BGC Company: A Business Ethics Case Study on Violations and Analysis

This presentation provides a comprehensive analysis of a business ethics case involving BGC (Buckerridge Group of Companies), an Australian company, focusing on a contractor's misuse of project management professional certification and breach of contract. It outlines the ethical issues arising from the case, including violations of code sections related to honesty, respect for property rights, and avoidance of deceptive behavior. The presentation assesses the morality of the actions taken, discusses the importance of business ethics in protecting stakeholders, and contrasts stakeholder versus shareholder perspectives in ethical decision-making. It concludes by emphasizing the role of ethics in enhancing employee commitment and improving relationships within and outside the organization. References to relevant academic sources are included to support the analysis. Desklib offers a variety of similar solved assignments and past papers.

Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

Business ethics
BUSINESS ETHICS DEALS WITH THE MORALITY IN THE BUSINESS, IT IS THE
SYSTEM OF THE MORAL PRINCIPLES AND VALUES, WHICH ARE APPLIED TO
THE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES. THIS MEANS THAT THE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES
SHOULD BE CONDUCTED AS PER THE ETHICS AND THE MORAL STANDARDS.

Features of business ethics
 Code of Conduct
 Providing protection to the social group
 Providing basic framework
 Needs willing acceptance
 Education and Guidance
 Not against fair profit making

Business ethics violated in BGC
company
BGC (BUCKERIDGE GROUP OF COMPANIES) IS A FAMILY-OWNED GROUP WHICH
BEGAN AS A PROPERTY DEVELOPER IN THE 1960S AND IS NOW ONE OF THE
TOP PRIVATELY-OWNED COMPANIES IN AUSTRALIA BY TURNOVER. THE BGC
CONSTRUCTION ARM WAS SET UP IN 1994 TO MEET “GROWING DEMAND FOR
COMMERCIAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA,” AND SINCE
THEN HAS WORKED ON PROJECTS SPANNING THE WHOLE COUNTRY.

Business case
MISUSE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL, CERTIFICATION
AND BREACH OF CONTRACT.
A CONTRACTOR FOR BGC (BUCKERIDGE GROUP OF
COMPANIES)COMPANY THAT PERFORMS PROJECT MANAGEMENT
TRAINING WAS NAMED AS A RESPONDENT IN A CASE ALLEGING THAT
THE CONTRACTOR BREACHED HIS CONTRACT WITH THE TRAINING
COMPANY AND FALSELY HELD HIMSELF OUT AS HOLDING THE PMP
DESIGNATION.

Ethical issues that arise from the
case
 The breach of contract claim had to do with two separate
allegations—
(1) The contractor had breached an agreement not to compete and
not to solicit clients of the company after he stopped working
for the company; and
(2) The contractor used company materials after his departure
from the company, contrary to a confidentiality provision in the
contract.

Respondent’s action
The Respondent argued in his response
that the court decisions were not
correct and, even if so, did not
necessarily mean that the Respondent
acted unethically. Further, the
Respondent argued that any errors that
may have occurred (like sending out an
email with “PMP” attached to his name
at a time when certification had
lapsed) were mistakes committed
without knowledge or intent to deceive.

Violation of code sections
The Review Team charged with considering this case determined
that it would proceed with charges, alleging violation of Code
sections 2.3.1, 3.3.4, and 5.3.1
Section 2.3.1 states: “We inform ourselves and uphold the policies,
rules, regulations, and laws that govern our work, professional, and
volunteer activities.”
Section 3.3.4 states: “We respect the property rights of others.”
Section 5.3.1 states: “We do not engage in or condone behavior
that is designed to deceive others, including but not limited to
making misleading or false statements, stating half-truths, providing
information out of context, or withholding information that, if
known, would render our statements as misleading or incomplete.”

Action taken for violation of
business ethics
The Hearing panel considered all relevant information and found
violations of each Code section. As a result of its finding, it
determined that the Respondent should receive a private
reprimand. The Hearing Panel noted that the fact that a significant
amount of time had transpired from the time of the alleged actions
and the date of the ERC’s decision was a significant factor in the
decision to issue a private reprimand.

Ethics and Employees
 Whistleblowing
 Roles of ethics officers in the workplace
 National surveys of the employee attitudes
 Business school training

Stakeholder Versus Shareholder
Shareholder’s perspective
Those who approach the ethical
decision making from the
shareholder’s perspective focus on
making decisions, which are in the
owner’s best interest. The decisions
are guided by the needs for
maximizing return on the
investments for the organization’s
shareholders.
Stakeholder perspective
Stakeholders involves employees,
suppliers, competitors, customers,
government agencies, news media,
community residents and others.
The idea behind the stakeholder
based ethical decision making is to
make the sound business decisions
that works for good of all affected
parties.

Importance of business ethics
 Public expects business for exhibiting the high levels of the
ethical performance and social responsibility.
 Promoting ethical behavior for protecting the business from the
abuse by unethical employees or competitors
 High ethical performance also protects the individuals who works
in business.

Why the violation of codes are
considered as ethical issues?
 Honesty – Communication and
behavior consistent with facts should
be maintained at any organization
 Disclosure of the informations should
be ensured
 Promises and commitments should be
maintained
 Laws and professional standards
should be met
 Representation of others like
shareholders

Ethics contributes to Employee
Commitment
 Comes from employees those who believes that their future is
tied to the organization
 Employees should be willing to make the personal sacrifices for
the organization

Conclusion
 The purpose of business ethics is to enhance people lives and the
relationships from both inside and outside of the organization.

References
 Goodpaster, K. E. (2015). Business ethics. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, 1-
6.
 Pearson, R. (2017). Business ethics as communication ethics: Public relations
practice and the idea of dialogue. In Public relations theory (pp. 111-131).
Routledge.
 Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2016). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about
how to do it right. John Wiley & Sons.
 Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship
and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
 Weiss, J. W. (2016). Business Ethics: A Stakeholder & Issues Management
Approach, 2014. Cyrus Chronicle Journal, 1(1), 66-69.
 (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/ethics/ethics-complaints/
sample-ethics-cases.pdf?la=en