Discussion 1: Shared Practice 1: The Ethical Challenges and Legal Risks of Being a Manager

Discussion 1: Shared Practice 1: The Ethical Challenges and Legal Risks of Being a Manager

 

Often, people have difficulty recognizing when they may be compromising their own personal ethics. This does not mean that they are unethical people, per se. Unconscious prejudices and unintended biases can taint a manager’s decisions, choices, and actions to the detriment of employers, employees, partners, and clients. Some decisions that appear to be profitable can appear short-sighted, unethical, and unwise in the long-term. When deadlines may not be met, when the threat of failure casts a larger shadow than the prospect for success, when the thrill of reward obscures long-term consequences, or when monetary incentives can easily skew one’s decisions, how can a manager be certain his or her actions—and the actions of their bosses and their employees—are always ethically sound?

For this week’s Shared Practice, reflect on your own professional experiences and search reputable news sources on the internet to find an example in the news where managers and employees at a company fell short of doing the “right thing.” Consider the circumstances that surrounded the example and whether it makes the person or organization ‘bad’?

With these thoughts in mind:

By Day 3

Post a response to the following:

• Describe a case you have experienced or a story within the last three years that you have found through a reputable news source, where the manager(s) of a company did not act ethically or align their conduct with laws and regulations. Discuss the consequences that occurred, or might occur, as a result.

Hint: Your answer should address who was affected and what happened to the reputation of the organization or the individual(s) involved in the situation.

• Explain actions would you take if you knew management at your organization was not aligning its actions to the valued and policies of the organization, or worse, to the law. Discuss how would you proceed, and the concerns might you have.

Hint: In your answer, be sure to consider seriously the obstacles you might confront. Your actions might put friends and colleagues in legal trouble, your own job might be at risk, and “whistle-blowers” often face severe backlash. Your answer should account for these challenges.

 

Required Readings

Document: Week 7 Weekly Briefing (PDF)

 

The Weekly Briefing provides an essential introduction to the content and concepts that you will be studying during the week. After viewing the weekly Introduction, the Weekly Briefing should be your initial reading each week.

Bagley, C. E. (2008). Winning legally: The value of legal astuteness. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 378–390.

In this article, Bagley argues that legal astuteness is a valuable managerial capability in several ways. She also contends that managers who are legally astute provide their organizations with competitive advantages.

Banaji, M. R., Bazerman, M. H., & Chugh, D. (2003). How (un)ethical are you? Harvard Business Review, 81(12), 56–64.  Banaji, Bazerman, and Chugh argue that a person’s unconscious biases can favor courses of action that are ethically problematic. Such biases can interfere with hiring decisions, dampen team performance, and prevent effective collaboration. The authors argue for more stringent ethics training for managers and examine four situations where managers may unintentionally make unethical decisions.

Bazerman, M. H., & Tenbrunsel, A. E. (2011). Ethical breakdowns. Harvard Business Review, 89(4), 58–65.  In this article, Bazerman and Tenbrunsel illustrate how ethical breakdowns can occur in any organization. They also discuss what individuals, managers, and organizations can do to recognize and prevent situations where ethical breakdowns can occur.

Duska, R. F. (2004). Six cures for current ethical breakdowns. Journal of Financial Service Professionals, 58(3), 23–26.

Duska argues that companies in the financial service sector, such as accounting and investment firms, need to safeguard integrity. Instead, many important firms have been guilty of unethical, or ethically questionable, behavior. Duska lists six solutions to turn this situation around.

Posner, B. B. (2010). Values and the American manager: A three-decade perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 91(4), 457–465.

In this article, Posner reviews survey data to examine how values of American managers have changed. He also explores the implications of these changes for organizations.

Collins, J. (2005). Level 5 leadership: The triumph of humility and fierce resolve. Harvard Business Review, 83(7/8), 136–146.  What kind of a manager can make a company truly great? This article discusses how humility and professional will are essential characteristics for great managers.

Epstein, M. J., Buhovac, A. R., & Yuthas, K. (2010). Implementing sustainability: The role of leadership and organizational culture. Strategic Finance, 91(10), 41–47.

In this article, the authors examine the difficulties of integrating corporate sustainability into organizational culture. The authors profile the efforts of four companies: Nike Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., Home Depot Inc., and Nissan North America Inc.

Leveraging HR and knowledge management in a challenging economy. (2009, June). HR Magazine, 54(6), 1–9.

This article examines the role of the Human Resources department in developing a workplace culture, improving organizational learning, and enhancing competitive advantage.

Pannoni, R., & Ricketts, G. (2010). A new taxonomy for learning. Chief Learning Officer, 9(8), 32–35.

In this article, Pannoni and Ricketts argue that organizations need to blend informal and formal teaching techniques to improve employee performance.

Yates, K., & Vallas, S. (2012). The character of communication. Communication World, 29(3), 23–26.

In this article, Yates and Vallas discuss how senior managers employ communication strategies to manage change and build sustainable performance.

 

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