To: CEO Executive Team
Subject: RJDT Task 2: Code of Ethics

As the Elementary Division Manager it is my responsibility to establish and enforce a Code of Ethics regarding the distribution of whistles. The decision whether to distribute the whistles as scheduled or incur additional cost to reproduce/repackage the whistle involves exercising ethical decision making. According to the quality assurance manager, the whistles have traces of lead above the U.S. legal acceptable limits for children ages 7 and younger and the cost to reproduce/repackage is $100,000. It is my goal to resolve this dilemma in a manner supported by the Toy Company as well as protect the company while fulfilling our obligations. There are three possible decision alternatives to address the problem. Each having advantages and disadvantages along with financial, legal, and ethical considerations:
1. Distribute whistles as-is and on schedule
a. The company’s advantage would be honoring the negotiated contract to produce the whistles.
b. The disadvantage would be the potential harm to the client due to increased lead.
c. The financial consideration would be the company saving $100,000 at the customer’s risk of harm.
d. The legal consideration would be the risk for potential lawsuits.
e. It would be unethical towards the customer and law to disregard the regulatory limit of traces of lead.
2. Reproduce and repackage the whistles
a. The company’s advantage would be ensuring customer confidence in our product and minimize harm.
b. The disadvantage would be a delay in distribution and the company will have additional manufacturing cost.
c. The financial consideration would be the$100,000 increase to the overall project.
d. The legal consideration would be the elimination of possible law suit regarding harmful consequence as a result of using lead filled whistles as well as being in compliance with U.S. legal acceptable lead limits.
e. It would be ethical to reproduce and repackage. The customer has a right to have a product that does not have the potential to cause harm.
3. Reproduce, repackage, and distribute the whistles on scheduled
a. It is advantageous that the company has authority to demand mandatory overtime from its employees. This allows the company to determine when, where, and how the employees work to ensure the whistles pass quality assurance and meet the scheduled distribution date.
b. The disadvantage would be the employee’s rights to choose when they work, time away from their family, and overall loss of personal time.
c. The financial consideration would be the company’s ability to negotiate future contracts as well as ensure the company’s utility with continued employment. A loss of customers would eliminate sales and decrease company sustainability.
d. The legal consideration of offering a product according to regulations will prevent negative publicity and embarrassment for possible lawsuits from customers or a product re-call.
e. It would be ethical for the company to invest the time to maintain positive image with our customers. This will allow customers to see our company valuing people more than profit.

Recommendation

It is in the best interest financially, legally, and ethically for the company to reproduce, repackage, and distribute the whistles as scheduled. In doing so the company can maintain a positive image, remain in compliance with U.S. legal acceptable lead regulations, prevent negative publicity, protect the company from future embarrassment of lawsuits and product re-calls. Also, this will foster a customer relationship that will ensure confidence in our whistles as well as future contract negotiations.

It is our company’s social responsibility to act with integrity and adhere to the highest ethical standards, which is to exercise good judgment and approach decisions with a professional attitude. Adhering to predetermined ethical principles is an important aspect of social responsibility to our customers. Professional values and ethics make company's productivity to rise. It all depends on the way people communicate with each other, the attitude they take over their job and how well they meet their responsibilities and how it expects the employee to behave while being employed and what moral standards should be met (Newman 2010) .

To: CEO Board of Directors
Subject: RJDT Task 2: Code of Ethics

To ensure ethical decision making takes place at all levels of the Toy Company, we must adopt a Code of Ethic as a means to foster a more supportive environment and increased level of public confidence. According to Driscoll and Hoffman (2000), a code “reflects the covenant that [your] organization has made to uphold its most important values, dealing with such matters as its commitment to employees, its standards for doing business and its relationship with the community.” Our company can benefit in several capacities by adopting strategies to ensure Code of Ethics are being followed:

1. Ethics Trainings will allow each individual an opportunity to learn and adopt a unified way of doing business for the best interests of our shareholders. The Walt Disney Company’s Director’s Code of Ethics holds each individual to the following standards of doing business:
a. Exhibiting high standards of integrity, commitment and independence of thought and judgment and
b. Dedicating sufficient time, energy and attention to ensure the diligent performance of responsibilities.
2. Organizational Survey allows for employees to share their views all levels of the Toy Company operates. Scott (2004) suggests utilizing three open-ended questions to determine individual views of how business is done.
a. How do you rate your personal ethics on a scale of 0 (worst) to 4 (best)?
b. How do you rate your supervisor's ethics on the same scale?
c. How could we improve company ethics?
3. Ethics Audit allows for an employee to imagine themselves performing the duties of another employee within the Toy Company then evaluating how they view business is being conducted. By incorporating an ethics audit we will ultimately protect the organization from the cost of unethical behavior such as devastating lawsuits, negative publicity, wasted time, loss of money, and low employee morale by offering your employees workplace ethics training on a regular basis (Curry 2011).

References

Clark, Scott (2004). Ethics audit essential for every business.

Curry, Myron (2011). Ethics in the Workplace.

Driscoll, Dawn-Marie and W. Michael Hoffman (2000). Ethics Matters: How to Implement Values-Driven Management.

Newman, Michael (2010). Professional values and ethics

Walt Disney Code of Conduct. Retrieved 08/29/2011. http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/codes_of_conduct.html