Developing Organizational Ethics and Socially Responsible Behavior

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Western Governors University *

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Philosophy

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Apr 3, 2024

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1 Developing Organizational Ethics and Socially Responsible Behavior Scott J. Rich Western Governor’s University Professor Detria Moore May 22, 2023

2 Developing Organizational Ethics and Socially Responsible Behavior Section A: Corporate social responsibility is a relatively new idea. The idea of a corporation acting socially responsible continues to gain steam throughout the world. Corporate social responsibility, in its simplest definition, can be described as a corporate conscious or a sustainable responsible business approach (Westover, J. H. 2013). Corporate social responsibility is an unwritten contract between a corporation, its stakeholders, citizens of the communities the corporation operates in, and its consumers. The unwritten contract ensures that the company take all considerations to its stakeholders and communities prior to making decisions. Corporate social responsibility is a form of self-regulation, business policies and practices encourage positive impacts on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders, and all member of the public. This type of self-regulation requires buy-in from all parties and starts from the inside-out. Examples of corporate social responsibility include implementing policies and procedures that treat everyone equally, building a culture of trust, fairness, and equity, and producing goods or providing services that help better the community. Operating in an ethical manner is a proactive action that an organization can take to all scenarios. The thought of corporate social responsibility affects more than just the company profitability. Corporate social responsibility allows an organization to become an integral part of the community in which it operates. In many instances, the community in which a company operates is the same community in which its employees and their families work. Many communities are built around the corporations that operate inside of them and acting in a socially acceptable manner has a large effect on the community members.

3 Section A1: One primary stakeholder for Paradigm Toys is the employees that operate the facility and sell the toys. One secondary stakeholder for Paradigm Toys is the financial institution that provides the funding for the corporation’s financial ventures. Section A2: Paradigm Toys has many obligations to its primary stakeholder, the employees. One of those obligations is to operate a clean and safe facility that values its employees and makes ethically sound decisions. To meet this obligation, the company would need to implement human resources policies that ensure each employee is provided with a safe and equitable workplace. For example, the company could implement a code of ethics that ensures equal treatment for every employee, regardless of position. Like it’s primary stakeholder responsibilities, Paradigm Toys has obligations to secondary stakeholders as well. Companies operate on capital and investments. The institutions that provide that capital and investments expect Paradigm Toys to operate in a fiscally sound way. To do this, Paradigm Toys would need a system of checks and balances to ensure finances are being directed to the proper recipients. For example, Paradigm Toys could implement benchmarks with triggers that ensure adjustments are made within certain timeframes. A system of checks and balances gives the financial institution faith that the company is operating in a fiscally sound way. Section B1: There are many benefits to an organization to operate ethically and develop a culture that promotes ethical decision making. This type of decision making starts at the top where leaders

4 set an example for subordinates. The culture the company forms ties directly into the success of the company. A company that operates a culture that does not value ethical decision making can face fines, negative publicity, and even lawsuits. In an ethically sound culture, employees and leaders have the knowledge and tools to identify and react to ethical dilemmas. The forementioned code of conduct may include a policy that prohibits decision makers and contract writers from accepting gifts of a certain value. For example, in this scenario, a contractor is attempting to secure more business within a corporation and attempts to gift concert tickets to a decision-making leader. The leader is prohibited through the code of conduct from accepting this gift as it may seem like a bribe to other companies. A company that has built an ethical culture can have confidence that the employee will make the correct decision. Section B1a: Ethical decision making, as stated, starts at the top of the leadership chain. The leadership at Paradigm Toys has a duty to set an example for its employees. Top leadership at Paradigm Toys must not only support an ethical culture, but also encourage one. Leadership should devote the resources needed to foster the culture and make it a priority to invest in the proper ethical training. Leadership can ensure that there is transparent communication from them with regards to their stance on an ethical culture. They should show that they are dedicated to building the culture and put policies and procedures in place to ensure doing the right thing is easy. Section B2: An ethics audit is not a “gotcha” moment, however, it is a tool used to identify a company’s weaknesses so they can be strengthened. An ethics audit is a chance for leadership to get a clear picture of what the culture of the company looks like. It allows leadership to see how

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