Ethics and Sustainability in Organizations: A Case Study of Woolworths

This paper discusses the ethical considerations and sustainability in organizations, using Woolworths as a case study. It identifies two issues and proposes ethical frameworks for addressing them. The first issue is about the quality of food products, and the second issue is about inappropriate marketing strategies. The Issue-Contingent Model and the Markkula Center framework are proposed as solutions for the respective issues.

Running head: ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY
Ethics and Sustainability
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The purpose of the following paper is to discuss about the ethical considerations that are
very important for the organizations. In the contemporary competitive environment, the term
‘brand reputation’ or ‘brand image’ is very important. The companies thrive for the better future
by maintaining a good brand image that can be obtained only by maintaining the working ethics.
Two of the most important issues in the modern day organizations will have to be found to find
the ways to resolve them (Bishop, 2013).
Identification of issue 1
The organization that will be the focus for this section is the retail giants of Australia,
Woolworths. They are one of the biggest retailers in the country. Generally, they deal with the
food products for their customers (Bishop, 2013). They have been facing an ethical problem in te
recent times. The problem deals with them not meeting the needs of the customers in terms or
providing the best quality foods (Goetsch & Davis, 2014). Their promotional marketing activities
do not match with the kind of food they provide to their customers. The research and feedback
from the customers have proved that the low quality of the food has affected the health of the
customers and this is very fatal indeed. It has been alleged many times that the dairy products of
Woolworths have not met the quality to be provided to the customers (Ferrell, 2016).
Ethical framework for addressing the issue and justification of choice
The ethical decision making framework that can be taken as the solution for this issue is
the Issue-Contingent Model invented by Thomas M. Jones in the year 1991. This framework that
should be put to practice with the moral intensity should be the first priority for the business
organizations (Ferrell, 2016). It is very important to remember that the first priority of the

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organization is their customers. This is why they should examine their food and dairy products in
the farm and laboratories so the best quality food can be provided to them. This will be very
helpful for the health of the customers and the customers will consume the best quality food and
dairy products that will impact in a good way for the health of the customers (Müller et al. 2013).
The best components should always be used in terms of preparing the food and dairy products.
Identification of issue 2
It has been found sometimes that the marketing strategies of the organization have not
been appropriate. The organization has not been taking the best ways to promote their strategies.
The information about few of their products has been not proper (Müller et al. 2013). Thus it has
misled the customers that have impacted on the customer loyalty and trust as well. Some of the
products had not been manufactured in Australia yet they told their customers that they were
being made in Australia only. The wrong information also came upon the fact of selling the
freshly baked food products to the customers (Greenberg, 2014). As they are trying to engage
themselves in other businesses also, they have not been able to focus solely on the food products.
The ratings from the customers have been low enough as well. Thus the brand image of the
company has received a halt in front of their customers (Goetsch & Davis, 2014).
Ethical framework for addressing issue 2 and justification for choice
The Markkula Center framework can be used for the resolution of these ethical problems.
These kinds of ethical issues will have to be solved in order to get the best results from the
customers. If the customers give them the low ratings, this will surely prove to be much harmful
for the company (Greenberg, 2014). It is very clear from the utilitarian view that the
organizations should always focus on doing good for the organization. Thus the customers will

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be benefitted. No harm should be done to the customers (Bolman & Deal, 2017). Thus the
chosen company Woolworths should always maintain the integrity of their brand reputation. The
moral rights of the customers are to get the best quality products from their service providers. In
this case, it iss the ethical responsibility of the company to provide everything with maintained
standards they have provided for.
Conclusion
The conclusion can be drawn for this paper in the way that the organizations in today’s
world should always provide the customers with the best quality services and everything they
have promoted in their advertisements. They should always maintain the ethical standards within
their company so they can keep their brand reputation in a good way indeed. The customer
satisfaction can be attained only if they satisfy the desires of the customers in a better way.

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References
Bishop, W. H. (2013). The role of ethics in 21st century organizations. Journal of Business
Ethics, 118(3), 635-637.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership.
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Ferrell, O. C. (2016). A framework for understanding organizational ethics. In Business ethics:
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Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Greenberg, J. (2014). Behavior in Organizations: Global Edition. Pearson Higher Ed.
Müller, R., Andersen, E. S., Kvalnes, Ø., Shao, J., Sankaran, S., Rodney Turner, J., ... &
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