Systems Telecom - Social and Moral Values as Solution to the Company's Problems - Case Study Example

Student Name Student Number 2003ICT PROFESSIONAL ISSUES IN IT SEMESTER 3, 2006 SYSTEMS TELECOM CASE STUDY Executive Summary This case study intends to analyse a small chunk from the day to day functioning of Systems Telecom, which happens to be a major Australian telecommunications giant. The purpose of this study is to bring to fore some of the questionable and perhaps unethical activities undertaken by the employees of this firm coming right from the top management, down to the field sales team. A cursory perusal of this case points to some of the ethical deficiencies in various activities undertaken by this commercial juggernaut. Be it the choice of the functional areas to be automated or the planning and designing of system requirements, the concerned personnel, especially those from the top management, definitely seems to have resorted to specifically objectionable and irregular behaviour, to the detriment of the potential stakeholders. In the sphere of business operations, often it gets quite confusing and cumbersome to classify an act as being ethical or unethical. Still a valid attempt has been made in this case study to analyse the chosen activities in the context of a few existing models of ethical integrity. The given situation has also been evaluated on the basis of the Bommer et al’s model of ethical decision making. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 1.0 Introduction 4 1.1 Purpose 5 1.2 Scope 6 1.3 Definitions 7 2.0 Ethical Analysis 8 3.0 Stakeholder Identification 12 4.0 Bommer et al’s Analysis 13 5.0 Solutions 15 6.0 Reference List 18 1.0 Introduction The purpose of this study is to dissect the various decisions-making criteria resorted to by the managers in an organizational setup and the ensuing ethical, professional, social and legal issues that naturally pop up as an outcome of the strengths and lacuna inherent in the procedures followed. This paper tends to analyse and pinpoint the debates and controversies that are pertinent to modern businesses and their ethical and social consequences. The writer is not only required to analyse the ethical dilemmas implicit in the case study, but is also expected to use a model of ethical decision making and normative ethical theories to come out with alternative solutions. Also such solutions are required to be justified in the light of the chosen model of decision making and other normative theories selected by the writer. The given study also aims at identifying the major stakeholders and establishing their relationship to the primary issues selected in the case study. Besides the major ethical doctrines, Bommers et al’s behavioural model of ethical and unethical decision making has been used to evaluate the questionable acts selected by the writer. The purpose of this study is not to establish a faultless philosophy but to add to the existing approaches. 1.1 Purpose In the existing globalized economic scenario, when most of the Western business institutions are privately run and are acting as a role model for the developing economies, there exist a valid possibility of companies and employees deviating away from the established and emerging doctrines of ethical decision making. Ethical decision making has emerged as a nascent field of studies. Till now there existed only a few studies pertaining to this discipline. Thus there exists a dire need for starting a healthy discussion and debate pertaining to business and organizational ethics. Considering the deluge of already existing ethics oriented doctrines in the realm of philosophy and multiple individual viewpoints, some times it gets very difficult to decide what is ethical or unethical in a professional context. Still more and more professional organizations are increasingly recognizing the need for business ethics and are accrediting only those professional courses that actively tend to incorporate ethical and moral studies as a part of their syllabi. The purpose of this report is to make a constructive contribution to the topic under consideration that is the role of ethics in decision making. Various ethical doctrines and behavioural models of ethical and unethical decision making have been used to comment on the selected questionable acts in the given case study. 1.2 Scope This study does not claim to establish a holistic model of ethical decision making. The primary intention behind this work is to identify a few relevant factors that directly contribute to ethical or unethical decision making in organizations. A few questionable acts have been selected from the given case study and evaluated as per the existing models of decision making and related philosophies. Decisions made by employees in an organization are influenced by a variety of factors such as their social, professional and personal environment, government policies, existing laws, etc. In such a scenario, it becomes difficult to claim that a particular decision stands firm on the foundation of ethics. Still a tentative attempt can be made to evaluate certain questionable acts and decisions in a limited, hypothetical scenario. However, the thing that needs to be understood is that it is practically impossible to list all the factors that influence the ethical credentials of decisions taken by a particular employee. Beside there exist only a very few well developed models of ethical and unethical behaviour in organizations. 1.3 Definitions Ethical Behaviour is that behaviour which is shown to be objectively morally correct via appeal to a theory of morally correct (or permissible, obligatory, desirable, etc.) action, and it is ethical precisely because it is the behaviour which is required by the theory. Ethical behaviours are those behaviours the correctness of which constitutes the moral intuition in business and the professions. Social environment is the set of humanistic, religious, cultural and social values, and in particular those values of the society’s sub groupings to which the person belongs. Laws are values and mores of society that have the force of its moral authority. Professional environment is the institutionalized professional context within which a person practices. It is not the vague and informal identification of a person as “professional” meaning that they are competent and responsible. Work environment is comprised of corporate goals, culture and stated policy. Personal environment is the person’s family and peer groups outside of work. Individual environment is the person’s moral standards, personal goals, motivation mechanisms, position/status, self concept, life experiences, personality and demographic variables. Rationality is defined as the best selection of means to achieve an objective consistent with the value system of the decision maker. Cognitive style is the characteristic, self consistent mode of functioning which individuals show in their perception and intellectual activities. 2.0 Ethical Analysis The strategic study commissioned by the Director Information Systems at Systems Telecom identified four functional areas where automated systems were required i.e. customer services, management information, personnel and payroll/pensions. The board decided to invest in the customer services on a priority basis, while ignoring the three other vital areas. This qualifies to be classified as a questionable act. This decision of the board is unethical in the sense that it ignores the management’s efficiency and financial and organizational issues related to employees, in its pursuit for quick profits. This decision is not only unethical, but may prove to be disastrous in the long run. The issues related to the management and the employees do deserve the utmost attention of the company and need to be redressed in an efficient and timely manner. In this case study we also come to know that in the past there have been problems in the company so far as the updated training of staff members is concerned. This qualifies to be called an unethical and questionable act in the sense that it could seriously jeopardize the financial health and survival of the company. As we know that telecommunications is one of the world’s fastest growing industry and any firm which acts lackadaisical towards the training of its employees is bound to loose business in the long run. This amounts not only to negligence but also compromises the trust of the customers and the shareholders. Brett Hammond, the new employee in the team made considerable improvements to the management tool purchased by the company. This indicates initiative and talent, which is really commendable. However, we also come to know that Brett is planning to package his version and intends to put it up on eBay. This is definitely an unethical and questionable act on the part of an employee. Brett is infact violating the intellectual property rights of his company, which is undoubtedly an illegal act. Besides, such activities on the part of a staff member could compromise the classified information and procedures in the company. This definitely has the potential to mortally hit the company in the long run. This threat infact becomes more plausible and realistic, considering the contemporary business scenario marked by industrial espionage and cut throat competition. This case study also states that the newly constituted project team failed to conduct interviews with the field sales staff on an individual basis. Infact it collected all its data from Adulf Myers, a supervisor. The team also decided to get all the relevant feedback from the same person, without going through botheration of taking into confidence the actual sales staff. This is certainly unethical and questionable behaviour on the part of the project team. It compromises the very basics of the automated system development project and reduces it to a hypothetical exercise. The resultant software will not only fail to meet the requirements of the Systems Telecom, but will also lead to the wastage of the scarce IT resources and funds. The team leader, Sophie, choose to ignore this vital step, either because of a lack of initiative or to make her job easier. Later on when Sophie confided in the project manager i.e. Samson about this major lacuna in the new system, he advised her to keep quiet and to carry on with the project. This conclusively stands to be a questionable and unethical act on the part of both these employees. Samson chooses to take undue advantage of his authority over Sophie by underplaying her genuine and valid concerns. Sophie also failed to object to this proposal despite being aware of all the facts. This mistake definitely has the potential to eventually mar the company’s operations, resulting in potential losses. Finally, the last questionable and unethical issue is that the field sales staff is not satisfied with the developed system. Though owing to certain deficiencies in the conception plan, the prototype is expected to have certain deficiencies, still the field sales staff is criticizing it merely because of the impact it will have on their status quo. Any system which is beneficial for the company and is good for the customers should not be held hostage to the likes and dislikes of some employees or a segment of employees. Infact, a good system is expected to simplify the given task and achieve the expected results. 3.0 Stakeholder Identification As System Telecom is a major telecommunication giant of Australia, any case study associated with it is bound to have many stakeholders. Also, a realistic identification of these stakeholders makes it much easier to sort out the factors influencing the ethical or unethical decision making by its employees. Some of the primary stakeholders identifiable in the given situation are: Top Management The top management is a primary stakeholder in the given situation which is interested in exploiting the given opportunities for growth, massive expansion and augmentation of profits. Shareholders The shareholders of Systems Telecom want the company to invest extensively in R&D and new technologies to ensure future growth. Foreign Collaborators The Japanese collaborators of Systems Telecom are interested in utilizing its expertise for commercial success. Customers The customer base of Systems Telecom expects to have better and more efficient services from this company. System Designers The system designers in the company under consideration seem to be highly influenced by their own perceptions and work experience. They try to find the easy way out while designing new systems. They also do not hesitate in using their authority position to influence the decisions of their subordinates. Field Sales Staff Though the field sales staff at Systems Telecom though appears to be highly motivated and skilled, it seems to be more interested in retaining its status quo, even at the cost of compromising on efficiency and reliability. 4.0 Boomer et. al’s Analysis Though in the given case study, the organization under consideration seems to have clear directives and guidelines pertaining to decision making, an in depth analysis seems to indicate that there exists a deep schism between the long term and short term goals of this company. The company not only intends to ensure a holistic future growth, but also desires to reap substantial profits in the short term. It is also under pressure by the stockholders to invest a major part of its profits on R&D and new technologies. This makes its stated polices unclear, which send conflicting or incompatible messages to the employees. The decision making function of this organization also appears to be much decentralized. This compromises on the effective supervision by the managers and enhances the likelihood of inadvertent non compliance (Mautz et al, 1979). The company also appears to be experiencing major organic changes in the form of collaboration with Japanese firms. The directive policies under such circumstances seem to have become ambiguous and no longer capable of effectively guiding employee action (Hodges, 1963). The other important source of the conflict of interests here is that though Systems Telecom intends to place emphasis on the training and development of its employees, yet it practically seems to lack so far as updating the employee skills or prioritizing the issues related to them is concerned. This is clearly indicative of the fact that the short term goals for profits are being emphasized in this company (Schwartz and Davis, 1981). This quest for quick profits is bound to lead to a compromise of ethics (Wheeler and Hunges, 1984) The senior managers in the company do not seem to hesitate in using their authority status for influencing their juniors (Freedman et al., 1981). Though some managers, moved by their personal values, do dare to question the discrepancies existing in the new systems, they are tacitly advised to ignore such concerns (Kohlberg, 1969). There does not seem to exist effective procedure for ascertaining the level of compliance to company policies and for verifying what is happening at the shop floor. The female managers in the company seem to lack capacity for reflection and logical thinking owing to certain pressures faced by them (Freeman, 1979). The field sales staff members also seem to be primarily interested in enhancing their own self interests with respect to career, existing status quo and advancement as compared to the interests of the organization and its customers (Mansen et al. , 1966) 3.0 Solutions One major solution to the problems faced by the company under consideration is an active espousal of pertinent cultural, social and moral values by the top management. This will certainly empower the employees to inculcate ethical standards in their decision making procedures. A possible repercussion of this policy could be an objection by some stakeholders like the shareholders, foreign partners, etc. This may also dip the short term profits. This will certainly demand a lot of balancing act on the part of the company administration to secure short term advantages along with ethics. The company can also choose to sort out the possible moral dilemmas by hiring the employees who are affiliated to recognized professional associations and who resort to established licensing procedures or both. This will automatically to a great extent enforce the compliance with ethics in the organization. However, the possible negative impact of this step is that in the situation of a conflict between the professional organizations and the company interests, things may get nasty and cumbersome. One possible way out of this problem is to install systems of communication, both at the horizontal and the vertical level in the organisation. All the communication facilitated by these systems aught to be timely, clear, accurate, open and frank. Infact, this solution possibly seems to be the best in the existing circumstances. It will enable the System Telecom to safeguard the interests of most of the stakeholders by drawing a balance between pragmatism and ethical compliance. This will keep the senior management always cognizant of the wrongdoers in the company. This solution is also in tandem with the Principle of Utility. 6.0 Reference List Freedman.J.L, D.O.Sears and J.M.Carlsmith: 1981, Social Psychology, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Hodges, L., 1963, The Business Conscience, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Kolberg, L. 1969, ‘Stage and Sequence: The Cognitive Development Approach to Socialization: in D Goblin (ed.), Handbook of Socialization Theory and Research, pp. 347-480, Chicago: Rand McNally. Mauz, R., R., Reilly, and M.Maher: 1979,’Personal Failure: The Weak Link in Internal Control’, Financial Executive 47, 22-25. Monsen, R.J., B.O.Saxberg and R.A.Suternmeister: 1966 ,’The Modern Manager: What Makes him Run?’, Busines Horizons 9, 23-24 Quinn M J (2006),’Ethics for the Information Age’, Second Edition, USA, Addison Wesley. Schwartz, H. and S.M.Davis: 1981,’Matching Corporate Culture and Business Strategy’, Organizational Dynamics 10, 36. Wheelen, L and J.D.Hunger: 1984, Strategy Management, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Read More