Ethics Awareness

Ethics Awareness Your Name MGT521 Date Instructor Name

Ethics Awareness

Ethics Awareness

A person uses his/her values to make important decisions. According to Hock, Kunreuther, & Gunther (2001), values will continue to play an important role in the way people make decisions. This paper will evaluate personal values, organizational values, and ethical decision making. It will present the results of one team members Awareness Assessment (A3) and show how the members results align with the ethics of the Wal-Mart Organization. Evaluating Personal Values Wal-Mart believes in respecting each individual, giving service to the customers, and striving for excellence. They believe each employee should have these values already within them when they are hired to work. According to Walmart.com (n.d.), our culture has rested on three basic beliefs since Sam Walton opened the first Walmart in 1962. Wal-Mart feels the 3 beliefs come from a persons personal integrity and responsibility. They do know that each person has his/her own beliefs, but they hope their values are the same. Wal-Mart continues to try to get the employees to reach for new ideas and goals within the company. Each employee is expected to understand and follow with their Statement of Ethics. By following the Statement of Ethics, an employee will receive the trust and respect of management and the customers and is expected to speak up if he/she has any concerns on anything that could be inappropriate behavior. The employees are to share the responsibility of the whole company when inappropriate behavior is found. If an employee raises a concern, management has to keep the employees identity confidential and look into the matter immediately. Organizational Values Wal-Marts organizational values are stated as At the core of every one of our rules and customs is the basic value of respect for the customer, associates, and suppliers. It is our focus

Ethics Awareness

for building relationships. It helps us serve the communities in which we live, and build a business committed to excellence (Wal-Mart, n.d). Seeing that the core values align with the selected persons ethics it is clear that what the most likely decision-making process that both the organization and Jason would go through is very similar. Ethical Decision Making The Ethical Decision Making has the power or authority in the structuring of a well known company. Walmart is a business environment which has continuous company growth and progress. WalMart (2008) has their beliefs that the company stands firm on. There are Respect of Individuals, Exceptional Service of Customers, and Strive for excellence (Walmart,2008). Questions Answered The A3 approach is about awareness, articulation and application. My results of the ethics awareness inventory show that I am mostly aligned with (O) obligation. I believe people should do what is morally right and should feel obligated to do so. When determining whether a persons actions are ethical I tend to look at their intent rather than focusing on the results. People must choose how to act in a given situation and follow through. Ethical principles should be respectful, appropriate for the situation and promote autonomy. People should never be treated as a means to accomplish a goal. Everyone has intrinsic value and rules that deny these opportunities are unconstitutional. I am an advocate of policies that promote personal growth and respect of others. Ethical dilemmas I face are related to what is best for the company may not be best for the right choice. Sometimes the cost does not outweigh the benefit. My sense of obligation to do what is right is frustrated by how individuals define right and wrong.

Ethics Awareness

The organization we selected to research was Wal-Mart.

My personal values from the

ethics awareness inventory listed above tend to align with Wal-Marts ethical policies. Wal-Mart appears to be an equal opportunities organization hiring people from all walks of life. According to Wal-Marts website they have continually increased the total number of female and minority associates in the United States sense 2008. A possible scenario where my ethics could differ from an organization, Wal-Mart in this case would be a decision to let go an employee. The organization may decide to fire an employee for repeated failure to show up to work on time. From my ethical awareness inventory I have a strong sense of obligation, the employee should make every attempt to show-up when scheduled to do so. Given my tendency to look past the obvious, I would examine why the employee was repeatedly late. It is possible the employee rides the bus to work. Public transportation can have delays such as traffic or the occasional accident. The employee who could be let go for the wrong reasons. A large organization that looks at the bottom line might miss the important details, the human factor. Conclusion In conclusion, a person uses his/her values to make important decisions. According to Hock, Kunreuther, & Gunther (2001), values will continue to play an important role in the way people make decisions. This paper has evaluated personal values, organizational values, and ethical decision making. It has presented the results of one team members Awareness Assessment (A3) and show how the members results align with the ethics of the Wal-Mart Organization.

Ethics Awareness

Reference Hoch, S.J., Kunreuther, H.C., & Gunther, R.E. (Eds). 2001. Wharton on Making Decisions. Wiley. New York, NY Robbins, S. P. & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational Behavior (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Spatt, B. (2011). Writing from Sources (8th ed.). Bedford St. Martin Publishing. Wal-Mart. n.d. Culture Respect. from http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/295.aspx Wal-Mart. n.d. 3 Basic Beliefs & Values. from http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/321.aspx Walton, Sam. 2008. Walmart Business Ethics. Retrieved from http://walmartstores.com/media/cndpull/statementofethics