing, sales, and conformity. (Business dictionary.com, 2015) External social pressure is a very important aspect when it comes to business ethics in particular small businesses in small communities. There are many social expectations in which businesses needs to pay attention to. These expectations...
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...Organizational Ethics Bridgette Ware ETH/316 February 2nd, 2015 Larry Lowry Organizational Ethics I am a fleet administrator for a company called Lazer Spot, Incorporated. Lazer Spot Incorporated, provides transportation yard management services to several large companies such as Gatorade, Amazon, Niagara Bottling, Kimberly Clark and Unilever to name a few. As a fleet administrator, I provide administrative support to the Vice President of Fleet, the director of fleet, Vice President of Operations, regional managers and to managers in the field. I have chosen this company for this week’s paper and will attempt to describe how ethical principles can address organizational issues. In this paper I will also address the role that external social pressures have in influencing organizational ethics. How might these issues be relevant to organizational and personal decisions? And lastly we will look at the relationship between legal and ethical issues? At lazer Spot, our values and goals are to provide the best in class customer service, our continuous commitment to safety and accountability to our customers. As the company is geared towards providing excellent customer satisfaction to our clients, we are somewhat at the mercy of the clients. Reason being, we have to tailor our services to the wants and need of the customer. Could this pose an ethical dilemma? Of course! Within every industry, there are rules and guidelines that are established and must be adhered to. In...
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...Organizational Ethics Mariela Morales ETH/316 April 27th, 2015 Business Organizational Ethics Humana, a big insurance company across the United States, who not only works with Medicare Advantage plans but also offers health insurance for regular plans, has very strict ethics policy in order to comply with every employee and also to comply with all the legal rules and laws established. Ethics Social pressure represents a big impact in business ethics. Every company, big or small, they know they have to have big consideration to how to meet social expectations whether it is for the community or the environment. The reason why social pressure is a big factor in a company is due to the fact that if a company fails to comply or to adhere to social standards this can be very damaging for the company’s credibility. A brief example to on how social pressure drives business to comply or adhere to ethics is; perhaps the marketing or the advertising performed by any company has to accurate. In this case, talking about Humana, if they offer a health plan where they advertise that for $120.00 the person insured will only have a deductible amount of $500.00 and fail to have a disclaimer of saying “For qualifying plan”, this can cost them a lawsuit and this will affect the image and credibility of the company. Another example that will reflect more on how the company treats their employees, if this company does not follow the correct ethics policies...
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...Organizational Ethics of the Rent to Own Industry Christian Watson ETH/316 12/22/14 Irma Flores-Brothers/University of Phoenix Organizational Ethics of the Rent to Own Industry When it comes to the rent to own industry there are many questions of unethical behavior and Rent A Center as the industry leader is at the forefront of the questionable practices. It is relatively easy to obtain some of the hottest merchandise available today at rent to own stores at relatively cheap weekly and monthly rates. But in the world of rent to own nothing is truly how it seems because to obtain these deals customers can expect to pay as much as 311 percent in interest to own the merchandise. These high interest rates are the reason that many refer to the rent to own industry as “predatory lending”. High cost isn’t the only thing that is troubling the rent to own industry; the industry is also engaged in many questionable business practices. Among these practices allegations against companies such as Rent A Center and Aarons include: failure to disclose prior damage to rented property, instructing employee’s to make collection calls before account due dates, including contract provisions that illegally barred class-action law suits against the company’s and even allowing its employee’s to use collections practices that include banging on doors, cursing at customers, threatening arrest and demanding payments from third parties. Rent to own companies say that they offer a crucial service...
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...Organizational Ethics Benigno Borjon III ETH/316 October 6, 2015 Mr. Jack Land The United Stated Marine Corps is organized within the Department of the Navy which in turn is ran by the Department of the Navy. The Marine Corps is headed by the Commandant of the Marine Corps and is assisted in his duties by the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. They both are responsible for organizing, recruiting, training, and equipping the Marine Corps so that it is ready for operation at any given moment. Professional ethics is a subject that I feel passionate about, and I believe it is the foundation upon which we build a successful organization. After all, the United States Marine Corps has three primary responsibilities to the American people: 1) Make Marines, 2) Win our nation’s battles, and 3) return quality citizens back to the American people. External social pressure has become a major driver in not only business ethics but in the military as well. This is especially true for small businesses in smaller communities. Information flow has significantly increased at a quick rate when companies fail to adhere to social and ethical standards. The concept of business ethics has evolved significantly over time and historically, it refers to operating a business in a way that does not break the law or violate any major moral guidelines. In the early 21st century, business ethics has broadened to include...
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...Organizational Ethics: Bon Appetit Management Company James Jackson ETH 316 December 9, 2014 Mr. Rodney Sprauve When forming and conducting a business, ethical principles must go into the foundation when establishing a successful moral organization. The ethical principles incorporated should suit those of the industry in which they function. The company assessed today will be the Bon Appetit Management Company, an umbrella corporation stemming from Compass Group. Bon Appetit operates within the food service industry “offering full food-service management to corporations, universities, museums, and other specialty venues” ("Bon Appetit Management Company", 2014). There will be further discussion of Bon Appetit and the industrial pressures and issues they encounter. External social pressures play a vital role in influencing organizational ethics. It would be assumed that a successful business would offer some degree of conformity to the demands placed upon them by society. Bon Appetit, in the food service industry, has been met with the responsibility of encompassing the preservation of the environment with their everyday business procedures. In its’ existence, Bon Appetit has been “widely recognized as a pioneer in environmentally sound sourcing policies” ("Bon Appetit Management Company", 2014). The business research done in the field of ‘green’ and organic foods, has led Bon Appetit to their sustainable business plan. The information age has contributed significantly...
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...Researchers in the field of organizational communication have argued that honesty, credibility and openness are important for effective organizational communication. The effects of unethical communication can be very dramatic and significant. W Charles Redding responding to a student’s question, if lying is unethical in certain occasions, mentioned that credibility and openness are so important that if these factors get devalued organizational credibility and communication will be in risk. Eric Eisenberg on the other hand argued that being clear is not always smart in organizational contexts. Strategic ambiguity refers to information purposefully being vague in order to increase organizational or individual benefits. Eisenberg and Goodall listed the above advantages of strategic ambiguity: Promotes unified diversity, by letting employees giving diverse meanings to the same message. Facilitates organizational change and creativity Preserves privileged positions and Is deniable which mean that by using strategic ambiguity let participants express their feelings and deny any interpretations they arise. But there are some problems with strategic ambiguity. Many are those who believe that this theory provides a license for people to be misleading and promotes the notion that deception is defensible. ...
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...Organizational Ethics Jose A. Maldonado ETH/316 April 20, 2015 Billy Hollis Organizational Ethics Organizational ethics play a big role on many of business decisions. Result have shown the unethical companies will not survive for long and once customer start to notice they are not very honest will live their companies. At T-Mobile the company strives for been the most ethical company on the wireless industry and perhaps having a CEO like John Leger will allow the company to succeed. T-Mobile base their decision on customer surveys on what they want for their wireless company to serve like no contracts and great customer service at a reasonable price. Some of the role external social pressure has influence T-Mobile to strive to be the best wireless company people can afford. By having larger companies like Verizon and AT&T trying to acquire T-Mobile this makes them stronger and willing to strive to be the best company. Some of the other external role will be customer are looking for a better bargain and there are willing to research companies in order to get best deals. There is some extra external social pressure T-Mobile has to deal in order for them to succeed like contracts customer dislike contract T-Mobile got rid off as well those ugly overages for data. Another issue we encounter will be customer are been deceive from getting a free phone or low price but at the end will pay enormous amount of dollars for those so call free phone because they will make...
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...Organizational Ethics Carolyn Adams ETH/316 May 4, 2015 Michael Esquivel Organizational Ethics Walmart started from a small discount retailer in Rodgers Arkansas. There are now thousands of Walmart stores within the United States and the company has also expanded internationally. Walmart created the one stop shop for anything, anywhere and at any time with most of its stores allowing a 24 hour shopping experience to the customers. The company operates over 11,000 retail units under 71 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. ("Walmart", 2015) Over 2.2 million people are employed by the corporation around the world with 1.3 million in the United States alone. The company’s founder, Sam Walton, said “personal and moral integrity is one of our basic fundamentals and it has to start with us” when he spoke of his company’s ethics and integrity. ("Walmart", 2015). High moral and ethical standards are embedded in the company yet controversial ethical issues haunt the company like proverbial retail ghosts. One such ghost is Walmart’s treatment of its employees. Walmart has been criticized and publically assaulted due to the treatment of the retailer’s employees. A documentary titled Walmart: High Cost of Low Price, was released. The documentary included interviews of former employees and managers who presented critical views of Walmart’s policies in respect to the treatment of workers. Walmart was so concerned with the content of the...
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...It is not easy to be perceived as the bad guy. In a room full of management, I once looked my employer's CEO straight in the eye, and told him that the software he was ready to deliver did not work. It did not work, and was one of the ugliest pieces of user interface I had ever seen. In fact, I told him, I had seen school projects that were better quality that the junk the company was about to deliver to a major client. I will never forget that definitive moment of corporate terror, the reflection of panic from the sweat beads streaming down his crinkled face; the death of silence in the room. What went so wrong that this product was almost allowed to ship? Why was a mid-level software engineer telling the corporate head his watch had just created a pile of software crap destined for the company's best customer? The CEO should have been sweating; he was faced with the very real prospect of contractual breach, and litigation. The testing team had been copious in their documentation of the software verification results, and sent them to the quality manager on a weekly basis. The reports showed consistent failure of major components, and data corruption. Why didn't top management see the damming information that was so pervasive? This company had a system in place that allowed defective products to ship. But the problem was not technical, it was political. The issue was a quality manager who had more concern for the creation of a façade, than with reporting of reality. Perry...
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