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.…
higher profits. The company should provide written policies and procedures to incoming managers in order to avoid confusion and to aid in the cohesiveness of the work unit. Managers should display ethical behavior at all times and use punishment and rewards more consistently and effectively. The case also raises questions of a company's ethics and responsibility for creating, or allowing, a climate that tolerates at…
In 2007, the Rosen family filed a lawsuit against Ruby Tuesdays, Inc. for discrimination against their religious beliefs. They believed that an employee that worked in the restaurant in Athens, Ohio had intentionally burnt a swastika into the bottom of the bowl that their food was served in. They believed that the intent stemmed from one of the cooks seeing the Rosen daughter, whom wore a necklace displaying a Star of David, on the way to the bathroom. They believed that in knowing that they were Jewish, the cook intentionally discriminated against their religious beliefs. This family suffered emotional distress due to this instance. That is just an example of what can happen if a company does not train their employees to be ethically responsible. This also means complying with the rules for any form of harassment or discrimination against your co-workers. Improper payments refers to taking bribes or kickbacks as a payment for a service within a company. To me, this is just morally and ethically wrong. Environmental compliance refers to being committed to eliminating hazards within the workplace and providing a safe and healthy work environment. These are significant to their company because they don’t want the negativity that can…
In order for the directors and executives in any company to know that their employees are acting in an ethical manner, they need a defined code of conduct that lays out the boundaries and freedoms for each employee. Creating this code requires a framework around which the tenants of the company can be developed and expanded to fill the ethical standards and expectations. The Global Business Standards Codex (GBSC) lists the eight underlying principles that provide a basis for evaluating and interpreting ethical behavior (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). By using these principles, a company’s directors and executives can determine if they are considering all ethical aspects in their code of conduct.…
1.In 1967 in In Re Gault the U.S. Supreme Court stated that “the condition of being boy does not justify a kangaroo court” thus ruling that the constitution applies to proceedings in the juvenile court. The term “kangaroo court” refers to judicial proceedings that have the appearance of fairness but are not because outcomes are predetermined in advance of the trial. Describe how Judge Civarelli denied juveniles their constitutional rights.…
Business organizations often develop several different policies, rules and guidelines for governing their operations. While home-based or sole proprietorship businesses usually require fewer policies, larger organizations use these guidelines to manage employee behavior. A code of ethics is a common organizational policy used in business organizations. The code of ethics policy usually sets the minimum standards for business owners, managers and employees to follow when completing various business functions.…
Thousands of people a year die in drinking and driving related accidents. In the book “Tears Of A Tiger” By Sharon Draper, Andrew Jackson and three of his teammates and best friends had just won a basketball game. Andy was driving and drinking. Andy hit a retaining wall and the car burst into flames. Andy, B.J., and Tyrone all got out of the car, but Andy’s best friend, Robert Washington was not as lucky. At the time of collision, half of Rob’s body had went through the windshield. Andy, B.J., and Tyrone all tried to get Rob out of the car, but then the fire had spread to the gas tank. The whole car blew with Rob still in it. Rob was dead at the scene. Andy became depressed throughout the story. Andy blamed himself for his best friend’s death. Andy started getting professional help, but even that did not do the job. Andy began slacking off in school and stopped caring about everything. Soon Andy’s depression got the better of him, and Andy committed suicide with his father’s rifle. Andy’s friends and family members thought he made a big mistake. When Andy committed suicide, it devastated his little brother Monty, his mother, and his ex-girlfriend Keshia.…
Buell from the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) states, “Setting the right tone and structure can help others in their decision making” (Buell, 2009, p. 1). Leaders need to establish a consistent approach that is aligned with the organizations core values when dealing with ethical issues. Ethical foundations are principal thought concepts for organizations to build their core values upon. An organization’s ethical foundation and their core values is a good beginning point for management to set their department’s goals upon. Ethics is an individual viewpoint for each employee but a viewpoint that can sometime be guided to fit the organizations ethical viewpoint. Having a positive and supportive work environment fosters employee’s abilities to align with the organization’s ethical…
The zero-tolerance policy might seem harsh, but it has advantages that are hard to calculate. While the policy might have resulted in a top performing employee being fired, it sent a message to the rest of the employees exactly how serious the company is about employee theft. Not all employees’ ethics prevent theft, but the high cost of getting caught is the prohibiting factor. “The key to integrity is ‘accountability’, that is, each person must be willing to put her or his decisions and action in the sunshine” (Cite auditing textbook).…
Organizational policies and procedures can impact ethics because good they should be developed and based on good moral ethics. It is an organizations expectation that its employees will know the policies and abide by them. I like the comments and personal commitment of Anne Mulcahy of Xerox. She expresses the importance of ethics to all employees throughout the year and on a yearly basis. All employees are reminded that “regardless of the division or the location, compliance with our policies and code of conduct is a…
The terms of zero tolerance policies and school-to-prison pipeline are labeled differently, to some extent. Zero tolerance refers to the policies and practices that push students who are involved in drug, weapon and violence offenses on school grounds out of the school and take them into the juvenile or criminal justice systems. Most schools have adopted zero-tolerance policies for a variety of behavioral issues largely directed towards weapons, drugs, threatening behavior, and fighting on school premises, and as the name implies, indicate zero-tolerance for any infractions (Heitzeg). Once a student is in the legal system, he/she will have a difficult life because he/she has a record.…
Zero tolerance policy has been around since 1994. While zero tolerance may sound fair and reasonable, it isn’t practical when in use of instances when the victim is not at fault or was doing a good deed. In his very long scholarly article, “The Constitutional Limit of Zero…
This writer believes that the case reviewed should have been handled in a different manner and that the police should have never been involved. The student was inspired to be creative and use science skills to create a rocket, he was not intending to harm anyone and probably wanted to show teachers and friends. For using his imagination he was invited to a rocket workshop, yet lost school…
The punishment does not always fit the crime. Zero tolerance was initially defined as a policy that enforces automatic suspensions and expulsions in response to weapons, drugs, and violent acts in school. Today these policies have changed to include a range of less serious offenses such as violation of dress code, writing on the desk, and tardiness. Zero tolerance policies began as a way to protect children from potentially violent situations. Over the years, these policies designed to protect are now doing more harm than good. Children are being punished for simply being children. Zero tolerance policies need to be replaced because these harsh policies have resulted in an increasing number of suspensions,…
This research paper explores the gender inequality wage gap that continue to exist in the labor force around the world, with a focus in the United States of America. This in-depth analysis of the current prejudice and injustice women are suffering, details the different factors and consequences of this glass ceiling. There are several factors affecting the gender pay gap, among the most important ones are religion and cultural background. This paper examines the data reported in recent years that provides a global scope of the situation at hand. In addition, it also shines light and predicts the future impact if no changes are made.…