The success of most businesses is dependent on the type of business ethics and codes of working that they adhere to. The morals and ethics that are upheld by a company or business form a foundation that can be emulated by the employees to ensure a purposeful and productive experience. The focus of this paper is to compare the codes of ethics at Harley-Davidson and General Motors.
Following a comparative and deeper analysis of the two major automobile companies, a number of similarities and differences can be found in their codes of ethics. One common denominator for the two companies is that they are large corporations with a huge number of employees. Harley-Davidson is a company whose code of conduct is built on honesty and good conduct for the greater benefit of the customer (Kurtz, David and Louis 71).
Conflicts of interest amongst the various departments are bound to arise, and the Harley-Davidson work ethic tries to mitigate such issues to ensure professional and personal ties are not afflicted. It is also comprehensive enough to allow an employee all the needed tools for making choices and decisions within the company.
General Motors has a code of ethics aimed at ensuring that the entire supply value chain is well encompassed within the code of ethics by the company (Kaptein 89). The code of ethics they hold is focused both on the company’s human resource and the processes that are carried out. On both accounts, the two companies exhibit a strong reverence for their customers. In as much as the customer is given an upper hand in both accounts, the workers have to be comfortable in their working environment.
Conclusively, the overarching factor that cuts across both the two companies in terms of ethics and morals is that the employees of the two companies are bound to conduct themselves as directed by the company code. It, therefore, highlights the importance of clear-cut codes of the ethic. The dynamics of the business world, however, come with their own challenges and from time to time, a company may be forced to reorganize its codes in relation to the growth experienced.
Works Cited
Kaptein, Muel. Ethics Management: Auditing and Developing the Ethical Content of Organizations. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 1998. Internet resource.
Kurtz, David L, and Louis E. Boone. Contemporary Business. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2011. Print.
