Business Ethics: Mechmar International Limited

Question 3a

Attempts are being made to overcome the chasm between business ethics through the establishment of new overlapping groups, through joint sessions at various organizational meetings, through special conferences, all concerned with environmental issues both from managerial and ethical perspectives. A stronger bridge needs to be formed to allow dialogue between these fields to begin at a deeper, theoretical level. The field of environmental ethics by and large rests on theories and conceptual foundations quite different from those of business ethics. This separation poses numerous practical and pedagogical problems for the field of business ethics, and as the concern for the natural environment gains in importance (Solomon1999). There are undoubtedly many historical and institutional reasons for the separate development of these fields. Responsible corporate decision making, must include environmental considerations when these are relevant. What specific course of action should be followed in specific instances must of course emerge from the concrete situation and the unique conflicting demands it involves. As in all moral decision making, the more deeply one is attuned to their multiple interrelations with the social, cultural and political environments in which they are embedded, the more a potential exists for the ordering and reorganizing capabilities of creative intelligence to offer hypotheses which are viable for enriching human existence and identity (Solomon1999).

 

 Business ethics is too often conceived as a set of impositions and constraints, obstacles to business behavior rather than the motivating force of that behavior. So conceived, it is no surprise that many people in business look upon ethics and ethicists with suspicion, as antagonistic if not antithetical to their enterprise. But properly understood ethics does not and should not consist of a set of prohibitive principles or rules. It is the virtue of an ethics of virtue to be rather an intrinsic part and the driving force of a successful life well lived (Ciulla 1998). Mass markets, economies of scale, and efficiency of distribution call for massive organizations, and the disappearance of national borders, both in practice and in law, leaves the dominance of the global and multinational corporations unchallenged. There will continue to be more or less local government regulations, some necessary and benign, others annoying, and the most powerful governments may take on the most powerful corporations, one by one(Ciulla 1998).  Mechmar International Limited can create a scholarship foundation for the sons and daughters of their employees as well as other uneducated children. The scholarship foundation would make sure that children who does not go to school will have the proper education they need. The scholarship would entail primary to tertiary education. Another method for Mechmar to show that they have Corporate social responsibility is through organizing an institution that will gather and train those who are unemployed. The institution will determine the skills and abilities of those who are unemployed and determine the needed skills of the employment market. The institution will then train those who are unemployed according to the needs of the employment market. Lastly a method for Mechmar to show that they have Corporate social responsibility is to hire some individuals who are either graduate of their scholarship program or part of those who were unemployed but trained by the organization. This will make sure that the firm will hire qualified individuals. This maintains the relationship of  the firm and those who were involved in the scholarship program and training program for the unemployed.

Question 3b

 Organizations that are truly committed to ethical conduct make ethical behavior a fundamental component of their organization culture. They put a stake in the ground, explicitly stating what the organization intends and expects. Values statements and codes of ethical conduct are used as a benchmark for judging both organization policies and individual conduct. They don't forget that trust, integrity, and fairness do matter, and they are crucial to the bottom leaders. Top management has the responsibility for establishing standards of behaviors and for effectively communicating those standards throughout the organization (Sims 2003). One classic way in which organizations have fulfilled their responsibility to communicate ethical standards or expectations is through the use of codes of ethics, or codes of conduct. Codes of ethics are a phenomenon of the past two decades, and most of the major corporations have them today. The articulation and communication of ethical expectations through written codes and standards is a must in the institutionalization of ethics process. Codes of ethics should not be confused with statements of values. Indeed, in some organizations the two may be the same, or at least overlap. However, they fill different roles. Rather than stating broad values held by the organization, written codes of ethics should be a series of clear, specific, positive, and direct statements from the top leadership of the organization and should be well circulated throughout the organization (Sims 2003). Code of ethics is important to maintain a positive image for Mechmar International Limited. The following will detail the code of ethics:

1. Information that one has in relation to Mechmar’s well being should be kept in strictest confidentiality.
2. All employees of Mechmar should avoid any investments or business interests which might interfere with or influence their objective judgment in doing their responsibilities.
3. Unless authorized no employee or a member of a management team shall directly or indirectly seek or accept any payments, services or other favors irrespective of size or amount outside the normal course of the employee or a member of the management team's business duties from any individual or organization which is currently or is seeking to do business with the company.
4. No member of Mechmar International Limited is allowed to campaign for a political candidate during business hours.
5. Each employee or a member of the management team is personally accountable and liable for company funds or assets over which he or she has control
6. Each employee or a member of the management team should make sure that they respect the rights of the company’s customers, and co-employees. The customers and co employees should be treated in a fair way.
7. Each employee and member of the management team is responsible for bringing to the company’s attention any situation which the employee believes is a violation of this Business Code of Ethics.

In implementing such code of ethics, the company will publish it and provide copies to all members of the organization. The company will give leeway for the first three weeks so that the members will adjust to the change. Any violation will contribute to the termination of an employee depending on the veracity of the offense and number of times an offense is committed.

 

References

 

Ciulla, JB 2004, Ethics, the heart of leadership, Praeger,

Westport, CT.

 

Sims, RR 2003, Ethics and corporate social responsibility: Why

giants fall, Praeger, Westport, CT

 

Solomon, RC 1999, A better way to think about business: How

personal integrity leads to corporate success, Oxford University

Press, New York.

 

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