...Leadership, Ethics, and Scandal Leadership and ethics are two topics that are a part of the training for all military leaders, both officers and enlisted and across all branches of service. Leadership can be defined in any number of ways. Kouzes and Posner quote Genentech executive Alan Keith as saying “Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen” (Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p. 16). Keith’s idea of what defines leadership is one of the better definitions in print today. Ethics are defined as the moral principles that dictate a person’s or a group’s behavior. By using the ideas and writings of Terry Price (2008) and Craig Johnson (2012) a concept of what ethical leadership can be obtained. Ethical leadership is knowing what your core values are and having the courage to live them in all parts of your life in service of the common good; whether it is in private or in public (Price, 2008/ Johnson, 2012). Over the past few years the Army has seen its share of scandals involving a number of top leaders. A few of the more notable reports involved former four-star General William “Kip” Ward, one-star Brigadier General Jeffrey A. Sinclair, former Colonel James H. Johnson III, and former CIA Director and retired Army four-star General David H. Petraeus (Briggs, 2012, Nov. 15). Army four-star general William “Kip” Ward, the first officer to open the new Africa Command in 2008, came under scrutiny for allegations of...
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...I was told to behave ethically when I was young. I thought being ethically was pretty easy. Because all I need to do is to do right thing. At that time, doing the right things means to help others, not tell lies to others, and protect the environment…there’s not an obscure definition of doing the right thing. However, as being a college student who will be graduating and entering the society, I found not that I’m not sure how to do the right things, sometimes I don’t even know what the right thing is. The movie Margin Call is a good example of an ethical dilemma that we may face when we enter the real world. We can see that different characters have different perceptions of what is right to them. The whole movie was based on the true stories in Wall Street back in 2008. Contrast to other financial crisis movies, the movie Margin Call particularly emphasis on the describing the brutal competition and the ruthlessness of people when facing the possible financial crisis. The character that resonates with me the most is Sam Rogers, I think I can feel what he feels because he is definitely the one who is struggling thorough out the story. I think he is just one of us, he is just a normal man. When we facing ethical dilemmas, we are definitely not the ones who stand out and choose to do the right thing immediately. We always have to fight with ourselves. Which choice is better for my own profits? Which choice would be the right? Do I suffer losses by making the right choice? Those...
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...(ESPN vs. OSU, 2011) (George, 2010) Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Timothy E. Shaw MGT/216 July-27, 2011 Ms. SHANNON MATHIS-ROBERTS Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Ethics and morals are rules on how we as individuals and as a society should follow. These rules, both written and implied, are how we are viewed and judged. This paper will discuss the differences between ethical issues and moral issues, the differences between personal ethics and business ethics, and show how a violation of these rules brought down one of the Goliaths of college football and caused a premature end to the era Jim Tressel at The Ohio State University. Ethics and morals are sometimes used interchangeably. Ethics is defined as a systematic attempt to make sense of our individual and social moral experience, in such a way as to determine the rules that ought to govern human conduct [ (George, 2010) ]. A moral is the distinction of right from wrong. The difference between the two is very slim and marginal. Morals are what define our personal character, whereas ethics lean on the side of how society is supposed to act [ (wisegeek) ]. As close as ethics and morals are, the margin of difference between personal ethics and business ethics is even more narrow. Business ethics is how people conduct themselves in the workplace and how the company produces goods or perform services to increase their overall worth and profits. Personal ethics are principles of good behavior and a moral...
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...TMG 610 Global Trends in Technology Case #8: Royal Dutch / Shell: Ethical Issues, Human Rights and Resource Extraction Case Study Report Ozel Kirkland 29 March 2014 I. Introduction – In General Terms What is this case is about? Why is it relevant to TMG 610? Whether the extractive industries like it or not, the nature of their involvement with host nations is a precarious balance between competing interests (Dicken, 2010), and firms are either obligated to conduct themselves responsibly when dealing with developing nations like Nigeria, or mitigate the negative effects of their choices after the fact, like Royal Dutch / Shell was compelled to. Unfortunately, some extraction companies have a reputation for embracing their short-term self-interests, exploiting developing countries rich with oil like Nigeria, instead of acting ethically. Many of the extractive resources of the world are found in poorer, or developing countries. The question is how can these resources be exploited without foreign assistance. In the earlier part of the twentieth century, many of these extractive industries originated from colonial powers that had expanded into these countries and invested in these companies. This expansion was singularly intended to expand the grip for these foreign countries over mineral resources, used to support their home country and the growing manufacturing and infrastructure growth in those home nations. However the relationships between these host...
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...and ethics? Both are extremely broad terms, and we need to focus in on the aspects most relevant for strategic leaders and decision makers. What we will first discuss is the distinctive nature of ethics for public officials; second, the forces which influence the ethical behavior of individuals in organizations; and third, explore the actions strategic leaders can take to build ethical climates in their organizations. THE CHARACTER OF VALUES AND ETHICS Values can be defined as those things that are important to or valued by someone. That someone can be an individual or, collectively, an organization. One place where values are important is in relation to vision. One of the imperatives for organizational vision is that it must be based on and consistent with the organization's core values. In one example of a vision statement we'll look at later, the organization's core values - in this case, integrity, professionalism, caring, teamwork, and stewardship- were deemed important enough to be included with the statement of the organization's vision. Dr. John Johns, in an article entitled "The Ethical Dimensions of National Security," mentions honesty and loyalty as values that are the ingredients of integrity. When values are shared by all members of an organization, they are extraordinarily important tools for making judgments, assessing probable outcomes of contemplated actions, and choosing among alternatives. Perhaps more important, they put all members "on the same sheet...
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...Ethical Issues and Management Philip Kingsley XMGT/216 May 6th, 2012 Management employees are employed by organizations with the anticipation that they possess the skills to deal with various types of ethical issues on a daily basis. These skills are developed over a period of time through experience and education. For example, the types of ethical issues in which managers are relied upon to deal with range from various types of harassment, issuing disciplinary action, and termination of employment. At times, these situations can be extremely difficult, therefore managers must possess the ability to make the appropriate and often times difficultdecisions. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between social issues and ethically responsible managerial practices. Different types of managerial roles exist throughout the business world. For example, there are Human Resource Managers, Department Managers, Floor Supervisors, and Executive Managers. Though the titles of these different types of managers differ from one to the next, essentially their roles are ideally the same. They hold to the responsibilities of ensuring that subordinate employees arrive to work on time, adhere to company policies and guidelines, and perform their duties in the appropriate manner. Further, managers are responsible for making sure that employee and departmental goals are being met. If these goals are not being met, managers are responsible for coaching and guiding their...
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...organization's core values. In one example of a vision statement we'll look at later, the organization's core values - in this case, integrity, professionalism, caring, teamwork, and stewardship- were deemed important enough to be included with the statement of the organization's vision. Dr. John Johns, in an article entitled "The Ethical Dimensions of National Security," mentions honesty and loyalty as values that are the ingredients of integrity. When values are shared by all members of an organization, they are extraordinarily important tools for making judgments, assessing probable outcomes of contemplated actions, and choosing among alternatives. Perhaps more important, they put all members "on the same sheet of music" with regard to what all members as a body consider important. The Army, in 1986, had as the theme for the year "values," and listed four organizational values-loyalty, duty, selfless service, and integrity-and four individual values- commitment, competence, candor, and courage. A Department of the Army pamphlet entitled Values: The Bedrock of Our Profession spent some time talking about the importance of values, and included this definition: Values are what we, as a profession, judge to be right. They are more than words-they are the moral, ethical, and professional attributes of character . . . there are certain core values that must be instilled in members of the U.S. Army-civilian and uniformed soldier alike. These are not the only values that should determine...
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...Case Study: Tyco international fraud Tyco Background Tyco International has operations in over 100 countries and claims to be the world's largest maker and servicer of electrical and electronic components; the largest designer and maker of undersea telecommunications systems; the larger maker of fire protection systems and electronic security services; the largest maker of specialty valves; and a major player in the disposable medical products, plastics. Edward Breen, who replaced kozlowski removed nine members of Tyco’s international board, and adhesives markets. Since 1986, Tyco has claimed over 40 major acquisitions as well as many minor acquisitions. How the Fraud Happened According to the Tyco Fraud Information Center, an internal investigation concluded that there were accounting errors, but that there was no systematic fraud problem at Tyco. So, what did happen? Tyco's former CEO Dennis Kozlowski, former CFO Mark Swartz, and former General Counsel Mark Belnick were accused of giving themselves interest-free or very low interest loans (sometimes disguised as bonuses) that were never approved by the Tyco board or repaid. Some of these "loans" were part of a "Key Employee Loan" program the company offered. They were also accused of selling their company stock without telling investors, which is a requirement under SEC rules. Koslowski, Swartz, and Belnick stole $600 million dollars from Tyco International through their unapproved bonuses, loans, and extravagant "company"...
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...Running Head: LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION Title: How Personal Can Ethic Get? Name: Raymond McCall Instructor: Dr. Orsini School Name: Strayer University Course: Leadership and Organization Date: 1/23/2011 Discuss how personal differences and preference can impact organizational ethics. People have different attitudes towards their work due to their preferences. This implies that there exists natural tension between people values or preferences and organizational ethics (Giacalone & Jurkiewicz, 2010). Personal and professional differences have impact on organizational impact in that people start behaving in ways that are inconsistent with their personal characteristics and not consistent with organizational ethics. Giacalone & Jurkiewicz (2010) established that “the deciding factor behind a person’s decision to conform, leave, or alter is based on the relative priority given to the conflicting organizational ethics” (p. 155). Individual preferences shape ones consciousnesses; imposing routines that reflect socially approved, purposive action hence they guide the perception and behavior of oneself. This implies that these preferences present cultural and contextual constraints that alter individual and organizational perspectives on social issues (Giacalone & Jurkiewicz, 2010). Studies indicate that if a personal need for job is an individual’s overriding value above all other, then conformance to organizational ethics is the likely response to...
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...Summary Larry Shepherd is an Aeronautical Engineer, working for Extraterrestrial Delivery Service (EDS). This company has dealt with a scope of business ventures as listed below: ▪ Private parties looking for opportunities to put up communication satellites ▪ Delivering supplies to the International Space Station ▪ Placing astronomical science instruments into space Larry’s job the first few years at EDS presented him with several challenges. First, there was a rocket explosion after liftoff, which EDS had responsibility in this venture. The payload was a part of a communication satellite from EDS, and the reputation of EDS has suffered from this, as well as the customer confidence in the company. Upon impact of the explosion, it caused some damage to the environment, nature, and surrounding areas in the community by the release of a small amount of radioactive dust in the air that settled. It was at this time Larry became the key scientist of the investigating team to determine the cause of the explosion, which was due to a faulty manufacturing of a fuel line gasket by Space Engineers LTD. Larry did well on the investigation and received a promotion to a team leader role. He continued to improve in efficiency, cost, and effectiveness of using rockets to deliver private payloads into space. Larry’s work became even more noticeable by the senior staff in the company and he acquired a nickname of “Werner Von Braun,” of the private space industry...
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...------------------------------------------------- How Ethical CEOs Create Honest Corporations A book report We have seen in recent corporate history a litany of corporate scandals that rocked the foundations of the business world. Huge corporations whose economic outputs are larger than most of the developing countries have suddenly imploded under the weight of stock manipulation, unscrupulous accounting procedures and deliberate enculturation of business competitiveness anchored on ‘doing whatever it takes to win’. Small ethical cracks in the business foundation had gone too many and had been widely ignored by all of their stakeholders – employees, board of directors, stockholders, regulators, auditors and analysts. In the aftermath, we are faced with a realization of how fragile our economic system is and how much of it depends on values that are both difficult to measure and, in the current world, even more difficult to acquire. These are not mere economic values of profitability; but values of integrity, of truth, and of plain and simple honesty. It is in this context that the three authors - Patrizia Porrini, Ph.D., Lorrin Hiris, D.P.S., and Gina Poncini, Ph.D. - wrote this book. They do not seek to expound on the voluminous literature available discussing why and how these corporate scandals happened. They seek to provide answers to how effective CEOs build an ethical culture within an organization by providing actual cases of ethical companies that had passed the test of...
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...company’s/employees’ best interest, the lack of a solid game plan has led us to this point where the working relationship between management has failed. While attempting to uncover the optimal solution I will look at the factors that should be considered when evaluating all options. My hopes are to bring to light why one solution is better than the next as it relates to the vision and goals of the company. This will be done by examining evidence from outside sources that have been through similar situations. This solution will be centered on transformational leadership and organizational culture. By identifying the primary causes of the failed strategy’s implementation, I will dissect and attempt to salvage the IPO strategy that Gene One will still need to carry out. In reading this scenario, one thing obvious from the onset; the senior leadership team at Gene One is not all on the same page. Anytime there is a culture change within an organization there will be resistance by some to change. In the case of Gene One they are no more immune than any other company. Evidence of this could be seen from the interactions of Teri and Michelle at the 1st leadership meeting after the board’s approval of the IPO plan. “What’s the matter, Michelle? Not finding enough challenges in finance, so you want to get into research? We’re in the plant research and bio-agriculture industry. I would assume you know that cancer is a whole different business that would require a different set of capabilities from a people...
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...Riza to a position outside his influence. Wolfowitz directed the VP - HR to transfer Ms Riza, increase her salary to an amount above and beyond those of others employees and even seeing to it that the terms of her position be changed after he was no longer with the organisation (Planning and Intent). This was highly unethical for Wolfowitz to do, for HR to comply and for Ms Riza to accept. This is an ethical offence only in countries that have Laws against them and the Resources to enforce them. But in the REAL world and thats how most Corporate Big wigs and Government officials Roll...... Ref:http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-04-14/us/27870120_1_shaha-riza-bank-employees-riza-affair http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-454960/White-House-defends-Wolfowitz-He-ousted.html http://gulfnews.com/business/banking/world-bank-promises-quick-action-on-wolfowitz-scandal-1.176879 RE: Wolfowitz and Riza at the Wold Bank Law is not about who did what, but its about assigning Blame. If a law was broken somebody needed to be blamed and punished for it. When Wolfowitz realised that going to the board as a cover did not work, he insisted that any and all problems were the result of his colleagues' actions and not his own....
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...Assignment: Background Read the following Case Scenario and then attempt this task Enron: How the Failure of Leadership, Culture, and Unethical Behavior Brought a Giant to its Knees Background A company with humble beginnings, Enron began as a merger of two Houston pipeline companies in 1985. Although Enron faced a number of financially difficult years, the deregulation of the electrical power markets took effect in 1988, and the company redefined its business from "energy delivery" to "energy broker." Enron quickly changed from a surviving company to a thriving one. Deregulation allowed Enron to become a matchmaker in the power industry, bringing buyers and sellers together. Enron profited from the exchanges, generating revenue from the difference between the buying and selling prices. Deregulation allowed Enron to be creative—for the first time, a company that had been required to operate within the lines could innovate and test limits. Over time, Enron's contracts became increasingly diverse and significantly more complex. Customers could insure themselves against all sorts of eventualities—such as a rise or fall in interest rates, a change in the weather, or a customer's inability to pay. By the end, the volume of such financial contracts far outstripped the volume of contracts to deliver actual commodities, and Enron was employing a small army of Ph.D.s in mathematics, physics, and economics to help manage its risk. As Enron's products and services evolved, so did...
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...THE IDEA OF ETHICS AND THE EUROZONE CRISIS Prepared for: Ms. Homayara L. Ahmed Assistant Professor Prepared by: Bijon Islam (Roll: 21) Faruk Ahmed (Roll: 20) EMBA 14th Batch IBA, Dhaka January 04, 2012 January 04, 2012 Ms. Homayara L. Ahmed Assistant Professor Institute of Business Administration University of Dhaka Sub: Term Paper Submission- The Idea of Ethics and the Eurozone Crisis Dear Madam: Thank you for giving us the opportunity for working on such an exciting topic. Looking at the Eurozone crisis from an ethical perspective reveals several insightful and interesting insights including a look into the idea of equality among the member states, financial camouflage practices and the focus on immediate gains both in private sector and at national level. We have tried to map out such factors that have contributed to ethics mismanagement among the euro member states which have finally culminated into the crisis. We hope that you enjoy reading this paper as much as we did writing this and look forward to your views. Please feel free to contact us anytime if you feel the need for any additional support that we may provide. Kind Regards Bijon Islam – Roll 21 (EMBA 14) Faruk Ahmed – Roll 20 (EMBA 14) pg. 1 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................................3 1. A. B. C. D. E. 2. A. B. 3. A. B. C. D. E. F. 4. 5. 6. THE STORY...
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