Overview
Business ethics are fundamental aspects when it comes to corporate affairs and dealing with organizational members (Alvesson 87). Indeed, the successful organizational culture is heavily reliant on the ethics portrayed by the top management, employees and other members of the organization. Essentially, they must come up with ways of solving issues in an ethical manner such that the integrity of the organization in maintained. In this line of thought, therefore, this paper seeks to answer some fundamental questions regarding the various problems and events that unfold in an organization’s realistic realm. As such, the paper comprise of clarified answers in regard to how the various problems raised in the case studies can be solved.
Question A
Having analyzed the issues revolving around the defects which the predecessor had identified, it is evident that there are critical ethical issues which require considerations. First, the information that has been provided by Doug is quite important to the welfare of the organization especially when it comes to the societal and corporate image. Indeed, the organization has the responsibility to consider the safety of the buyers in order to ensure that the Zero Pedal does not endanger their lives. When it comes to the question of the actions that should be taken in order to solve the issue, it is first important to conduct a personal assessment on the Zero Pedal. In this regard, the assessment will help to obtain a personal evaluation and determine the validity of the allegations made. Ethically, this will be very important because it will be aimed to evaluate the real status of the defects rather than believing ore dismissing the allegations based on the oral information that has been provided. After the assessment, if the allegations about the defects are wrong and baseless, the issue will be dropped and information about the defects ignored. In case the defects are evidently real, a further step will be conducted in the following manner. The first step will be the acquisition of a letter of offer and the job description from the HR Manager. This will provide a firm assurance that the marketing post held at the company is legally assigned and the job description is well outlined. After the firm confirmation that the job is offered and the assurance that the job description allows the raising of any technical issues that might affect the marketability of the Zero Pedal project, I would advice Doug to redo the assessment and write another report concerning the defect. With this information, I would conduct an analysis on the marketing effect which would arise from this defect in term of the future of the company. As such, I would write a report and request for audience with the board in order to present the findings. However, I would be very careful to follow all protocols in order to ensure that I do not argue with the CEO directly since this would lead to a personal grudge and contestation between the two of us. Ethically, all corporate disputes should be tackled professionally with the best interest of the company in mind while ensuring that the working relationships are not destroyed for the sake of the future.
Whereas this is a viable way to go about the issue, there is the possibility to incur some pressures which were similarly put on my predecessors. One of the most crucial pressures would be the attempt of the top management to stop the elimination of this defect based on the fact that it would increase the cost of production. However, I would FOCUS as the model of solving this problem while ensuring that personal relationships are not affected. This model is applied in five steps which involves finding/identifying the inherent problem, organizing a to work on the problem solving, clarifying the entire problem in details, understanding the problem by developing options and picking a solution that addresses the problem in the best way (Bose & Faust 96). In order to get to a conclusive end and solution, the model would be applied step-by-step. This implies that each of the steps would be allowed time in order to ensure that all the parties agree and the agenda is pushed by a team rather than an individual. As such, the team approach would ensure that the situation does not lead to personal contestations which usually ruin the relationship between organizational members (Durrant 69).
A2: Payment of Special Fees of $5000
It is not recommendable for the company to pay a special fee of $5000 in order for the product to be placed in the shelves. This is based on the fact that the fee was termed as a special fee whose description and reason was unexplained. As such, the company is not getting the basis on which the fee is being paid. This implies that the money does not have an official rationale for which it should be paid. Indeed, paying the $5000 would be a pursuit to seek a favour which is not essentially warranted. It would also provide an opportunity for the misappropriation of funds by the receiver. This means that our company will have participated in unethical and officially unwarranted payment of monies.
A3
Indeed, the safety issues raised by the engineering department and the predecessor are of fundamental importance based on the fact that the future of the Green Move will be affected by the efficiency of Zero Pedal project. In case the project shows defects, the company’s corporate image might be disparaged such that subsequent projects will fail. Understandably, no customer will be willing to purchase a product whose manufacturer is known for substandard manufacturing. The cost benefits analysis is therefore very appropriate in this case since it would shed light on whether the costs of rectifying the defects would be higher than the benefits of such corrections. This was one of the concerns that Robert had raised with my predecessor when he was confronted with this issue. He sought to understand the relationship between the cost as well as benefits of rectification in comparison to the lack of it. Essentially, the fact that the project is at its latency stage does not have any significant hindrances to the application of cost/benefits analysis. In fact, in this case, since the issues relating with the defects have been raised at the latency stage, it is important to apply the method bearing in mind that it is being applied on the project defects rather than the entire project.
Question B
B1
If the working conditions and the payment of the workers at solar groups were essential to the signing of the contact, it is evident that Robert must respond to this issue. However, there are various issues and step that should be considered when making the decision on what to do and what to avoid. First, Robert should understand that whereas he seeks to purify the policy agenda of the company and fight for the rights of the workers, terminating the company would probably lead to the layoff of some of those employees whose interest he would seek to uphold. Understandably, the contact between Solar Group and Green Move generates income and facilitate the employment of these employees. As such, terminating the contract would lead to the loss of jobs leading to a worse situation than underpayment. The second issues that should be considered is the fact that he has to protect the integrity of Green Move at any cost. This is based on the fact that if the company is seen to be promoting vices such as child labour, its corporate image would be disparaged. This implies that, in case it is completely difficult to prevent use of child labour in the Solar Group, then the CEO should terminate cooperation based on default of contract agreements. As such, in order to solve this situation amicably, Robert should call the Solar Group CEO and discuss this issue. In addition, he should provide evidence to the effect that the working environment is poor. If the CEO offers to change the working environment, the contract should remain in force. When it comes to payment, the two companies should review the agreement to align with reasonable payment conditions. Indeed, it is evident that according to USA payment conditions, Bangladesh is exploiting the workers. On the contrary, according to USA, the same payment levels are exploitative and illegal in nature. In principle, Robert should adhere to the USA’s standards because Green Move is based and built on the American frameworks. As a result, he should discuss this issue with the Solar Group CEO in order to determine whether the company is able to pay workers in tandem with USA’s standards but refusing to do so. In that case, Robert should terminate the contract in case Solar Group is not prepared to raise the prices according to USA’s standards. Importantly, it is important to understand that the act of Solar Group comprising the labour acts and payment level agreements puts Green Move’s interests at stake. This is based on the fact that Green Move is found in a governance framework where the society values labour standards and payment levels. As such, the cooperation between the two companies might compromise the interest of Green Move in a fundamental way. On the other hand, Solar Group might not be affected by these standards since the governance of Bangladesh is not very keen on quality of working environment.
B2
Robert should consider the standard stipulated under the USA labour act and the ones provided by the Green Move’s stipulations. Indeed, it is important for Green Move to protect its interests before upholding the interest of other corporations that might not even value the importance of labour integrity. Whereas this paper has argued that the termination of the contract signed between Solar Group and Green Move would lead to possible layoffs on the side of the Solar Group, it is also evident that such cooperation might put the profitability of Green Move at stake and lead to similar layoffs. As such, Robert should consider Green Move’s core values before reaching out to Solar Group.
B3
The blog poses a very great challenge to the corporate image of the company due to the perceptions and the ideologies prevalent in USA. If the video is released, Green Move would be branded as exploitative and sweatshop kind of a company which makes profit by taking advantage of the minors. This perception would have a critical implication on the brand and image of the company. In fact, it would negate the pursuit of Green Move to protect the environment and promote sustainability. In this case, it is ironical to promote environmental sustainability while violating the well-being of the employees (Farrell & Nordstrom 11). Indeed, that pursuit cannot be defined as a sustainable company.
Question C
C1
As regards the expansion to Russia, the integrity of the discussion between Viktor and the property manager is very questionable. In the first place, the discussion has reached a point where Viktor had the impression that the building is available. It seems that the decision about bidding was made in order to pave way for underhand processes that may generate additional funds for the manager. As such, as it stands and in accordance with the conditions provided by the property manager, Viktor should not place his bid for the building. This is based on the fact that the second envelop was handed in order to place funds that could warrant a favour. In case the favour is neither present nor satisfactory, then the process will not keep moving because the property manager termed it as an amount that facilitates progress. This generally implies that the process of bidding is not fair and just. If another company places more money in that second letter than Green Leave, then it implies that Greed Move would not get the building. As such, the money placed by Green Move in the second letter would not only be unethical but unaccounted. As such, the bid should not be made in accordance with the directions of the property manager. Instead, if the bid will be placed, it should be placed and addressed to the government official. Nothing should be placed and delivered in the second letter.
C2
Whereas the bidding process is suspicious and faulty in terms of ethical considerations, the company should not stop its pursuit to expand to Russia. This opinion is based on the fact that the system is not bad, but the people serving in the system might be possibly corrupt. As a result, it should seek to find ethical solutions to lease a building in the country. However, if the property manager and other involved offices are not ethical, the company should not indulge in any practices that compromise its corporate values. In that case, it should drop the pursuit to expand to Russia but only after exhausting all ethical and legal means.
Question D
D1
There are various organizational issues which may have led to the unethical practices as outlined in the case study. First, the unethical actions might arise due to professional negligence that leads to poor decision making (Howell, 136). Professional negligence is a situation in which a professional is not diligent to follow the laid down procedures in the process of making decisions or implementing them (Kortmann, 127). For example, the failure of Robert to pursue Solar Group concerning the underpayment of employees and poor working condition is a case of professional negligence. In that case, he would have neglected the terms of the contract which was signed between the two companies and emphasized the importance of providing good working conditions for the employees. Another factor which may lead to these faults would be lack of tem-based decision making and consultation. Indeed, team –based decision making is more procedural than an individually-oriented decision making system (Furnham & Xenikou 134). Individuals can easily compromise the values of the organization. In addition, it is easy for individuals to execute certain processes in respect to their personal interest rather than the company’s values and interests (Zeng & Luo 63).
D2
There are several residual liabilities that may befall the organization in terms of the legal and criminal terms. First, the inclusion of the facilitation fees to keep the process of bidding for the lease in Russia amounts to bribery and corruption. This is a criminal practice which seeks to manipulate procurement process. As such, it amount to a criminal malpractice. Similarly, the payment of the $5000 special fee is a further bribery to warrant consideration. This can lead to a legal suit prosecuting the company for manipulating the operation of the shelves using corrupt means. Additionally, the contract between Green Move and Solar Group bearing the labour prevalent conditions might also lead to ethical and legal issues. Continued partnering with a company which supports child labour and exploits against the requirements of the contract is a breach of contracting laws. As such, the company should hold Robert liable of doing nothing about the infringement of the contract’s terms and conditions.
D3
In case of the malpractices made above, the board of directors should make a team of inquiry to interrogate the actions by the executives. If they are found to have engaged in corrupt malpractices, the board of directors should impose the necessary penalties. After this, the board should create a legal department which should be served with all business cases before a decision is made. The legal and ethics department should determine whether the conditions of the business cases are consistent to the terms and conditions of the company, corporate values and the rule of law. This will help the organization to avoid cases of legal, criminal and ethical liabilities that can handicap the operations of the company as well as disparage its corporate image. Moving forward, therefore, the department should receive all business cases and be involved in all investment decisions. As such, they will provide an analysis on the legal perspective of the investment and expenditures. If this is not done, the company might find itself in critical legal dilemmas and liabilities which are essentially hard to dissect without losing money in legal suits and litigation processes.
D4
The government has a profound obligation when it comes to implementing the rule of law, harnessing ethics, and following up organizations to maintain order. As such, the government has various roles which it plays in order to curb malpractices such as the ones that would have been incurred if these decisions were to be made in the manner in which they are framed in the case study. These roles range from enforcement, facilitation and the encouragement of ethical practices. In detailed terms, the roles include;
Legislation
The government has a role to provide an enhancing environment when it comes to upholding ethics and propagating legal actions. As a result, it has the mandate to stipulate policies and legal frameworks which obligate organizations to engage in ethical behaviours. In addition to the legal frameworks, the government has the mandate and the responsibility to create efficient system that curbs the propagation of unethical behaviours in the corporate arena. For example, instead of using manual means in the leasing of a building, the government can implement an online bidding process where the bidders do not come into contact with government official. This can reduce the legal and criminal issues in the corporate world arising from the individuals’ appetite for money and underhand benefits.
Supervision
The government has a responsibility to conduct supervision in order to ensure that the laws which have been stipulated are followed completely. In this regard, organization which have great control of the market share tend to engage in unethical practices because they have a virtual monopoly in the industry bearing in mind that the competition is low. As a result, the government must come in and ensure that such organizations do not engage in such malpractices. On the other hand, the small businesses might seek to engage in unethical behaviors in order to cut the cost of operations and hence survive competition. This implies that the government must take charge of the small business and the large entities in order to ensure there are no cases of unethical practices for whatever reason
Incentivizing Mandate
The state is charged with the responsibility to provide incentives to companies which adhere to ethical behaviors. In this case, for example, it can reduce taxes or offer tax breaks for the companies which adhere to the legal requirements and impose higher surcharges to the corporate bodies which engage in unethical behaviors such as air pollutions. This can help significantly to fight illegalities and lack of ethical adherence.
Works Cited
Alvesson, Mats. Understanding Organizational Culture. London: SAGE, 2002. Print.
Bose, Ruma, and Lou Faust. Mother Teresa, CEO Unexpected Principles for Practical Leadership. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2011. Print.
Durrant, Judy. Teachers Leading Change Doing Research for School Improvement. London: Paul Chapman, 2006. Print.
Farrell, Craig, and Cynthia Nordstrom. "Workplace Bullying: Examining Self-Monitoring and Organizational Culture." Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture 12.2 (2013): 6-17. Print.
Furnham, Adrian, and Athena Xenikou. Group Dynamics and Organizational Culture: Effective Work Groups and Organizations. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Print.
Howell, Jon. Snapshots of Great Leadership. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Kortmann, Sebastian. The Relationship between Organizational Structure and Organizational Ambidexterity a Comparison between Manufacturing and Service Firms. Wiesbaden: Gabler Verlag, 2012. Print.
Zeng, Kaisheng, and Xiaohui Luo. "Impact of Ownership Type and Firm Size on Organizational Culture and on the Organizational Culture-effectiveness Linkage." Journal of Business Economics and Management 23.13 (2013): 596-611. Print.
