Download - COMMUNICATION AND ETHICS IN ORGANIZATIONS
Lecture 9a
COMMUNICATION AND ETHICS IN ORGANIZATIONS
Decision-Making and Ethics
Ethics: “a practice … by which we may reach conclusions concerning the rightness or wrongness of voluntary acts related to our [goal] last end” (AR)
Some that believe that ethics and economics cannot be reconciled.
Success in business requires greed, deceit and unfeeling ruthlessness…
Advancement … can come only from unsavory actions...a truly good person cannot succeed in business”
Decision-Making and Ethics
Others, however:
Business Ethics: “The study of how personal moral norms apply to the activities and goals of commercial enterprise. It is not a separate moral standard, but the study of how the business context poses its own unique problems for the moral person to act as an agent of this system”
THE CHALLENGER DISASTER
January 1985, engineer Roger Boisjoly of Morton Thiokol, a contractor to NASA, suspected trouble.
Begins tests: Do low temperatures negatively affect the ability of the booster rocket’s O‑rings to seal?
March 1985, the tests confirmed danger. June 1985, post‑flight inspection of shuttle launch
revealed erosion of both primary and backup seals Erosion that was close to being severe enough
to cause an explosion.
THE CHALLENGER DISASTER Talked with his immediate supervisor. Wrote a memo
to the vice president of engineering, discussing it first with his immediate supervisor.
Boisjoly and others came up with recommendations that included studying ways of improving the O‑rings. Got a team to study problem.
Day before the Challenger launch, the overnight temperature to be eighteen degrees, much lower than the fifty‑three degree minimum recommended by Morton Thiokol
Boisjoly and other O‑ring team recommended not to launch. Bob Lund, engineering vice president and Joe Kilminster, recommended against the launch after having met with Boisjoly and the O‑ring team.
THE CHALLENGER DISASTER
Video Case StudyVideo Case Study
THE CHALLENGER DISASTER
THE CHALLENGER LAUNCH
73 SECONDS LATER
THE CHALLENGER DISASTER INVESTIGATION
Morton Thiokol’s top managers reversed their recommendation not to launch under pressure from NASA, their customer.
NASA itself was under great pressure from the White House to deliver a successful launch.
Earlier in the year, the President had made a public commitment to have the space shuttle fly on a regular basis and he was upset by the number of delays and scrubbed launches.
INVESTIGATION CONCLUSION
Ensuing investigation concluded…engineers at Morton Thiokol were aware of the problem and warned against launching, but organizational and organizational and management problems prevented their management problems prevented their warning from reaching NASA.warning from reaching NASA.
Lecture 9b
COMMUNICATION AND ETHICS IN ORGANIZATIONS
ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN ORGANIZATIONS FREE SPEECH
1. PUNISHMENT - OBEDIENCE1. PUNISHMENT - OBEDIENCE
2. NAIVE EGOIST - INSTRUMENTAL2. NAIVE EGOIST - INSTRUMENTALPRE-PRE-CONVENTIONALCONVENTIONALSTAGESSTAGES
KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL GROWTH
KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL GROWTH Level One - Stages One and Two
Child can respond to rules and social expectations in terms of “good” - “bad”
Rules enforced for outside Followed in terms of pain and pleasure resulting from actions Self-interest is child’s concern
Punishment and Obedience Little awareness of others’ needs and desires
Naively Egoistic and Instrumental Recognizes others’ needs; defers to get what he/she wants “Right” is a fair exchange satisfying individual
1. PUNISHMENT - OBEDIENCE1. PUNISHMENT - OBEDIENCE
2. NAIVE EGOIST - INSTRUMENTAL2. NAIVE EGOIST - INSTRUMENTAL
3. INTERPERSONAL CONCORDANCE- 3. INTERPERSONAL CONCORDANCE- DOING WHAT’S EXPECTEDDOING WHAT’S EXPECTED
4. LAW AND ORDER4. LAW AND ORDER
PRE-PRE-CONVENTIONALCONVENTIONALSTAGESSTAGES
CONVENTIONAL CONVENTIONAL STAGESSTAGES
KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL GROWTH
KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL GROWTH
Level Two - Stages Three and Four Responsiveness to one’s family, peers, nation is “right”
thing Regardless of consequences loyalty is highest value Subordinating individual needs to group
Interpersonal Concordance “Good boy-Good Girl” principle Good behavior is doing what’s expected - feeling loyalty,
affection trust Law and Order Orientation
Doing one’s duty, obey authority; maintain social order Fulfilling contracts; obligations and following rules defined
as good for society Recognizes differences between individual and society -
society first
1. PUNISHMENT - OBEDIENCE1. PUNISHMENT - OBEDIENCE
2. NAIVE EGOIST - INSTRUMENTAL2. NAIVE EGOIST - INSTRUMENTAL
3. INTERPERSONAL CONCORDANCE- 3. INTERPERSONAL CONCORDANCE- DOING WHAT’S EXPECTEDDOING WHAT’S EXPECTED
4. LAW AND ORDER4. LAW AND ORDER
5. SOCIAL CONTRACT5. SOCIAL CONTRACT
6. UNIVERSAL ETHICAL 6. UNIVERSAL ETHICAL PRINCIPLES PRINCIPLES
PRE-PRE-CONVENTIONALCONVENTIONALSTAGESSTAGES
CONVENTIONAL CONVENTIONAL STAGESSTAGES
PRINCIPLEDPRINCIPLEDSTAGESSTAGES
KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL GROWTH
KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL GROWTH Stage 5 Social Contract
Realize others hold a variety of conflicting views Use fair ways to reach agreement - consensus, contract,
due process Social views and values are relative Agreement is vital but certain “higher values” must always
be upheld Stage 6 Universal Ethical Principles
Right action means following self-chosen principles: comprehensive, universal, consistent
Not codes of specific behaviors (like 10 Commandments) but universal moral principles - justice, equality of human rights, respect for human dignity
Uses these principles to evaluate all other rules
5. SOCIAL 5. SOCIAL COMPLEX COMPLEX MUTUALITYMUTUALITY
MORAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN ADULTHOOD
DEVELOPMENT STAGE COGNITIVE STYLE INTERPERSONAL STYLE 3. CONCORD-3. CONCORD- SIMPLICITY, SIMPLICITY, LOYALTY, LOYALTY,
ANCEANCE STEREOTYPESSTEREOTYPES CONFORMITY CONFORMITY 4. LAW AND4. LAW AND GENERALIZED GENERALIZED ASSERTIONASSERTION
ORDERORDER PERCEPTIONSPERCEPTIONS
UNIVERSALUNIVERSALSEES SEES CONTRADICTIONSCONTRADICTIONSAND PARADOXES AND PARADOXES
EMPATHY, EMPATHY, GROWTHGROWTHRELATIONSHIPSRELATIONSHIPSPRINCIPLESPRINCIPLES
6. 6.
CONTRACTCONTRACT PATTERNS PATTERNS
The Loss Ethical Focus and the Ability to Talk About It
Enron Rapid shift from pipelines to deal-making produced
enormous growth -- for a while In the process, Enron lost a sense of core identity and
values (“lots of smart people, but no wise people”) But also corrupt, manipulative leaders - lots of strategic
control talk Use of positive values to deceive
No room to talk about contradictions Raising concerns - personal weakness or disloyalty
The Loss Ethical Focus and the Ability to Talk About It
Aggressive culture. Brutal system inside the company in which each
employee was graded on their performance. And the bottom ten percent were supposed to be fired.
“Rank and Yank”
Hostile, Warrior Culture Everybody would battle each other inside of the company
so they could go outside into the marketplace and defeat the competition by any means.