Cheese Cake Factory

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.

Another limit to ethical behaviour at McDonald’s might be training and discipline within the company. For example, if an experienced employee was selected for a course or was offered a promotion, another employee might find it unfair and discriminative. Similar situation could possibly happen when it comes to discipline, for example a manager would treat employees making the same mistake differently and favour one person more than another. If any of the employees made an official complaint about any of those, it could lead to publicity’s hesitation and bad relations between employees within the company and its suppliers.

We as business owners, management and or in a role of authority must set, address and comply with a solid foundation of ethics. “A code of conduct is the single most important element of your ethics and compliance program. It sets the tone and direction for the entire function. Often, the code is a standalone document, ideally only a few pages in length. It introduces the concept of ethics and compliance and provides an overview of what you mean when you talk about ethical business conduct.”

Another important factor to consider is if each of the organization's employees is being treated fairly. An organization should ensure that they create and follow a code of ethics in which employees feel that both the employee and the employer are held accountable and encouraged to be ethical in treatment to one another. This translates as a feeling by employees that the employer trusts them in their jobs and professions and that all employees are treated fairly and justly in all actions and company pursuits. This means that each employee should be treated

Communication is the most important aspects to running a successful business. Inefficient communication can negatively impact the company in various ways. If there is harassment or our equal opportunity obligations are not being maintained, it can lead to hostility, distrust and loss of respect between staff members and it could potentially lead to emotionally distraught staff members, poor customer service and even a lawsuit. Also, The Cheesecake Factory requires all staff members to cooperate with investigations of possible violations. The Cheesecake Factory has developed an employee staff relations hotline to help prevent these potential outcomes and resolve any situations that do not coincide with The Cheesecake Factory’s code of ethics. The last key element to The Cheesecake Factory’s code of ethics is the supervisor’s roles and responsibilities. Supervisors are the personnel for ensuring the cooperation and enforcement of the Cheesecake Factories code of ethics. Supervisors are responsible for knowing the company’s policies and conducting themselves in a professional matter. Managers and supervisors are responsible for disciplining staff members in a private setting upon the breach of the policies and the code of ethics.

When we first open The Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Beverley Hills, California, the seeds of “service-mindedness” and

A code of conduct and a statement of formal statements describe and explain what an organization expects from its employees and a code of ethics generally consists of statements that serve as principles and basis for rules of conduct. Leaders and managers must be role models for organizational success. If employees see leaders and management demonstrating the organizational values then it adds to the commitment and credibility of leadership and reinforces the importance of the organization’s values which leads to employees who are more engaged and committed to the organization. Also turnover among employees tends to be lower and productivity tends to be high. On the other hand, if leadership demonstrates behavior that is inconsistent with the code of conduct then a negative message is sent to the employees. Therefore, employees may disengage and compromise company standards as seen in the

“Analytically, a corporation’s code of ethics is the documented, formal, and legal manifestation of that organization’s expectations of ethical behaviors by its employees” (Adelstein & Clegg, 2016, p. 55). The corporate credos and code of conducts provide employees with an understanding of the policies of the organization and the organizational ethical position. For these codes to be effective, all employees of the organization must be aware of them. The visibility of the code of conduct that enables the organization to be judged as ethical.

We found that although a code of conduct, ethics hotline, and newsletter exist, none were consistently used, enforced, or reinforced by company employees or management. For example, upon joining the company, employees must sign a code of conduct; however, management has not made a sustained effort to implement or reinforce the code.

The third importance code of ethics is supervisors. The cheesecake factory code of ethics states if you are in a supervisory role, you must conduct yourself in a professional regardless of whether you are on duty or Company premises. Managers and supervisors have a responsibility to know and follow all of our policies and procedures, and to uphold the Company’s best interests at all

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated is in the “Restaurant Industry.” It started in the 1940s in the home of Oscar and Evelyn Overton. The business was so successful that in 1971, they moved the cheesecake business to Los Angeles and named it “The Cheesecake Factory”. In 1978, their son David founded The Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Beverly Hills and 30 years later you can find their restaurant in towns and cities all over the United States with new businesses opening all the time.

In the workplace as well as one’s personal life is essential for ethics to be maintained; often taking the right action is not always the most popular choice. It is important for maintaining an upstanding ethical code of conduct to be a productive individual as well as function as an employee in the workplace.

For the most part the topics discussed in their code of conduct are fairly standard of the codes of conduct I have seen in the past and the section titles do a fairly good job of summarizing their content on their own. In short, their code of conduct instructs there employees to follow the laws/rules, avoid conflict of interest, do not commit insider trading, do not use company assets or information for you own personal benefit, don’t compete with the company, do not except bribes or inappropriate gifts, perform your work in a fair and honest fashion, don’t discriminate or harass, work safe and report accidents/hazards, don’t use or be under the influence of drugs at work, keep accurate records, don’t violate confidentiality, don’t steal company property, be careful to no damage company property, report violations, a guideline for making ethical decisions, and technical details concerning waivers and guidelines specifically for the CEO and senior financial officers.

A copy of McDonald’s code of ethics is issued to the chief financial officer to the crew members everyone has to confirm their acceptance by signing with their signature. The directors of the company have to sign a code of conduct annually. The commitment of the code of conduct is displayed in the values of the company. It agrees to enforce honesty, fairness, and integrity, and good judgment. The code of business conduct and ethics is not a contract, but is used as a guide to help members of McDonald’s. McDonald’s Corporation has a copy of the code of conduct posted on their web site. McDonald’s expected anyone operating within its system to be aware of their standards, but would like for their associates to organize and input their own policies of similar code of conduct. The basis of McDonald’s is that it is truthful, ethical, and dependable, and it operates by good reputation (Ray Kroc, 1958). McDonald’s

    The case “Does this milkshake taste funny?” presents a situation, where company employees  were confronted with an ethical decision.  Their thoughts and actions were shaped by several factors,  including their personal moral values and the corporate culture engendered by the management of the  company for which they work.  This case provides an example of how a lack of a code of ethics or ethical  training within a corporation can lead to negative consequences.    The major players in the case are the night shift employees of Eastern Dairy, and the  management of this company that set up the rules and expectations for the night shift.  The background  and the ethical situation