In a world obsessed with profit and revenue, some companies forgo their morals for financial profit. These companies tend to operate with a lack of “transparency” on numerous levels: externally, in regards to how the business interacts with consumers; and internally, in regards to how management makes decisions and steer the company. In order to display the importance of “transparency,” one must know how “transparency” works / what it is. Once this knowledge is established, incorporation and sustainment of “transparency” become the next the objective. By achieving “transparency,” a company benefit greatly in multiple facets, where they may have suffered before. An ideal way to see these benefits or consequences is to view real-world examples of “transparency” and “non-transparency” in ethical and unethical companies, respectively.
To further understand the meaningful impact transparency has on a company’s perceived person, one must fully comprehend what “transparency” encompasses within a business environment. Andrew Schnackenberg, a professor of Management Sciences at Daniels College of Business, defines transparency as “the perceived quality of intentionally shared information from a sender.” {4} From that definition, it can be seen that transparency is apparent in everyday life, regardless of its perceived importance. A relatable everyday example would be dealing with a company’s customer service department, to say, file a complaint about a defective product. The
In today’s 21st century, it takes good ethics for every company to strive competitively to maintain as the best top competitor in their industries; and has its provocations of smart goal as to how successfully they anticipate their business to function, when it comes to finances, attracting and recruiting employees, begin an admirable corporation to citizens, and while showing customers and employees love, courteous, and appreciation. Companies forestall unethical behavior of bad reputation to uphold the organization values. These atrocious speculations can permanently cause decreased revenues and will degrade the company name, sometimes irreparably damaged.
The author Robert Solomon argues that ethics has to an integral part with regard to business management. He does not believe that business management must include unethical or illegal methods to be able to succeed. Solomon preaches that business management is not as simple as obtaining revenue. “Businesses need to abide by fair policies and their owners have to be ethical in dealing with their customers” (Shaw p. 37). The author acknowledges that while illegal practices in business management could bring positive results at first, eventually the business is bound to fail. This is why Solomon recommended eight important policies that can help businesses in integrating ethics into their operations.
The corporate world has an unfavorable view of itself by being selfish, evil, and against the average American. Companies market themselves and their products in certain ways that makes them and their products appealing to everyone and if not everyone then a certain group of people. Every company has a mission to follow and values to go by, but some companies lack ethics and morals. In this paper I am going to talk about one company that engages in ethical behavior and another that doesn’t.
Many may ask the question, why is transparency so important to people. Maybe its because some people place such a high value on transparency because it can help to cause change on different levels. Changes can occur within a corporation or government, which can change the way it the government functions. Transparency can also create a change in the way government and companies relate to the public. And, it can result in groups being able to participate in lawmaking that may not have had that opportunity beforehand. It could be that people are witnessing a new world transformation.
Organizations have put a high priority on ethics, which can be hard to balance in the highly competitive business world. But with the advancements in technology and social media, consumers are highly aware of how an organization behaves – and this information travels the world quickly. There is little
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.
The problem to be investigated is the conflict that can arise within companies between doing what is right (or moral) and doing what is often viewed as more important the attainment of corporate goals. This conflict is highlighted in the case study involving Fannie Mae (FM). (Jennings, 2009) In this case, corporate executives choose to focus on corporate goals and meeting the market expectations, ignoring any moral issued witch conflicted with the attainment of their goal. (Jennings, 2009) To understand the reasons for the executives actions and learn from their mistakes and misjudgments the following topics are reviewed: 1) ethics and social responsibility, 2) the importance of devolution, 3) the power and value of incentive plans, 4)
This case overall probes into 3 basic financial statements of the company and management’s view as well as auditors comments on it. It teaches about how business ethics and corporate governance works.
In today’s society crime occurs everyday across all aspects of life. One particular crime is that of white collar and corporate level crime. It is important that we as a society study this type of crime in depth because many individuals believe that white collar and corporate level crimes are victimless crimes when in reality they have the potential to destroy major corporations and economies all with one single case. The news or media rarely talk about this type of crime because it is often difficult to understand and individuals typically lack interest in these types of cases. One particular case is that of Jordan Belfort. Dubbed the infamous “Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort is a former stockbroker who robbed investors of over $200 million dollars to create his wealth through “pump and dump” schemes, insider trading, money laundering securities fraud, and stock-market manipulation. As an attempt to further understand these complex cases I will break down Belfort’s case as far as the methods and means as to how he got started, his use of “pump and dump” schemes and other means as to how he acquired his wealth. In addition to this I will discuss the sanctions and disciplinary action that Jordan Belfort was given, how the case affected society and what new regulations were
(Panza & Potthast, n.d.) Ethics is very important to a company’s success. Ethical behavior can bring benefits to a business. They can attract customers, which can lead to a boost in sales and profits. It can attract the right employees and increase productivity. It can also attract investors and keep the company’s share price high. Unethical behavior on the other hand can damage a company’s reputation and make it less appealing to stakeholders. It could also result in lower profits.
Every organization also has a profession responsibility to conduct business honestly and ethically. Our readings reported, “Experts estimated that U.S. companies lose about $600 billion a year from unethical and criminal behavior” Kinicki and Kreitner (2009). The organization could avoid having ethical issues by meeting the
The Honest Company, based out of Playa Vista, CA and co-founded in 2011 by actress Jessica Alba and entrepreneur Christopher Gavigan, strives to be honest in its labeling of natural health, beauty, home, and wellness products. Since its inception, the company claims that its products contain no harsh chemicals, and are eco-friendly. Alba founded the Honest Company as a new mom who was concerned that regulations allowed manufacturers to include harmful toxins in products; the goal of Honest was to provide products that were “not only effective, but unquestionably safe, eco-friendly, beautiful, convenient, and affordable.” Today, the company is known for its “savvy style, sustainability, and extraordinary service & convenience all wrapped in
The purpose of this paper is to examine an ethical dilemma faced by a company who manufactures critical components for a pacemaker developer. The consequentialist ethical theory of utilitarianism will be used to evaluate the moral implications this company has in continuing further manufacturing for their pacemaker client. An overview of utilitarian ethics will be discussed, focused primarily around 17th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham’s ideas about ethics. His framework will be used to present factors that influence the transistor company’s business decision. Finally, the Utility Test and Common Good Test will be applied to the company’s predicament to help determine the correct ethical course of action for this
Business ethics since the beginning of this decade has been slowly eroding; if we are to believe what we see and hear in the media. Several times a day, one can view some derogatory piece of information concerning a business. However, it must also be considered that these companies are contributing to that stigma. There have been a variety of companies and individuals who have figured prominently in the media concerning their unethical behavior.
1. Openness and Transparency. In the textbook, transparency represents providing clear and equal access of material company information on a regular basis to all investors to allow for informed investment decisions and the ongoing monitoring of the company’s activities. The Satyam scandal erupted when its founder and chairman admitted falsifying accounts of over $1 billion. As the details of what happened unfold, the need for openness and transparency comes into sharp focus.