Assignment # 1
Instructor:
Bus 520
April 24, 2011
1. Discuss how personal differences and preference can impact organizational ethics.
Every organization has a standard or code of ethics every employee is expected to adhere to. Not everyone within an organization share the same moral values or principles, this is due to cultural differences and understanding ethics competency. Ethics competency is described as the knowledge, skills and abilities to incorporate values and principals that distinguish right from wrong when making decisions and choosing behaviors ( Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011p.10). How one determines right from wrong is based on their personal beliefs but behavior and conduct within an organization should be universal, in order for an organization to be effective. Ethical issues within an organization is common because of personal differences , these ethical issues influence the decisions employees make daily (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). Lawrence Kohlberg’s model of moral development suggests there are stages through which individuals evolve, ranging from the lowest stage obedience and punishment orientation, to the highest stage; universal ethical principles (Hellriegel & …show more content…
Because there are no set rules for making ethical decisions it is important for a company have a strong ethical culture to ensure enforcement of proper conduct. Lying may not be a big deal or seen as harmful to the organization if an employee chooses not to disclose seeing someone steeling money or product. This may be a case of an employee not wanting to get involved with or they take the “I'm going to mind my own business” frame of mind. This can be perceived as remaining neutral, however if one chooses to act as if they saw nothing this behavior may be perceived as being just as