Ethics of Decision Making Paper Example

DQ1: Ethics of Decision Making

The writer argues that when a company makes ethical decisions, it can avoid many ripple effects which would result from doing otherwise. According to Margolis, 2007 cited in his article, there is a direct relationship between cooperate social responsibility and cooperate financial performance. It is the expectation and demands of the company towards the employees that will make them either engage in an ethical or unethical behavior. He concludes the article by stating that two topics he would train employees which include ethical decision making and going green (Margolis, 2007).

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The arguments in the article are real and correct. In the 21st century, according to Koonmee et al., 2010, the government and current management executives have had to accept that consumers are stakeholders too in the business. They demand both legal and ethical rights from the modern day company. The consumers expect the company to engage in corporate social responsibility and adhere to ethical standards in respect to the consumers. This means that companies should always make ethical decisions that are not necessarily financial but may have a negative impact on the company's image thus affecting profitability. In agreement with the article, it is vital to ensure that the company's employees maintain ethical standards when dealing with consumers and this can only be realized through continuous monitoring and training. Going green is a matter of ethics that has to be made to ensure the company does not support environmental pollution activities. The article is right in the assertions made (Koonmee et al., 2010).

References

Koonmee, K., Singhapakdi, A., Virakul, B., & Lee, D. J. (2010). Ethics institutionalization, quality of work life, and employee job-related outcomes: A survey of human resource managers in Thailand. Journal of business research, 63(1), 20-26.

Margolis, J. (2007, November 01). Does it pay to be good? (Rep.). Retrieved October 21, 2018, from https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/m-rcbg/papers/seminars/margolis_november_07.pdf

DQ2: Ethical Principles a Company Should Consider in Decision Making

According to the article, the writer considers three ethical principles. The principles a company should consider are fidelity, legality, and consideration of the impact of the decision made. The writer argues that it is crucial for the managers to remain faithful to a promise made and ensuring that the decision made is within the legal framework while still considering the effects of that decision. In as much as the three ethical principles are essential in the company's decision-making process, it is important to note that they are not the only ethical principles that can be considered. The three principles cited in the article can only be regarded as the opinion of the writer and are part of many other ethical principles. However, the article is right in arguing that ethical principles should be adhered to (Ferrell and Fraedrich, 2015).

The writer's arguments in the article are valid but cannot always be considered when making a decision. Sometimes the government may pass laws that force a company to make certain decisions that might impact the consumer negatively for example increase in product's cost. The company has a responsibility for making such decisions without considering the impacts it will have on the consumers because it is a mandatory requirement. The writer regarding fidelity as an ethical principle argues that it is always important to keep a promise to the consumer. It cannot still be the case because circumstances may have changed forcing the manager not to keep the promise made. On the question of whether the company where the writer works observes ethical standards, the writer responds that on legality the manager does follow the ethical standards, but on fidelity, the manager fails. It would be wrong to consider the manager as unfaithful while the fact is that circumstances and situations might have changed from the day the promise was made (Crane and Matten, 2016).

References

Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.

Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson Education.

DQ3: How to Make Ethical Decisions

It is critical for a company to have ethical guidelines framework that will guide the top management in decision making. The writer argues that the principles in ethical decision making include creating a code of ethics for the company, considering the effects of a decision made, observe industry regulations, consult others and learn from past mistakes of decisions made (Rutherford et al., 2012). These are some of the ethical guidelines the writer argues he would consider if given an opportunity giving examples of two Companies Linamar and Marriott as his case studies. I agree with his arguments and observations on this. When a company has the code of ethics that are agreed upon by all, it guides the company's top leadership and other staff in making the right decisions that are ethical according to the company's standards of ethics. Using decisions made in the past as a guide in future decision making helps the company to make right its past mistake thus helping in the process of making ethical decisions that are favorable to all stakeholders (Shapiro and Stefkovich, 2016).

References

Rutherford, M. A., Parks, L., Cavazos, D. E., & White, C. D. (2012). Business ethics as a required course: Investigating the factors impacting the decision to require ethics in the undergraduate business core curriculum. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 11(2), 174-186.

Shapiro, J. P., & Stefkovich, J. A. (2016). Ethical leadership and decision making in education: Applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas. Routledge.