Introduction How does a company know how to balance a business that is both profitable and ethical? A great place to start is with leadership should having self-awareness and social-awareness. At times a company may put greed before addressing ethical issues. Therefore, understanding the emotions, attitudes, and the employees’ job satisfaction should play a major role in the company’s decision making. Trader Joe’s (2015) is a chain specialty food convenient store that was started in the 50s, and that due to employee job satisfaction, they had to make several necessary changes within the company. Trader Joe’s had to make these changes because employees impact the business, and meeting their needs will lead to a more successful company. Justice and Job Satisfaction “Trader Joe’s signed a fair food agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), an organization of largely Latino, Haitian, and indigenous Mayan immigrants in low-wage farm work in Florida” (Lujuan & Knol 2012). This CIW agreement is a major movement to promote a positive work environment for these farmworkers. Even though, these farmworkers are not direct employees of Trader Joe’s, it has a major influence in the company’s performance and job satisfaction for the workers. The first way that this is a positive business decision that the company made is because even though, Trader Joe’s has to pay a small premium more for their tomatoes, this agreement commits them to purchase the tomatoes with an ethical
We value the relationships along the path from “farm to fork” and realize it takes a lot of people, each providing a great service. Publix is currently the focus of a campaign by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) who seeks to pressure us to become involved in the employment relationship between Florida farmers who grow tomatoes and the farmworkers they employ to harvest their product. Since first approached by the CIW three years ago, we have consistently viewed this issue as a labor dispute” (Publix.com). Publix argues that the treatment of workers is an issue between employer and employees and is an issue that needs to be handled by the department of labor. However, they state if tomatoes farmers need to raise the overall price or tomatoes to give their employees better benefits they will pay the market price.
In a poor Detroit community with majority of its people living under the poverty line, is organic, higher priced food really a necessity? After researching what kind of people shopped in his stores, Walter Robb, the CEO of the well known Whole Foods, began to realize that race and income were a huge dividing line between who purchased the healthy, organic, and more expensive produce vs who shopped in discount stores like Aldi’s. Compelled by this research, he set out in hopes to not only fix health issues but decline the race separation as well. As we see this “investigation” advance, readers will see the true colors of this company’s goals and the outcome of their social experiment. In “Can Whole Foods Change the Way Poor People Eat?”, author Tracie McMillan uses ethos, pathos, and logos to inform readers that healthy food has the ability to change lives and to show individuals that the company wants to cut out social racism without breaking the bank, but it might not be that easy for Whole Foods itself to fix.
Though an upsurge of just one cent per pound of fruit picked would double the farmworkers pay, Publix, an employee-owned company, refuses to even sit down at the table with the CIW and perhaps unsurprisingly rejects that it controls the price of tomatoes. That extra penny would go a long way toward bringing migrant workers out of poverty and it seems like a small price to pay. Naturally, many retailers (who are making millions in profits) don’t quite see it that way. Forced to work 12 hour-days for free the average worker picks and drags 4,000 pounds of tomatoes a day during season. From 1997 to 2010, more than 1,200 workers have been liberated from similar situations in the area, largely due to the development and expansion of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW).
There are about three million farmworkers in the United States, most of whom are constantly putting their lives at risk because of their jobs (“Farm Worker Issues-.”). Farmworkers are the people who work in the crops on farms and pick the food. They are a major part of the United States economy, being that they are constantly providing consumers with fresh food. Even with all the work farmworkers do to support Americans, they barely get any support in return with the problems they are facing. Today, farmworkers lack basic labor protections and suffer from health issues caused by pesticide exposure; therefore consumers can buy food that is grown in socially responsible ways and support organizations, like Farmworker Justice, that work to improve the lives of farmworkers (“FARM WORKER FACTS-.” and KHEbbitt).
Past research has discovered that managers react to ethical dilemmas according to the situation. If specific values that are related to ethical behavior can be identified, they would offer strong tools for managers who want to retain high standards of ethical behavior in their society.
Ethics involve an individual's moral judgments concerning what is right and/or wrong. Individuals or groups of people are responsible for making decisions in an organization (shaw, 2008). Decisions within the organization are always emanate from the company's culture. However, the decision to act ethically and morally requires an individual judgment. Thus, members of staff are obligated to make decisions that reflect their right course of action (shaw, 2008). This involves rejecting the option that could lead to the greatest short-term gain. The leadership of most organizations stresses the need to adopt ethical behaviors and corporate social responsibility. Ethical dealings can earn the organization various benefits. For instance, it may attract more clients to the business thus boosting sales; employees could be motivated to stay longer in the organization thereby reducing recruitment expenditures. Ethical behaviors could also earn the business a favorable reputation that could attract investors. Categorically, a lack of social responsibility or unethical behavior may hurt the firm's reputation and scare away investors. Sales and profits could fall in the process.
Since the early years, we as human beings seeking ways of generating more and more profits for ourselves, during the exploration people discovered that it would be much more efficient to work together as partners, groups, teams, which would eventually creating an ‘organisation’ when certain requirements have been met. An organisation is defined by the business dictionary:
Ethics are values and principles that individuals use to govern his decisions and activities. Ethics are about moral judgment of an individual about right and wrong. In an organization, code of ethics refers to set of guiding principles and organizations use these principles in their policies, programs, and decisions for business. Within organizations, decisions are taken by groups or individuals and these decisions are influenced by the culture of the company. Decision making and relevance of ethics may also differ for nonprofit and for profit organizations. In contemporary business environment, organizations must have a clear ethical policy and implement it in proper manner. There are many social, legal and economic outcomes that company has to face in case of any ethical dilemma, so there must be a smart strategy to deal with ethical dilemmas. In this paper, we will address the ethics for nonprofit and profits organizations, ethical dilemmas being faced or faced by each of these companies and the outcomes of these ethical dilemmas. Critique of actions of each of these companies will be provided from the point of view of applicable philosophical theories of organizational ethics.
Our CEO Indra Nooyi implemented the “Performance with Purpose” guideline to help the company and employees make the right decisions. The company has also developed a Code of Conduct that addresses various business ethics issues such as bribery and conflicts of interest. PepsiCo expects the associates to be familiar with the Code of Conduct. The company also created a Chief Compliance Officer position to enforce the Code. In order to maintain our commitment to the communities and assorted stakeholders, the company has high standards for quality. By adhering to processes and ensuring proper governance, PepsiCo attempts to uphold its responsibilities and earn the confidence of stakeholders. To measure its progress and to make certain that it remains focused, PepsiCo has also developed the following six guiding principles that it uses to sustain its commitment. However, my example shows that we face ethical issues or questions even at a company that is established on how to handle unethical behaviors. It is largely at the individual level to act ethically. As we observed in the baby lab video, we are born with the universal moral core as well as the dark side of morality. As we grow older, society trained us to behavior ethically. However, when under pressure, we do regress to our younger selves. When we are faced with pressure and complications, decision making also become extremely difficult. Saying what is the right thing to do is easier than doing the right thing when you are in the situation. In the future, I will weigh in all four methods of ethical reasoning (virtue, interest, rights and duties) during the decision-making process. I believe that having the proper tools and help will guide me in making the right
Being ethical as a company is important for both, consumers and the media. It’s also important for employees to feel that they are working toward the good of the people. Belonging to a company that
Being able to adjust and adapt, will be the requirements for leaders to excel ethically in a diverse workplace. Although being ethical is a daunting tasks to accomplish, it is necessary and vital component for the growth of a business. Creating and sustaining an ethical diverse workplace involves fair treatment, self control, transparency, and appreciation of all people. If all else fails, money seem to be a resolution that many companies opt
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.
Companies are supposed to be able to achieve and demonstrate an ever increasing performance showing improvement on leading in their industries to acquire competitive advantages. Having a high level of performance could be greatest achieved with competent and motivated employees. The conduct of business in an organization with an ethical manner is of great importance to secure an increasing performance as well. Organizations functioning towards ethical standards should ensure unbiased applications of business and recall a sense of justice to stimulate motivation among their employees. Employees that are motivated through a positive ethical organizational climate and leadership do much better than a less motivated employee. This promotes the organizational achievement that causes
There is a very fine line between what is morally right or wrong. As a student of this subject, I believe it all depends on a company’s ethical conduct that how likely it’s going to perform in the long run (Bob Worcester, 2007). The ‘week 4’ assignment enabled me introspect myself and bring out some of the core ethical values which I believe are inherited by me and should be inculcated by all business leaders. These core ethical values are honesty, fair/rational behaviour, dedication, emotional intelligence and bravery. Sometimes, values such as honesty and rationalism can be difficult to abide in all situations but such ethical practices build grounds of trust and loyalty with people who take interest in the business such as staff, external competitors, shareholders, customers and other entities (Chron. Alyson Paige). When employers deal honestly and rationally with their staff, employees are motivated to drive the business forward. Creditors and investors express confidence by funding company development and consumer confidence is positive. As a consequence, their organizations will have a greater chance at achieving longevity and profitability (Jean Thilmany, 2007).
In the modern world, two things are most sought after: goodness and prosperity. However, given the innate nature of mankind, and his compulsions towards greed and selfishness, complete morality is impossible. This idea has roots in the definitions and ideals found in utilitarianism, a term that will be defined later, and has led many to call business ethics an oxymoron. “In the US generally, the ethical road that is paved with good corporate intentions and constructive programs includes some bumps,” (McClenahen 60). Although bumps may exist, many companies are striving for excellence in this area as statistics show ethics are related to customer loyalty 's. These businesses have found that improvements can be found through understanding and action. Business leaders can increase morals by understand utilitarianism, leadership, correct forms of communication, and how these affect customers.