Ethics and Culture

Module 2 LIS 580: Spring 2006 Instructor- Michael Crandall

Roadmap
What is ethics? Ethics in the workplace Organizational culture and social responsibility Diversity in the workplace

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LIS580- Spring 2006

The Wall Street Journal WorkplaceEthics Quiz

Source: Wall Street Journal, 21 October 1999, pp. 8184. Ethics Officer Association, Belmont, Mass.; Ethics Leadership Group, Wilmette, Ill.; surveys sampled a cross-section of workers at large companies and nationwide.

FIGURE 21
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The Meaning of Ethics

Ethics
The study of standards of conduct and moral judgment; also, the standards of right conduct.

Normative Judgment
A comparative evaluation stating or implying that something is good or bad, right or wrong, or better or worse.

Morality
A societys accepted norms of behavior.
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Moral Philosophies

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The Ethical Continuum

Low
Source: Source: Michael Boylan, Business Ethics (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001), p. 119.

High
FIGURE 22
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Ethics and the Law

Important Points:
Something may be legal but not right (ethical) Something may be right (ethical) but not legal.

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What Influences Ethical Behavior At Work?

Individual Factors Organizational Factors Top Management

Ethical Work Behaviors

Ethics Policies and Codes

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G.Dessler, 2003

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Raytheon Companys Quick Ethics Test

Is the action legal? Is it right? Who will be affected? Does it fit company values? How will it feel afterwards? How will it look in the newspaper? Will it reflect poorly on the company?
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Checklist 2.1 How to Foster Ethics at Work

Emphasize top managements commitment. Publish an ethics code. Establish compliance mechanisms. Involve personnel at all levels. Train employees. Measure results.
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What Is Organizational Culture?

Organizational Culture
The characteristic set of values and ways of behaving that employees in an organization share.

Patterns of Behavior
Ceremonial events, written and spoken comments, and actual behaviors of an organizations members that create the organizational culture.

Values and Beliefs

Guiding standards of an organization that affirm what should be practiced, as distinct from what is practiced.
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Components of Organizational Culture

Signs and Symbols
Practices and actions that create and sustain a companys culture.

Stories
The repeated tales and anecdotes that contribute to a companys culture by illustrating and reinforcing important company values.

Rites and Ceremonies

Traditional culture-building events or activities that symbolize the firms values and help convert employees to these values.
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Managers And Social Responsibility

Social Responsibility
The extent to which companies should and do channel resources toward improving the quality of life of one or more segments of society other than the firms own stockholders.

Managerial Capitalism
The classic view is that a corporations main purpose is to maximize profits for stockholders.

Stakeholder Theory
Business has a social responsibility to serve all the corporate stakeholders affected by its decisions.
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A Corporations Major Stakeholders

FIGURE 25
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Managers And Social Responsibility (contd)

Moral Minimum
The idea that corporations should be free to strive for profits so long as they commit no harm.

Stockholders versus Stakeholders?

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How to Improve the Companys Social Responsiveness

Corporate Social Audit
A rating system used to evaluate a corporations performance in meeting its social obligations.

Whistle-blowing
The activities of employees who try to report organizational wrongdoing.

Social Responsibility Networks

Organizations that promote socially responsible business practices and help managers to establish socially responsible programs.
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Managing Diversity
Managing Diversity
Planning and implementing organizational systems and practices to manage people in a way that maximizes the potential advantages of diversity while minimizing its potential disadvantages. Cultural diversity contributes to improved productivity, return on equity, and market performance.

Diverse
Describes a workforce comprised of two or more groups, each of which can be identified by demographic or other characteristics.
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Bases for Diversity

Racial and Ethnic Gender Older workers People with disabilities Sexual/affectional orientation Religion

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Barriers in Dealing with Diversity

Stereotyping
Attributing specific behavioral traits to individuals on the basis of their apparent membership in a group.

Prejudice
A bias that results from prejudging someone on the basis of the latters particular trait or traits.

Ethnocentrism
A tendency to view members of ones own group as the center of the universe and to view other social groups less favorably than ones own.
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Barriers in Dealing with Diversity (contd)

Discrimination
A behavioral bias toward or against a person based on the group to which the person belongs.

Tokenism
Appointing a small number of minority-group members to high-profile positions instead of more aggressively achieving full group representation.

Gender-Role Stereotyping
Usually, the association of women with certain behaviors and possibly (often lower-level) jobs.
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Activities Required to Better Manage Diversity

FIGURE 27
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Wrapup
Management is part of life in an organizational society Knowing how it works can help you achieve your goals: personal, professional, and social Ethical and social responsibility is affected by managerial actions and inaction Your choices as a manager build an organizational culture that reflects your decisions and values Take charge to make changes
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Ghoshals Thesis

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Different Approaches

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Next Time
A week on planning Tuesdays topic is decision making
Read Chapter 3 and assigned article

First discussion!! Be sure to read the case Think about these questions as you read
Why is a decision so hard in this case? What process might have made it easier? Could something have been done earlier in the process to avoid the complications? Who should be responsible for the decision? If you had to decide what to do next to resolve this problem, how would you go about it?
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