Ethical_Delimas

Ethical Dilemmas University of Maryland University College AMBA620 Section 9248 According to Dessler (2009), ethics refers to the principles of conduct governing an individual or group and the standards you use to decide what your conduct should be. Ethics is something that people struggle with everyday. Whether it involves personal or professional conflict, the questions that they ask themselves remain the same. There are certain behaviors in society that are considered unethical by most people’s standards. Then there are behaviors that are questioned, but legal. The purpose of this paper is to examine the practice of employees accepting gifts from vendors while in the process of bidding and the effects that it can have on an organization. If this were to happen, should employee involved be disciplined for their actions, and if not, how will it affect the overall synergy of the workplace' Another question to be answered is should the vendors involved be punished for their participation and should the other vendors involved in the bidding process be informed about the situation' What are the possible negative and positive outcomes that this can have on the company' Using concepts such as Badarocco’s Framework for moral decision making and corporate social responsibility, I would like to look at the different perspectives from whom this practice would affect. This paper would also serve the purpose of recommending solutions n taking preventative measures to avoid practices that are questionable in the organization. There is a policy at my company that states employees are not to accept gifts over a certain amount for our current vendors and not at all while in the process of bidding out any contracts. Recently we’ve had several employees accept football tickets from one of the vendors who are bidding on a major account for the company. When asked to present a bid, all of the vendors are told that decisions will be made objectively and based upon prices, scope of work and the company’s reputation concerning previous work. The amounts of the ticket accepted surpassed the amount allotted by the company. The other vendors involved have no knowledge of this and are proceeding as they were asked. Using Badarocco’s Framework for moral decision-making, there are four questions to ask when making a decision to determine if it is ethical. The first question helps to determine whom the winners and losers are in the situation. In this case, we are trying to determine if it is ethical for employees of an organization to accept gifts from vendors while in the process of bidding. If the employees were to accept the gifts the winners could be the employees, they are receiving something of value for themselves and the vendor, they would have a potential advantage over their competition. The losers in this situation could be the other vendors who are involved in the bidding process and the organization, there might be negative repercussions because of the employee’s actions. The second question in Baddarocco’s framework asks who must be protected. In this case, the company’s reputation must be protected. By doing that we are also protecting the other employees in the company, the stockholders, shareholders, and clients of the company. The next question asks what the action says about the individual’s beliefs. If employees are knowingly doing something that would harm the organization, then their value system differs from that of the company. Once all of the questions are answered, the decision is then based on the course that will harm the least amount of people. If that were the case, then accepting gifts from vendors in the bidding process would be unethical. To further establish whether or no this is an ethical decision, DeMars, (2004) established several questions that you should ask yourself if considering accepting gifts from vendors among which are, would you feel uncomfortable explaining your actions to your boss, clergy, grandmother' could there be any perception by others of a conflict of interest' Could you behavior appear unfair and/or seem to undermine the effectiveness of my work and has my ability to make an impartial and objective decision been compromised' If you answer yes to any of those, then the decision is likely an unethical one. Kinicki & Kreitner (2009), defines corporate social responsibility as “the notion that corporations have an obligation to constituent groups in society other than stockholders and beyond that prescribed by law or union contract”. These groups of people include your clients and the vendors that work with and for your company. Organizations have an obligation to everyone that they do business with to be honest and fair. Responsibility lies primarily with the organization to create rules and regulations that exemplifies behaviors that they want model. The responsibility also lies with managers to properly discipline anyone who does not abide by those rules. Watson (2003), explains that “the bureaucratized context of modern managerial work means that people are forced, 'to bracket, while at work, the moralities that they might hold outside the workplace or that they might adhere to privately,' and, instead, they follow 'the prevailing morality of their particular organizational situation”. If managers are not making good decisions, their subordinates might model their behavior. “By now an impressive amount of evidence indicates that within groups and organizations, procedural justice exerts powerful influences on a variety of out- comes, such as emotions and behavior” (Cremer & Hiel, 2006). The consequences of one person’s actions can affect the organization as a whole. How people outside of the company perceive your organization is determined by what is done within the company. If it is determined that your company has done something unethical, you will have a difficult time finding reputable vendors to work with you in the future. If bad decisions are not dealt with, other employees within the organization could perceive that action as an invitation to ignore other company rules. That could lead to un-necessary conflict within the organization. One suggestion that I would make for organization to avoid this situation in the future is to have a specific set of rules pertaining to vendors and gift acceptance. They need to be written put and displayed somewhere that is accessible to all employees. They need to state the consequences for disobeying the rules and the results that will come out of it. Using Wright & Wright. (1999) recommendation about researchers in their article, I would suggest that employees “expand their focus and actively consider the consequences of their (actions) on all affected constituent groups” before making decisions that affects a number of people. References DeMars, N. (2004). TRICK OR TREAT. OfficePro, 64(1), 22-23. Retrieved from Business Source Complete database. Thomas A Wright, & Vincent P Wright. (1999). Ethical responsibility and the organizational researcher: A committed-to-participant research perspective. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20(7), 1107-1112.  Retrieved May 22, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 48248833). |Cremer D.D. & Hiel A.V. (2006) Effects of another person's fair treatment on one's own emotions and | |behaviors: The moderating role of how much the other cares for you. Organizational Behavior | |and Human Decision Processes, 100 (2), pp. 231-249. | | | | | Tony J Watson.  (2003). Ethical choice in managerial work: The scope for moral choices in an ethically irrational world. Human Relations, 56(2), 167-185.  Retrieved May 22, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 298189511). Badaracco, J.L., Jr. (2002). Defining moments: A framework for moral decisions. Harvard Business School Faculty Seminar Series. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login'url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx'direct=true&db=fsv&AN=2861c&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live&scope=site Kinicki, A., & Kreitner, R. (2009). Organizational Behavior: Key Concepts, Skills & Best Practices (4th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions. Dessler, G. (2009). A framework for human resource management (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, Pearson Prentice Hall.