Ethics Paper MGT498 Ethics Paper One of the biggest things that big named organizations sometimes tend to forget is that when difficult decisions must be made, they affect everyone within that organization. Whether it be budget cuts leading to loss of hours or layoffs, lower stocks percentages for the shareholders or it can even change things positively, and require more production of hiring. Either way, when issues come up and things change, it is important to keep everyone involved well informed and made in the best interest of those directly affected. In the business world, corporations have a responsibility to the employees as well as the stakeholders to be ethical in their decision making by staying true to their beliefs and behavior to society. When unethical decisions are made, everyone involved in the corporation and its well being are affected in a negative way and will jeopardize the well being of the business.
ALL WK 1, DQ’s: WK 1, DQ 1: What is a business’s obligation to build an ethical culture and balance its desire for profit with ethical responsibilities to employees, customers, society, and the environment? Ethics is different from one person to the next, so it is imperative that business clearly define the norm for staff members and management. The decisions organizations make influence more than business partners, affiliates, culture, and others. It is important for organizations center of attention on maximizing shareholder revenue. Therefore, maximizing profit without causing destruction to the business culture can be a balancing act for most organizations.
An example of this could be social security benefits. These motivations help the company recruit top level employees and increase their overall productivity. But this can be a trade-off as these benefits and rewards can be costly. Takeaway 2 - Corporate Culture, Human Resources, and Ethics Zappos is a great example of a company that has created a lively atmosphere for their workers through their casual working environment. But another takeaway is that this type of culture is not compatible with many companies.
The employees are affected because if something was to go wrong they may lose their job because of the company faults or not get paid like they should. Other that may be affected by this are stockholders, customers, consultants, independent contractors, and auditors themselves. Ethical Values: What ethical values are demanded of auditors and accountants? Integrity is important because it requires accountants to be honest, candid, and forthright with a client’s financial information. Objectivity and independence remain free from conflicts of interest and other questionable business relationships when conducting accounting services.
Business is even viewed by some as being the vehicle for contributions to worthy causes. Yet business should stay away from negative impacts such as discrimination etc. He suggests the premise that business is for profit and the provision of goods and services. Profit is the only ethic responsibility for business according to Milton Friedman. Camenisch’s view is that the goods and services are the center of the business ethics for they promote the profit.
Shareholders have an ethical duty to step in and make demands if the company is acting unethically. Shareholders also have a legal responsibility to obey the law on the business of shareholder and business relations. Shareholders also have a legal responsibility to not misuse company assets. Last, shareholders have a economic responsibility to be profitable and earn returns on their investments. Actions: Shareholders are a mixed-blessing because it aids in the operations and success of the school and are highly cooperative, but also has the power to change any part of the business that it feels is not up to its standards.
Why are ethical behaviour and government regulations important to marketing? Ethical behaviour is used within many businesses to ensure the business provides accurate information to customers as well as other businesses to engage in fair competition. It is important for a business to have ethical behaviour in relation to the marketing side of the business so that goods produced, promoted then sold do not provide misleading information. If identified by consumers, it can have a major impact on all functions of the business as it has the potential to ruin the business’s reputation placing the business at a declining stage of the business’s life cycle. In a similar manner government regulations are also important and must be overviewed by all functions of a
The offenses are harmful to not only businesses in the United States of America but to the world of business as a whole and are unacceptable. If the law had been in place, many shareholders would have been safeguarded but numerous investors lost their lifetime savings by company insiders. The corporate world is a much more secure place with regards to investing with all of the changes and modifications which are now enforced. I still think there are other actions which can be taken to protect shareholders even though the modifications have significantly improved the procedure. Businesses must develop an ethical balance so as not to take advantage of unknowing shareholders who have invested their lifetime
The stress of the audit partner is tremendous and choosing that profession is one that I would prefer not to undertake. The anxiety and pressure to certify that a company’s financial records are in good standing can be daunting. 3.) Independent auditors are sometimes perceived as the “necessary evil” by corporate executives because of the possibility of exposing corruption. To change this point of view an auditor can try to explain their intent to educate and improve the company’s policies, which can in turn lower costs.
Ethical considerations must be given by managers as to how the strategic plan will influence the stakeholders. The business organization’s management follows the mainstream behaviors of the society to justify their decisions on choosing their role as being ethically and socially responsible business. Many businesses in a depressed economy have to lay off their employees and close plants, these decisions are difficult to carry out because socially, it will cause hardships for employees or the community. A good example of being ethical and socially responsible business when encountering this situation is when Cisco Systems decided to lay off 6,000 full-time employees, that it acted ethically in providing a unique severance package where these employees it who agreed to work for a local nonprofit organization for a year would receive one-third of their salaries plus benefits and stock options and be the first to be rehired (Wheelen & Hunger, 2010). When investors or shareholders are demanding the business to produce profit, managers must consider how to devise steps for transparency in their strategic plans to report factual business dealings.