Ethics and Culture

Module 2

LIS 580: Spring 2006

Instructor- Michael Crandall

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Roadmap

• What is ethics?

• Ethics in the workplace

• Organizational culture and social responsibility

• Diversity in the workplace

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The Wall Street Journal Workplace-Ethics Quiz

FIGURE 2–1Source: Wall Street Journal, 21 October 1999, pp. 81–84. Ethics Officer Association, Belmont, Mass.; Ethics Leadership Group, Wilmette, Ill.; surveys sampled a cross-section of workers at large companies and nationwide.

G.Dessler, 2003

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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 society’s accepted norms of behavior.

G.Dessler, 2003

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G.Dessler, 2003

Moral Philosophies

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The Ethical Continuum

FIGURE 2–2Source: Source: Michael Boylan, Business Ethics(Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001), p. 119.

Low High

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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?

Ethical Work Ethical Work Behaviors Behaviors

Ethical Work Ethical Work Behaviors Behaviors

IndividualIndividualFactorsFactors

IndividualIndividualFactorsFactors

OrganizationalOrganizationalFactorsFactors

OrganizationalOrganizationalFactorsFactors

Top Top ManagementManagement

Top Top ManagementManagement

Ethics Policies Ethics Policies and Codesand Codes

Ethics Policies Ethics Policies and Codesand Codes

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G.Dessler, 2003

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Raytheon Company’s 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?

G.Dessler, 2003

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Checklist 2.1How to Foster Ethics at Work

Emphasize top management’s 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 organization’s 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

company’s culture.

• Stories– The repeated tales and anecdotes that

contribute to a company’s culture by illustrating and reinforcing important company values.

• Rites and Ceremonies– Traditional culture-building events or activities

that symbolize the firm’s 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 firm’s own stockholders.

• Managerial Capitalism– The classic view is that a corporation’s 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.G.Dessler, 2003

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FIGURE 2–5

A Corporation’s Major Stakeholders

G.Dessler, 2003

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Managers And Social Responsibility (cont’d)

• 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 Company’s Social Responsiveness

• Corporate Social Audit– A rating system used to evaluate a corporation’s

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.

G.Dessler, 2003

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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 latter’s particular trait or traits.

• Ethnocentrism– A tendency to view members of one’s own

group as the center of the universe and to view other social groups less favorably than one’s own.

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Barriers in Dealing with Diversity (cont’d)

• 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.G.Dessler, 2003

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FIGURE 2–7

Activities Required to Better Manage Diversity

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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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Ghoshal’s Thesis

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Different Approaches

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Next Time

• A week on planning– Tuesday’s 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?