ethics final

What are some of the key ideas or concepts that you learned from the NASBA center for the pubic trust, ethical leadership certification program

ways to identify ethical issues & how to overcome them.

Should clearance pricing be regulated? Whichever stance you take, please thoroughly defend your position.

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what are the minimum requirements for ethics and compliance programs (7 requirements of Federal Sentence guidelines for Organizations)

1. Standards and procedures, such as code of ethics, that are reasonably capable of detecting and preventing misconduct. 2. High level personnel who are responsible for an ethics and compliance program. 3. No substantial discretionary authority given to individuals with a propensity for misconduct. 4. Standards and procedures communicated effectively via ethics training programs. 5. Systems to monitor, audit, and report misconduct. 6. Consistent enforcement of standards, codes, and punishment. 7. Continous improvement of the ethics and compliance program.

What is the ethics audit and how does it assist in managing organizational ethics?

An ethics audit is a systematic evolution of an organizations ethics program and performance to determine effectiveness. the audit provides an opportunity to measure conformity to the firms desired ethical standards. An audit can be a precursor to setting up an ethics program, as it identifies the irma ethical standards as well as its existing policies and risk areas. Companies can use ethics audits to detect misconduct before it becomes a major problem, and audits provide evidence of a firms attempts to identify and deal with major ethical risks.

define corporate culture and tis relationship to ethical culture

Corporate Culture can be defined as a set of values, norms, and artifacts, including ways of solving problems that employees of an organization share. Ethical culture reflects the integrity of decisions made and is a function of many factors, including corporate policies, top management's leadership on ethical issues, the influence of co workers, and the opportunity for unethical behavior. Corporate culture and ethical culture are closely associated with the idea of significant others within the organization help determine ethical decisions with that organization.

What are some of the ethical challenges faced by Walmart? What is Walmart doing from a social responsibility perspective to enhance its CSR objectives?

Bribery scandals (Welmex) and safety standards (warehouse deaths) encourages its suppliers to be more sustainable and holds them accountable for their actions.

How does cultural relativism relate to international ethical decision making?

Culture relativism is the concept that morality varies from one culture to another and that "right" or "wrong" are defined differently.

What is a code of ethics and a code of conduct? Define and explain how they differ

Codes of conduct are formal statements that describe what an organization expects of its employees. A code of ethics is the most comprehensive and consists of general statements, sometimes altruistic or inspirational, that serve as principles and as the basis for rules of conduct. A code of ethics generally specifics methods for reporting violations, disciplinary action for violations, and a structure of due process.

how does differential association relate to ethical decision making?

Differential association is the idea that people learn ethical or unethical behavior while interacting with others who are part of their role- sets or belong to intimate personal groups. The learning process is more likely to result in unethical behavior if the individual associates primarily with the persons who behave unethically. For example, several research studies found that employees, especially young managers, tend to go along with their superiors moral judgements to demonstrate loyalty.

How does ethical issue intensity affect ethical decision making?

Ethical issue intensity can be defined as the relevance or importance of an event or decision in the eyes of the individual, work group, and/ or organization. It reflects the ethical sensitivity of the individual and/or work group facing the ethical decision making process. Research suggests that individuals are subject to six "spheres of influence" when confronted with ethical choices- the workplace, family, religion, legal system, community, and profession.

What are the local ethical issues faced by Google and does it adhere to the "Don't be evil" policy?

Google has faced many ethical issues throughout their existence that have caused some issues. They have been caught up in many consumer privacy lawsuits such as a change to merge users browsing data, search data, and email data to create more robust user profiles. This change was seen by many as a breach on the US law prohibiting Unfair or deceptive acts. Competitors also saw an issue with change because it made it harder for them to compete in the digital ad market. Also google was sued for compiling information from individual's computers while their street view vehicle traveled around the country. Google settled this case with thirty eight states for seven million. The were also fined 2.6 million by the EU for unfairly steering shoppers away from competitors and onto their own shopping platform. They have also face some issues with their employee treatment such a poor record of hiring & promoting minorities and women. Two women brought a suit against google for systematically paying women less than men who perform similar jobs.

What can ethical leaders do to manage variation in employee conduct? (ethical diversity)

It is vital companies provide communication and control mechanisms to maintain an ethical culture. Companies that fail to monitor activities and enforce ethics policies provide a low- risk environment for those employees inclined to take advantage of situations to accomplish their personal, and sometimes unethical, objectives. Good business practices and concerns for the law require organizations to recognize the variation in employees desires to be ethical.

What are some of the ethical challenges faced by multinational operations?

Labor saving putting jobs in areas with a lower wage rate. Exploration of both natural and human resources. Exploiting labor markets of host countries. Unfair competition (able to pay higher rates than smaller companies)

What are some of the activitites that Zappos strives to impliment to create a corporate culture that attracts quality people? what is a halocracy and how does it impact zaps employees?

New hires begin by attending a five week training program that include two weeks on the phones at a call center and one week filling orders in the warehouse. At the end of the training program, zappos makes "The Offer" which gives people who are not committed nap room, a wellness center, and an open mic in the cafeteria. Employees also enjoy benefits like an extensive health care plan that covers 100 percent of medical expenses and 85 percent of dependent expenses. Zaps has even gone so far as to adoptt a Holgacracy, a decentralized organizational structure that eliminates traditional management and empowers employees to manage themselves.

What are the normative approaches to ethical decision making?

Normative approaches are how organizational decision makers SHOULD approach an issue. The word "normative" is equivalent to an ideal standard. It revolves around the standards of behavior within the firm as well as within the industry. These normative rules and standards are based on individual moral values as well as the collective values of the organization. the normative approach for business ethics is concerned with general values (concepts like fairness and justice). Normative values largely originate from family, friends, and more institutional affiliations such as religion and government.

What is the role of corporate culture in ethical deciscion making?

Operate culture and ethical culture are closely associated with the idea that significant others within the organization help determine ethical deciscions within that organization. Research indicates the ethical values embodied in an organizations culture are positively correlated to employees commitment to the firm and their sense that they fit into the company. These findings suggest companies should develop and promote their values to enhance employees experiences in the workplace. The more employees perceive an organizations culture to be ethical, the less likely they are to make unethical decisions.

define and explain the difference between principles and values

Principles are widely accepted, develop values and standards, establishes boundaries and is valued across cultures. Values are subjective by choice, develop norms, provides guidance to organizations and differs from across cultures.

How does the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act impact global businesses? What is the difference between the two? Which is considered "more stringent" or tough?

The FCPA prohibits American companies from making payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. The U.K. bribery act overlaps with the FCPA but takes it a step further. Unlike the FCPA, companies are not required to have a explicit knowledge of a bribe to be held criminally liable. Under the law british residents and businesses, as well as foreign companies with operations in the united kingdom, can be held liable for bribery, no matter where the offense is committed with the united kingdom. The U.K. bribery act is tougher.

What is the difference between values- based and compliance- based ethical cultures?

The accounting professional model of rules created a compliance culture organized around risk. This culture uses a legalistic approach to ethics and use laws and regulatory rules to create codes and requirements. Codes of conduct are established with compliance as their focus, with rules and policie enforced by management. Instead of revolving around an ethical culture, the company revolves around risk management. The value- based ethics culture relies upon an explicit mission statement that defines the core values of the firm and how customers and employees should be treated. The focus of this type of corporate culture is on values such as trust, transparency, and respect to help employees identity and deal with ethical issues.

What is the framework or the factors that describe ethical decision making in business?

The framework includes ethical issue intensity, individual factors, organizational factors, and opportunity. All of these interrelated factors influence the evaluations of and intentions behind the decisions that produce ethical or unethical behavior.

What is ethical crisis management and recovery? Give an example of how such plan can assist indexing with ethical misconduct within the organization.

This process is extremely important to the long term well being of an organization. It is worth nothing that many common risks, such as reputation, product quality, litigation, and more, have an ethical component. indeed, ethical risks can be just as damaging as natural disaster risks because a firm that gains a reputation for being unethical will likely lose investors, customers, and employees. It can take many years for a company to recover from a misconduct disaster. Example: (possibly) cybersecurity risk areas being managed.

Why is there a need for an organizations ethics program?

To promote legal and ethical conduct, an organization should develop a program by establishing, communicating, and monitoring the ethical values and legal requirements that characterize its history, culture, industry, and operating environment. Without such programs, uniform standards, and policies of conduct, it is difficult for employees to determine what behaviors are acceptable within a company.

Related to evaluating nonfiancial ethics, define the following a) Triple bottom line b) Six sigma

Triple bottom line- provides a perspective that takes into account the social, environmental, and financial impacts of decisions made within an organization. six sigma- a methodology designed to manage process variations that cause defects, defined as unacceptable deviations form the mean or target, and to systematically work toward managing variation to eliminate those defects. The objective is to deliver world- class performance, reliability, and value to the end customer.

What are some of the ethical issues faced by Wells Fargo Bank in the sales area? How can wells fargo prevent future ethical misconduct lapses?

Wells fargo faked two million customer accounts to meet short term sales goals ; further investigations revealed a controversial employee sales goals program which likely encouraged employees to open these fradulent accounts to meet those goals.

What are the challenges that whistle - blowers face and how can companies help support a reporting culture when perceived misconduct is observed?

Whistle- blowers are sometime refrain from reporting the ethical misconduct they have seen for fear of being retaliated against by the company or the employees committing the ethical misconduct. Legal protection for whistle- blowers exists to encourage reports of misconduct. Laws have provisions against retaliations and are enforced by a number of government agencies. Some of these laws include Sarbanes- Oxley Act and the Dodd- Frank Act which protect whistle blowers and propose incentives for them as well.