The Effects of Negative Corporate Culture on Ethical Behavior - Essay Example

BUSINESS ETHICS QUESTION Berle Inc., a publicly held corporation, has assets of $100 million and annual earnings in the range of $13$15 million. Berle owns three aluminum plants, which are profitable, and one plastics plant, which is losing $4 million a year. This means that when the company does not dispose that plastic plant it may collapse the whole company. As it has been stated the plastics plant has shown no sign of ever becoming profitable, because of its very high operating costs; and there is no evidence that the plant and the underlying real estate will increase in value. This is sufficient reason for the company to sell the company. Since plastic industry is making losses it is ethical to sell the company to a company with other intension and in this case it is sold to Rooney who intends to introduce automation, and to replace all present employees. The employees should not be replaced but trained if not absorbed in the mother company. The company should be ready to take this short term costs that the yearly losses of $ 4 million. QUESTION 2 The matter of environmental conservation is of great concern. Since I have not read the report of chemical composition in our manufacturing firm. This is because it was written in foreign language. Though am aware of the contents of the report, it will be right for me to say no when questioned by a report. The reporter is a whistleblower to the nation asking me to provide information of the company, because the information will cause panic to the employees and the community members. This is because of the chemical that is feared to affect their lives. It is ethical before whistle blowing to be sure of the information and let the information be evaluated, tested and audited. The issue at hand should be declared by the management and not the individuals. This is because the individuals need to be protected and therefore need for confidentiality. My concern for the proposal is high. This is because the major competitor is from Japan. It is wise to use a local agent who is close to the politician to get the proposal. The agent must follow the law of agency by getting a 10% commission as agreed when he gets the proposal. The agent has violated the terms by asking extra $100000 and this is unethical. This is fraud because the request of the agent could be higher than the project and this is not acceptable .As a project manager I will try to explain to him to accept the initial offer so as to avoid fraud because it may collapse the project when it starts. I would review the terms for the agent and it will be documented so as to encourage him to do the job. If he refuses then I will have to get another agent rather than involving in the fraud. When I deny him the $ 100000 and is given by the vice president. First I will explain to the vice president the dangers of not giving him the cash. If he will not agree I will have to talk to the chairperson and then the board of directors so as to remove the fraud. Whistle blowing will only come when the above have not resolved the issue. Normaly, gray market involves import and sale of goods by unauthorized dealer. Though it is not illegal but it is unofficial. Exchanging currency on this kind of a market is risky and may result to losses. My division has become profitable I will stop the engagement by highlighting the risks involved in the gray market. This is to save the business investments. QUESTION 3 The corporate culture has influenced the ethical behavior of employees within an organization. This has been affected by factors such as: Lack of Moral Leadership. “When managers are unethical, employees will emulate the bad behavior. Eventually, the unethical environment will hinder business. For example, if managers take credit for subordinates’ work, some employees will start to imitate the behavior. Honest employees will begin to protect themselves by hiding their work from their colleagues and supervisors. The resulting lack of teamwork and collaboration will limit the company’s potential.” (Mack) Hyper competitiveness. “If a company’s culture rewards employees who pursue personal advantage rather than focus on contributing to the performance of the entire team, employees might overstep ethical boundaries to get ahead. For example, suppose a manager rewards top performers without analyzing how they achieved their results. Some employees might use unethical methods to move ahead, such as stealing others’ ideas. Once a few dishonest employees prosper in this way, the rest of the employees will soon see that stealing others’ ideas is an effective way to move up in your company.” (Mack) Poor Discipline. A lax corporate culture makes it easy for unethical behavior to prosper. If your company doesnt act quickly to punish or remove unethical employees, they will run rampant over ethical employees. As a business owner, you have a responsibility to maintain order within your organization by disciplining employees who are ethically out of line and by rewarding ethical employees. Lack of Discussion. “Corporate cultures that discourage honest discussion allow unethical behavior to spread unimpeded. Instead, a company should encourage employees to report unethical behavior before it becomes a widespread problem. Providing whistleblowers with protection and encouraging employees to report problems help foster an organization that is ethical from top to bottom.” (Mack) QUESTION 4 Ordinarily, environmental conservation should be part and parcel of any organization. In this case the company seemed to be dumping effluents at the nearby river. The EPA checked the wastes level and they have signed off on them.Peter who is the development manager and an expert in company image knows the effluents of the river have genetic manipulations that may affect the consumers. The EPA is unfamiliar with types of chemicals and effects. It is unethical for the company to pollute the river which is a major source of livelihood to the people around.EPA has shown uncouth behavior by showing no concern to the people. This is because of lack of thorough scrutiny of chemicals that are emitted towards the environment. This may cause the customers to develop a poor rapport with the potential buyers. This will create poor public image that will create lack of customer’s loyalty and low profitability in the long run. Therefore Peter should be concerned with the management about the concern and explain the urgency of devising a mechanism of treating the effluents before they are dumped. Management is the only organ suitable to discuss the matter for the safety of its customers since decisions are made easily. Works Cited Mack, Stan. The Effects of Negative Corporate Culture on Ethical Behavior. 2010. 2015 . Read More