How_Personal_Can_Ethics_Get_

How Personal Can Ethics Get' Erika M Cleaves Strayer University BUS 520 [ April 26, 2011 ] Dr. Carolyn Tippett How Personal Can Ethics Get' Discuss how personal differences and preferences can impact organizational ethics. The different perceptions of other’s personalities and ethical guidelines possessed by the employees including those of both upper management and non-managerial positions have a great impact on organizational ethics. Kohlberg’s stages of moral development proves this to be true because a person at the interpersonal stage will interpret rules and situations very differently than an individual at the universal principles stage. At the interpersonal stage, “proper behavior is what satisfies the person’s self-interest” (Hellreigel and Slocum, 2010, p. 35), and the most important attributes of what an individual at this stage perceives as a good person consists of being loyal and/or avoiding conflict at all times, even if that means sacrificing their own needs for the good of others and to thwart disagreements. A great example provided by chapter two of the text states, “if a work absence creates conflicts or work overload for other employees, some individuals at this stage might be willing to reduce their absences even if that meant not using all of their allotted sick days” (Hellreigel and Slocum, 2010, p. 35). “An individual at the interpersonal stage consider appropriate behavior as that which pleases or is approved by friends or family” (Hellreigel and Slocum, 2010, p. 35); however, “an individual at the universal principles stage views appropriate conduct as determined by the person’s conscience, based on universal ethical principles” (Organizational Behavior. 2010. p.36). According to Kohlberg, “universal principles are founded in justice, the public welfare, the equality of human rights, and the respect for the dignity of individual human beings” (Hellreigel and Slocum, 2010, p. 36) Kohlberg’s model best describes people at the universal stage as being the most advanced in ethical rationale due simply for the reason that they are able to understand that universal principles operate in harmony together instead of rules and laws. Discuss how policies and procedures can impact ethics. The policies and rules implemented are the ultimate guidelines of company; thus, providing the organization with a systematic way of handling situations that may arise within the employees. If a company does not execute a specific outline of rules and regulations that the employees are to adhere by; consequently, there will be no order within the company due to a lack of a main structural component. The majority of companies believe that their structural guidelines of ethical behavior will provide the employees with the ability to make the right decision based on the rules given, and it has been found by the Ethics Resource Center [ERC] that employees of companies enforcing a strong ethical culture experienced less pressure to break rules than those of a company enforcing a weak ethical culture (Hellreigel and Slocum, 2010, p. 37). The implementation of a strong ethical culture perpetuates unity, stability, harmony, and the employees’ ability to all strive towards a common goal for the greater good of the organization, which in turn also creates higher employee satisfaction. The results from having a strong ethical culture reinforce the relationship between the company and those connected directly and indirectly, which will result in better performance and higher profitability. Discuss the ethical dilemmas that Valerie is facing. Valerie found herself in a huge ethical dilemma when she discovered that her boss, Lionel Waters, has been violating company policy by taking bribes for his private company from the suppliers of Wisson. Mr. Waters’ performance demonstrates a typical case of the might-equals right principle because he is using his power of managerial authority as a means of control to disregard the company ethics policy. Due to the actions of Mr. Waters, Valerie is now placed in a difficult position because if she reports Mr. Waters, there is a chance that he may retaliate; therefore, causing Valerie and her co-workers to lose their careers. Also at stake will be her educational opportunity, and most importantly, her working Visa. After Valerie discovered her boss’s transgression, she spoke in confidence to her boyfriend. He suggested that Valerie refrain from revealing the information to anyone, as it would jeopardize her career or educational endeavors. In doing so, Valerie will be demonstrating both the hedonist and utilitarian principle because not only will she be acting only in “the greatest good for the greatest number” (Hellreigel and Slocu, 2010, p. 41), but she will also be acting only in the best interest of herself. Recommend what Valerie should do. According to the case study, Valerie decided to wait until she finished school before displaying the unethical actions of Mr. Waters, which is understandable because she must be sure that not only does she make the most ethical decision possible, but she also has to be sure that her moral decision to expose Mr. Waters does not weave her into his blanket of unethical activities because ultimately, her entire career, education, and citizenship in the United States will be in jeopardy. However, if I were in Valerie’s situation, I would have taken a different approach. Instead of remaining silent in regards to the wrongdoings of Mr. Waters, I would had saved copies of the invoices, and sent them anonymously to the members of the upper-management staff and human resources, if available. The fact that I would not had told anyone that I that made the discovery of Mr. Waters’ misconduct, I would had felt very secure knowing that my job, education, and citizenship in this country would had been safe; in addition, I also would had been pleased to know that I was able to still do the right thing without putting myself or others in harm’s way. Mr. Waters is a prime example of how a person should not behave in any professional setting. Mr. Waters’ behavior is not only unethical, also very illegal because he is ultimately stealing from the company. In addition to ruining his career, he will also ruin his future due to criminal charges if the company decided to take further action. Not only did he allocate the company’s money for his personal use for frequent horse stable rentals, extravagant parties, and the hiring of his close companions at much high salaries than everyone else, but he caused frequent confusion and sometimes arguments amongst his staff members by giving false information and being absent for meetings that he organized without giving the consideration of notifying his team members; thus, displaying an array of unprofessional and unethical behavior. Mr. Waters also showed a lack of leadership, which is “the process of developing ideas and a vision, living by values that suppose those ideas and that vision, influencing others to embrace them in their own behaviors, and making hard decisions about human and other resources” (Hellreigel and Slocu, 2010, p. 4) by allowing all of his team to do the majority of the work, and putting them in the position to be forced to make most of the difficult decisions without him due to his frequent absences, excuses and additional vacations, which encouraged an overall low morale of the entire team. References Hellriegel/Slocum. (2011). Organizational Behavior 13th Edition. Mason, Ohio; Cengage Learning.