Hypocrisy in Behavior Regulation, Outline Example

Introduction

• A major issue in the field of business ethics is the delegation of rules and the parties that are responsible for following these rules
• Business leaders who promulgate rules regulating behavior typically do not follow them
• It is necessary to define the ethical responsibilities for top business leaders in their companies
• Although the responsibilities of CEOs, presidents, board members, and managers are unique due to hierarchical differences, it is essential to emphasize ethical obligations at all levels
• It would be useful to analyze leadership ethics as it pertains to concepts of corporate social responsibility and moral boundaries
• Violation of these basic expectations have contributed to controversies and negative attention towards the companies responsible
• Corporate social responsibility and moral boundary controversies that should be considered include violation of employee’s rights, discrimination in the job, whistle blowing, and confidentiality

Business Leadership Ethics

• Business leadership ethics are difficult to define because there is no clear cut legal requirements that define how businesses and their employees should behave; however, it is necessary that their actions be legal
• As such, business ethics can be broadly defined as practices that are legal and those that are done with good intent for employees and customers
• According to the philosophical concept of deontology developed by Immanuel Kant, ethical actions are those that are done with good intent, even if the actions result in negative consequences (Cavalier, 2002)
• In the workplace, employees are entitled to certain rights, including overtime, protection against sexual harassment, and rights against age, religious, and racial discrimination
• The specific guidelines that dictate each of these processes according to law differ by state
• While employees are required to be treated fairly in the workplace, employment-at-will is a federal law that indicates that employers have the right to fire their employees for any reason (Feinman, 1976).
• Many individuals believe that this should not be done for controversial reasons, and this has led to adjustments to the law that cite specific exceptions
• This law has provided many loopholes for business leaders who wish to fire employees for reasons that may be considered unethical
• A recent publication in Forbes provides suggestions as to how business leaders can strive to achieve ethical behavior
• This advice includes the need to establish what the individual company defines as ethical and to put a structure in place that ensures it is adhered to; a checks and system would ensure that even top executives are adhering to company business ethics (Bailey, 2013)

Situation Analysis

• Specific examples of scandals that could have been avoided if ethical practices were followed include the Enron scandal
• Proper ethical management would have ensure that the company was able to detect the detrimental impact that the CEOs action would cause (Silverstein, 2013)

Conclusion

• It is essential for companies to develop whistleblower programs that will ensure its actions remain legal and beneficial to the company’s stakeholders (OSHA, n.d.)
• Before ethical behavior can be implemented, a company must define a code of ethics
• The code should be developed using input from employees across a variety of positions and levels

References

Baily S. (2013). Business Leaders Beware: Ethical Drift Makes Standards Slip. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/sebastianbailey/2013/05/15/business- leaders-beware-ethical-drift-makes-standards-slip/

Cavalier. (2002). Kant’s Ethics. Retrieved from http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/cavalier/80130/part1/sect4/Kant.html

Feinman JM. (1976). The Development of the Employment at Will Rule. The American Journal of Legal History. (20)2: 118-135.

OSHA. (n.d.). Whistleblower Protection Program. Retrieved from http://www.whistleblowers.gov/

Silverstein K. (2013). Enron, Ethics And Today’s Corporate Values. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2013/05/14/enron-ethics-and-todays- corporate-values/