...Pat Kepp 5/9/2013 MNGT 481 Current Events Review http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyvdKsZSc70&feature=youtu.be After reviewing the presentation by Melissa regarding Hasbro being named among the top ethical companies for the second year based on the WME survey, I found her presentation to be very informative. The article discussed is very appropriate for the topic at hand, ethics successes or failures, and addresses an industry and company that has received much scrutiny in the past few years for unethical practices such as child labor, excessive environmental waste, lead paint in toys, etc. By selecting an article that discussed a survey/competition among a broad variety of companies from over 100 countries companies, Melissa has shown that ethics are an important part of a business’s bottom line, as mentioned with the triple bottom line concept. In explaining the material found in the article, I felt that everything was extremely thorough, and after reading the article myself, I didn’t think that anything was left out or skipped that related to the content at hand. In fact, Melissa did a great job of going into detail with how the survey was conducted; 100 companies were reviewed on the basis of their codes of conduct, litigation and regulatory infraction practices, investment in innovation, corporate citizenship, and the nomination from peers, consumers, and activists. These facts were not immediately available in the article, but she deemed them important...
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...In Press, Business Ethics Quarterly Getting to the Bottom of “Triple Bottom Line”* by Wayne Norman and Chris MacDonald March 2003 Abstract: In this paper, we examine critically the notion of “Triple Bottom Line” accounting. We begin by asking just what it is that supporters of the Triple Bottom line idea advocate, and attempt to distil specific, assessable claims from the vague, diverse, and sometimes contradictory uses of the Triple Bottom Line rhetoric. We then use these claims as a basis upon which to argue (a) that what is sound about the idea of a Triple Bottom Line is not novel, and (b) that what is novel about the idea is not sound. We argue on both conceptual and practical grounds that the Triple Bottom Line is an unhelpful addition to current discussions of corporate social responsibility. Finally, we argue that the Triple Bottom Line paradigm cannot be rescued simply by attenuating its claims: the rhetoric is badly misleading, and may in fact provide a smokescreen behind which firms can avoid truly effective social and environmental reporting and performance. Introduction The notion of “Triple Bottom Line” (3BL) accounting has become increasingly fashionable in management, consulting, investing, and NGO circles over the last few years. The idea behind the 3BL paradigm is that a corporation’s ultimate success or health can and should be measured not just by the traditional financial bottom line, but also by its social/ethical and environmental performance...
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...group becomes team when you treat them as high level. To turn group into a team there needs to be a set measurable goals, define desired outcome and keep everyone focused. Team is defined as “a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and an approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.” (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993). Teams are more structured than groups. All teams are groups but all groups are not teams. Big organizations are usually segregated into different teams. The segregation helps to achieve set goals and targets of the company which directly affects the bottom line. Bottom line is what matters in an organization. It requires lot of effective strategic planning to achieve the set goals and targets which affects the bottom line. It is important to form groups and teams in an organization because it helps in taking better decisions, increased productivity and improves employee morale to perform better. Some of the benefit of having a group is that more ideas are brought in to make sound decision. Members in a group also develop critical thinking skills and conflict resolutions skills. In a group members also develop good communication skills. The survey report says, "Good Communication skills, including written and oral presentations, as well as an ability to work with others, are the main factor contributing to job success." (Communications skills, 2007). Conflict...
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...Performance Assessments: Estimated weeks to complete Social Responsibility (JJT2) Activities at a Glance 1 4 WEEK 1 Ethics Reading Read the following chapters in Business and Society: Stakeholders, Ethics, Public Policy: chapter 4 ("Ethics and Ethical Reasoning") chapter 5 ("Organizational Ethics and the Law") After reading the assigned chapters in your e-text go to the publisher companion site to review key terms and to take the interactive quizzes for the assigned chapters. Overview of Leadership Ethics Access MindEdge and complete the following module. Compare your work to the feedback provided. Module 1: Leadership Ethics If you want additional information to supplement your learning, please review the following SkillSoft resource: Business Ethics for Managers WEEK 2 Overview of Sustainable Management Read the following chapter in Business and Society: Stakeholders, Ethics, Public Policy: chapter 10 ("Ecology and Sustainable Development in Global Business") chapter 11 ("Managing Environmental Issues") After reading the assigned chapters in your e-text go to the publisher companion site to review key terms and to take the interactive quizzes for the assigned chapters. Sustainable Management Review Visit this website for additional information: www.epa.gov Access MindEdge and complete the following module. Compare your work to the feedback provided. Module 3: Overview of Sustainable Management ...
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...Ethics, Social Responsibility and the bottom line. Assessment Code: RWT1 Student Name: Michael Daley Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 Research findings: 5 Business Relationships can be improved through being Ethical and Socially Responsible 5 Strong Business Ethics will increase Efficiency 6 Social Responsibility will greatly increase our company’s Reputation 7 Recommendations 8 Conclusion 9 References 11 Executive Summary Ethics and social responsibility is on the mind of everyone in the world these days. We have all seen the effects of what happens when a company does not follow an ethical standard; it can lead very quickly to its demise. A strong ethical standard and being socially responsible is a must in the world of business. There are those who think that if they can get away with things, it can lead to higher profits and a bigger bottom line. This may be true in the short term but history has shown that those with strong ethics have the longevity and reputation to make it in the long run. The research for this report will show that not only is having strong ethics and being socially responsible the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do for our company. In all we do, we need to have good relationships with those that we need in order to conduct business. We have vendors, suppliers, stakeholders and consumers that we have to maintain a good and strong relationship with. By having a strong ethical standard...
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...As a founder in a management consulting firm that caters to non profits, the development of a Code of Ethics became an integral part of our company’s foundation. It is in the best interest of both “for profit” and “nonprofit” businesses to create a Code of Ethics. A Code of Ethics will establish guidelines to management, employees and stake holders. These “rules of conduct” implement organizational structure that will encourage management and employee to embrace loyalty and accountability. This in turn creates mutually beneficial good faith practices as it pertains to its stakeholders. While “nonprofit “companies often obtain their funds from government agencies, they are not without the usual considerations as it pertains to the bottom line. Both “for profit” and “non profit” organizations must balance the scales of fiscal and ethical responsibility. A crucial part of our firm’s success lies in our ability to balance those scales on behalf of our firm’s team and the non profits that we serve. A Code of Ethics for our consulting firm will require all of its associates and management to maintain the highest level of integrity when dealing with each other, security holders, customers and others whom the company conducts business with. The purpose of the code will: * Promote honest, fair and ethical conduct within personal and professional relationships. * Encourage associates to comply with government laws, rules, and regulations. * Allow for confidential...
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...Environmental Considerations and Recommendations Company X does not currently have any environmental initiatives. A few initiatives that would benefit the organization and be socially responsible would include going paperless, turning off the computers at night, and a telecommuting option. Each one of these can help protect the environment by reducing pollution in one manner or another. These are all small changes that could have a big impact. With a company size approaching 150 employees, we can generate quite a bit of pollution just in our day to day activities without knowing we did so. Going paperless has some specifics at Company X that make it attractive. The organization is already recycling as much paper as it can within the office, but that only goes so far. If Company X could reduce the amount of paper it uses it reduce the amount of trees being cut down and the pollution put off during the recycling process. Company X fills up 4 – 26 Gallon Recycle bins per month with paper and we shred another 4 - 30 gallon bins, I am assuming the bins being shredded are also being recycled. Much of the paper Company X is using can easily be turned into online assets that require no paper. The organization has invoices coming in and it sends invoices out. It could utilize the electronic invoicing with in the CRM to handle these invoices. This would also benefit the customers, as invoices would not get lost in the mail. The employee expense reports, which average three pages...
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...Introduction Ethical decision-making refers to the process of evaluating and choosing among alternatives in a manner that are consistent with the principles of ethics and professional behavior (Blink, 2015). When making decisions, organizations often require commitment, consciousness, and competence. One interesting aspect of ethical decision-making is that they are not only morally “correct” but they are also effective. In other words, ethical decisions generate and maintain trust, demonstrate respect, responsibility, fairness, and caring, and are consistent with good citizenship. Ethics is effective in guiding the organizations objectives as they relate to the corporate strategy. The case study; is about the mercantile and ranching industry leader Babbitt Ranches for analyzes of the ethics within the family business as it relates to their corporate strategy. It was the challenge of President Bill Comdisco to lead the organization in new business opportunities that were inclusive of the companies long standing values. Mr. Cordasco recognized that the future of the organization was contingent upon meeting the needs of the multigenerational stakeholders. The article highlights several challenges that Babbitt Ranch experience in an attempt to align the organization's objectives with the organizational strategy through team decisions. Points of Agreement In 1988, the company was forced to debt finance stock buy from some of the third generation owners seeking liquation...
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...management can help the organisation to be successful. Line managers are the important aspect of HR department that can accomplish the organisation’s objective. There are three major level of management structure in the organisation, respectively top level (i.e. president and CEO), middle level (i.e. marketing vice president, finance vice president, and human resources vice president), and bottom level (i.e. different line managers of training & development). There is a possible evolving HR organisation example, which will be indicated the following article. Business policy and code of ethics are very important to the organisations that can help the firms to be more competitive. Human resources department is responsible for formulation of policy, approved by senior management, and the daily implementation of this policy and the monitoring of its effectiveness, and employment and career development of all individual employees in the organisation. Line managers should monitor and correct the situations of training staffs and normal working of staffs. The Role of Line Managers and (HR) Human Resources • Roles Line manager should authorise to direct the work of subordinates and has the responsibility to accomplish the organisation’s objectives (Stone, 2005). As the traditional work of HR managers decreases, line managers are stepping up and performing some duties typically done by human resource professionals (Mondy, 2007). Line manager connects directly with the employees in the...
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...Corporate Culture, Governance and Ethics Written By: Bilge-Kagan Ozturk 2007 Abstract This paper examines the critical importance of an ethically based corporate/organisational culture to ensuring company-wide ethical conduct. Testament to this topic I use the case of Enron and its ethical demise to successfully support my argument and highlight the need of top level management to be the main proponents of this culture to allow lower level employees to adopt a behaviour of moral reasoning. The body of the essay will highlight the importance of shaping an ethically based organisational culture, through a number of components, namely a company’s executive management team and its corporate governance system. I also briefly evaluate agency and stakeholder theories and how they relate to an organisational culture from an ethical perspective, and point out Enron’s culture was predominantly one of agency reasoning. Finally I provide a brief and direct conclusion to assert my argument that ethics needs to exist deep within an organisation’s culture and needs to be the key leading value of an organisation. A breakdown of ethics can eventually lead to the demise of a once very reputable and successful company. A great textbook example is of course, the fall of Enron – one of the biggest corporate bankruptcies in US history. Like most companies, Enron had a code of ethics in place and employees who were educated in the field of ethics, agency and stakeholder theories...
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...Brandman University BUSU 650 1/20/13 Introduction The purpose of this assignment is to analyze the sustainability strategy and Triple Bottom line of Starbucks and Walmart. As a consumer it was very interesting to learn more about two major corporations which I have invested in over the years. By analyzing their mission, values and core competencies I was able to assess which corporation has a more holistic approach toward implementing the Triple Bottom line. At the end it came down to ethics and based on this premise I am proud to say I am a loyal Starbucks consumer. The following analysis will compare Wal-Mart’s and Starbucks business ethics in regards to people, profit and planet. It will support my argument of Starbucks becoming a lovemark not by slashing prices but by focusing on the consumer experience. As Kevin Roberts states in his book The future beyond brands - lovemarks “If you were to say, name a brand that has managed to get big fast, make quality products, treat its people very well and respectfully, and understand the differences in economies and tastes in other parts of the world while continuing to grow, it will be Starbucks” (2004, p.120). Analysis After researching Wal-Mart and Starbucks mission, values and CSR strategy, I can identify some disparities. Let’s start off our discussion on the Triple bottom line by focusing on profit. Although both companies are focused on profitability, Starbucks strives to maintain a balance on profit and social conscience...
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...| Good Business Ethics | [Type the document subtitle] | | [Type the author name] | | Table of Contents Table of Contents------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Executive Summary-----------------------------------------------------------------2 Introduction--------------------------------------------------------------------------3 Research Finding #1 Why strong ethical decisions are important to companies. ----4 Research Finding #2 How Ethics affect the bottom lines---------------------------------5 Research Finding # 3 How does a Company Keep Everyone on the Same Ethical Road? ----6 Recommendations-------------------------------------------------------------------9 Conclusion---------------------------------------------------------------------------10 References----------------------------------------------------------------------------11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * Business ethics have a strong impact on all companies. When a company is written up for unethical performances the profitability of the company will be affected in a negative way. Every business needs to have a code of ethics that relates to its mission statement. An employee code of ethics does not tell an employee how to handle or micromanage every situation that may arise. A good code of ethics starts with the company’s mission statement. The company can take its mission statement and intertwine the company’s...
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...Systems Thinking and Change Management Evaluation Systems thinking is a process that incorporates the crucial elements of strategic planning, management and leadership development, team building, and other principles of organizational change in the effort to create positive change within an organization. The first component of this discussion evaluates systems thinking and the application and limitations of systems logic as essential considerations in managerial decision making. Systems thinking is also a technique that manages a process as a whole while understanding that individual pieces of the process can cause an impact. Systems thinking applies a linkage strategy that analyzes interactions among elements comprising a system. It takes into account that large systems can be negatively affected by small changes in another geographically or time separated areas. This view of process management is ideal for any organization that has more than a very few processes and personnel. Communication is the method within systems thinking that defeats negative affects. Application and Limitations A systems approach can be seen in the following real world-example. Their outstanding success in systems thinking makes Wal-Mart’s an excellent comparison system for corroborating systems thinking examples for this IT project’s discussion. Wal-Mart has taken forecasting to the highest level by using a systems thinking electronic database (Aquilano, Chase, and Jacobs, p. 510, 2006). The company...
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...MBHA JDT2 Task 2 A. Three Ways to Handle Situation 1. Alternatives to address whistle issue i. Do not recall. ii. Recall but resell whistles to non-elementary students iii. Recall and destroy whistles Whistles are being sent to a South American country with different safety guidelines. (CPSC 2014) As the regulations of the receiving country do no reciprocate those in the U.S. there is no need for concern. Ensure the shipment is sent to the furthest possible school to lower the risk of items returning to the U.S. This scenario is the most financially beneficial to the company. We would save the hundred thousand plus dollars it would take to recall the shipment. There would be no recycling or storage fees. As the items would go to the furthest possible area the company deals with, there is little risk that the whistles would return to the U.S. Making any potential litigation issues minimal. The potentially negative aspect of this scenario is if consumers of any country were to find out there would be backlash, both domestic and international. No matter the regulations of the specific country we could send the whistles too, the most significant concern is that we would be perceived as valuing our children over those of other countries. Alternatively we could repackage the whistles to go to a different target market. The U.S. regulations prohibit the lead content to be distributed to children 7 or younger. The whistles could be redistributed to other...
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...Ethics Paper MGT/498 Ethics Paper Any business that expects to not only turn a profit but have longevity in the market has to operate ethically. A publically traded company has more than the bottom line of earning money, but a responsibility to be a good steward of those profits for their employees, stakeholders and clients. Along with ethics is the social aspect of business which go hand and hand if a business doesn’t act ethically responsible then the social ramifications will be poor as well. When a company forms it is a foundation built from an idea a person has and transforms into a business and if that idea blossoms then the business grows. When a business reaches a stage of soliciting stakeholders a strategic plan needs to be in place, part of that plan is developing a model for the business to operate under. Part of running a business is having a plan that will incorporate what the company’s mission, vision and code of conduct as well as ethics is. That code of ethics and conduct is what the company expects from their employees and what a company will do if those policies are violated (McNamara). A code of ethics is a guideline of expectations and the values the company holds important. When a company has employees that question if something is wrong or not then the code of ethics can be a useful guide but doubles as an orientation tool to show employees what the repercussions are of violating those rules. In today’s failing economy it is obvious...
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