Problem #1 (40 points)

In Lesson 4, Problem 1(see below), you were asked to write a short essay defending some claim about which you felt strongly. Go back to this essay now and write a second paper in which you offer a critical assessment of your original argument, appealing to the methods of argument analysis.

Problem #1

For the overall success of an Organization, I support Business Ethics and Corporate Governance.

People today throughout the world are becoming increasingly quick to cry out “That is unethical”. Now the question is how do they know what is unethical? Keeping this concept of Ethics on mind, I personally have gained a lot of knowledge from the life lessons and formal instructions of Business ethics. Over a period of time, by understanding this concept in depth, the managers have been successful in transferring the knowledge to the new situations in life. With the changing work environment, the managers now realize the following:

• What is ethical can no longer be determined by your gut feeling, your conscience. Like guilty feelings these intuitions may tell us that something is wrong but not necessarily what is right.
• What is ethical cannot be brought down from a mountain top carved in tablets of stone.

Further, in the changing work environment, the managers have also learnt in any Organization that:

Ethical standards, whether formal or informal have changed considerably. We cannot say that Ethical Standards have fallen. It is the reverse – – the issue is not just having the standards but living up to them.

• Business corporations of today are much bigger than in the past and the impact of their operations on the society is much larger.
• Good potential for thoughtless actions – long term consequences.
• Scope of operations of organizations has widened.
• A greater lot of the population is victim of bad actions by relatively few with disastrous consequence.
• Ethics as a subject has been introduced in management curriculum in Harvard in 1907.
• Ethical issues occur frequently in management.
• They extend far beyond the commonly discussed problems of bribery, collusion, and theft, reaching into such areas as corporate acquisitions, marketing policies, and capital investments.
• In merging the two firms, it is found that some of the positions in one are duplicated in the other.
• “Right” and “Proper” and “Fair” are ethical terms. They express a judgment about behavior towards people that is felt to be just.
• Moral standards differ among individuals because the values upon which they are based differ
• No one can say which certainty that a given moral standard is correct or incorrect provided it can be shown that the standard truly does express an obligation to others, and not just a benefit for us.
• There is a “right” or “proper” or “just” balance between economic performance and social performance and the dilemma of management comes in finding it.

While transferring the above knowledge into new situations, the managers have learnt that ethical problems in management are complex because of the

• Extended consequences
• Multiple alternatives
• Mixed outcomes
• Uncertain occurrences
• Personal implications

Thus keeping on mind the above issues in Business ethics, the managers transfer the knowledge of the learning of Kant’s normative philosophy ‘Greatest good for the greatest number’. Accordingly, they may believe, in order to put the principles into action:

1. Act only in ways that I would wish all others to act, faced with the same set of circumstances and
2. Always to treat other people with dignity and respect – can be viewed as a single injunction.

Thus, what is morally right for me must be morally right for others.

Besides, the concept of the ethical principles, in this changing work environment, for the managers are both personally-driven as well as imposed upon us by way of the framework of Organizational values as well as the laws that have been formulated by the countries. In terms of the implementation of the Organizational values, the role of HR manager is very significant. Business corporations of today are much bigger than in the past and the impact of their operations on the society is much larger. Further, the scope of operations of organizations has widened. A greater lot of the population is victim of bad actions by relatively few with disastrous consequence and the Ethical issues occur frequently in management. Here is when an Organization needs to act proactively to ensure the smooth implementation of the management metrics.

The implementation of corporate governance in Organizations in general and its execution by the managers in the changing work environment, has succeeded in attracting a good deal of public interest because of its importance for the economic health of corporations and society. Corporate Governance is about value maximization, subject to meeting the obligations of corporation’s financial without compromising on the code of ethics. Therefore, Professional judgment is necessary in any given scenario but it cannot be termed as the only condition to ensure moral decisions because the latter is based upon various other factors apart from the Professional codes as well. In certain cases, there could even be clashes of the Professional judgment with that of the moral judgments and hence it could be a insufficient condition. Corporate Governance could also be taken in high regards in an Organization to support the Code of Ethics. There are many cases where the law coincides with the Business ethics or ethical behavior of Organizations or individuals.

In order to achieve the same, Sustainability is also one of the main focuses of Corporate Governance because once shareholders’ interests are taken care of, ethical decisions are regarded to and legally enforceable acts are ensured by Corporate Governance, there is an assurance for the long term survival of the firm and hence sustainability.

In the absence of Corporate Governance Policy in any Organization, it has been observed in certain Companies that the employees are not motivated to perform in a direction that regards for the Business ethics as well, while achieving the Organizational goals. Therefore where the Business Ethics has failed to be inculcated by the leaders effectively, owing to the lack of accountability that would make the leaders accountable for the unethical activities of their employees, there is an overall failure in the adherence to Corporate Governance. In such cases, some managers resist Corporate Governance.

On the other side, with the presence of active Organizational role, certain managers believe in the Corporate Governance by adapting to the Ethic and compliance program which is a program that promotes the Organizational culture of ethics and values. Also it ensures the compliance to the Corporate Governance activities so as to build an Organization that regards to the ethical side of its activities and legal adherence.

When the Business centers in to the ‘Social purpose’ with the help of framing the rules and policies of Corporate Governance as its core area of accomplishments, then the Company attempts in creation of social value in order to achieve its Business goals. This is the virtuous cycle of Social Responsibility which adds goodwill to an Organization.

In order to increase the Organizational behavior and culture, with the blend of Business ethics and Corporate Governance, managers undertake various steps in the changing work environment, primarily by establishing ethics in Decision making, formulating Code of Conduct in the Business operations, etc. in accordance with the overall HR policies and issues guiding the Organization as a whole.

With the Corporate Governance framework that the managers may formulate for the implementation of the Business ethics in the Organization, hence, the manager can recognize the ethical dilemmas and become aware of ethical issues related to its actions. It shall further reaffirm the organization’s expectation that managers will act ethically. To the manager, hence, the learning shall help improving and to discover new possibilities in the following ways:

• Making general human resource decisions.
  • Promotions, transfers, and terminations
• Identifying training and development needs.
  • Employee skills and competencies
• Validating selection and development programs.
  • Employee performance compared to selection evaluation and anticipated performance results of participation in training.
• Providing feedback to employees.
  • The organization’s view of their current performance
• Supplying the basis for rewards allocation decisions.
  • Merit pay increases and other rewards

All these activities will help the manager to get a willing support from its subordinates, thereby helping him to perform better in the industry in search of new opportunities, which in turn would be responsible in keeping all types of stakeholders happy and content. Such a behavior shall form an intrinsic part of business gains. Learning shall also help the manager in rethinking and redesigning the organizational processes to produce more uniform products and services. Also it shall help in gaining in his profile the following ways for any activity undertaken:

• Identifying the Manager’s distinctive competencies—what he does the best.
• Assessing core processes that add value to the overall organization’s distinctive competencies.
• Reorganizing horizontally by process using cross-functional and self-managed teams.

Further, the manager may also ensure the implementation of Code of ethics within the Corporate Governance Framework itself which are those principles that guide the professionals to undertake their business or profession in an ethical manner that blends honesty with integrity. Code of ethics in an Organization refers to the universal adherence of the principles across the Organization and therefore it shall help the management to guide them doing the right things. In order to make it successful in an Organization, the Code of ethics could be incorporated in the HR policies to govern unethical behavior apart from a definite program of Corporate Governance to take care of the legal issues pertaining into the Organizational activities. For example, Business firms have to operate profitably or they will not survive over the long term; that is their economic performance. Here, the code of ethics helps in sorting out the ethical dilemmas for the leaders undertaking this activity. Further, various types of audits could be conducted to ensure its application in the Organization in the following ways:

Draw up on ethical code in the system

Familiarize employees with the ethical code

Ensure implementation

Formation of Ethics committee

In this manner, good Corporate Governance and an ethical environment in an Organization could be achieved and help in assisting the framework of rules, relationships, systems and processes within an Organization.

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