Ethical Issues Faced by Managers: A Case Study Analysis Report

This report analyzes ethical issues encountered by managers through two case studies. The first case examines the unethical behavior of a CEO, Corinne Maddox, and the HR executive, highlighting impacts on organizational trust, employee relations, and external reputation. The second case explores the business practices of a Private Loan Service Provider, evaluating the ethical implications of marketing strategies targeting lower-income families. The analysis covers the ethical duties of individuals within the organization, the impact of unethical conduct on both internal and external stakeholders, and the importance of ethical decision-making in maintaining a trustworthy and productive work environment. The report emphasizes the significance of business ethics in fostering a positive brand image and customer trust. The report also provides the impact of the company's social practices of providing lower interest rates of loan to customers and how this will give a huge impact on the company as their actions are in the favor of society and will subsequently attract the attention of customers. The report concludes that business ethics play a vital role in every organization as it creates a trustworthy organization and helps in the productivity of the company.

ETHICAL ISSUES ENCOUNTERED BY MANAGERS 0
University Name-
Ethical Issues Encountered by Managers
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7/7/2019

ETHICAL ISSUES ENCOUNTERED BY MANAGERS 1
Part 1
Business ethics are the moral principles that the company has to follow. It ensures that
people in the organization are behaving in a certain code of conduct. There are different factors
that show the company’s practices are ethical or unethical (Crane, Matten, Glozer, & Spence,
2019). The chosen scenario is Alisha Anderson, Corinne Maddox, and the HR Executive’s case.
In the case study given, the new CEO Alisha behaved unethically by having a secret meeting
with Corinne who somehow blackmailed Alisha against the personal information that she has. It
is the ethical duty of Alisha to be honest with the company. Therefore she should disclose the
fact that Corinne was seeking for a privilege which is unethical. Corinne also behaved
unethically as she used unfair means to reach to the higher position. As a responsible employee
of the company, it is the duty of Corinne to follow the rules and guidelines and take assistance
from her immediate superior Erwin before taking any action. However, she unethically
blackmailed Alisha of whatever secrets she knows. HR Executive performed his duty well as he
subsequently went to Erwin when he heard about Corinne’s transition into a window office. HR
further investigated the case and went to Erwin and took initiative to understand the situation.
HR should do every effort to maintain ethical environment in the workplace (Harris, 2016).
In this scenario, Alisha who is the CEO of the company got threatened by Corinne and
ultimately gives her the special privileges. The situation would be better if Alisha would have
taken a correct action against Corinne for behaving unethically and should not have threatened
by her. However, HR should behave in a professional manner and also has authority to ask
Alisha regarding the situation and take the right decision within the scope of her power.
In this case, the unethical behavior of Alisha and Corinne will impact the organization
internally as it will decrease the integrity and trust among the employees. The employees will
hesitate to trust the CEO which can lead to employee turnover and also leads to unproductive
organization (Newman, 2015). The unethical behavior of Corinne may lead to conflict between
the employees because of inequality between the employees which will impact the productivity
of the company. Alisha’s unethical behavior will impact the organization externally. It will have
a huge influence on the reputation and goodwill of the company. If this news comes to the
knowledge of the public, the company will lose the customer base and there will be lack of

ETHICAL ISSUES ENCOUNTERED BY MANAGERS 2
transparency. Customers will be hesitant to trust the company and will also impact the brand
image of the company and hence leading to lesser profit margin.
The organizational power is usually hold by Alisha who ensures that the organization is
working as per the rules and guidelines which ultimately lead to ethical organization. Ethical
decision making involves standing for right and removing the unethical alternative and choosing
the best one. Similarly, Erwin and HR Executive who are the leaders of the company work for
the attainment of organizational goals and also have the power to punish the employees for their
unethical code of conduct.
Part 2
The chosen scenario is Private Loan Service Provider’s case. In the case study given,
there are no unethical practices in the Loan Service Provider scenario as the company is doing
business for their profit and is not using any unfair means in doing that. Rather the company is
helping lower income families to get wonderful holidays at a lower rate of interest but for only
first 90 days after the disbursement. This is regarded as promotional technique to earn market
share and is not an unethical issue for the company.
The business practices of Private Loan Provider Company internally impact the company
as it creates an opportunity for the employees to sell maximum loans to customers and also
attaining their targets. It leads to maximum earning of the organization by helping lower income
families with lower interest rates. The marketing campaign also helps an organization to make
new customers and also serves for the welfare of the society (Sims, 2010). The company’s
business practices externally impacts the company as it will lead to the higher reputation and
brand image of the company (Cojuharenco, Shteynberg, Gelfand, & Schminke, 2012). The
company’s social practices of providing lower interest rates of loan to customers will give a huge
impact on the company as their actions are in the favor of society and will subsequently attract
the attention of customers (Caldwell, Floyd, Atkins, & Holzgrefe, 2012). In this way, the
company can create a huge goodwill and will be able to get the trust of the customers. To
conclude this, it can be said that business ethics play a vital role in every organization as it
creates a trustworthy organization and helps in the productivity of the company.

ETHICAL ISSUES ENCOUNTERED BY MANAGERS 3
References
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Cojuharenco, I., Shteynberg, G., Gelfand, M., & Schminke, M. (2012). Self-Construal and
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Crane, A., Matten, D., Glozer, S., & Spence, L. (2019). Business Ethics: Managing Corporate
Citizenship and Sustainability in the Age of Globalization. Oxford University Press.
Harris, F. (2016, December 10). What is HR's role in ethics? Retrieved from hrmagazine.co.uk:
https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/what-is-hrs-role-in-ethics-1
Newman, E. (2015, November 19). Effects of Unethical Behaviour on Business. Retrieved from
Yonyx: http://corp.yonyx.com/customer-service/effects-of-unethical-behaviour-on-
business/
Sims, R. (2010). A Study of Deviance as a Retaliatory Response to Organizational Power.
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