Organizational Behavior: The influence of Ethics on Decision-Making
Ethics education has long been a mainstay of most business curriculums on both the undergraduate and graduate level. But arguably, it has only been a pressing concern in the real world of business in recent years, where scandals such as the Enron debacle and various CEO abuses of corporate expense accounts at Tyco have brought ethics to the consciousness of the boardroom and the public, as well as to academics. According to Alfred Gini, a philosophy professor at Loyola University in Chicago and associate editor of Business Ethics Quarterly: "Because of Enron, all MBA programs, all schools of business, are looking at themselves and saying, 'What happened here, and why did it happen,'" and many CEOs and managers are doing the same (Torres 2005:1).Furthermore, consumers are taking greater consideration of the ethical behavior of companies when making their buying decisions. Wal-Mart's reputation has been injured by its association with anti-union activities and the poor treatment of its employees in regards to health care. The 'greenness' of various companies, like Toyota's touting of its environmentally friendly Prius has garnered positive public support and more importantly, increased revenue. Even from a self-interested standpo
Globally-minded companies must exercise tolerance of different values to remain competitive in various international arenas, yet the tolerance cannot encompass a disregard for tolerance itself, of women, minorities, and the principles of fair hiring and promotional practices endorsed by the American legal system-and the American buying public. One a personal level, employees are being encouraged to develop personal mission statements, core values and decision models (Torres 2005:1) Today, "Ethics instruction today is less about 'do this, don't do that' and more about developing strategies for dealing with problems," and one might add, trying to avoid the appearance of impropriety and creating problems in the first place (Torres 2005:1). He knew most of his clients, and his company focused on local goods and services" (Kurlantzick, 2005:1). As performance begins to "drop-off" under increasing amounts of stress, the transformation of stress into distress is likely to occur (Tansey, Mizelle, Ferrin, Tschopp, & Frain, 2005:1). Employers use stress to influence the work patterns of their employees and to move them into this heightened state of arousal. This knowledge is founded in the awareness that ethical decisions are less clear-cut when organizations are sprawling, rather than cohesive entities. But technology is hardly a panacea for stress. "Economists, sociologists and small-business experts say the key trends in American entrepreneurship-growing diversity, an aging work force, a preference for starting companies that fit personal lifestyles, and a move into higher-value, global industries-are only likely to accelerate in the coming years," and this new face of entrepreneurship means no company can afford to ignore the ethics of tolerating of different lifestyles and values in their daily decision-making, for fear of being left out of this trend (Kurlantzick, 2005:1). Simply learning new technology can be a source of stress for older workers-and some not-so-old workers. To respond to stress in the workplace, and in their workforce, employers have begun to offer everything from massages, to corporate gyms, to yoga within the corporate complexes. This is especially important for parents leaving the full-time workplace for a short period of time to care for children, until they enter it after the child becomes older. Technology has created the reality of the 24-hour workday. Technology has the power to replace certain occupations altogether, such as many of the functions currently performed by administrative assistants. And a business that seems to have a sound ethical policy and draws a positive response from consumers will, of course, similarly draw greater interest from shareholders who wish to invest their hard-won dollars in a company that is unlikely to be investigated for ethics violation in the near future.
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