Assignment: Week 1; Ethics Reflections Paper
By Judith Judson
STR 591 – Phoenix Campus
University of Phoenix
Facilitator: Dr. Mark Kolesinsky
Week 1, July 18, 2012
Ethics Reflection Paper In the last decade, ethics in corporate America has become highly publicized following the discovery of unethical and fraudulent business practices in major corporations. Practices at Tyco, Enron, Arthur Anderson, and WorldCom, among others, have made these corporate names synonymous with corporate fraud. The unethical behavior of top executives such as Bernard “Bernie” Madoff and Martha Stewart for example, have resulted in critical issues for companies and wide reaching job loss. The purpose of this paper is to briefly analyze the function of ethics and social responsibility and the importance of each in the application of developing a strategic plan. Also pertinent is consideration of stakeholders’ concerns, which requires that the author briefly touch upon how his or her ethical viewpoint has evolved in the course of MBA studies at the University of Phoenix.
The Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility in Strategic Planning Essentially, the definition of ethics is, “… the belief system and moral rules that vary from individual to individual.” If ethics are deliberated rigorously throughout the development of a strategic plan, remarkable results can be achieved. Ethics and social accountability form the basis and a critical role in developing a strategic plan. Values, standards, norms, and rules to accomplish an accurate avenue in attaining strategic objectives are based upon ethics. Social accountability is associated with social norms and policy that, if measured through the strategic planning, can outline the foundation of reliability. Utilization of ethics is essential in compiling the diverse requirements of internal and external stakeholders (Sims, 2003). These key aspects define a basic
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