Introduction
Ethics are very vital to the smooth running and maintenance of a great image of a company to the customers and other stakeholders. This means that ethics have to be incorporated into the culture and running of an organization so as to improve the relationship between various interested parties in the company. The involvement of ethics, therefore, guarantees the connection of the employees to each other, the company to the customers and the larger society. This means that the absence or a lapse in the ethics of the organization can lead chaos in the general running of the organization.
A leader at Paradigm Toys needs to be as influential as possible to attain the maximum ethical culture required at the company. This is because of the nature of business; the employees tend to deal with children and their parents. Therefore skills in leadership have to be enhanced by sharpening the thinking of the employees and building their self-confidence and enable them to make viable decisions. This, therefore, involves the leader being influential to the point that the employees admire and take after him.
The leader has to possess expert powers to be effective in imparting ethics in the employees. This has to be deeply rooted in him and from being an observable leader. It means that the leader has to be updated and get a knowledge base that is useful in training the employees without intentionally participating in it. There are some ethical problems in the organizations. These ethics needed to be addressed by the leader and recognized so that the leader can exercise the best behavior in handling them.
A leader in the expert cadre, therefore, exudes confidence that inspires the employees on how to tackle ethical dilemmas. This serves as an example to the employees who will constantly be reminded that they have a leader who can handle any moral dilemma. This way, the employees take after the head and maintain composure in any situation as they try to emulate the behavior of the leader. This is important in also keeping the team together since they understand that they have a mentor who inspires them to make important decisions.
There are important stakeholders that influence the running of Paradigm Toys. The primary influencers are the policies of the company and the customers. The secondary stakeholders that influence the company include the management team and the employees. The policies are the guidelines that control the running of the business and stipulate the expected behavior of the employees as well as the company practices. The customers are the second primary stakeholders that secure the continuity of business of the enterprise.
The importance of the policies and the customers bring relevance to the secondary stakeholders. This is because policies provide the guidelines and rules that will be used to run the organization while the customers provide the financial profits that give business motivation to the company. They are vital combinations that influence the continuity of business for the enterprise. The employees and the senior management relevance is affected by the existence of the primary stakeholders.
The management ensures that policies are enforced to achieve the objectives of the company. They are the watchdogs of the enterprise and ensure that policies are made and implemented to the latter. The employees are the wheels on which the company rides as they deliver the mandate and the wishes of the customer and the company generally to the society. This is the importance of the combination of the management and the employees in the pursuit of business success. Management provides direction while the employees deliver the wishes of the company.
The customers need to be treated ethically to be in a good relationship with the enterprise. The reputation of the business, therefore, matters in giving services and creating awareness to the market. The board of directors can direct the employees to treat the customers well by ensuring service delivery is enhanced. This is through a timely service delivery and prompt communication of company preferences and even service limits. The ability to give the customers the necessary information, therefore, puts the company closer to the customers.
The company has to create a conducive and interactive working environment for the employees if they are to unleash all their potential in their respective areas of operation. This is critical in ensuring that the employees work comfortably and that their safety is enhanced. A safe environment tends to motivate employees and therefore it has to be the mandate on ethical behavior. This is the reason that the HR department under a strong leadership has to provide the perfect example to the employees. The ethical codes of a company are shaped by the HR executives.
Codes of ethics for the company are the guiding blocks that determine the extent to which unethical behavior cannot surpass. This way they provide the limits to individual practices and conducts in a way that is beneficial on an ethical scale. It means that if the company has to run smoothly and remain on a correct line, there has to be a sound code of ethics to point out the extremes that should not be exceeded. The importance is to ensure that the company’s conduct remains within the ethical horizons. This reduces conflicts and upholds the reputation of the enterprise.
An ethics audit is defined as the study of the existent employee ethical behavior as compared to the stipulated policies and conducts guidance procedures. An audit, therefore, seeks to find the gap that may exist between the existing employee behavior and the company policies. The more specific they are, the more defined the ethics can be and hence a clear path on how to handle employee behavior. Employee behavior is supposed to be ethical, and the company policies tend to define what is important for the employees to follow.
Paradigm Toys needs an outlined ethics audit to find out the current ethical behaviors by employees as compared to what is stipulated in the company policies. There have to be regular ethical reviews; they are important in determining the business employee best behaviors. Since the gaps can be outlined, then Paradigm Toys management can quickly draft policies or train the employees to comply with the set policies. It is important in that it directs the company to understand how best to handle the issue of lapses in the ethics of the enterprise. This is bound to improve the ethical conduct of the employees and the whole company.
The use of the balanced scorecard is necessary at Paradigm Toys. This is because the scorecard tends to measure the performance of the company and highlight what is required. The scorecard shows the company its position regarding performance and therefore helps the management to understand what works for the enterprise and what may fail them. The importance of the balanced scorecard is to understand the many factors involved in running the organization. It is similar to a navigational map that points to every aspect that is important in the running of the company.
There are some factors that need to be identified so as to ensure that the company runs smoothly. The purpose is to serve its customers to the best abilities as well as maintain profits and give the employees a conducive and motivating environment for the purpose of productivity. This is the reason why the use of a balanced scorecard is encouraged to ensure that there is continuous service delivery and that an improvement can be derived from the existent methods of running. Therefore the use of a balanced scorecard at Paradigm Toys is bound to improve the processes as well as the policies of the company.
The importance of incorporating financial and non-financial factors in the scorecard is to ensure that comprehensiveness is covered in understanding the metrics of the enterprise. This shows how the company performs both in the business category as well as the policy and conduct class. A comprehensive analysis ensures that the company achieves a bigger picture of its status. This way the company can understand the scope of its control mechanisms. These tools are vital in the definition of policies and to figure out if policies are to be redrafted or dropped.
The use of both financial and non-financial performance factors also gives the company an opportunity to compare how the two factors improve or limit each other. There are instances when the financial input can exceed the level of management. This means that the company can have a problem balancing the two factors. This is the reason why the balanced scorecard can be used to improve the management scope through boosting their understanding. It is also a source of decision making since more decisions will stem from these inputs.
Corporate social responsibility is an important factor that improves the relationship between a company and the society at large. The reason is that it tends to bring the company closer to the people. This is through initiatives that are people oriented and favor the welfare of the society as a whole. It is an important factor to ensure that the customers and the society interact with the company, and the company gives back to the community. This can be done through charity events, games or even an awareness campaign on the information that the company uses on the products.
Paradigm Toys can first establish the CSR intention by sharing information with the customers. The information can be on the importance of the toys to the kids, the methods in which the toys are made and or the efforts the company is doing to protect the environment from pollution. Information sharing is a way of creating awareness. This is to inform the public of the intentions of the company which can be an expansion or even the plans the company has to establish a public facility for the society.
Paradigm Toys can also run a commercial advert on the local media to invite the residents for an open awareness meeting. This can be to highlight the problems that the society faces and how valuable the company is in the current locality. The company can invite some prominent individuals to talk to the community about various important aspects of life or even their rights. This gesture is important to show that the company cares about the welfare of the society in which it is established. The company can also offer to give scholarships to bright needy students in the community. These are important decisions that will improve the reputation of the company in the public domain.
Section D:
Toyota Company is a well-known publicly held company that upholds and promotes the ethics of the society. The company’s code of ethics is vital since it supports CSR through allowing disclosure of the code of ethics, it is based on honesty from the stakeholders, it emphasizes on fairness and the need to comply with set laws. The code of ethics also has a provision for reporting any unlawful or unethical conduct amongst the staff.
Section E:
Training Proposal – There is a great need to introduce training. Training has to cover interpersonal skills for the staff, point out the mode of dressing and enhance cleanliness for the staff and the premises. Communication can be used by serving a good example to the employees whereby they serve the customers while the employees watch. An exchange program with a company that is performing well in the field will also enhance the training process.
Section F
The method of monitoring employees' internet usage can be justified by telling them the importance of staying dedicated to the company objectives and time. This can be best achieved by outlining the expected conduct of the employees in regard to the use of the company internet. The access of sites will be graded according to importance of the content on the sites as related to the work at Paradigm Toys. The client information is confidential and hence has to be protected because of the adverse consequences that might be experienced through disclosure.
References
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