Corporate Ethics
Ethics, Management, and
the Corporation’s Reputation
Kristi Sims
SGT, Inc
Turnitin Originality Score: 8%
Ethics and ethical standards are very important to an organization’s way of life. If something goes wrong and its standards are broken, it can be very detrimental to the company’s reputation among investors, customers, employees, and competitors. It is the duties of management to make sure an organization’s ethical standards are being met and that the reputation of the organization is preserved.
The case, “The CEO’s Private Investigation” by Joseph Finder, is a fictional look at a new CEO coming into a company and realizing that rumors she heard at her previous employer may be true. She struggles with deciding whether to follow her gut and start an investigation into the previous CEO and his dealings or to sit quietly and not affect the image of the corporation. On Cheryl Tobin’s first day as the new CEO of Hammond Aerospace, she confronts several top –level employees about rumors she heard at Boeing. Hammond’s sales team was extremely successful at landing foreign contracts and rumor was they were offering incentives, bribes, to land these contracts. After confronting several employees, Cheryl noticed that these employees never denied the rumor. They had just tried to change the subject.
The employees noted that if Cheryl proceeded with an investigation, it would severely damage the company’s image. The company could lose millions of dollars, share price would decline, and customers would flock to competitors for their needs. In the end, Cheryl decides to hold her own investigation with a private, outside law firm. This raises the question of how ethical behavior among management affects an organization’s image and how can a tarnished image be rebuilt.
In the case, Cheryl was the new top-level manager who wanted to follow her instincts on rumors she had heard about the previous
the Corporation’s Reputation
Kristi Sims
SGT, Inc
Turnitin Originality Score: 8%
Ethics and ethical standards are very important to an organization’s way of life. If something goes wrong and its standards are broken, it can be very detrimental to the company’s reputation among investors, customers, employees, and competitors. It is the duties of management to make sure an organization’s ethical standards are being met and that the reputation of the organization is preserved.
The case, “The CEO’s Private Investigation” by Joseph Finder, is a fictional look at a new CEO coming into a company and realizing that rumors she heard at her previous employer may be true. She struggles with deciding whether to follow her gut and start an investigation into the previous CEO and his dealings or to sit quietly and not affect the image of the corporation. On Cheryl Tobin’s first day as the new CEO of Hammond Aerospace, she confronts several top –level employees about rumors she heard at Boeing. Hammond’s sales team was extremely successful at landing foreign contracts and rumor was they were offering incentives, bribes, to land these contracts. After confronting several employees, Cheryl noticed that these employees never denied the rumor. They had just tried to change the subject.
The employees noted that if Cheryl proceeded with an investigation, it would severely damage the company’s image. The company could lose millions of dollars, share price would decline, and customers would flock to competitors for their needs. In the end, Cheryl decides to hold her own investigation with a private, outside law firm. This raises the question of how ethical behavior among management affects an organization’s image and how can a tarnished image be rebuilt.
In the case, Cheryl was the new top-level manager who wanted to follow her instincts on rumors she had heard about the previous
References: Finder, J. (2007).The CEO’s private investigation. Harvard Business Review, 85(10), 47-60 Sheffert, M.W. (2001). The high costs of low ethics. Financial Executive, 17(6), 56-58. Weaver, G.R. & Trevino, L.K. (1999). Compliance and values oriented ethics programs: Influences on employees attitudes and behavior