...Emerging Business Ethics Issues Chapter Objectives • To define ethical issues in the context of organizational ethics • To examine ethical issues as they relate to the basic values of honesty, fairness, and integrity • To delineate abusive and intimidating behavior, lying, conflicts of interest, bribery, corporate intelligence, discrimination, sexual harassment, environmental issues, fraud, insider trading, intellectual property rights, and privacy as business ethics issues • To examine the challenge of determining an ethical issue in business Chapter Outline • Recognizing an Ethical Issue • Ethical Issues and Dilemmas in Business • The Challenge of Determining an Ethical Issue in Business Recognizing an Ethical Issue • An ethical issue is a situation or a problem that requires thought, discussion, or investigation to make a decision • Failure to do so puts corporations at great risk Honesty • Honesty: Truthfulness or trustworthiness • Dishonesty: A lack of integrity, incomplete disclosure, or an unwillingness to tell the truth Fairness and Integrity • Fairness: The quality of being just, equitable, and impartial – Equality – Reciprocity – Optimization • Integrity: One of the most important terms regarding virtue. It means uncompromising adherence to ethical values Ethical Issues and Dilemmas in Business • An ethical issue is a problem or opportunity that requires an individual or group to choose among actions that are evaluated as ethical or unethical...
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...communication and thus discourages employee candor • Expresses bias or prejudice (in the slur against women employees) • Reflects the author’s anger and defensiveness (“I simply have no choice”) • Assumes bad intentions on the part of the employees, underlining the lack of audience-centered thinking • Uses vague, confusing language (More than three times during what period? Will have to answer to the author for what specific penalties?) • Polarizes workers by inciting conflict between “punctual” employees and others 1.2 The tasks described have the following communication directions: a. Downward, upward, and horizontal—since the entire company is involved. A memo is the best choice (either printed or electronic) to ensure that everyone receives the message (as opposed to, say, a blog posting, which is more passive). b. Upward. Depending on the situation, could be a formal proposal or a presentation at an executive meeting. c. Horizontal. Because this situation calls for feedback, a phone call, an e-mail, or an instant message would be appropriate. d. Downward, upward, and horizontal—since the entire company is involved. This situation is likely to involve both a considerable amount of information and periodic updates as marketplace conditions change. A blog would be an ideal vehicle for this (particularly with an automated RSS newsfeed), as...
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...|[pic] |Syllabus | | |School of Business | | |RES/351 Version 1 | | |Business Research | Copyright © 2011 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This course evaluates the process of conducting business research for improving decision making within an organization. Students will learn to apply an understanding of commonly employed business research techniques to improve a situation, solve a problem, or change a process. Other topics include problem framing, data collection, data analysis, and data presentation. Policies Faculty and students/learners will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning...
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...Ethics Assignment This case study analyzes the experiences of Courtland Kelley at General Motors (GM). Courtland Kelley a third generation GM worker put his job on the line by pushing the GM managers and executives to fully respond to the safety issues found while working as a safety inspector at the company. Kelley along with his supervisor Bill McAleer first discovered the issues while auditing GM cars at rail yards across the country, a spot check of vehicles before the cars were cleared to be delivered to the dealers. McAleer was taken off the audit as a result, who subsequently sued the company seeking whistle-blower protection. The case was eventually dismissed by a judge in favor of GM. The judgement only increased Kelley’s concerns and he continued the efforts McAleer had started. He first approached his direct supervisor, George Kingston, about his growing concerns. But it did not seem to have any effect on Kingston since he was not provoked to take any actions. Kelley’s experiences at GM raised serious questions about corporate culture, whistle-blowing, and social responsibility. Kelley faced the ethical dilemma of striking a balance between corporate and social responsibility. On one side he wanted to remain loyal to his employer by not harming the company but to save it, and because he thought it was the right thing to do. Kelley’s insistence, that he was proud to be at GM while taking an offense at his neighbor who inadvertently slighted the automaker, is indicative...
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...Problem Solution: Global Communications This paper will review the issues and events Global Communications (henceforth referred to as GC) is facing, identify mistakes the company made in its decision-making process, and propose a solution that will correct those mistakes and help the company to transform into a global corporation within three years. Situation Analysis Issue and Opportunity Identification GC’s stock has dropped more than 50% over the last three years because of excessive competition in the telecommunications industry. The company chose to address this issue by developing a plan that focused on growth through new services and cost reduction through outsourcing some of their technical call centers. GC did not include the union, a major stakeholder, in the development of this plan. This resulted in conflict between the company and the union. “Conflict gives you an opportunity to deepen your capacity for empathy and intimacy with your opponent,” (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004, p. 4). GC has the opportunity to address the unions concerns, repair the damage to the public image of GC caused by the union press release, and develop a strategic plan that meets all the stakeholder’s needs. According to Weiss (2006), understanding a company’s central issues and how they evolved can help manage changes in a company’s direction and operations. Stakeholder Perspectives/Ethical Dilemmas The main stakeholders in the GC scenario are the customers interested in efficient communication...
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...Chapter 5 – Business Ethics and Ethical Decision Making – Summary Business ethics comprises principles and standards that guide individual and work group behavior in the world of business. Stakeholders determine these conventions, and they may change over time. The most basic of these standards have been codified as laws and regulations. Business ethics goes beyond legal issues. Because individuals and groups within a company may not have embraced the same set of values, ethical conflict may occur. Questionable decisions and actions may result in disputes that must be resolved through some type of negotiation or even litigation. Codifying ethical standards into meaningful policies that spell out what is and is not acceptable gives businesspeople an opportunity to reduce the possibility of behavior that could create legal problems. Business decisions involve complex and detailed discussions in which correctness may not be clear-cut. It is important that a shared vision of acceptable behavior develop from an organizational perspective to create consistent and reliable relationships with all concerned stakeholders. Understanding the ethical decision-making process can help individuals and businesses design strategies to prevent misconduct. Three of the important components of ethical decision making are individual factors, organizational relationships, and opportunity. Significant individual factors that affect the ethical decision-making process include personal moral...
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...Chapter 5 – Business Ethics and Ethical Decision Making – Summary Business ethics comprises principles and standards that guide individual and work group behavior in the world of business. Stakeholders determine these conventions, and they may change over time. The most basic of these standards have been codified as laws and regulations. Business ethics goes beyond legal issues. Because individuals and groups within a company may not have embraced the same set of values, ethical conflict may occur. Questionable decisions and actions may result in disputes that must be resolved through some type of negotiation or even litigation. Codifying ethical standards into meaningful policies that spell out what is and is not acceptable gives businesspeople an opportunity to reduce the possibility of behavior that could create legal problems. Business decisions involve complex and detailed discussions in which correctness may not be clear-cut. It is important that a shared vision of acceptable behavior develop from an organizational perspective to create consistent and reliable relationships with all concerned stakeholders. Understanding the ethical decision-making process can help individuals and businesses design strategies to prevent misconduct. Three of the important components of ethical decision making are individual factors, organizational relationships, and opportunity. Significant individual factors that affect the ethical decision-making process include personal moral...
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...Peter Drucker’s Challenge Social Responsibility and Managerial Ethics -A Focus on MNCs . 1.1 Introductory Remarks Managers today are usually quite sensitive to issues of social responsibility and ethical behavior because of pressures from the public, interest groups, legal and governmental concerns, and media coverage. It is less clear where to draw the line between socially responsible behavior and the corporation’s other concerns, or between the conflicting expectations of ethical behavior among different countries. This essay on social responsibility and ethics set externally to international managers and thus in a sense outside their realm of control, is the expectation of appropriate behavior. This behavior is measured both in terms of social responsibility of the organization as such, as well as ethical behavior of individual managers. In addition to these expectations there is an onus on organizations and managers alike to manage the relationship with the host country. Having noted this, I shall now move on to the main issues this essay has set out to address in the following manner: 1.2 Global Interdependence Global interdependence is a compelling dimension of the global business environment, creating demands on international managers to take a positive stance on issues of: social responsibility and ethical behaviour; economic development in host countries; and ecological protection around the world. Multinational corporations continue to be the centre of debate regarding...
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...Chapter Two Being Ethical and Socially Responsible Business Ethics Defined Ethics * The study of ______ and ______ and of the morality of the c_______ individuals make * An ethical decision is one that is “right” according to some s_______ of b________ Business ethics * The application of m_____ s________ to business situations Ethical Issues Fairness and honesty * Businesspeople are expected to refrain from knowingly d________, m___________, or intimidating others Organizational relationships * A businessperson should put the w_______ of others and that of the organization above their own personal welfare Conflict of interest * Issues arise when a businessperson takes a_________ of a situation for p_________ gain rather than for the employer’s interest Communications * Business communications that are f______-, misleading, or deceptive are both illegal and unethical Special Areas of Concern for Managerial Ethics Areas of Concern | Sample Issues | Relationship of the firm to the employee | * H______ and f_______ * Wages and w_______ conditions * P_________ | Relationship of the employee to the firm | * C_______ of i_______ * Secrecy * H________ and expense accounts | Relationship of the firm to customers | * Fairness of p_______ * Honesty in a_________ * Product s_________ * Right of p________ | Factors Affecting Ethical Behavior Three general sets of factors appear to influence the standards of behavior in...
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...Quiz # 1 Note’s Chapter # 1-3 Business Ethics Chapter # 1 1. Why Business Ethics? * Business decisions under great scrutiny Global financial crisis created diminished stakeholder trust Deals with questions about whether practices are acceptable No universally-accepted approach for resolving issues 2. Business Ethics * Comprises principles, values, and standards that guide behavior in the world of business 3. Principles: Specific boundaries for behavior that are universal and absolute Freedom of speech, civil liberties 4. Values: Used to develop socially enforced norms Integrity, accountability, trust, Norms: Accepted behaviors. Morals: Rules of right conduct: right/wrong 5. A Crisis in Business Ethics * Consumer trust of businesses is declining, No sector is exempt from ethical misconduct, Stakeholders determine what is ethical/unethical ,Investors Employees, Customers, Interest groups, Legal system, Community 6. Why Study Business Ethics? * Reports of unethical behavior are on the rise, Society’s evaluation of right or wrong affects its ability to achieve its business goals, Studying business ethics is a response to Sarbanes-Oxley, FSGO, and stakeholder demands for ethics initiatives, Individual ethics alone is not sufficient, Studying business ethics helps identify ethical issues to key stakeholders 7. A Timeline of Ethical and Socially Responsible Concerns * Environmental issue, Civil right issue, increased employee employer...
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...Running head: PROBLEM SOLUTION: GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS Problem Solution: Global Communication Rona Brown University of Phoenix MPLB/500 David Rollins Problem Solution: Global Communications Global Communications feels the pressures of the industries with trying to keep up with its competitors and watching its stock prices fall. Yet the stockholders are giving them a lot of pressure to correct the problem. They need to offer better services than what their competitors are providing to their customers. This paper will discuss the background, the problem, the end goals, alternative solutions, risk assessment, the optimal solution, and lastly the implementation plan. Situation Background (Step 1) The total telecommunications industry has collapsed into hardship due to the Cable Companies inflowing the competition but Global Communications has been hit hard with not just the improved competition but smaller profit margins, the costs of doing business, and have realized that they need a new tactical plan, but will need help in implementing this. The problem is not actually noticeable, as one may think. It is easy to say that there is a substantial amount of competition and blame outside entities for their anguishes. In the long run, the real issue is GC's incompetence to successfully compete with new companies in the market (i.e. cable companies). Often this is the minor to a failure to discriminate their services from those of the competitors. It echoes as if their attempt...
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...Introduction to Business Ethics Objectives: * Gain an understanding of why business ethics is important. * Learn how business ethics fits into the broader discipline of philosophy. * Realize that the culture in which we live influences our thinking. Business ethics, some would say, is an oxymoron. After all, the media presents, on nearly a daily basis, the shenanigans of corporate representatives as they ply their trade. Price fixing, anti-competitive behavior, fraud, deceptive advertising, and insider trading are but a few of the many questionable tactics found in the quivers of corporate moguls and their charges. Corporations and their activities have been fair game for attack, both factual and fictional. The level of corruption is epidemic in the estimation of many observers. This rather bleak picture is probably the one most familiar to what has become a very cynical populace. We have come to think of ourselves as current or potential victims of evil corporations. Is business evil incarnate? Of course it isn't. Is business completely innocent of the charges against it? Again, the answer is no. The truth lies somewhere in between. It is, after all, the modern enterprise, with all of its strengths and weaknesses, that has brought to larger numbers of people around the world, a level of material comfort and cultural opportunities than has ever before existed. Businesses must be doing something right. In fact, while business has less than a stellar reputation...
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...CHAPTER 1: THE IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS ETHICS Ethics- Inquiry into the nature and grounds of morality where the term of morality is taken to mean moral judgments, standards and rules of conduct. The American Heritage Dictionary- Ethics- The study of the general nature of morals and of specific moral choices, moral philosophy, and the rules or standards governing the conducts of the members of a profession. Applying Ethics to business: 1.To survive, business must earn a profit 2. Business must balance their desires for profits against the needs and desires of society. Business ethics comprises the principles and standards that guide behavior in the world of business. CHAPTER 2: STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS, SOCIAL RESPONDSIBILITY, AND CORPERATE GOVERNANCE. In a business context, customers, investors and shareholders, employees, suppliers, government agencies, communities, and many others who have a “stake” or claim in some aspect of a company’s products, operations, markets, industry, and outcomes are known as stakeholders. These groups are influenced by business, but they also have the ability to influence businesses; thus, the relationship between companies and their stakeholders is a two-way street. Stakeholders provide resources that are more or less critical to a firm’s long-term success. These resources may be both tangible and intangible. Primary stakeholders are those whose continued association is absolutely necessary for a firm’s survival; these include...
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...Running head: PROBLEM SOLUTION: GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS Problem Solution: Global Communications Pelesia Tillman University of Phoenix Problem Solution: Global Communications The Union is a challenge with expectations of treating employees with respect and accepting their ideas for change. The hardship at Global Enterprises are seen as an Opportunity instead of a problem The telecommunications business is booming and to stay in the business of selling advanced technology equipment, Global Communications wanted to stand by their name global by outsourcing to India and Ireland, in hopes of competing in local markets and expand globally. Relationships between the union and its workers are at odds about Global Communications going international the board wants to announce to employees not to worry about the move it simply means a chance to offer better jobs to employees and give salary increases with 15% retention bonuses for workers willing to make the move. Focusing on ways to better communicate with the union is a challenge with expectations of treating employees with respect and accepting their ideas for change. The hardships at Global Enterprises are handled. The telecommunications business is booming and to stay in the business of selling advanced technology equipment, Global Communications wanted to stand by their name Global by outsourcing to India and Ireland, in hopes of competing in local markets and expand globally. Global services has entered a new...
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...confronted with the challenge of how to deal with contractors in Bangladesh that employed young children, a legal practice in Bangladesh, but one contrary to Levi's company policy. The fact that these chil dren were often a sole or significant source of their family income further complicated the mat ter. Tony Anderson, Chairman and CEO of H. B. Fuller Company, was faced with a decision re garding the company's responsibility for illegiti mate use of one of its products. Resistol, a tolu ene-based glue, has become an addictive drug of choice for many Central American street chil dren. These "Resistoleros" inhale the glue and often experience violent reactions and serious health problems, including kidney failure and brain damage. ness practices. Ethical conflicts may involve a variety of issues: • bribery and extortion, as in the highly publicized case of Lockheed, which made $12.5 million in payments to Japanese agents and government officials to secure an impor tant order from Nippon Air. This incident was a major impetus for the passage of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in 1977. • human rights concerns, like those now being debated in the apparel industry in volving companies such as Nike and Gap. Cross-cultural...
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