Ethics and Social Responsibility in the Aviation Industry - Research Paper Example

?Ethics and Social Responsibility in the Aviation Industry Ethics refer to the general rules and policies that govern people’s behavior. Ethics ensure that human being in any social set up have the same behavior then they follow these systems and rules and therefore ensuring that they become better human beings. Like in any other industry, ethics are essential in the aviation industry because they are the framework that guides the individuals in the industry in the process of decision-making (Hoppe, 2007). Aviation companies usually have formal codes of ethics, which are official documents that guide the various companies giving guidelines on the moral values that should be followed. The employees are required to comply with the letters of the guidelines as well as the spirit of the guidelines. The formal codes of ethical documents are important in analyzing the different companies and rating them (Hoppe, 2007). The rating is based on the practical implementation of these codes. It is harder than it seems to implement these codes due to the various inherent limitations on a day-to-day basis. Therefore, the aviation industry has guidelines on how the codes will be followed. The codes cover the major issues that the airlines face on a day-to-day basis and need to be addressed constantly. These issues are under different topics depending on different airlines, but can be summarized in three main parts; conflict interest, asset protection and working together. Conflict of interest arises when employees encounter situations where they have to choose between the airline’s interests and their own interests (Hoppe, 2007). Most airlines can pinpoint the various situations where conflict of interest may arise, and have guidelines on what actions the employees should take when such situations arise. An example is a situation where an employee receives gifts and rewards from customers, suppliers or other stakeholders in the company for a job done. It is common for some passengers to give stewards gifts for their services in the plane. If the customer enjoys good services while travelling with a certain airline, and feels the urge to reward the company, they are likely to reward the stewards since they are the people with whom they are in direct contact. If the employees accept such gifts, they may compromise their moral obligations to the employer if they feel obliged to meet the gift givers’ demands instead of the employer’s interests. Most airlines stipulate, in their code of ethics, that the employees should not receive gifts especially when the gifts are excessive or too lavish. Most of the passengers who fly a lot are likely to be wealthy, and are likely to give expensive gifts. In this case, the employee who receives the reward should talk to the human resource department in the specific airline if they believe that their ethical conduct might be compromised. Another situation occurs when employees request rewards from clients when they realize that they have to work hard in providing services to these clients (Hoppe, 2007). This is in spite of the fact that the employees are employed to provide such services to the clients. The conflict of interest arises because the employees have to choose between asking for these gifts, thereby serving their own interest, or maintaining a good reputation for the airline. Most airlines strictly prohibit seeking rewards from clients. Another situation could be when employees work for a rival airline (Hoppe, 2007). The conflict of interest will be higher for senior level managers and directors. The conflict arises since the employee has to decide if they will fulfill the interest of the rival company or their own company. The codes therefore prohibit certain employees from working for certain other companies depending on how the specific airline assesses the possibility of conflict of interest arising. Still on the issue of rival companies, conflict of interest may arise when an employee invests in a rival airline (Hoppe, 2007). Such employees may not give their total devotion to their company since the success of the company may mean poorer performance for the rival company. Different airlines have different rules on this issue, since, in a free market, investors have a right to invest as they wish. It would be illegal to prohibit employees from investing in rival airlines. However, the employees should discuss with the company’s management before investing in rival companies. In both the cases where the employee works for the rival company or invests in the rival company, there is higher possibility of conflict of interest when the employees are senior managers or directors. This is because they have a bigger influence on the decisions made by the company and can influence the company to make poor decisions. These decisions can have adverse effects on the company, such as a fall in financial performance, which could lead to loss of jobs or even the decline of the airline. This is made worse by the fact that director may have internal information, which means that the decisions made are likely to have a very big impact on the airline. The directors are also likely to make large investments because they have access to a lot of money, which would increase their interest in the rival company. The issue of conflict of interest is also complicated by bribery, for example, where a director takes bribes from suppliers for contract renewals (Hoppe, 2007). Directors have numerous opportunities to benefit from being in their position. The directors are required to state their interest in any company that deals with the airline, including all clients and suppliers. They should state the nature of the relationship, and they may be asked to lose their interest in the company and resign from their position in the company. Taking bribes of whatever form is illegal and punishable under the law and the Companies Act. The directors are required to report cases where they are offered such bribes. For the other employees, they are also required to report cases where they have an opportunity to benefit from being in their position at work. The employees should consult with their senior employees in the airline to assess if it would be unethical. In most cases, they are stopped from benefiting regardless of how minimal the benefit is. This is because the employees are paid to work for the employer and are compensated for that and all other benefits should be for the employer Conflict of interest situations also arise when an employee takes advantage of their position to benefit personally (Hoppe, 2007). This happens, especially, with senior managers who have the opportunity to talk to various stakeholders such as suppliers. For example, an airline director may organize and become a supplier for the employing company. The director will have to choose to look after the company’s interests by charging low for the supplies in order to lower the company’s costs, or look after personal interests by charging high prices. The employee who has an opportunity to benefit from being in their position at work should talk to the human resource department of the airline to assess if it would be unethical. Another situation arises when an employee has to work with their family members (Hoppe, 2007). In some cases, the employee might have to choose between the family member’s interest and the company’s interest. For example, when a director is related to a junior employee, the director is likely to influence managers to promote their family member even though they may not be qualified. In some situations an employee may contravene the ethical codes and have no disciplinary action taken against them due to that fact that they have a family member in an authoritative position. In the case of family relationships, some companies offer travelling rights to their employees, and when directors are given more rights, they might favor their family members. This would be unfair to other employees and bad use of company’s assets. Most airlines allow the employment of individuals from the same family as long the employments are based on merit only. Workplace relationships are also constantly monitored to ascertain the effects that they have on company ethical issues. Different airlines have different rules in this area. Another situation arises when employees and workers communicate with the employees in rival companies and liaise in order to compete unfairly (Hoppe, 2007). The employees may engage with each other and agree to take actions such as price fixing and manipulating clients or suppliers. Airlines usually prohibit their employees making such engagements. The liaison between employees from rival companies might lead to situations of embezzlement, sharing of company protocol and secrets, and collusion. However, the policies observed by different aviation companies tend to be lax since some personal relationships are transparent and have no adverse effects on the company. In conclusion, conflict of interest is a major ethical issue in aviation. The laws in different countries and the code of ethics in different airlines have guidelines in this issue in different aspects. These guidelines are based on the situations experienced by the airlines before or those expected to arise. The guidelines however cannot cater for every situation. Maintaining ethics in the aviation is therefore up to every individual in the industry through the assessment of the various situations arising day to day and making good judgment. The main conflict of interest situation discussed in this paper regards the interest of the employees and the needs of the company in which they work. This situation is discussed with the specific example where employees receive gifts and rewards from their clients, and might decide to realign their interests. The other situation discussed is the issue of personal benefits as opposed to company benefit, which is discussed with regard to investments, family relationships, and financial benefit and bribery issues. This paper points out that conflict of interest is a major issue in the aviation industry, and from the research conducted, this issue is dealt with in different ways by different companies. References Andersen, B. (2004). Bringing Business Ethics to Life: Achieving Corporate Social Responsibility. 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