Ethics in organization development is a qualitative evaluation of the entire process of how a consultant delivers service to a client (Cummings & Worley, 2008). Considerations include the foundational basis of the client-practitioner relationship, choice of appropriate interventions, and responsibility for the effects of the change efforts (Cummings & Worley, 2008, pp. 70-73). Ethics goes beyond behavior and includes a concern for the motivation behind the behavior (Northouse, 2015, p. 330). An individual behaves ethically by adhering to his or her socially desirable personal values. The case study “Kindred Todd and the Ethics of OD” presents some ethical issues which arose for a recent master’s graduate during her first assignment as an …show more content…
65). Miss Todd did not immediately reveal her experience level which violated her responsibility to “discuss candidly” the details of this new business relationship (Cummings & Worley, 2008, p. 71). As a master’s candidate, Todd undoubtedly studied ethics and may have believed she would uphold the highest ideal of ethical behavior in her upcoming career. However, this assignment presented overlapping responsibilities and pressures which forced quick compromises of ethical ideals.
Kindred Todd faced the delicate task of maintaining the reputation of her firm while seeking a creative conclusion that included self-preservation. Miss Todd wanted to keep her job. She felt pressure from Mister Stepchuck to maintain his narrative. She did not want to destroy her client’s confidence in her, her boss, his company, and the field of organization development. She likely entered the field of organization development to provide genuine service with a balanced concern for human elements of business and organizational effectiveness (Cummings & Worley, 2008, p. 60). Avoiding full disclosure during the initial meeting allowed her the opportunity to further diagnose the situation and eventually provide a satisfactory service to her client.
Kindred Todd avoided the “technical ineptness” ethical dilemma (Cummings
Ethics is the guiding force in any respectable organization. With a moral compass, especially in the leadership of organization, a company can become compromised and fall into a quagmire of legal issues, a tarnished reputation, and devaluation of company stock if it is a publically traded company. In pursuit of examine my own ethical lens I will analyze the ethical traits of an admired leader, my own traits as exhibited in the Ethical Lens Inventory, and how I make a decision concerning a particular ethical dilemma.
Ethics encompasses the various aspects of our everyday lives; this Chick-Fil-A case is an example how our personal ethics can have an effect on business. Throughout the last chapter we have discussed how ethics can have affect business leaders, and what traits shape an ethical leader. The COO of Chick-Fil-A, Dan Cathy, made his personal opinion about the definition of marriage open to the public. Mr. Cathy was not being a good ethical leader because he shared his personal views when representing Chick-Fil-A. There is a huge difference between someone’s personal opinion and the organizational outlook. Mr. Cathy’s opinion is not the ethical problem; instead it is his desire to state this opinion during company time, which caused an ethical problem for Chick-Fil-A. Values are the basis for ethics, so it is hard to separate ethics from values.
Shaw, W.H. (2014). Business ethics: A Textbook with cases, (8th ed.). Boston, MA : Cengage.
A philosophy of an organization helps differentiate themselves from their competitors and set a foundation for future success. It also helps shape an organization by presenting the goals they want to accomplish with specific activities. To improve this, many organizations understand the important of sharing values and goals and realize employee recognition. This helps staff from moving forward toward success of the organizations. Chapter 4 introduces “Codes of Ethics in Health Services.” Code of ethics is a guideline for healthcare professionals to accomplish and serve as a member of a society. Similar to other professions, managers have their own code of ethics in maintaining their duties and responsibilities. They also use the codes for ethical decision-making in dealing with ethical issues. Chapter 5 deals with “Organizational Responses to Ethical Issues.” It provides assistance for managers and organizations in their decision making. It is manager’s duty to figure out the problem and resolve it (Darr, 2011,
Dyck and Neubert (2012) defined ethics as "[A] set of principles or moral standards that differentiate right from wrong". It is a way of determining the morality of any action. It is important that managers adhere to ethical principles that will guide them in making appropriate and ethical decisions for the company. Thus, Roger Berg, being Vice-President of Planning at The Lake Corporation plays a significant role in the company in ensuring that decisions are made without tarnishing management ethics. He must face and weather through the challenges caused by other sources that could put him in ethical dilemma situations and push him to render management decisions violating ethics.
I and two other individuals have agreed to start a business that will provide management consulting services to nonprofit organizations. Because of the increased scrutiny on actions of corporations and those who act on behalf of organizations, we have determined that it would be essential to have our ethics program developed before we start offering our services. A business as a moral agent must prove that it has an effective ethics program to protect employees, the corporation, and businesses that the company will serve. It is also important to have an ethics program to support the ethical values of our corporation and to make it clear to employees what is acceptable behavior, and to make clear what policies and standards are to be
Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases (10th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage.
At stake here are several conflicting values, the concern for a fellow human being, self-preservation, success of the company and the pressure to perform. As VP of the division, I am under scrutiny to deliver substantial results to my president, John Edmonds, to be seen as sensitive to my product managers needs. Lisa Walters, Kathryn’s supervisor, has pressed me for a resource action for boosting staff morale and replacing her with someone who can be more productive. I also feel that Kathryn McNeil is a hard worker who is stuck in a tricky personal situation.
Effects of products/services and in relationships with stakeholders. That attention to business ethics is critical during times of fundamental change -- times much like those faced now by businesses, both nonprofit and for-profit. In times of fundamental change, values that were previously taken for granted are now strongly questioned. Many of these values are no longer followed. Consequently, there is no clear moral compass to guide leaders through complex dilemmas about what is right or wrong. Attention to ethics in the workplace sensitizes leaders and staff to how they should act. Perhaps most important, attention to ethics in the workplaces helps ensure that
The ethical lens that most accurately reflect the recommended solution is the Rights lens. This ethical lens emphasizes duties, obligations, rights, and responsibilities reflected through the deontological theories. By arranging a training program, Adam acknowledges Kelly’s right to having an equal opportunity to undertake the new role. He also performs his obligation to act responsibly toward his employer to appoint the right candidate for the new position; the training program will ensure that Kelly is well prepared to take on the Finance Executive role.
The problem to be investigated is the application of business ethics. In the business world, ethics are extremely important. Ethics are prime elements that help a business to grow and to become more productive. It is by applying proper business ethics that a business can operate in a moral or ethical business environment and managed to conduct all activities in a manner that maximizes profits while not compromising all other non-economic concerns(Schwab, 1996). Businesses have over the years failed to nurture business ethics in order to fulfill shareholders' interests and to have a culture that is oriented towards profit maximization and high performance(Jennings, 2012; Sims & Felton, 2006). This has led business to have gray areas in their activities. Gray areas are those situations or problems that do not fit exactly into any ethical analysis. These are the activities which may be represented to be immoral as a result of lying and false representations on the part of the business.
Ethical behavior is virtuous and beneficial for business in any type of organization. In healthcare, the outcomes are improved patient care, dedicated staff and healthcare providers, and amplified market share. It obliges leaders, managers, directors, and supervisors to have a comprehensive interpretation of the role of ethical decision making (Winkler, 2005). Ethical health care organizations have incorporated and combined ethical practices and values, continuing education on ethics for everyone involved, successful ethics substructure, and morally spirited and dauntless leaders (Winkler, 2005). These organizations have a vision and statements that directs behavior and decision making.
Ethics is an extremely relevant value in business and consulting. The presence of recognized ethics and/or ethical practices tends to diminish the need for informative or legal/contractual precautions in the formalization of relationships, for both of the parts involved in a
This case study was a powerful example to illustrate the presence of ethics within the
In their personal and professional lives, people can and, unfortunately, sometimes do go against their moral and ethical standards. Ethical standards are what it means to be a good person, the social rules that govern our behavior. Ethics in business is essentially the study of what constitutes the right and wrong or the good or bad behavior in the workplace environment. A business is an organization whose objective is to provide goods or services for profit. The organization has a group of people that work together to achieve a common purpose. The moral challenges that these men and women face each day along with a whole range of problems that could occur, are why ethics plays such an important