Case Study on Business Ethics

Introduction

When it comes to potentially contentious topics like corporate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, corporate social responsibility, and fiduciary duties, business ethics is the study of appropriate business rules and practices (Brenkert and Beauchamp 12). Even though it’s common to assume that ethical and legal difficulties are comparable, laws are made and enforced by the government, but ethics are established by society and are not subject to legal restrictions. Human conscience and moral standards are at the heart of ethics, which might vary from person to person. On the other hand, laws are requirements in a nation and are illegal if broken. This calls for a higher moral obligation in businesses since they cannot be compelled to be ethical (Levitt and Moorhead 13).

Corporate Policies That Reflect the Organization’s Culture and Ethical Viewpoints

As the Human Resource Manager at TechFite charged with the ethical dilemma in this situation, I would propose a number of corporate policies to curb and prevent their occurrence in future. The first policy would be about employee benefits. Workers engaged on a part-time basis should also enjoy benefits so that a 1-2 hour short of the 40-hour requirement for full-time employees does not leave them out. Permanent staff will have more benefits than the casual employees but not significantly, so that the company will find it more economical to hire a dozen temporary employees, with only two full-time workers. The benefits should include, but not limited to, health and housing but in different measures.

The second policy will be the incorporation of a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) clause in company policies. This is an effort to ensure that the firm appraises their CSR projects, ensuring that they are reasonable, sustainable and within the company’s budget. Having this clause as part of the organization constitution will also guarantee that projects in CSR are followed through to completion within the stipulated timelines.

The third policy is that of holding interactive and engaging budgetary meetings whose aim is to promote transparency, and accountability in the organization. When employees are involved in major decision-making processes such as budgeting, they have a better sense of belonging. This encourages a sense of accountability not only for the top executives but also among those in the lower cadres. During such consultative and inclusive meetings, top executives will rarely be in a position to award themselves hefty bonuses at the expense of their employees or ongoing CSR projects.

For these to be effective, it is important for the organization to have an ethics officer. The Society for Human Resource Management describes an ethics officer as the person who serves as the firm’s internal control point for ethics and improprieties, allegations, complaints and conflict of interest. The individual is also charged with the responsibility of providing corporate leadership and advice on corporate governance issues. Accordingly, TechFite’s ethics officer would be required to handle pertinent ethical issues presented in the case scenario. They include poor employee hourly pay, inadequate budgeting to allow for proper optimization of resources, excessive bonuses by top executives, and delays or even refusal to participate in the already agreed upon corporate social responsibility projects on local youth leadership.

In handling the mentioned issues, it is critical to pay special attention to the reasons behind these occurrences. The failure to implement the projects could be as a result of the greed of top officials, or a conspiracy among the top officials. Another important aspect should be checking whether the organization provides a conducive environment for whistleblowing, transparency and accountability. TechFite prides itself on its culture of workplace collaboration and leadership development. The organization also has a culture of encouraging worker empowerment and engagement in organizational decision-making processes. While also priding itself on its active involvement in the communities surrounding them, the three policies are clearly representative of TechFite’s cultural and ethical viewpoints.

Corporate Social Responsibility and its Application to the Scenario

According to Hopkins (22), corporate social responsibility is a business approach that contributes to sustainable development by achieving economic, social and environmental benefits for all stakeholders. Brennan (14) stated that CSR is the lifelong commitment by businesses to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large.

Accordingly, TechFite must put up a strategy to address the corporate social responsibility to be well accepted by the community. Businesses that are in conflict with their surrounding societies face diverse struggles and challenges, including the reluctance to being part of the organization’s agendas. This may result in a negative attitude that affects employee productivity since the workers are also members of the external population. The Dellberg factory has failed the local community by dishonoring their promise to sponsor community events to support local youth leadership development programs and to invest in infrastructure to aid in the rebuilding of the city of Dellberg utilizing environmentally responsible techniques. Besides, the issue involving the complaints by employees regarding wages, benefits, and weekly hours does not augur well with the community and has gradually led to deteriorating relationships with TechFite. The failure to meet the commitments made to city officials for involvement in the community is harming the company’s image.

For the examples presented, TechFite is charged with the responsibility of addressing the problems, the first being the local youth leadership project. Since the company made a commitment to the council, it is important to uphold honesty and consistency so that the weakening relationships can be repaired in time. Planning a meeting for dialogue should be on the agenda as the two teams seek how best, in terms of time and finances, to move forward. Next, the executives should hold a sitting with all employees, offering them an opportunity and environment to air out their issues. Disgruntled and aggrieved employees are seldom productive. In the meeting, both parties must make reasonable, practical, and enforceable decisions and recommendations to reassure the employees. Lastly, TechFite should address the issue regarding the huge bonuses awarded to the company’s top executives. If members of the same organization feel there are unfair treatment and dealings, they will continue to complain and feel undervalued. In view of this, amendments should be made to have the top executives receiving bonuses only as a reward for hard work like all other employees. Similarly, the bonuses may be paid in equal ratios, or as percentages of monthly or annual earnings. This will help employees together with the society to trust and work well with top leadership.

The attempt of these courses of action is to bring about coherence and cohesiveness in the organization. Ensuring that employees are reasonably satisfied, they can trust the organization they work for and they can be good brand ambassadors for their organization. The community, in turn, will love the business and will be willing to help with their resources; including but not limited to: finances, ideas, expertise, and moral support.

Conclusion

Like all other organizations, TechFite should ensure they have a deliberate corporate social responsibility plan as well as a business ethics code of conduct that allows for the business to easily solve dilemmas. It is also important to create a company culture of accountability and openness so that such issues can be freely aired.

Works Cited

Brenkert, George and Beauchamp, Tom. The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics. Oxford University Press. 2012.

Brennan, Daniel. Corporate Social Responsibility: The Corporate Governance of the 21st Century. Kluwer Law International. 2014

Hopkins, Michael. Corporate Social Responsibility and International Development: Is Business the Solution? Earthscan, 2012

Levitt, Heller and Moorhead, Holly. Values and Ethics in Counseling: Real-Life Ethical Decision Making. Routledge. 2013.