The Language Of Ethics And Preventing Ethical Problems Philosophy Essay

The Language Of Ethics And Preventing Ethical Problems Philosophy Essay What is ethics, and what does it mean to put business and ethics together? What would it mean for a company to do this well? Ethics is a foundation of principles of moral conduct that is based on the philosophies of those involved in a life situation. Therefore, the melding of business and ethics is following these moral guidelines in a business life situation. This can be a slippery slope, as there needs to be an agreement between the moral behavior and the mission of the business, which at times seem to be at odds. It is important to recognize that ethics has a mission it is attempting to accomplish. That mission is not to create the perfect business world but to limit the harm on all stakeholders in their business life situations. What the discipline of business ethics can and must do is to provide an approach for improving the lives of the stakeholders who, with business, live in an imperfect, and sometimes harmful, world. (D. Robin, 2010). So the answer to doing business ethics well requires understanding the possibilities of the harms that could occur for the stakeholders. In order to do that it is vital to understand the stakeholders and their needs through a stakeholder analysis. This is a helpful way for managers to identify the relevant purposes and consequences in a given case (Freeman, Martin, Werhane Wicks, 2010). In determining what ethical or moral code of conduct will be employed to eliminate or minimize a harm it is a waste of time to establish a code that does not resolve an issue that for any of the stakeholders. If this arbitrary moral code that has no positive or negative effect on any stakeholders is employed it is meaningless. However, if an issue is identified that applies to one or more stakeholders a meaningful moral code can be establish that is useful to all. So an organization that starts first by understanding their stakeholders through a stakeholder analysis and what their needs are will be able to employ meaningful and useful et hics that will allow them limit the harm and do business ethics well. What are the three traditions of ethics, and how do they provide guidance to help inform your managerial decision-making? The three traditions of ethics according to Business Ethics: A Managerial Approach (Freeman, Martin, Werhane Wicks, 2010) are; Actions or means people use to achieve their goals; Agent or persons who are acting in the situation; and Ends or goals that are outcomes of actions. At first glance some comparisons between the traditions would seem to suggest that they are opposites. However, they are really a view of situations from different angles or approaches. They each provide a value in their own right. An actions based approach focuses on the standards that we are using in the decision making process. Is the decision maker following the rules of decency in coming to his moral decision? In an actions based approach it is believed that the means is paramount in the ethical decision that is being made. An actions based approach may be the most useful when stakeholders are going to see the entire process and expect things to be done in a certain way. An Agents based approach does not d eal with how its done nor does it deal with what the the outcome is. Instead it centers on what the decision says about the person making the decision. Does this decision prop up his or her character or does it undermine it? This approach would likely be used when the decision creates a lasting impression that will cause a long term affect of the decision maker or the organization. Finally, an Ends based approach does not look back. It does not concern itself with how it was done or what the decision says about the individual or organization. Instead it looks to the end and assesses the result. Did it yield the positive result that was desired? Focusing on the Ends would be desired when there is little to no harm in how things are done or what the process means but instead what the bottom line becomes. Each of these traditions has its place and its value in providing the guidance to conclude what ethical decision is needed. Before this class discussion in module 1, what was your sense of why organizational ethics like Enron, Arthur Anderson, and Worldcom, happen? I dont like to cast full judgment on people or an organization without completely understanding the entire story. However, I did have a very dim view based on the details of which I was aware. My perspective was that a very large company was taking advantage of the federal government. To mount more trouble on top of it, in the case of Enron, Arthur Anderson who should have held them to a higher standard as an auditor allowed the corruption to continue. The irony of all of this is of course the largest more corrupt offender of all, the federal government, was holding both of these organizations to a standard that they themselves cannot follow in terms of accountability, which is evidenced based on their balance sheet. I certainly did not have an understanding that the 3 traditions of ethics could be applied in this situation. It would seem at some very cloudy level they were applying the Ends tradition. I say this is cloudy in that it brought with it the baggage of corruption to get t o the ends that should have almost obscured the view of it. I would suggest that it would have been more prudent for them to employ the Action, Agent or a combination of these traditions of ethics as it would have likely caused a different outcome. The long term result of this is much more than the harm these organizations caused themselves and their stakeholders. The constraints that often come from harmful situations such as saddling all companies with Sarbanes-Oxley will unnecessarily felt by the business community for years to come. Which factors seem to be most important in diagnosing why bad things happen? What role does the individual, and individual conscience, play in making sure good things happen organizations? To determine within an organization what is the cause of bad ethical decisions it is important to understand the morality and conscience of individuals within the organization and what is driving the decisions that they are making. This includes not only the leadership of an organization but all members from the top down. It can be valuable to look at not only the moral development of the individual but what forces that affect decision making are in play (Freeman, Martin, Werhane Wicks, 2010). First moral development, which is postulated by Kohlberg to be progressive, should be looked at and considered. While not all theorists agree with this approach it can be used as a good model for understanding causation of ethical problems. What is the tendency of individuals in terms of moral development? Is there a tendency to make ethical decisions based on the earlier stages of fear or are they at a point of maturity in this process? Knowing where individuals are in this spectrum can help us understand if it is part of the problem (Forsyth, Donelson R, 1992). Also, if the leadership of the organization is at the early point of the moral spectrum they are going to feed this type of decision making down through the rest of the organization. Understanding not only the individuals moral development but also the leaderships moral development all the way through the organization will help in the diagnosis of the problems. Second, we need to look at the forces in play for decision making. In considering each of the forces discussed in the text it can be assumed that it can be applied at the individual level if we want to understand the problems and want to see good decisions within the organization. Attempting to apply these forces at an organizational level becomes abstract and makes it very difficult to see or directly affect individuals. For example, to see how authority is properly communicated in an organization it is necessary to look at specific examples of this. That is, how a particular individual in authority communicates to other individuals in the organization is important in the making of good ethical decisions. Likewise, how an individual responds to that authority will play into it as well. This can be done with each of the other forces, Distance from Responsibility, Tunnel Vision, Rationalization, External Pressure and Communication Breakdowns. Applying individual notions to each of the se will help in both the diagnosis and resolving to better decision making. Therefore the consideration of the individual conscience both in the diagnosis and the resolution of good decisions is a key element. Read the case, Marge Norman and Miniscribe Corporation, pages 58 67 of your textbook. Provide a summary of this case including the ethical dilemmas and how they were handled in this case. Draw on what you learned in chapters 1 2 as part of your response. The case of Marge Norman and Miniscribe Corporation is a good example of some of the central forces that affect the decision making process, chief of which is the authority force (Freeman, Martin, Werhane Wicks, 2010). In addition, the findings and results suggest the rationalization played a major role in the decisions that were made within the company that caused the downfall of the corporation. Chronologically, the case begins with a company in a difficult position financially. Initially it appeared as if things were moving in a good direction with new leadership, Q. T. Wiles, being very decisive and with a solid influx of investors. One of the dilemmas that initially showed it head was in the area of communication breakdown, as all information was required to be communicated from the very top. In doing this it can be completely controlled as to what is being communicated. This created a fertile ground to allow the story to become whatever the leader wanted it to be. This also ti es into the central force of authority, which played a major role. With Q.T. Wiles being a strong personality with his 13 disciplines it would appear that the company was being lead in the right direction with strong accountability. From the outside this might give the appearance of a solid ethical foundation ensuring those doing the work are being held accountable. As the case continues and we see in the end that cooking of the books had occurred, this suggests that the authority force did indeed play a major role. In addition, the case states that there were many employees involved in the cover up. To have a large number involved it would require an authority figure guiding them and providing rationalizations in the process. There was also the external pressure force placed on the leadership by the accountability structure to come up with the correct numbers, which has the possibility of causing bad decision making. For the scandal to be this successful it had to cause dilemmas fo r all areas of the company. The accountants had to decide if the numbers forced to them should be used. The sales department always watches the numbers closely and would have had to wonder about the inflated numbers. Even the shipping department, who day to day knew what would be going into the boxes, must have faced a moral dilemma. As lies or deceptions occur within a company there is a need for consistency in the store and an escalation tends to occur (Kidwell Martin, 2005). As deceptive dilemmas began to mount with each bad decision more bad decisions were made until it was impossible to conceal as indicated by MiniScribes 13 successful quarters. Looking back had any of the employees overcome the central forces and employed even one of the rationalization tests earlier in the process, the scandal could have been less severe. Far too late, Marge Norman applied the publicity test in a small way by communicating her findings to her supervisor. Had this been done earlier the story would have been different. Had the leadership put themselves in the place of the stockholders, using the reversibility test, it would have brought to the surface the lack of ethics in the decisions. And certainly, using the generalizability test and comparing the situation even to ones personal finances it would be clear that this situation would eventually be found out. The mounting power of the authority force and rationalization along with a failure to apply any of the rationalization tests to the situation proved to be the down fall of MiniScribe. Sadly, this affected not only the company itself but many others in the process.

Containment Early Cold war Essay -- miscellaneous

Containment Early Cold war In the early years of the Cold War, both the Truman and Eisenhower administrations pursued a policy of containment to counter perceived Soviet aggression. Generally, the presidential administrations pursued this policy to maintain stability in the international arena, to maintain a balance of power, and also in a sense, to express disapproval of totalitarian, non-democratic regimes. Containment was expressed through a variety of policies and institutions: economic, political and, of course, military. The ways the early presidential administrations defined and implemented containment strategy inevitably changed in focus, importance, and emphasis over time. While both external and internal reasons accounted to an extent for the specifics of the containment policies of both administrations, the Truman administration was more concerned with maintaining a balance of power within the international community than necessarily appeasing internal pressures, especially fiscal pressures. The Eis enhower administration, on the other hand, assigned a greater importance to domestic politics in formulating its containment policies. First I will outline the differences of the two administrations, and then I will argue that the differences in the two administrations stem from their predominant influences: whereas external threats mainly shaped the Truman administration's containment policy, internal politics mainly shaped the Eisenhower administration's containment policy. First of all, both administrations had different economic priorities. Although Truman was concerned about keeping taxes low and government spending capped, he also saw the need for military expenditures in Europe and Asia to keep an adequate balance of power. Truman implemented an assortment of aid packages to Europe and Asia, in effect, to help those countries help themselves. He saw economic stability as essential for peace and stability in the intentional arena. Moreover, he saw giving aid to these countries as a way to subtly influence the ideology of their constituents. Furthermore, Truman accepted ongoing government economic intervention as an appropriate way to direct resources within the economy. Eisenhower, on the other hand, was more interested in a conservative fiscal policy, and tight control on government spending. He was more intent on trading with the countrie... ...endencies, they took their influence for policy from different sources. Thus, their foreign policy had a different approach. The Truman administration was more concerned with Stalin’s expansionist tendencies, and sought to contain him by the best means possible, which he considered to be conventional warfare. Truman used rhetoric and threat to sell his policy to Congress and the American people, because his policy was expensive. Eisenhower, on the other hand, was more concerned with his popularity and cutting taxes than pursuing expensive overseas militaries. He was able to cut costs by using nuclear capabilities as a deterrent against the Soviets. Thus, he used a more capital-intensive, and less labor-intensive means to detract Soviet expansion. Because he was able to cut costs so effectively, it was not as important for him to sell him policy to the public. That is namely why Eisenhower was such a popular president. References www.globalsecurity.org/military/ library/report/1992/MJA.htm www.nwc.navy.mil/CNCSCaseStudies/cases/case09.htm www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/truman/ regentsprep.org/Regents/ushisgov/themes/ presidentialactions/commander.cfm

Human Resource Management Essay

The first stop at the place of employment on the first day of work is human resource management (HRM) office. Known in the past as the personnel department is now HRM; the place where contracts and all necessary documentation is processed before employment begins at the workplace. To some this is a friendly place and to other is threatening. Definition To understand what human resource management means and does, it is necessary to begin with a definition of its terms: Human: of, relating to, or characteristic of humans, consisting of humans (Merriam-Webster). Resource: a source of supply or support; an available means usually used in plural; a natural source of wealth or revenue often used in plural; a natural feature or phenomenon that enhances the quality of human life; a source of information or expertise (Merriam-Webster). Management: the act or art of managing; the conducting or supervising of something (as a business); judicious use of means to accomplish an end; the collective body of those who manage or direct an enterprise (Merriam-Webster). From these definitions an idea of human resource management forms and can be states as: The art of conducting or supervising the source of supply or support of humans. The purpose obviously is to perform tasks assigned in exchange for a wage or salary during a specified period of time or shift. Primary function HRM can be seen as the welcoming door to the company for new employees, but it represents much more than that. As part of the organization, HRM deals with the changes in the world affecting the company and its employees. Preparation is constant in this fast-paced world to cope with the newest changes in globalization, technology, workforce diversity, and labor shortages (DeCenzo 2007 p4). In today’s world, skill requirements are constantly changing and the improvement of the workforce is also continuous. HRM is responsible for overlooking the fulfillment of these needs in the company and all its different locations throughout the world. Globalization expanded the horizons for business and requires a deep understanding of the cultural diversity. Organizations like McDonalds, Exxon, BMW, General Motors, Sears, and many more like these generate their revenue from  different parts of the world. Making a presence in different countries requires knowledge and understanding of their cultures, not only the language and and typical traditions. HRM is responsible for the training of the company representatives asigned to the various countries where the company has operations. The primary function is no longer just the hiring and processing of new employees, but the primary function is now to manage the human resources available and their labor relations for the company’s operations locally or globally. Role of HRM in an Organization’s Strategic Plan The organization’s strategic plan is the core for the entire operation and the goals set to accomplish. HRM plays a very important role in this plan and the success or failure of the strategy starts off by how three of the management principles are applied by HRM. Oganizing, as a management principle, falls under the responsibility of HRM for specifying tasks, establishing departments, establishing channels of authorities, delegation of authorities, and coordination of subordinates activities. Basically this represents the foundation bricks for the strategic plan (Bateman, 2009). Leading is another management principle that falls under the HRM role and it is getting others to get the job done and motivating subordinates. Standard operating procedures, code of ethics, employees benefits, and other tools are used by HRM to accomplish this part of the role in the organization’s strategic plan (Bateman, 2009). Controlling is the management principle used to set standards for expected results and implement corrective actions when not going in the right direction. HR managers measure the efficiency of persons employed for the tasks and maintain turnover to low levels. HRM is responsible for the control of labor practices to keep them within legality, the avoiding of discriminatory actions and potential losses due to lack of training (Bateman, 2009). HRM is the backbone for any organization and is critical that human resource managers keep updated on all the changes affecting business. References Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2012). http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/management?show=0&t=1347165029 DeCenzo, D. and Robbins, S. (2007) Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 9e p4 John Wiley & Sons Management: Leading and Collaborating in a Competitive World, by Bateman and Snell (8th edition, 2009) Retrieved from EBook Collection, https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/classroom/ic/classroom.aspx

Marketing Essay

Marketing Essay What is a Marketing essay? A marketing essay is an essay which is for the promotion of a product or it talks about marketing strategies or it talks about marketing principles and policies set by different organizations or it is written for making a market plan. A marketing essay is written for many purposes. Teachers assign marketing essays to students to enhance their capabilities in terms of market assessment and evaluation. In marketing essays, different kinds of approaches are used. Some marketing essays are for the evaluation of market, some marketing essays talk about market value while other market essays are about various market trends. Students who are assigned to write a market essay must identify the nature of market essay that is given to them. After identifying the nature of market essay that is assigned, the students have to collect relevant information to that essay on marketing. Marketing writing is of many kinds such as marketing papers, marketing research papers, marketing term papers and essays on marketing. For all kinds of writing related to marketing papers and essays on marketing, read materials that are relevant. Never try to include irrelevant information even if you are aware of too much information regarding marketing. Make your marketing plan essay or marketing strategy essay as concise as u can and use clear and simple words for the description of your arguments related to marketing. Marketing is the backbone for the growth of any business in today’s world so the students who are linked with the education of marketing should know how to write a custom marketing essay so that they can use this information in their practical field. Because of marketing, any product or brand can be easily introduced among general masses. Always introduce the topic and the thesis sentence in your introduction, then move forward towards the body where you will give details related to the marketing essay topic that you have selected and after giving all the details required in the body paragraphs, move towards the conclusion where you will summarize all your discussion and will also come to a final point which you have raised in your introduction. Your introduction and conclusion should be simple and straightforward. In your custom marketing essay, you must following the rules and regulations that are there for marketing and you must show the awareness of these rules in your writing due to which your teachers will be able to judge your eligibility and learning. If you think you are unable to write an essay on marketing, you can contact us and we will provide you with custom marketing essays of high quality.

Champion Is a Transitive Verb

Champion Is a Transitive Verb Champion Is a Transitive Verb Champion Is a Transitive Verb By Maeve Maddox I read the following sentence in a newspaper article: He often champions for the rights of many individuals. As a noun, champion can be followed by the preposition for: â€Å"She is a champion for gender equality.† But as a verb, champion is transitive; it takes a direct object: â€Å"She champions gender equality.† The noun champion is first documented in the 13th century with the meaning â€Å"a brave fighting man.† Because trial by combat was still part of the English legal system, by the 14th century, champion could also mean â€Å"one who fights on behalf of another.† Note: Until the 16th century, it was possible to settle a legal dispute in England by fighting a duel. A litigant unsuited for combat could arrange for someone else- a champion- to fight in his place. In the novel Ivanhoe, the knight Wilfred of Ivanhoe volunteers to be Rebecca’s champion. Apart from its use in the context of competitive sports, the noun champion refers to a person who protects and defends the defenseless or who fights for a worthy cause. For example: Two Champions of Children Are Given Nobel Peace Prize We cannot be both the worlds leading  champion of peace  and the worlds leading supplier of the weapons of war.   World welcomes Pope Francis as humble champion of poor As a verb, to champion is â€Å"to maintain the cause of, stand up for, uphold, support, back, defend, advocate.† Here are examples of champion correctly used as a transitive verb: Now that youve reclaimed your wounded inner child, you need to champion him.   James Brady became a symbol of the fight for  gun control,  championing  tighter regulations. People living with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) will pay tribute later this year to the woman who, for decades,  championed their  cause. Patricia Arquette Champions Gender Equality in Nights Best Oscar Speech Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Fly, Flew, (has) FlownFlied?50 Nautical Terms in General Use20 Names of Body Parts and Elements and Their Figurative Meanings

Film Critique Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Film Critique - Movie Review Example The issues presented in the movie, regarding concerns of women In the film, almost all the main problems faced by women folk in a male dominated and racially prejudiced society are portrayed in a vivid manner. For instance, the main female characters in the film do not enjoy liberty in the mainstream society. They are forced to act according to the will of the male characters. The most important female character in the film (Daisy Werthan, an elderly Jewish widow) leads a grim life similar to other widows in a male dominated society. The loneliness and alienation faced by Daisy Werthan in her private and public domains is vividly portrayed by the director. The problem of racism is another issue presented in the movie regarding concerns of women. Besides, prejudice against Afro- Americans and the Jews, and marginalization faced by them is another issue presented in the movie regarding concerns of women. Scheuer and Scheuer (2003), opine that â€Å"Driving Miss Daisy tells us, as much more about the difference between North and South, and racial attitudes in America as any sociology textbook will† (p.106). The main female characters in the film are not considered as important in their families. The problem of marginalization in the mainstream society without any decision making capacity leads to mental and emotional problems in female characters. The issues presented in the movie regarding concerns of women are still relevant because male domination, marginalization, alienation, prejudice and racism curb the growth and development of women in the society. Loneliness, racism, and male domination illustrated in the movie The most important issues presented in this movie regarding concerns of women are related to male domination and racial prejudice. So, three issues (loneliness, racism, and male domination), and three female characters (Daisy Werthan, Idella and Florine Werthan), are selected to expose how these issues and characters are illustrated in the m ovie. 1. Loneliness and alienation faced by Daisy Werthan The most important female character in film, Daisy Werthan (Jessica Tandy), an elderly Jewish widow faced alienation in her private (home) and public (society) domains. When Daisy Werthan’s husband was succumbed to death, she gradually got alienated herself from the mainstream society. For instance, her son did not allow her to drive her car. Besides, her maid servant was aware of the alienation felt by Daisy Werthan in her home and society. The director gave ample importance to the issue of loneliness and alienation faced by widows in the society. To be specific, the character of Daisy Werthan represents the sad plight and emotional detachment of widows in the society. 2. Racism and prejudice faced by Idella Idella (Esther Rolle), Daisy Werthan’s Afro-American maid servant is one of the best examples of racial segregation and marginalization faced by the African American community in America. One can easily ide ntify that racism or marginalization from the main stream society is the most important problem faced by African American community in America. Racism is a social evil which hinder the progress of African Americans in the American society. On the other side, Daisy Werthan, a Jew by birth was also a victim of racism. The best example of racism was the

Cultural diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Cultural diversity - Essay Example It is anchored not only in these cultural resources, but organizational resources as well. In other words organizational culture is not fully dependent on the culture of the employees alone, but the organizational environment, work or business philosophy, attitude of the management etc can also influence the organizational culture. This paper briefly analyses the role of culture and diversity in organizations. Cartwright & Cooper (2002) have mentioned that there has been much optimism since the "global revolution" about how well an organization will do when it goes "global." Moreover, there has also been much risk in the acquisition and merger of organizations from various cultures to create organizations that are compatible and profitable. The expectation is that these multicultural organizations will appeal to more customers, creating an organization that can get ahead of all the rest (Cartwright & Cooper, 2002). Cross-border mergers have increased by about nine times of what they were just a few years ago. In fact M& A is adopted as a popular business strategy by big organizations in order to expand their wings to different countries and to reduce the competition. But in many cases, the expectations before the M&A have not been fulfilled after the M&A. The integration of the multicultural organizations into a single entity caused more problems than expected. Many of these takeovers and mergers fail because there is actually a production slow down based of the inability of two or more distinct cultures of people unable to work together. Culture is dynamic; everything about the human is immersed in cultural belief. According to Cartwright & Cooper, (2002), culture refers to everything that makes up a way of life including language, which is the oldest institutional medium of expression, thought which is what creates perception of others and understanding of the world, spirituality which is