Module 5 Assignment (100 possible points)
Name: ______________________________________________________
All assignments are to be completed individually without the assistance of classmates or anyone else. If you have questions, contact the professor who will be glad to help you. By turning in this assignment, you are stating that this work is yours alone.
I believe this section of material is a very valuable part of Business Ethics. As a manager, team leader, worker at a company, these are the things that can be controlled and manipulated by the company to get “good” behavior or lead to “bad” behavior regardless of the type of people working for you. Much of this boils down to psychology and human behavior. I want you to see if you can find the take away – the thing that a leader/manager needs to understand – to get the behavior he or she wants from people within the organization. We will assume the leader/manager wants to get ethical behavior.
DISCUSSING EACH ORGANIZATIONAL FACTOR (The discussion of each factor is worth 7 points with one factor worth 8 points for a total of 64 points)
You need to work on this assignment as we cover the material.
- Review the posted Organizational Factors Powerpoint Slides.
- Watch the posted clips or look at the posted material for each Organizational Factor.
- Then for each factor — tell me what your observations from that material and tell me what a manager can do to use this information to get ETHICAL behavior from employees.
Organizational Factor: CULTURE – WHAT IS REWARDED AND PUNISHED (7 points)
- Think about the articles about Wells Fargo and the resulting bad behavior and the articles you read about the importance of culture. What impact does culture have on the behavior of people within the organization?
- Also consider the readings and understanding that humans do that behavior that is rewarded and avoid behavior that is punished, what can a manager do to use this “factor” to get ethical behavior in the organization?
Organizational Factor: LEADERSHIP (7 points)
- What impact do leaders have on organizational ethics? Explain.
- What does a manager need to understand about leadership buy in to help him or her get ethical behavior from the people within the organization?
Organizational Factor: CONFORMITY (7 points)
- What do you observe about human’s tendency or need to conform?
- How can a manager use this understanding of the need of humans to conform to get ethical behavior from people in his/her company?
Organizational Factor: GROUP THINK (7 points)
The powerpoint slides are the most helpful for understanding group think. Also, focus on the warning signs that it is occurring and why it is bad for an organization if it occurs.
- Why does group think occur in organizations?
- How can a manager use this understanding the dangers of group think to put things in place to prevent it. Why would group think lead to unethical behavior from people in his/her company?
Organizational Factor: RELUCTANCE TO GET INVOLVED (8 points)
- What do you observe about people’s reluctance to get involved?
- What is the bystander effect?
- How can a manager use this understanding of people’s reluctance to get involved to get ethical behavior from people in his/her company?
Organizational Factor: OPPORTUNITY FOR UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR (7 points)
- What does Walter Pavlo and Mark Morze teach us about the need for organizations to limit the opportunity for employees to commit unethical behavior?
- How can a manager use this understanding of the need to limit the opportunity for unethical behavior?
Organizational Factor: OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITY (7 points)
- What do you observe about human’s tendency to obey people in authority?
- How can a manager use this understanding that many of us follow people in authority (even if a small amount authority) to get ethical behavior from people in his/her company?
Organizational Factor: CORPORATE GOVERNANCE (7 points)
- How does a company’s approach to Corporate Governance impact how people behave? Explain.
- How can a manager use this understanding of the importance of strong corporate governance to get ethical behavior from people in his/her company?
Organizational Factor: WHISTLEBLOWING PROTECTIONS (7 points)
- What are is a whistleblower and what are whistleblower protections?
- What does a manager need to understand about whistleblowing to help him or her get ethical behavior from the people within the organization?
APPLYING THE FACTORS TO YOUR DOCUMENTARY CASE ANALYSIS (18 points)
Your Documentary: ____________________________________________________
Your Chosen Organization: _____________________________________________
Step 1: Using the Factors to EXPLAIN the unethical behavior
Think about your selected Documentary and the organization that you are focusing on for that documentary. Think about the unethical conduct you saw in the documentary by that organization. Explain why the unethical behavior occurred in terms of 3-5 organizational factors. You need no less than 18 total quality sentences of discussion.
Organizational Factors | Pick THREE to FIVE factors that explain why the organization in my Documentary acted unethical. You need no less than 18 total quality sentences of discussion between the 3-5 factors. |
Culture overall | |
Culture what is rewarded or punished | |
Leadership | |
Conformity | |
Group Think | |
Reluctance to Get Involved | |
Opportunity for Unethical Behavior | |
Obedience to Authority | |
Corporate Governance | |
Whistleblowing |
Step 2: Using the Factors to PREVENT unethical behavior (18 points)
Think about your selected Documentary and the organization that you are focusing on for that documentary. Now, how can organizational factors be used to prevent unethical behavior from happening again? Discussion 3-5 organizational factors that can be used to prevent or stop the unethical behavior from happening again. You need to discuss using no less than 18 total quality sentences between the 3-5 factors.
Organizational Factors | Pick THREE – FIVE organizational factors that could be used by the organization in your Documentary to prevent unethical behavior for stopping or preventing the unethical conduct from occurring again. You need to discuss using no less than 18 total quality sentences between the 3-5 factors. |
Culture overall | |
Culture what is rewarded or punished | |
Leadership | |
Conformity | |
Group Think | |
Reluctance to Get Involved | |
Opportunity for Unethical Behavior | |
Obedience to Authority | |
Corporate Governance | |
Whistleblowing |