OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Ethical Communities Worksheet

Jose Rojo Rodriguez

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Describe the four ethical communities
2. Apply the ethical communities to your personal case situation

Complete the following making sure to support your ideas and cite from the textbook and other
course materials per APA guidelines. After the peer review, you have a chance to update this and
format for your Electronic Portfolio due in Module 6.

1) Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and your role.

The restated situation with the organization I chose: Twitter has continued to evolve
ever since Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022 and made profound changes. On the
structural forefront, there are issues that have arisen, for example, the organizational
structure changed abruptly when the workforce was reduced substantially creating a
mass-layoff situation (Pintado, 2022). In addition, there are HR issues that have
surfaced for example, with the newer more authoritarian leadership of Elon Musk,
employees have had a difficult time adjusting to this type of leadership and this has
changed internal work processes. Elon Musk came to the company in a way that
seemed to force his way in and this caused blaming individuals for what happened.
According to the textbook, the first and most common fallacy is blaming as this
approach casts every failure as a product of individual blunders creating problems that
result from egotism, bad attitudes, abrasive personalities, neurotic tendencies, or
incompetence (Bolman & Deal, 2017). For instance, the remote work policy was
ended forcing all employees to return to work in person causing many employees to be
unhappy. Moreover, employees have been requested to work longer hours, and the
interpersonal relationships between staff and management have suffered. Overall, the
situation with Elon Musk’s drastic and sudden changes at Twitter have destabilized the
company and almost everyone is asking themselves if these changes were necessary
for the company to continue its business structure as it remains to be seen even though
the company continues to be popular amongst its users.

My chosen role in the organization is a Senior Communications Specialist. In this

realm, a communications specialist is an important internal role that focuses on
handling public relations to safeguard the image of the company, providing
information output on the platform, and managing media requests. In addition, in this
role, another important aspect is planning social media campaigns and conducting
advertising efforts to increase the site’s usability and profitability.
2) Describe how the ethics of the organization influenced the situation.

1
 In Twitter’s (X) administration, processes, and culture the organization dramatically
changed once the corporation was acquired and managed by Elon Musk. This became
official in October 2022 after a long process. This completely changed the ethics and
spirit of the organization since it went from public to private and this destabilized the
company as there were many changes taking place so quickly that the employees,
stakeholders, stockholders, and the public were surprised by so many ongoing changes.
For instance, the article, ‘A Timeline of Elon Musk’s Tumultuous Twitter Acquisition”
mentions that in the ensuing days, Musk fired top executives, laid off half of the
company's staff, formed a content moderation council that would review account
reinstatements, and revamped the platform's subscription service (Zahn, 2022).

Furthermore, the ethics of the organization in this situation clearly affected everyone
involved in the situation as there were many sudden changes and the employees were not
involved in the changes thus further alienating them from the situation. According to the
textbook, it is imperative to emphasize the importance of continuity and stability,
clearness of vision and constancy of purpose, corporate loyalty, and individual integrity
(Bolman & Deal, 2017). Since the administration, business practices, and the
organization’s culture were changing this negatively influenced the situation. The soul of
the organization was changing, and this completely changed the values and beliefs of the
company which diminished the organizational ethics of commitment to excellence,
caring, and justice and the beliefs of the company overall. Ethics ultimately must be
rooted in the soul: an organization’s commitment to deeply rooted identity, beliefs, and
values (Bolman & Deal, 2017).

3) Recommend how you would apply one of the ethical communities for an alternative
course of action regarding your case.

In recommending an alternative course of action for ethical communities present in the

company I would suggest the owner and CEO foster a new sentiment of collaboration,
excellence, and authorship. In addition to embracing a more caring culture that
exemplifies the importance of the human aspect so that employees feel engaged, heard
and valued. For instance, according to the textbook, in caring, one person’s compassion
and concern for one another is both the primary purpose and the ethical glue that holds a
family together (Bolman & Deal, 2017). In this instance, embracing such a caring culture
would signal to the employees and everyone involved that there is a sense of community
and that their leader(s) are concerned for the well-being of the employees and
stakeholders of the company.

Moreover, another aspect that I would embrace is the ethical aspect of justice and shared
power in the organization. This would be of significance because it would cultivate a
sense of unity and collaboration within the organization. Leaders need to be concerned
about not being regarded as authoritarian and only viewing their self-interests. Thus,
sharing power gives people a sense of efficacy and ability to influence their world, they

2
 are more likely to direct their energy and intelligence toward making a contribution rather
than making trouble (Bolman & Deal, 2017). Overall, when leaders are authentic, and
they really want to change the environment of the organization to a more inclusive and
ethical place there are many instances and strategies that can be utilized to make these
positive changes.

4) Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned
about ethics.

After reading and reflecting on the materials there are areas of the situation that I would
do differently given that to lead with ethics and spirit leadership needs to be concentrated
on supporting, motivating, and embracing a culture of servant leadership. In addition,
being able to always do the right thing even if it means that you are stepping out of your
comfort zone in order to see the bigger picture and influence the teams, organization and
you are leading. When leaders take the time to create a culture of cohesiveness, they
increase their influence on their followers and work to create a more productive
organization. When this is achieved there is a transformational change that takes place.
Overall, embracing the aspects of organizational ethics such as excellence, caring, justice,
faith, and belief provides a great foundation for the business. This in return conveys an
environment of commitment and a profound sense of belonging for everyone.

3
References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and
leadership (7th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Pintado, A. P. (2022, November 18). An Ultimatum, sudden terminations: Twitter

changes raise questions about Elon Musk’s management skills. USA Today.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2022/11/16/elon-musk-changed-after-
buying- twitter/10711861002/

Zahn, M. (2022, November 11). A timeline of Elon Musk’s tumultuous Twitter

acquisition. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/timeline-elon-musks-
tumultuous-twitter-acquisition-attempt/story?id=86611191