Martin Marietta Ethics Summary
Executive Summary
“Martin Marietta ethics program was one facet of an effort to create and maintain a “do-it-right” climate at a time when the defense industry was facing serious attacks from the government and the public for fraud and mismanagement” (Paine, Choy, & Santoro, 2004, p. 2). During the 1980s, there was an increase in defense spending as allegations of contract fraud often made headlines. To protect itself, Martin Marietta in addition to 18 other defense organizations worked together to form Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct. In 1991, Martin Marietta’s corporate office received 9,625 calls concerning corporate ethics with 572 of the reported cases recorded as alleged questionable behavior (Paine et al., …show more content…
The company tried to address all concerns and come to a decision within 60 days. Cases that took more than 60 days to resolve, but less than 90 days, were passed on to local management. All cases taking more than 90 days were referred to the ethics office.
Effectiveness of the Program The ethics program at Martin Marietta has had a positive effect. It has created protection for the employees and the company alike. In the interest of the employees, it offered a way to address concerns as to how management may have handled a certain situation. This gave the employees an active voice in the company. For the company, the program was a way to hold everyone accountable in the hope of maintaining honesty and fairness in all dealings. Exhibit 3 denotes the number of allegations during the period between 1985 and 1991. There seemed to be little change in the number of anonymously reported allegations, which shows that some employees still feared some retaliation. Nevertheless, there was some positive movement. The company also compared their own data to that of other companies which was not a very effective way to benchmark the program. It was challenging to determine the reasons behind the change in the number of …show more content…
Organizational ethical programs have several benefits, which include creating stronger team relationships, ensuring that government regulations and policies are followed, helping to manage organizational values, and promoting a stronger public image (Top 10 Benefits of Business Ethics Programs, 2013). Organizations unable to abide by government regulations run the risks of imposed fines by the government or having top-ranked officials imprisoned. Effective ethics programs help to reduce risks within an
“Martin Marietta ethics program was one facet of an effort to create and maintain a “do-it-right” climate at a time when the defense industry was facing serious attacks from the government and the public for fraud and mismanagement” (Paine, Choy, & Santoro, 2004, p. 2). During the 1980s, there was an increase in defense spending as allegations of contract fraud often made headlines. To protect itself, Martin Marietta in addition to 18 other defense organizations worked together to form Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct. In 1991, Martin Marietta’s corporate office received 9,625 calls concerning corporate ethics with 572 of the reported cases recorded as alleged questionable behavior (Paine et al., …show more content…
The company tried to address all concerns and come to a decision within 60 days. Cases that took more than 60 days to resolve, but less than 90 days, were passed on to local management. All cases taking more than 90 days were referred to the ethics office.
Effectiveness of the Program The ethics program at Martin Marietta has had a positive effect. It has created protection for the employees and the company alike. In the interest of the employees, it offered a way to address concerns as to how management may have handled a certain situation. This gave the employees an active voice in the company. For the company, the program was a way to hold everyone accountable in the hope of maintaining honesty and fairness in all dealings. Exhibit 3 denotes the number of allegations during the period between 1985 and 1991. There seemed to be little change in the number of anonymously reported allegations, which shows that some employees still feared some retaliation. Nevertheless, there was some positive movement. The company also compared their own data to that of other companies which was not a very effective way to benchmark the program. It was challenging to determine the reasons behind the change in the number of …show more content…
Organizational ethical programs have several benefits, which include creating stronger team relationships, ensuring that government regulations and policies are followed, helping to manage organizational values, and promoting a stronger public image (Top 10 Benefits of Business Ethics Programs, 2013). Organizations unable to abide by government regulations run the risks of imposed fines by the government or having top-ranked officials imprisoned. Effective ethics programs help to reduce risks within an