As employees of a non-profit organization (Ace Loan) whose employment is based upon selection by a board of directors, it is imperative that those employees follow the direction of the board regardless of their position. A merger with a slightly larger organization, Widget Loan Organization, was in the works when their senior officers approached Paul President. Although Paul President had been keeping the board informed of the activity surrounding the merger, the board changed their mind instructing Paul President to cease with the merger and forward any contact with Widget to the Board. Vicki Vice-President was also aware of the board decision and therefore should have contacted the board when Paul President made arrangements with senior …show more content…
This created an unclear ethical dilemma for Vicki Vice-President. Even though Vicki Vice-President was told that the board no longer approved of the merger with Widget there were ambiguous features that clouded the choices she made. This dilemma caused Vicki Vice-President considerable stress, because a single choice would have to be made that may not feel well served as a result. Before Vicki Vice-President made her decision on whether or not she would ignore the board’s decision, she should have allocated herself sufficient time to think through the results of her actions. Vicki Vice-President also should have identified that the entity she owed primary allegiance too was the board, not Paul President. The board was the entity that appointed Vicki Vice-President; therefore she should have involved the board in her decision to support Paul President. If Vicki Vice-President would have thought the actions through, she possibly could have avoided any ethical dilemmas in this situation (Koocher, Spiegel, …show more content…
These same standards must apply to all levels of the company for the company to thrive. Vicki Vice-President failed in all three areas, ethical reasoning, the application of morals and ethics to a situation, duty-based ethics, the idea that every person has certain duties to others, and outcome-based ethics, which focuses on the action itself and the impact the decision has to maximize benefits and minimize harm (Cross, Miller, 2015). First she was appointed into a key position within Ace, which came with certain obligations that needed upheld. The Board, which appointed her, specifically stated that all negotiations with Widget were to cease unless the Board approved such a venture. Second, Paul President invited key officials from Widget for a full day visit at Ace, which allowed them access to loan files and Ace procedures. Third, in an effort to avoid a dilemma, Vicki Vice President eluded Paul President’s invitation to be present during the day of the visit with senior officials at Widget by stating that her conscious would not allow her to participate, and therefore would work from home. The decision of the board to cease and desist their negotiations with Widget could come from corporate social responsibility in which Ace considered its decision on the impact it would have had on its customers, creditors, and the community in which it operates. Clearly speculation, but at least it has
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Show MoreThe purpose of this paper will be to identify and describe ethical tactics used in the Jeanne Lewis case. The writer will also discuss Jeanne Lewis's ethical behavior in light of her decision to work with her employees until she was confident in the strength of her team.
Broadly defined business ethics is, knowing the difference between what is right and what is wrong. It is the written and unwritten, principles and values that govern how decisions are made within a company (Cross & Miller, 2012). The focus of business ethics is to identify the moral standard, and provides guidelines to follow when making tough ethical decisions. Unethical behavior is typically the result of corrupted interactions between individuals within the organization (Brown & Mitchell, 2010). Many times, unethical acts steam for behaviors that are socially or culturally acceptable within the organization. Ethical behavior can enhance a work environment and maximizes contentment, while unethical behavior may have the opposite affect. Not only can this behavior cause stress in the work place, there is the possibility of it ruining a business (Cross & Miller, 2012). Unlike corporate governance, ethical standards are not as easy to define. A code of ethics expresses fundamental principles and provides guidance to decision makers, but there are no set rules written into a code of ethics. A code of conduct is created using a company’s code of ethics. It is a statement of standard that discloses how a company chooses to conduct its business activities (Driscoll &Hoffman, 2011). Following the scandals of the early 2000’s, many companies adopted a code of conduct to ensure the compliance
personal character. (Scott, R. and Wong, K., p.449) Ethics has to do with an business’s leadership,
...cker, Murphy, and Friedman questioned the legitimacy of connecting anamorphic characteristics, such as moral and social judgment and duties, to an intrinsic body. This is not to say that they promoted immoral conduct by company employees or owners. Rather, they offered a supplemental, more rational way to oversee their behaviors; they did this by laws and the utilization of professional codes of conduct (Murphy, 2009). Business ethics imply the concept of social responsibility through ideas that remain divergent. The moral analysis of business practices and activities come down to business ethics because in business ethics, businesses consider their actions and decisions as well as take into consideration moral principles and values, while questioning whether ethical motives in business actions could make business more responsible, ethical, or any more successful.
Chief Ethics Officers (CEOs) may not have been very popular around a decade ago, but the demand for such a position is beginning to grow within larger companies. From this point forward, when I mention CEOs in this paper, please understand that I am referring to Chief Ethics officers and not Chief Executive Officers. CEOs began appearing in corporate America around the same time as the inception of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for corporations. According to these guidelines, the companies who have instituted compliance and ethics programs within their institutions wouldn’t have received as severe a punishment as those without the programs in place[2].
...t be in business very long. But, for instance, what if RGIS was offered the chance to perform one “test” inventory for a company that had many stores and the inventory went extremely well because of the customer service levels provided? RGIS would have the opportunity to service this customer’s other stores not because of the data, but because of the service they received. This human factor played huge role in garnering business for the RGIS and yet their employees have no chance in earning any more compensation than they would have for simply putting data into a machine. Let’s look at other ethics principles and see where an example like the one above would fit in.
requirement for strategic ethics, which increases the likelihood that business will fail. The company does not appear to have any respect for the intrinsic good of their employees, their customers, or their distributors. Based on the premises of virtue ethics, strategic ethics, or the basic fundamentals of good corporate governance, there is no reason for Benji to sign the contract and accept the job offer.
While our organization prides itself in a well-defined and thorough code of ethics, there are occasions where situations arise, but the solution is not clearly defined within our code. In such a case, it is critical to develop a decision making framework that allows our employees to make a decision while operating within the moral guidelines of our corporation. In the hope that we can eliminate discrepancies, Royal Dutch Shell has created an ethical decision strategy that will make clear the ethical standings of our corporation and ensure a consistent decision making process. Our decision making process is focused on our stakeholders, and how we can maximize their benefit.
The controller and accounting staff play a significant role in company ethics. Specifically, they manage all accounting transactions and are responsible for reporting earnings. Julie must demonstrate a strong ethical behavior and instill this value in her employees. In addition, senior management needs to lead their employees to build a company based on high morals and strong ethics. Without the appropriate leadership, the company will suffer as witnessed during the business scandals of a few years back. As stated by Sam DiPiazza, CEO of Prices Waterhouse Coopers, “It has become dramatically clear that the foundation of corporate integrity is personal integrity.” (2003)
For a business to be effective and running, ethics and values are important factors. Both of these factors work in correlation with one another and they are central to any organization. We then define ethics as moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour. This can be identified on how stakeholders (consumers, customers and shareholders) behave in the organisational environment. Edward Westermarck (Lee and John 1986 37-38) agrees in saying that ‘ethics are concerned with doing good or the right thing in a given human situation’. In the business context, ethics has to do with the extent to which a person's behaviour measures up to such standards as the law, organizational policies, professional and trade association codes, popular expectations regarding fairness and what is right, plus one's own take on moral standards (Sauser, 2005: internet).
Strong internal rivalry between the after-merged Boeing and McDonnell Douglas Corp is also contributing to company’s ethical scandals. As competition between each party gets stiffer, employees might tend to resort to ethical breaches to gain competitive advantages so as to outshine each other.
This case study has been a prime example of our course and ways to prevent and a business from going under. We have learned from Nortel’s failure and others like Enron that ethical leadership and business practices are what make a company survive. Business ethics is the heart and soul of how a business is run and standing by the right principles encourages employees and the public you serve to follow along. Cheating your way to the top make quick and profitable but the result is after the long run is even quicker failure to the bottom.
Ethics is the responsibility of each individual person, but starts with the CEO and the Board of Directors, setting the right tone at the top and moves down through the organization, including setting the tone in the middle. A company’s culture and ethic standards start at the top, not from the bottom. Employees will almost always behave in the manner that they think management expects them, and it is foolish for management to pretend otherwise (Scudder). One of the CEO’s most important jobs is to create, foster, and communicate the culture of the organization. Wrongdoings or improper behavior rarely occurs in a void, leaders typically know when someone is compromising the company
With Jacob’s financial pressure, his integrity is shaken because he wants to use the money to pay off the bills and Jacob did not mention it to Krystal. Jacob needs to put his personal matter aside and communicate his medical situation and the bonus money to Krystal. By doing so, Jacob will maintain his honesty and not let his personal interest be in the way resulting trust within the workplace will be maintained. Additionally, the bonus money can be fairly divided between the two. Employees have the responsibility to follow and maintain business ethics and the code of ethics in the workplace. Employees have to be honest, communicate at all levels of the organization, deal issues at the lowest possible level, and avoid conflict of interest that would lead to unethical decisions. Also, employees should be educated with the policy and regulations set by the company in order to maintain ethical practices in the workplace. Jacob and employees in general are bombarded by ethical issues and by abiding by their roles and responsibilities will guide them in making an ethical decision. The following five-step model can help employees make appropriate decisions when faced with an ethical dilemma. First step is to recognize the issue. Knowing what is the root cause and the main
In the case of Dayton Hudson Corporation, the company fell into a situation of a hostile takeover attempted by the Dart Group in 1987. At that time, Kenneth Macke was the CEO of the Dayton Hudson Corporation and sternly disagreed with letting the company fall into the hands of the Haft’s. Macke’s decision on what could be done to terminate the takeover turned the circumstances over to the hands of the state of Minnesota where Dayton Hudson’s headquarters resided. Macke requested a special session of the legislature to revisit the Minnesota corporate takeovers statute. This proved to work in Dayton Hudson’s favor and a statute was enacted that left the decision of a takeover up to the Board of Directors of the company.