Business Ethics Task 1
Business Ethics Competencies:
3066.1.1: Ethical Issues in Business - The graduate analyzes ethical and socially responsible courses of action in a given business situation.
3066.1.2: Ethical Leadership - The graduate analyzes ethical considerations that shape business leadership.
3066.1.3: Employment Issues in Business - The graduate applies ethical principles to employment.
3066.1.4: Environmental Concerns in Business - The graduate applies ethical principles to environmental concerns confronting business.
3066.1.5: International Business - The graduate applies ethical principles to international business.
3066.1.6: Ethics Programs - The graduate evaluates ethical policies in a given business scenario.
Task 1: Ethical Standards
Introduction:
In a complex, multicultural business environment, it is important that business professionals adhere to ethical standards throughout their daily activities. The goal of this course is to introduce you to concepts and guidelines for ethical courses of actions in business. In order to assess understanding, you will analyze the ethical and socially responsible courses of action for the business scenario below. You will take on the role of human resources (HR) director of the firm to discuss the situation, propose ethical guidelines for the organization, and analyze possible solutions to address the ethical dilemma for the company.
Scenario:
TechFite, a British company that produces high-technology goods, recently began production of its innovative recreational equipment in its first U.S. factory in Dellberg. TechFite is widely known for its culture of workplace collaboration and leadership development. Additionally, the company culture encourages employee empowerment and engagement in corporate decision making. The company also prides itself on being actively involved in the communities in which they have a presence.
As the human resources (HR) director of the new factory in Dellberg, you soon realize there are financial obstacles that must be addressed as it relates to hourly employees. The budgeting process has constrained the amount of funding available to provide full-time employee benefits, and hours have been reduced to keep many employees classified as part-time. The HR department needs to develop policies to address the legal and cultural differences between the United States and the United Kingdom pertaining to hours and benefits. As the HR director, you are grappling with the ethical obligations to your employees and the limited funds available. Upon a review of the budget, excessive bonuses are being paid out to top executives.
During one of the company's presentations to the Dellberg city council, commitments were made to sponsor community events, to support local youth leadership development programs, and to invest in infrastructure to aid in the rebuilding of the city of Dellberg utilizing environmentally responsible techniques. Up to this point, these commitments have not been addressed or funded by TechFite. The leadership team realizes the importance of community involvement, and this commitment is central to their corporate culture. A plan needs to be developed to meet the company's corporate social responsibility to the city.
While residents of the city were excited about the company's investment and the opportunity for new jobs in a bankrupt city, relationships quickly began to deteriorate when employees began to complain about wages, benefits, and weekly hours that fell far below the 40 hours necessary to receive full-time benefits under company policies. In addition, the company is not fulfilling the commitments it made to city officials about community involvement.
As part of its launch into the United States, TechFite realizes that corporate actions must be consistent with company culture to gain acceptance. Two primary focuses will be making this a great place to work and developing a strong presence as a company that is good for the community.
Create three (3) corporate policies that reflect the organization's culture and ethical viewpoints.
Carefully read the scenario presented in the task instructions (in TaskStream) and base your three (3) policies on your interpretation of this information.
Think about what challenges or issues that you feel TechFite is facing and draft policies to address/correct those challenges and issues.
Feel free to number or bullet-point your policies.
TIP: For this task, creating a "policy" simply refers to writing a sentence(s) or statement(s). Don't view this as an exercise in formal policy writing.
A1. Explain the rationale behind each policy, including how they align with the organization's culture.
Why do you feel each policy is important or significant for TechFite? What purpose will the the policy serve?
Be sure your response clearly aligns with the scenario presented in the task instructions.
Include one paragraph for the rationale to each policy (aim for 3 paragraphs total for this section).
A2. Distinguish between the ethical and legal issues.
Explain what you see as the difference between an ethical issue and a legal issue. Are all unethical actions are also illegal? Consider that many unethical things that people do inthe business world are still well within the bounds of the law.
Aim for a minimum of one paragraph of content for this section.
Use Unit 1 in the learning resource
A3. Analyze the ethical issues at stake in the scenario (e.g., conflict of interest, misuse of resources, whistleblowing).
Identify a couple of issues from the scenario where you feel TechFite might be making an unethical decision or the company's ethics might be compromised. What are the implications of each action or decision?
Aim for a minimum of one paragraph of content for this section.
Use Unit 1 in the learning resource
A4. Describe the purpose of the ethics officer.
First, discuss what you see as the role of the ethics officer in an organization. What is an ethics officer's duties, responsibilities, and purpose? What role might an ethics officer at TechFite play in the organization?
Aim for a minimum of one paragraph of content for this section.
Use Unit 5 in the learning resource
B. Describe corporate social responsibility and how it applies to the scenario.
First, explain what corporate social responsibility (CSR) is and why it is important in business (in generic terms). How does TechFite benefit from being socially responsible? How might the city of Dellberg and the TechFite employees benefit from the practice of CSR?
Aim for a minimum of one paragraph of content for this section.
Use Unit 3 in the learning resource
B1. Explain the ethical desirability of improving the company's reputation in the community based on the scenario. The explanation should include three supporting examples of what the company has done or failed to do that has harmed its image in the community.
Within its community, why is it important for a company to be viewed as socially responsible? What does TechFite have to gain by having the citizens of Dellberg view it as socially responsible?
Aim for one paragraph of content for each example.
Use Unit 5 in the learning resource
B2. Describe an ethically, socially, and environmentally responsible course of action to address each example from part B1 based on the company's culture and core values.
First, state what you feel TechFite's core values and culture are based on the information presented in the scenario. For each of the 3 examples from part B1, identify an ethically, socially and environmentally responsible solution. Tell us what actions TechFite can take to address or correct each challenge.
Aim for a minimum of one paragraph of content for this section.
Use Unit 8 in the learning resource
B3. Explain how each course of action from part B2 is ethically, socially, and environmentally responsible.
We recommend that you break-down your discussion for this section and make your responses very explicit. First, discuss how each course of action you discuss in your response to part B2 is ethically responsible. Then, discuss how it is socially responsible. Finally, address how it is environmentally responsible.
Tip: You must touch on each item in order to receive full credit for this section.
Aim for a minimum of one paragraph of content for this section.
Articulation counts! Thoroughly proofread your paper to check for errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, organization and sentence fluency. If you feel that you are struggling with the mechanics of the writing process, please reach out to the writing center for assistance.
Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
You are not required to do any outside research for this task; however, you can if you would like to. The content from the textbook alone is sufficient to fully respond to the task prompts.