Ethics and Culture Module 2 LIS 580: Spring 2006 Instructor- Michael Crandall

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring Roadmap What is ethics? Ethics in the workplace Organizational culture and social responsibility Diversity in the workplace

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring The Wall Street Journal Workplace- Ethics Quiz FIGURE 2–1 Source: 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

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring 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

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring G.Dessler, 2003 Moral Philosophies

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring The Ethical Continuum FIGURE 2–2 Source: Source: Michael Boylan, Business Ethics (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001), p LowHigh G.Dessler, 2003

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring Ethics and the Law Important Points: –Something may be legal but not right (ethical) –Something may be right (ethical) but not legal. G.Dessler, 2003

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring What Influences Ethical Behavior At Work? Ethical Work Behaviors Individual Factors Organizational Factors Top Management Ethics Policies and Codes G.Dessler, 2003

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring G.Dessler, 2003

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring 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

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring Checklist 2.1 How 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. G.Dessler, 2003

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring 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. G.Dessler, 2003

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring 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. G.Dessler, 2003

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring 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

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring FIGURE 2–5 A Corporation’s Major Stakeholders G.Dessler, 2003

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring 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? G.Dessler, 2003

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring 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

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring 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. G.Dessler, 2003

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring Bases for Diversity Racial and Ethnic Gender Older workers People with disabilities Sexual/affectional orientation Religion G.Dessler, 2003

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring 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. G.Dessler, 2003

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring 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

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring FIGURE 2–7 Activities Required to Better Manage Diversity G.Dessler, 2003

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring 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

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring Ghoshal’s Thesis

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring Different Approaches

March 30, 2006LIS580- Spring 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?