Ethical Principles of Home Depot - Essay Example

Ethical Principles Ethical Principles Overview Home depot has emerged to be a big organization with over 300,000 employees and operates in more than 2,200 stores in America. The company has ethical principles that have ensured growth and continuity of business operations. The company works with a mission of ensuring the customers get the homes of their dreams. In order to serve in respect to the mission it has ethical principle governing the customer relationship (Rezaee, 2008). Corporate Governance and Culture The company was declining before entry of Frank Bifulco as the head of the marketing department.

The company was using a culture that did not favour employees. It adopted the military culture and operated under principles reminiscent from the military operation. This culture resulted to decrease of company performance. The principles adopted also resulted to termination of many employees. Shaw (2007) states that, termination of the employee causes low performance of the company because the customers have specific people who should serve them. When a customer finds out that the employees are sucked, they also loose confidence with the company (Sison, 2008).

When Frank took over the company changed trend and tried to create or establish a good relationship with employee and customer. In order to attract more customers, it started offering free service of teaching carpentry to children. The company builds up a culture that emphasized on social responsibility. It created different programs that support the customers and environment growth. The company also underestimated the female workers as they were paid low salaries than their male counterparts but after the case was filed in 1997, the issue was resolved.

The company provides equal opportunity to all associates, and every body is encouraged to develop and grow professionally (Rezaee, 2008). Social Responsibility In respect to the social responsibility principle, Home Depot established programs to minimize their impacts to the environment and also customers effect to the environment. One of the ethical principles is to care and protect the environment and ensure that the company and the customer do not cause harm to the environment. The company has also applied to be certified by the Forest Stewardship in order to access wood at the forest.

This is an indication that the company does not want to violate the country’s regulation (Shaw, 2007). Home Depot employees are required to be involved on voluntarily basis in community work and civic activities. Each year the 300 employees are required to take part in the 2 million voluntarily services offered by the company to the community. Stakeholders Relationship The company works with the principle of improving the communities where it operates. In 2002, it formed the foundation to help the non-profit organization in America.

A non-profit organization which benefits from the foundation educate people on the housing connection, taking care of the urban forest, and the community’s economic and health success. Home Depot has created a health relationship with the environmental stakeholders (Bhatia, 2004). Service Delivery Currently, the company is applying new technology in order to improve customer services. As from 1999, the company has not developed technologically. This is evidenced because the company employees were using the computers and shelves that they were using 15 years ago.

Currently, the company has started incorporating the new technology in daily operation in order to serve customers effectively. The company is in the right truck because application of new technology is essential for business growth (Flynn, 2008). References Bhatia S. K. (2004). Business Ethics and Corporate Governance. Boston: Deep & Deep Publishers. Flynn G. (2008). Leadership and Business Ethics. Boston: Springer Science & Business Media. Rezaee Z. (2008). Corporate Governance and Ethics.

New York: John Wiley & Sons. Shaw W. (2007). Business Ethics. New York: Cengage Learning. Sison A. G. (2008). Corporate Governance and Ethics: An Aristotelian Perspective. Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing.