Ethical behavior within a company is very important to its future and success. This type of behavior is not just important for the employees to follow, but for the entire company. In 2001, a failing company called Enron was involved in numerous unethical behaviors. For example, Enron’s Chief Financial Officer temporarily suspended their “code of ethics” not once, but twice in order to partake in personal financial gain. Enron’s actions eventually resulted in bankruptcy and assisted with the creation of a new set of guidelines for companies to follow. The so-called guidelines were called the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Titman, S., Keown, A.J., & Martin, J.D. 2011). The SOX helped institute a set of rules for companies to follow, one being the creation and compliance of a code of ethics within every company. One company that seems to do a very good job with complying with the guidelines of SOX is Starbucks Corp. They have a strong program set in place to support their mission of making ethical decisions at work. The use of their program “Business Ethics and Compliance” might just be the very reason why their SEC filings show a relatively successful business.…
The world is filled with decisions to be made both in business and from a personal standpoint. All too often however, these worlds cross and an unethical decision could cause a scar on the company that could last indefinitely. In order to teach ethical behavior to the employees of a company one must first demonstrate the behavior themselves. Develop a culture of honesty, trust, and accountability that others will follow and in turn use in their own daily lives. A good standard Code of Ethics within any company will also place in writing the expectations a company has of its employees in the treatment of others, customers and co-workers alike. It is important to recruit, hire, and train management staff that will strictly abide by a Code of Ethics, employees are likely to follow their director and display the behavior shown to them in a presumed means of keeping their jobs intact. Good working strategies on teaching ethical behavior within the company are:…
References: Knouse, S. B., & Giacalone, R. A. (1997). The Six Components of Successful Ethics Training. Retrieved from http://www.instituteforethicalawareness.org/img/pdf_files/Thesixcomponentsofsuccessfulethicstraining.pd…
Denhardt explains that ethics is a process by which we clarify right and wrong and act on what we take to be right. Instead of having employees follow a certain set of rules that management is exempt from, Leaders need to behave by example to reset an ethical culture. Consequently, I would consider ethical values and character in recruitment to be the first important and effective intervention techniques to be mentioned. I would require management to develop a statement of management philosophy for the organization (Denhardt) and a code of ethics like the federal government. In the recruitment of new employees, I would integrate a personality assessment for new applicants that will give the employer insight into the genuine ethics and integrity of the applicant before adding them to the organization. For existing employees, I would secondly follow this intervention technique with both compliance and integrity training and counseling. I would begin by developing training programs and/or other devices for communicating those ideals (Denhardt). Intermittently, during employment, I would integrate refresher courses for all employees, including management. It is imperative for new and continuing employees to sign off with a signature that confirms they understand the policies set forth and agree to comply during their tenure with the company.…
An ethical culture should be a top priority of every business, large or small. The challenge for many organizations is trying to understand what it takes to build one. From an enforceable code of conduct, to ongoing training and communications, to an anonymous reporting hotline, companies can quickly implement ethics and compliance programs and solutions that foster an ethical culture across the enterprise.…
Establishing a universal understanding of ethics and expanding the knowledge and of ethics will strengthen the corporation socially by enforcing respect towards everyone, respect for the organization and a corporation that is working together to form a universal business. Ethics are the morals, values, and beliefs of individuals it is the right and wrong behavior and believes of individuals. The importance of establishing and maintain an ethical business is to prevent various types of litigations against the company; protecting the business, stakeholders, managers, and employees. Smart corporations operate proactively rather than reactively, preventive measures such as human resource training modules, computer based training (CBT), employee handbooks, and semi-annual reviews, and company surveys will serve as a matrix to measure and identify the ethics and social responsibility of the organization.…
Ethical Dilemma’s in the work place are common issues, and can be a daunting issue. It can cause an employee not to like their job, or cause a bad impression on others. Many of the different dilemma’s that can…
Ethical thinking involves the intricate process used to consider the impact of our actions on the individuals or institution we serve. While most decisions are routine, we can unexpectedly face an ethical dilemma when unusual situations occur suddenly for which an immediate response is needed. The foundation of ethical decision-making involves choice and balance, it is a guide to discard bad choices in favor of good ones. No matter the size of a company, unethical behavior can cripple the company's ability to attract customers, be approved for credit or maintain business partnerships. Different organizations and jobs may have different ethical issues arise and require a set standard of ethics.…
Companies face many challenges when it comes time for change. However, ethical challenges are more difficult to figure out when it is detected. There may be many ethical issues that companies have to go through, but some are easier to focus on. One major issue can start with self-control. Even though companies have their own set of policies, rules, and other directions all ethical issues are still a problem that management has to handle. It is best that when implementing changes that the employees are still informed with the changes that will be made. Not only will change help motivate but it will also impact the employees on new knowledge within the process of change. Companies want for their employees to have self-control when it comes to making ethical decisions.…
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 &…
Ethical problems are inevitable at all levels of business and this means that it’s simply makes good sense for companies to take seriously the task of institutionalizing ethics in their company. Accordingly, an important segment of corporate America has begun relying on such tools as, statements of corporate values, codes of conduct, ethic workshops, and hotlines for whistleblowers. In this paper I am outlining an ethics program for a new company. Starting a company with an ethics program already in place will deter unethical behavior by mangers and staff members.…
People face ethical dilemmas nearly every day in their personal or professional lives. “You can be fairly certain that during the course of your career, you’ll run into myriad ethical problems such as a customer who asks for a special deal or terms in order to make the sale, or questions about the appropriate use of corporate resources, or discrimination of one sort or another” (Trevino, & Nelson, (2007), p. 111).…
Ethics are the very principle foundations utilized by organizations to govern the activities and decisions of all individuals involved in and attached to an organization. The importance of these guiding principles directs the manner in which the organization conducts its business, therefore has a direct bearing on the organization’s reputation, productivity, and bottom line (Kelchner, 2015). The components of an ethical culture of any organization are comprised of leadership ethics and employee ethics. Successful organizations ensure their leaders…
Personal ethical systems may differ from organizational ethical system, but communication with management of the organization can improve the trustworthiness of the individual and the organization. Employees should be aware of what is expected of them and what conduct is expected for a job. Everyone’s character is based on personal morals and values, organizations need to educate employees on ethical business behavior to assist in solving and preventing ethical dilemmas. Cynicism will continue to be an epidemic because organizational and personal morals and values, and the lack of, will continue to present unethical actions in…
behavior and to make sure that all employees are treated equal. The price for a…