Business Ethics: Code of Ethics, Leadership, and Ethical Conduct

This homework assignment delves into the realm of business ethics, exploring various facets of ethical conduct within organizations. The assignment begins by examining the importance of a company's code of ethics and asks the student to identify a company with exemplary ethical behavior, analyzing aspects of their code that could be replicated. The student then reflects on the corporate culture of a past or current employer, evaluating the role of leadership in shaping this culture and the interplay between power, motivation, and ethical behavior. Furthermore, the assignment probes the impact of tragic events on ethical stances, prompting the student to share a personal experience and consider alternative actions. It also discusses the consequences of failing to uphold ethical standards in business, and the importance of regulations. The assignment also presents hypothetical scenarios, such as the ethical behaviors of characters in popular culture and the improvement of ethical cultures within organizations. Finally, the student discusses the role of character in business ethics and its relevance to their profession, emphasizing the importance of consistent ethical behavior.

Running head: BUSINESS ETHICS 1
Business Ethics
Name
Institution

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1. Companies use a code of ethics to preserve a certain level of ethics within their
organization. Think about a company that you believe constantly displays ethical behavior.
If you had to pull from their code of ethics to improve a different company's code, what
types of items would you want to replicate, and why?
The company whose code of ethics I would replicate would be the Coke-a-Cola Company
given their reputation. This is because their code of ethics is multi-disciplinary and not only
caters for their employees but for the community and the environment as well; this promotes the
principle of inclusiveness and improves the relationship of all the parties involved. The items
that I would replicate would be their commitment to sustainability through recycling of the
bottles they use to package their products (Tamari, 2018). This would be done with the aim of
reducing the carbon footprint that will be left by the other company on the earth. This is a
remarkable activity done by this company and other companies should learn from such actions so
as to also improve their public image. I would also replicate their commitment to providing
services to the community which has been outstanding among other companies. In order for a
company to be considered ethical, it needs to show value and respect for its employees as well as
the community at large. This will also ensure that the other company is considered positively in
the community, and it is able to sell its products to them (Collier, 2014).

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2. Think about a company you have worked for, either currently or in the past. Reflect
upon the corporate culture with respect to the practice of ethics within the organization.
What was leadership's role in establishing this culture within the organization? How did
power and motivation relate to the degree of ethical conduct?
The employees often take cues on ethical behavior from the leaders of the company as they
act as the role models. If the managers act dishonestly when handling matters related to the
company, it is likely that the employees will also be dishonest in the way the handle matters at
the company. The leadership role in any company is a vital role and the leaders should always
comply with ethical requirements so that the employees would feel responsible for their acts in
cases where they act unethically (Congress, 2013). Having people in leadership positions who
act unethically means that the employees will feel justified to act unethically since they are
behaving exactly as their bosses; thus leadership plays an important role in establishing an
ethical culture in the workplace. How the leaders act creates perception among employees on
how they are supposed to behave while at work. The leaders are responsible for setting the
companies goals, mission, and vision. They also provide the rules that need to be followed in
terms of what is considered acceptable behavior and what is not. They are also responsible for
organizing activities such as team building and conferences through which the employees can
learn about the codes of conduct set by the company (Saunders, 2011).

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3. We learned that tragic events detract people from their normal ethical stance. Why
do you think this is the case? Bring forward a tragic event that has happened in your
lifetime as an example and explain whether your ethical stance shifted during that time. If
you could go back in time, would you choose to handle the situation differently? Why or
why not?
Tragic events cause people to act unethically because the methods used for survival before the
event occurred change. At this time, there are no set ethical rules, and the ones that applied
during the time before the event happened do not work in that particular circumstance (Brown et.
al, 2017). For example, in the event that an earthquake happens, that destroys numerous homes
the people who have been affected would have to find a way to survive after the earthquake that
might not be considered ethical. People go out of the moral ways of finding resources to survive
and resort to other methods including unethical behaviors so as to survive. They might be forced
to loot shops and grocery stores while looking for food and this will be condemned in the society
with many not considering their situation. In an average society, looting would be considered
unethical even if the owner of the shop is not present. But when the earthquake happened, then
the people would have to look for a means of getting food for survival and would decide to loot
the shop even if it is considered unethical especially where government fails to come in and offer
assistance (O'Sullivan, Smith & Esposito, 2012).

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4. Hawkeye Pierce and BJ Hunnicutt built years of unethical situations on the popular
show MASH. Through their comical depiction of these situations, the viewer might have
been left with the impression that the unethical behavior was actually appropriate. Share
your thoughts about what can happen to a business if ethical standards are not taken
seriously.
When the ethical standards of a business are not taken seriously, the productivity of the
business seriously will be affected negatively. The public image of a business can change from
good to worse; the public might start viewing the business as a source of rot in the society and
may rebuke the same business whether its products are of high quality. In the society everyone
acts as regulator of morals and any acts that may depict the contrary is never tolerated. Code
ethics are set in place to ensure that there is harmony between the employer and the employee, as
well as the employee and their co-workers. Not taking ethical standards seriously will create a
strain in these relationships and will affect how work is done in the company (Herring, 2017).
For example, if the human resource department of the company fails to take action for a sexual
assault report that was made that happened within the workplace, the person who committed the
assault might feel entitled to their behavior and continue harassing other co-workers in the

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company. This will create strain among them and as a result, different genders will be unable to
work with each other in that workplace.
5. Batman and Commissioner Gordon constantly involved themselves with local, state,
and federal regulations. Think about the regulations in your locality and specifically reflect
on one regulation that could use some improvement. What could be improved regarding
this regulation?
One of the business regulations found in my locality is the requirement that every business
owner should pay tax to the government every month so as to have a permit to conduct their
businesses. The amount of money varies depending on the type of business being carried out and
the location where the business is situated (Hall, 2017). The number of taxes that have to be paid
by business owners is numerous, including excise tax, employment tax, income tax, state tax
among others. The tax system is a regulation also included in many other jurisdictions and it
operates in a similar manner just like the one within our locality. The regulation that needs
improvement is the disclosure of such taxes when a person starts a business. They need to be
informed of all the taxes they will be required to pay as soon as they get the permit to carry out
their business as this is the right of any business person (Burnham, 2017). This will ensure that
business owners do not fail to pay tax simply because they were unaware of which taxes they
needed to pay. Transparency is important, and it also helps improve the economy at large.

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6. In the case of the Coyote and Road Runner, one might question the ethics of the two
characters' behaviors on many fronts. Think of a company that you have worked for or
that you know about that has not successfully implemented a culture of ethical business
behavior. What would you suggest to that company in order for the leaders to improve
their culture?
One of the reasons why this company was unable to implement the culture of ethics in the
company was because the employees were not well informed about the code of ethics and did not
know how to implement them. Ignorance is also an aspect attributed to the failure of the
company to successfully implement an operational code of ethics since they failed to
acknowledge its significance. The way that this culture can be improved is through proper
communication between the leadership of the company and the employees so as to come up with
the views on which aspects of behaviors should be included in the code of ethics. Since the code
of ethics was a new aspect being introduced into the company, it would have been necessary to
have a session with them, such as a team-building session, conference, or seminar where the
code of ethics was explained in detail to them (Gottrup & Holley, 2017). This will help the
company to have a well-informed group of workers on the ethical aspects that were to be
introduced. A forum where open discussion between the employees and the leaders should be
held so that the employees can ask questions where they need clarification as this will create and
improve the ethical culture of the company.

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7. Within the realm of the Star Trek show, Mr. Spock seemed to present continuous
questions about the ethics of space travels with his crew. Do you think character has any
role in business ethics? Why or why not? How does character and personal integrity
pertain to you in your profession or future profession?
Having character is important and plays an important role in the application of business
ethics. This is because it is easier to implement something that you already know and have in the
workplace than it is to learn how to behave from the beginning. Having character will mean that
when it comes to applying business ethics, one will not need a reminder of what is wrong and
right simply because it is how they behave even when they are not in the workplace (Dylan,
2017). Once a person possesses character then it becomes part of them and they can play a great
role in influencing other workers towards acceptable ethical behaviors. In my profession,
character is important since the leaders in the company and the other co-workers are always
assessing our behaviors even when we are not in the workplace. How I carry out myself reflects
on the company’s image hence, it is important to be disciplined whether I am at work or not.
Having a positive character attracts other people to the company attributing to the positive
impacts of complying with ethical standards required (Minus, 2013). It is prudent to always
maintain positive character as person because a person will always need the same even in future
profession as this applies uniformly across many professions.

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