“A Baldrige Process for Ethics?” explores a management tool called the Self-Assessment and Improvement Process (SAIP). Based on Caux Round Table Principles for Business, which are cross cultural statement of business values based on stakeholders, through self-appraisal process of the organization, the SAIP helps executives to shape and form their firm’s awareness of its actions as being either morally right or wrong. This process is modeled after the self-assessment methodology which was pioneered by the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program. Paper touches on both the SAIP’s ability to help organizations strengthen their commitment to ethically responsible conduct, and some of the tool’s limitations, as well as examines business scandals of 2001-2002, such as Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, in regards to requirements with the SAIP. Papers suggest that the SAIP can help address the concerns of company stakeholders to organizational practice through learning from critical lessons of the past. I would certainly agree that under pressures of today’s world, in additional to personal virtues, firm’s leaders and staff need ethical guidance and set of principles to adhere to in order to build and sustain trust and high morals among their own employees and customers, as well as society on its own.
Another paper “Can individual virtue survive corporate pressure?” pretty much joins a lifelong debate on personal moral choice in the business world. There are two answers to this question – yes or no. Yes answer talks about human free choice in their action in the business world and on regular basis, and therefore person’s character and morals should be the basis and guide in creation of healthy moral standing in the business. The other answer No is based on belief that person with its free choice cannot make a difference in the business organization. I almost 100% agree with