ACCT 210 – Ch 3 Class Discussion #1: Ethics in the Workplace
In Chapter 3, we learn about how the ethical climate within a business organization can impact the behavior of its employees – both positively and negatively. Now that you know a little bit about how organizational culture is formed and its impact on ethical behavior, I want you to turn a critical eye on your own employer and evaluate the ethical climate within your own organization. Some things you may want to consider are:
What policies and procedures does your employer have in place to promote ethics (see list on page 143-144)?
Do you believe those policies and procedures are having the desired effect?
What do you think your employer could do to improve the ethical climate within your organization?
How does the Ethical Dissonance Model apply to you and your choice of employer? How does it impact your employer’s hiring decisions? (see page 122-124)
How would you characterize the “tone at the top” (see page 144)?
Do you believe the leaders within your Company display ethical leadership traits (see page 119)?
What is your employer’s views on Corporate Social Responsibility? Do they use the “economic model” or take a broader view based on the “stakeholder model” (see page 127-9)?
You do not need to answer all of the questions above – but these are just some ideas to get you started. You do not need to name your employer if you do not want to, but it may be helpful to know the general type of business/industry. If you do not currently have an employer or organization, consider a previous employer, the employer of a friend or relative (you may need to interview them to find out more), or a company that you have observed in current events. If you choose to interview someone else, you must add in your own analysis and suggestions for improvement based on what you have learned in this course.
To get full credit, you MUST do the following:
Apply some of the terms/concepts that we learned in this Chapter within your comment in order to demonstrate your understanding of the concepts.
Be as specific as possible and give examples to support your comments. Simply saying “My employer is ethical and has a good tone at the top” is not sufficient. Explain exactly how they are ethical, and give an example of how they have set the tone at the top.
Go beyond mere description of the policies/procedures – you must also include your opinion and analysis of the policies/procedures based on what you have learned in this chapter.
Please post an initial response of 5-10 sentences by Thursday at 11:59pm.
Reply to at least two classmates in 3-5 sentences by Sunday at 11:59pm.
