Unit 11 Ethics and Decision Making in a Corporate Culture

Overview

Image by Sean Pollock on Unsplash

“I’m a Mac, and I’m a PC.”

This is the first line from an Apple advertisement promoting a MAC computer by comparing a MAC to a PC. In reading the advertisement narrative below, you pick cannot help but pick up on some of these differences.

Two guys stand in front of a white screen, a step or two apart. The one pretending to be an Apple Macintosh computer looks a lot like you’d expect the typical Apple computer user to look: casual, young, and cool; he’s not stressed but certainly alert and thoughtful. He hasn’t had a haircut in a while, but the situation isn’t out of control. He speaks up for himself without being aggressive. His t-shirt is clean, his jeans reliable, and his tennis shoes stylish.

The PC, on the other hand, can’t relax in a polyester suit that’s a half size too small, especially for his inflated waistline. Bulky glasses slide down his greasy nose. Short, parted hair glues to his head. He’s clean, shaven, and very earnest.

The PC man talks about the things he does well: calculation, spreadsheets, pie charts. The Mac responds that he feels more comfortable helping users make their own movies and organize their music collections. (Brusseau, Chapter 9)

The way Apple and a traditional PC company go about their business activity shows the differences go beyond the end-product. Consider the company practices.

Company Practices Apple PC (Traditional)
Purpose Cutting edge, new products Strengthen current products
Dress code Jeans, casual, tennis shoes Khaki pants, suit, dress shoes
Work schedule Flexible Scheduled
Work style groups, creative Committee
Workspace Open, shared, location varies Cubicle, office, assigned
Pictures on walls Pictures of family, team activities Corporate artwork
Employee perks Childcare, lunch bar Lunchroom
Parking lot Bike rack, bus stop Assigned parking spots

While a list like this demonstrates an Apple-bias, with analysis, it becomes clear that both environments, as well as products, have strengths and weaknesses. They may be solid companies, but how they arrive at their end-product looks different; they take a different paths.

The differences begin with the personality of the company founders, their dreams and values, their purpose and vision, the type of product, and the targeted customer base. All of these things are wrapped up to make up what their company work-place looks like, who they hire, day to day practices, and finally, the product as the end result.

Apple

The Apple Mission Statement: “to bring the best personal computing products and support to students, educators, designers, scientists, engineers, businesspersons and consumers in over 140 countries around the world.” (Think IPhones, Laptops.)

IBM (A traditional PC)

IBM Mission Statement: “to lead in the creation, development and manufacture of the industry’s most advanced information technologies, including computer systems, software, networking systems, storage devices and microelectronics.” (Think desktops, networking)

Apple and IBM are alike in that they both make computers, but the companies are very different. The real difference is rooted in their culture. What, exactly, is “Culture”? And what, exactly, does culture have to do with ethical decision making? That’s what Unit 11 is all about!

Topics

This unit is divided into the following topics:

  1. Discover corporate culture
  2. Review case studies of organizational culture.
  3. Ethical Decision Making in culture

Learning Outcomes

When you have completed this unit, you should be able to:

  • Define corporate culture.
  • Analyze and compare the culture of various major companies and their decision-making processes.
  • Describe how organizational decision making is grounded in cultural ethics.

Activity Checklist

Here is a checklist of learning activities you will benefit from in completing this unit. You may find it useful for planning your assignments.

  • Activity 11.1: Read Chp. 9 - Business Ethics Workshop, Chapter 9 (Manager’s Ethics: Deciding on a Corporate Culture and Making It Work Culture)
  • Activity 11.2: Read and Reflect on Culture Descriptions - Read Business Ethics Workshop, Chapter 9; focus on culture definitions
  • Activity 11.3: Watch TED Talk - Corporate Culture – Leader’s Secret Asset, Harald Port
  • Activity 11.4: Dilbert & Ethics Video - Watch video for a humorous look at corporate ethics
  • Activity 11.5: Case Study - Read and reflect on questions in Chp. 9’s case study
  • Activity 11.6: Article on 10 Top Companies - Read article; answer reflection questions
  • Assessment: Ethical Dilemma Decision Making Paper (Part 4)

Resources

Here are the resources you will need to complete this unit.

11.1 Discover Corporate Culture

Read and reflect on the definitions of culture described by James Brusseau through the Learning Activities below. In previous units we have learned that dialogue and inquiry, awareness of hidden traps and bias are critical in decision making; they do not stand alone. How they are practiced in different organizations is tied together in the culture of the organization.

We typically think about culture in terms of countries. Each country or community supports activities driven by their culture. Some examples of activities stemming from cultural influences:

  • Typical foods: China and rice, Italy and pasta, Germany and potatoes, Mexico and tacos.
  • Work style: In North America 8-10 hour work days are the norm, while in Spain, some practice extended siesta breaks with a shorter workday.
  • Education standards: 12 years of traditional school for all, or 8 years of school before going into a trade in other countries.
  • Gender in workplace: Men and women are commonly both in the workplace, or men in the workplace and women take care of the home.

Learning Activities

Activity 11.1: Read Culture Definitions

Business Ethics Workshop, James Brusseau

Manager’s Ethics: Deciding on a Corporate Culture and Making It Work, Chapter 9

The entire chapter is the suggested reading for Unit 11. For this activity, focus on the section entitled Culture Definitions.

Read and reflect on the three Brusseau definitions. Also look up the definition of culture in the dictionary.

  1. Which one strikes you as an accurate description of culture?
  2. Are there other things you think could be included in a definition of culture?

Here is a slight re-write of Brusseau’s third definition:

  • A general constellation of beliefs, customs, and value systems (set by leadership)
  • that set a pattern for activities (defines how tasks are done)
  • which are reflected within the life of the organization. (how the organization functions)

This is true of every organization. It is the life-values of leadership that become the life-values of the organization.

Note that the Learning Activities are ungraded, unless otherwise specified. They are designed to help you succeed in your assessments in this course, so you are strongly encouraged to complete them.

Activity 11.2: Culture Descriptions

Review the text from Activity 11.1

  • Business Ethics Workshop, James Brusseau
  • Manager’s Ethics: Deciding on a Corporate Culture and Making It Work, Chapter 9

Following the section entitled Cultural Definitions is the section that describes what culture looks like in an organization. Below are four of the definitions:

  • Corporate culture is shared;
    • It’s not like a regulation or a code that’s imposed from some specific place outside the organization. The culture may begin that way, but once installed, it belongs to all those participating in the workplace.
  • Corporate culture provides guidance.
  • It’s not a potted plant to be looked at; corporate culture tells an employee what clothes are appropriate and should be left in the closet. The pumpkin necktie, for example, is OK as long as we’re coming up on Halloween. Analogously, though more significantly, it tells a salesman whether it’s OK to flagrantly lie to a customer, to stretch the truth a little, or only to play it straight.
  • **Corporate culture provides meaning*.**
    • It tells members why they are there. At Goldman Sachs, the bottom line really is the bottom line: people are there to make money. At Greenpeace, by contrast, people arrive in the morning to protect the planet, and while it’s true that many receive a paycheck for their efforts, that’s not the reason they show up for work.
  • The organization’s culture includes life values.
    • ones that cross beyond purely business concerns to touch questions including, “Is it OK to date someone from work?” “Can I cry at my desk?” “Will anyone object if I bring my kids to work?”

Group discussion: How do you see life-values impact the culture of an organization? OR Does the organization impact your life-values?

Activity 11.3: TED Talk - Leadership and Culture

Harold Port explains this well in his Ted Talk you will watch in the next activity. As you watch it, ponder the role of the course topics such as dialogue, hidden traps, bias, ethics, and inquiry play in the culture of the organization.

Note the quantifiable measurement of a company culture as he relates it to the stock market value.

Watch: Corporate Culture – Leader’s Secret Asset

11.2 Review Case Studies of Organizational Culture

In this topic we will unpack the case study entitled The Fish Market the offers deeper insight into how the leadership in an organization drives the culture which drives the activities and the acceptable life of the organization.

In chapter 9, scroll down to Section 9.2: The Relation between Organizational Culture and Knowing the Right Thing to Do

Dishonesty in the Fish Market

A frequently recurring business ethics question involves dishonesty: when, if ever, is it OK to lie, to stretch the truth, to not tell the whole truth? A simple scene of deceit goes like this: A fish dealer sells both expensive salmon caught in the wild and relatively cheap farmed salmon. Occasionally, he switches the farmed for the wild—a change that’s very difficult to detect through appearance or taste, even by expert chefs—and pockets the difference. Randy Hartnell is a fish dealer in New York who suspected that a lot of that kind of dishonest fish switching was going on among his competitors. He investigated and published an Internet report. As he tells it, he visited the famed Fulton Fish Market in lower Manhattan and found some dealers openly admitting that the fish they were selling as wild had actually come from a farm.

Go to section 9.2 and read the paragraphs following the Fish Market story. Note, in particular, the application of the ethical theories of duty, utilitarianism, and egoism. The conclusion references how the activities of the organization reflect the ethics of the leader.

Conclusion:

Organizational cultures that incorporate lying as an acceptable part of day-to-day business do exist. Whether or not these cultures are ethically justifiable depends on the deep philosophical stances people have when going into business.

Learning Activities

Activity 11.4: Dilbert and Ethics

Next, watch the following videos that illustrates a humorous look at corporate ethics

Watch: Dilbert on business ethics

Activity 11.5:Readings

Culture on the Trading Floor

The focus of this case study is to reflect on how the acceptable practices of the employees during work and leisure time is determined by the workplace culture.

Questions 3 and 4 give particular insight on this topic.

Corporate Culture at Herschend Family Entertainment

The focus of this case study is how the culture of the organization impacts the way people treat each other, particularly how the leadership sets the tone for how all employees interact with each other as well as the customers. The culture developed at Herschend would be something to emulate considering the success they have in their theme parks around the world such as Dollywood (Dolly Parton) in Tennessee, USA.

While Question 1 gives a review of descriptors of corporate culture, Questions 4 – 7 give examples and insight on establishing culture.

Even Better Than the Real Thing

This case study considers various aspects of honesty in the market of selling knock-offs of high-end purses, that of the honesty of the manufacturers, the sellers, as well as the buyers.

Questions 1 – 5 all unveil a different aspect to this common and controversial topic. Question 6 puts things at a practical level. Why you may not like the practice, if there was an opportunity for you to make money setting these purses, would you do it?

Activity 11.6: 10 Top Companies

💻: Read the following article: 10 Top Companies

Having great company culture is no longer just an option. Today’s workers consider it as much as they consider salary and benefits. In fact, fantastic company culture is almost expected along with other traditional benefits.

While the culture that works for one company might not work for another, you can learn a lot from companies who are doing it right, and get started on company culture hacks of your own.

Entrepreneur magazine publishes an annual list of successful companies recognized for their positive corporate culture. For this activity, each person in your Group will choose one of the top 10 companies and do a 5-minute internet search about the company, specifically looking at the company Mission Statement.

  • Does it line up with how employees are treated? Provide examples.
  • Does it line up with their customer service? Provide examples.

Share the results with your Group. Identify a significant thing about the company that you believe is critical to the corporate culture of the company

Questions to Consider

After completing the activities above, consider the following questions.

In what ways can an ethically questionable organizational culture be challenged by outsiders?

  • Should it be challenged?
  • In what situations might one way be preferable to another?

11.3 Ethical Decision Making in Culture

All of the topics covered in the LDRS 320 course are important to successful, ethical decisions, however, a decision is essentially made in the heart of the decision maker. As we conclude the course, we will use final topic to consider the ways God will influence the heart to help us make good decisions. God wants to help us to make the best decisions, to give us needed wisdom and direction. Let’s look at some of the words from the book of Proverbs in the Bible, also knows as the book of wisdom.

Below is a list of Questions about making decisions, and the Answer as found in the book of Proverbs. There are words of wisdom and promises from God He offers to all decision makers.

What biblical principles should guide my decisions?

“For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” - Proverbs 2:6

Do I have all the facts?

“Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish.” - Proverbs 18:13

Is the pressure of time forcing me to make a premature decision?

“Enthusiasm without knowledge is not good; haste makes mistakes!” - Proverbs 19:2

What are the possible motives driving my decision?

“People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.” - Proverbs 16:2

How should past experiences inform my decision?

“As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.” - Proverbs 26:11

What is the collective counsel of my community?

Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers.” - Proverbs 11:14

Have I honestly considered the warning signs?

“People who accept discipline are on the pathway to life, but those who ignore correction will go astray.” - Proverbs 10:17

Have I considered the possible outcomes for my course of action?

“A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.” - Proverbs 14:1

Could this decision jeopardize my integrity?

”Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.” - Proverbs 10:9

  • Reflect on the Proverb you believe to be key in making ethical decisions.

This list of questions came primarily from an article : 10 Biblical Principles For Making Wise Decisions, Blake Holmes, May, 2019

Unit 11 Summary

In this unit, you have had the opportunity to learn that organizational culture is the set of values defining how and why members live at work. It is all the things that happen behind the scenes of the end products. Each organization’s culture has distinguishing characteristics that requires observing a range of values from the way people dress to the degree of cooperation and competition in the workplace.

These things are instilled through the workplace policies, social expectations, and company rules – spoken and unspoken.

We concluded the course by looking at the decision-making support and guidance offered by God as expressed in Proverbs, a book in the Bible.

In Unit one, you read the phrase: Life is a journey, not a destination, was made famous by Ralph Waldo Emerson. While we make a decision, the impact, the style, and the process is always evolving. We learn from our decisions; it will direct our next decision. Our view on ethics is framed by our scope and perspective on life. Our ideas and relationship with God is molded by our life events and our heart. Life is a journey, not a destination.

Assessment

Assignment: Ethical Decision Making Paper (Part 4) (20%)

After completing this unit, including the learning activities, you are asked to write part 4/4, the final section of the Ethical decision-making paper.

Guidelines:

  • Review the Decision Model and Ethical Theory you determine to be the best ones to use in making your ethical dilemma decision.
  • Decision: Explain your decision about your ethical dilemma, deciding on which side of the dilemma that you support based on your analysis, assessment, and definitions discovered while writing the paper.
  • Describe the leadership lessons learned in this decision-making process.
  • Reference Page will include the references used in each draft
  • 3 – 4 pages; APA format
  • Include Title Page and Reference Page

Rubric:

Exceeds expectations (3 marks) Meets Expectations (2 marks) Does Not Meet Expectations (1 mark)
Comprehensiveness Provides detailed responses for all topics Provides responses for all topic Provides incomplete responses for some topics
Understanding Clear, precise and accurate responses Mostly clear, precise and accurate responses Responses lack clarity, accuracy and/or precision
Application Applies knowledge and theory to new contexts with superior skill Applies knowledge and theory to new contexts well Fails to convincingly apply knowledge and theory to new contexts
Technical Merit Spelling and grammar are accurate. Sentences and paragraphs are well-constructed. Minor and/or few spelling or grammatical errors. Sentences and paragraphs are mostly well-constructed. Several spelling or I grammatical errors. Sentences and paragraphs are not well-constructed.