copyright © 2004 prentice hall. all rights reserved.2–1 the wall street journal workplace-ethics...

Copyright © 2004 Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. 2–1

The Wall Street Journal Workplace-Ethics Quiz

FIGURE 2–1Source: Wall Street Journal, 21 October 1999, pp. 81–84. Ethics Officer Association, Belmont, Mass.; Ethics Leadership Group, Wilmette, Ill.; surveys sampled a cross-section of workers at large companies and nationwide.


The Meaning of Ethics• Ethics

The study of: Standards of conduct Moral judgment The standards of right conduct

• Normative JudgmentA comparative evaluation stating or implying that

something is: Good or bad Right or wrong

• MoralityA society’s accepted norms of behavior.

What is the predominant society…


The Meaning of Ethics• Today and Tomorrow

What are the trends? Increasing diversity… Decrease in personal contact… Globalization

– Loss of geo-centric moral codes– Morality gets lost in the milieu

What are the possible approaches/solutions? Setting strong codes Selection Culture Increased organizational responsibility


Good and Evil• Teleologist

A person who evaluates good or evil and right or wrong based on: The consequences or results of the proposed actions Time-specific

• DeontologistA person who evaluates whether actions are good or

bad, right or wrong: Based on their conformity to certain principles that he or

she feels must be adhered to. Regardless of the consequences or results of the

proposed actions.– Based on some moral backbone


Ethics and the Law• Important Points:

Something may be legal but not right (ethical) Abortion (?) Capital Punishment (?) Same sex marriages (?)

Something may be right (ethical) but not legal. Racial profiling (?) Other examples…

What’s truly at the root of this argument? What is the relationship between:

– Socially-driven laws– Morality– Ethics


The Ethical Continuum

FIGURE 2–2Source: Source: Michael Boylan, Business Ethics(Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001), p. 119.

Low High


What Influences Ethical Behavior At Work?

Ethical Work Ethical Work Behaviors Behaviors

Ethical Work Ethical Work Behaviors Behaviors

IndividualIndividualFactorsFactors

IndividualIndividualFactorsFactors

OrganizationalOrganizationalFactorsFactors

OrganizationalOrganizationalFactorsFactors

Top Top ManagementManagement

Top Top ManagementManagement

Ethics Policies Ethics Policies and Codesand Codes

Ethics Policies Ethics Policies and Codesand Codes


Ethical Influences• Individual Factors:

Internal Guidelines How to act / behave How we judge others SIT Question:

– Do we always act on these guidelines?

• Top Management influenceBehavior Modeling

Given incentive/reward we learn behavior Chain-of Command

Value set All values are not static (can be influenced)


Ethical Influences• Organizational Factors:

Values PO Fit Above and beyond the scope of Top Management Culture

Attitudes What is the relationship? (direction )

Beliefs Again, do attitudes/behavior shape beliefs or is it the

other way around?Language

How does this influence ethics? (metaphor)Behavioral Patterns

Do we always behave in accordance with our beliefs?


Checklist 2.1How to Foster Ethics at Work

Emphasize top management’s commitment.

Publish an ethics code. Establish compliance mechanisms.

Involve personnel at all levels. Train employees. Measure results.


Raytheon Company’s Quick Ethics Test

• Is the action legal?Socially accepted

• Is it right? Internal/external question

• Who will be affected?The greatest good (Do No Harm)

• Does it fit company values?Culture

• How will it “feel” afterwards?What is our own judgment based on?


Source: Susan Wells, “Turn Employees into Saints,” HRMagazine, December 1999, p. 52.

FIGURE 2–4

The Role of Trainingin EthicsCompany ethics officials say they convey

ethics codes and programs to employees using these training programs:

Company ethics officials use these actual training tools to convey ethics training to employees:


What Is Organizational Culture?• Organizational Culture

The characteristic set of values and behavior that employees in an organization share.

Written rules, dress codes, structure

• Patterns of BehaviorCeremonial events Written and spoken commentsActual behaviors of an organization’s members that

create the organizational culture.

• Values and BeliefsGuiding standards of an organization that affirm what

should be practicedDistinct from what is practiced.


Ethics and Corporate Culture

CorporateCulture

ManagementEthics


Checklist 2.2How to Create the Corporate Culture

Clarify expectations. Use signs and symbols. Provide physical support. Use stories. Organize rites and ceremonies.


Components of Corporate Culture

• Signs and SymbolsPractices and actions that create and sustain a

company’s culture.

• StoriesThe repeated tales and anecdotes that contribute

to a company’s culture by illustrating and reinforcing important company values.

• Rites and CeremoniesTraditional culture-building events or activities that

symbolize the firm’s values and help convert employees to these values.


Managers And Social Responsibility• Social Responsibility

The extent to which organizations channel resources to the surrounding environment Based on goodwill

• Managerial CapitalismThe classic view is that a corporation’s main purpose

is to maximize profits for stockholders. And, that this leads to a healthy environment

• Stakeholder TheoryBusiness has a social responsibility to serve all the

corporate stakeholders affected by its decisions. All those directly and indirectly affected


FIGURE 2–5

A Corporation’s Major Stakeholders


Managers And Social Responsibility (cont’d)

• Moral MinimumThe idea that corporations should be free to strive for

profits so long as they commit no harm.Stockholders versus Stakeholders?

• Dialogue…


Source: Ronald Alsop, “Perils of Corporate Philanthropy,” Wall Street Journal, 16 January 2002, pp. B1. 2001 Harris Interactive/ Reputation Institute Survey. FIGURE 2–6

Top-Rated Companies forSocial Responsibility

1. Johnson & Johnson

2. Coca-Cola

3. Wal-Mart

4. Anheuser-Busch

5. Hewlett-Packard

6. Walt Disney

7. Microsoft

8. IBM

9. McDonald’s

10. 3M

11. UPS

12. FedEx

13. Target

14. Home Depot

15. General Electric


How to Improve the Company’s Social Responsiveness

• Corporate Social AuditA rating system used to evaluate a corporation’s

performance in meeting its social obligations.

• Whistle-blowingThe activities of employees who try to report

organizational wrongdoing.

• Social Responsibility NetworksOrganizations that promote socially responsible

business practices and help managers to establish socially responsible programs.


Managing Diversity

• Managing DiversityPlanning and implementing organizational systems

and practices to manage people in a way that Maximizes the potential advantages of diversity Minimizes its potential disadvantages.

Cultural diversity contributes to: Improved productivity Return on equity Market performance.


Bases for Diversity

• Racial and Ethnic• Gender• Older workers• People with disabilities• Sexual/affectional orientation• Religion


Barriers in Dealing with Diversity

• StereotypingAttributing specific behavioral traits to individuals

on the basis of their apparent membership in a group.

• PrejudiceA bias that results from prejudging someone on

the basis of the latter’s particular trait or traits.

• EthnocentrismA tendency to view members of one’s own group

as the center of the universe and to view other social groups less favorably than one’s own.


Barriers in Dealing with Diversity (cont’d)

• DiscriminationA behavioral bias toward or against a person based

on the group to which the person belongs.

• TokenismAppointing a small number of minority-group

members to high-profile positions instead of more aggressively achieving full group representation.

• Gender-Role StereotypingUsually, the association of women with certain

behaviors and possibly (often lower-level) jobs.


Checklist 2.3How to Manage Diversity

Provide strong leadership. Assess your situation regularly. Provide diversity training and education. Change the culture and management

systems. Evaluate the diversity program.


FIGURE 2–7

Activities Required to Better Manage Diversity

copyright © 2004 prentice hall. all rights reserved.2–1 the wall street journal workplace-ethics...

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