Culture and workplace ethics Essay

Culture in the workplace has very little to do with the well known culture of literature, music and art. In the workplace, culture actually refers to the shared work environment, belief systems, behavior expectations and expected efforts, all of which usually characterize a certain organization or business enterprise. The work setting culture mainly includes things like, socialization expectations, dress code, how different groups within the organization perceive issues relating to attendance, problem solving and quality of work output. Finding the appropriate culture to fit an organization is a vital element in ensuring that a particular field or job is successful. Corporate culture has a lot of influence on ethics of an organization. It is through it that right or wrong decisions are made. They determine whether to adopt strategies that will benefit majority of the people in the workplace positively or adopting ones with an impact of affecting most workers in a negative manner (Russell, Para 3). Effect of culture on workplace ethics The organization’s culture is quite important perhaps more than most people appreciate. It holds various categories of people within an organization together and thus it has a lot of impact on what people within the organization perceive to be right or wrong. Even though certain conducts like corruption might be considered to be vice and thus culturally immoral in some organizations, there are other workplaces where the behavior is considered to be appropriate. Culture is usually deep rooted in an organization since although it is manmade; it takes several decades to grow. New employees in each and every work place are first introduced to the operating culture in the workplace and thus it is usually in each and every person working in the workplace. Ethics comes after culture and it therefore has to sing to the tune of culture (Lagan, & Moran, pp 46). The depth of culture within an organization is usually realized when someone attempts to alter an organization’s culture in a manner that is not consistent with the shared believes and norms of the organization. Such a person usually meets a lot resistance regardless of whether the intended cultural change is ethical or not. Culture within an organization is usually not stagnant but it is rather dynamical so as to take into account the changing business and workplace environment. Due to the fact that the workplace ethics are tied to culture, they also have to keep on changing so as to be consistent with the workplace culture (Russell, Para 4). Workplace ethics is highly influenced by the leadership of the entire organization. These are the people who are charged with the mandate of running the business and making decisions for the entire organization. The organizational culture determines the type of people to take managerial decisions. Therefore, if the culture of an organization is to be led by men and women of high integrity, then the workplace in such an organization is likely to be ethical. This is due to the fact that when an organization is led by such people, they will always make decisions with each and everyone within and without the organization in their mind. Their decisions will in most cases affect majority of the people in a positive manner. In this case, culture is very important on business ethics since it determines in an indirect manner the type of decisions to be made by the managers leading the organization (Hopkins, pp 78). On the other hand, if the organizational culture of a particular enterprise is one that allows men and women of less integrity to lead it, people who enter these offices via unethical channels where merit is not a priority, then such managers will in most cases be unethical. They will in almost all cases make unethical decisions which are likely to only benefit very few individuals within the organization while exposing the majority, mainly the junior members of staff to unfair treatment. Workplaces operating from such environments are mostly unethical and clearly this is as a result of the organizational culture. Most of the decisions adopted in such organizations are usually only aimed at maximizing the profits of the organization without putting into consideration other parties who are likely to suffer as a result of such decisions. These types of managements are mainly self centered and are only worried about their business organizations with little or no concern at all for other people. They are not worried of whether their actions are ethical or not, as long as business is running and making profits nothing else worry them. This attitude is usually enhanced by the organizational culture which in turn affects the workplace ethics significantly (Russell, Para 7). The corporate culture of an enterprise determines the criteria of promotion. If the culture of an organization enhances promotion based on merit, then the workplace will be more ethical as compared to instances where promotion is not based on merit. Since employees seek for promotion every now and then, they have to look for the criterion that is used for promotion so that they can be well equipped to qualify for promotion. Such a culture of promotion will take decades to develop and will thus be very much deep rooted to eliminate within the workplace (Lagan, & Moran, pp 69). The culture of an organization determines the values that are to be held in high regard within the organization. If a culture holds unethical behaviors in high esteem, then such conducts will be dominant in the organization. Rewards will be awarded to those people who excel in such conducts. In this case, the organizational culture is mainly concerned with appreciating the efforts of its employees who have excelled in certain field regardless of whether their actions were ethical or not. Such a culture therefore, promotes unethical behaviors among its employees (Brooks, & Dunn, pp 120). In other organizations, the culture is very clear and is tailored towards promoting ethical behaviors among its employees. In fact, the employees who excel in ethical conducts in various fields in the course of their work are identified in a fair manner and rewarded so as to encourage them to continue in the same spirit and be even more ethical in future. The other employees are also challenged to act ethically and at the same time they are made to desire to act ethically so as to be rewarded like their counterparts who were more ethical than then in a certain period. This form of culture thus acts as a tool for enhancing ethical behaviors within an organization to develop (Bassman, pp 55s). Culture within an organization determines how the organization as whole perceives the outsiders, more so its competitors. There are cultures which are tailored towards viewing the competitors as enemies and thus it promotes actions which will deal with such enterprises as enemies. Such a culture will promote unethical behaviors to its competitors and enmity arises between the two organizations. Culture is responsible for various unethical actions that might be penetrated to the other organization since it has made everyone within the workplace of the organization to develop a negative attitude towards its competitors (Russell, Para 9). At the same time, culture can act as a catalyst for enhancing ethical behaviors among the various employees of the organization especially in their actions towards the competitors. Culture will in this case promote good relations among the two organizations and it will make the employees to perceive the other organization as a competitor and not an enemy. This form of culture will promote actions that will enhance positive competition between the two sides and thus ethical behaviors will be enhanced greatly (Lagan, & Moran, pp 89). While there are employment regulations and laws governing the manner in which employees are to be treated, the ethics of an organization are more tailored by the organizational culture and not such laws and regulations. The ethics therefore goes beyond the regulations and the laws connecting the business practices of an organization to the workers’ personal beliefs. Culture in this case plays a leading role in ensuring that the actions adopted by the organization are in line with it. In this case, the organizational culture ensures that various employees in the workplace within the enterprise work together for a common objective as well as having the intention of doing the right thing in a world that is quite diverse and complex (Bassman, pp 126). The culture in operation within an enterprise determines how an organization treats its outsiders and whether or not it does anything that is likely to affect them negatively. For culture to be able to promote ethical actions among its employees towards the outsiders, then it must be one that encourages decisions that will affect these people in a positive manner. Among the current issues that has brought a lot of criticism in the entire world is that of pollution. An organization is considered to be ethical if it emits fewer pollutants to the environment. This means that it is concerned about the environment and the consequences of disposing untreated chemicals to the environment. On the other hand, there are organizations that are completely unethical. They pollute the environment without really caring how many people will be affected by the same. This affects the workplace environment indirectly since the employees will face hostility from members of public and will in several occasions be referred to as unethical people who do not care about tomorrow. This might make the organization to loose several employees to other companies which are more ethical as employees will like to be associated with organizations with good reputation (Brooks, & Dunn, pp 258). Conclusion Culture is a very important element in every organization. It is responsible in shaping the ethical behavior of the employees and also the workplace ethics. This is due to the fact that ethics within an organization is driven by the culture that is in operation within an organization. Culture is therefore a very important force in driving ethical practices of an enterprise. This is mainly because the organizational culture takes time to grow and mature and that it is taught to all new employees which make it to be deeply rooted within all employees. Culture has the ability of making an organization to act either ethically or unethically. Work cited: Bassman, Emily S. ; Abuse in the workplace: management remedies and bottom line impact; ISBN 089930673X, Quorum, 1992. Brooks, Leonard J. & Dunn, Paul; Business & Professional Ethics for Directors, Executives & Accountants; ISBN 0324594550, Cengage Learning, 2009. Hopkins, Willie Edward. Ethical dimensions of diversity; ISBN 080397289X, SAGE, 1997. Lagan, Attracta & Moran, Brian; Three Dimensional Ethics: Implementing Workplace Values; ISBN 097574223X, eContent Management, 2005. Russell, Mike; Workplace Ethics & Business for Social Responsibility: Initiatives for corporate culture’s committed to ethical business practices, concern for the environment and global humanitarian causes (2008): Retrieved on 5th August 2009 from http://sandiego. jobing. com/blog_post. asp? post=8929.

Organizational change in the public sector Essay

Organizational change in the public sector - Essay Example They bring sophisticated technology to cope with this competitive environment. It is said that there is no best way to manage the organizational change but public sector organizations must need some appropriate approaches to manage the organizational change to cope with the private sector organizations. Some people think that privatization is appropriate for organizational change but it is inappropriate for the public sector organizational change because there is lack of clarity in privatization. Structural and cultural changes are appropriate for public sector organizational change (Coram, Ron, and Burnes 2001) Weaknesses of Public Sector Organizations Public sector organizations are under pressure throughout the world for its less efficiency. Organizational change in public sector can be achieved through changes in men charged with leadership, personnel turnover, human resource management changes, procedure and structure change , way of communication, technology, methodology, shari ng cultural norms, training the employees. The changes in leadership personnel can have a negative impact (Karen Ann 259 page). When the change is implemented there might be some resistance occurred. There may be the conflict among the employees, owners and executives (Leigh, Karyn 2002). Mostly public sector organizations are vertically integrated. ... Strengths of Public Sector Organizations In the horizontal structure there are few positions are at top and the remaining people are the peers. This structure is more common in law, architecture and medical firms. Staff works in teams rather than according to the hierarchy. Few public organizations use divisional structure. In this structure functions and responsibility are assigned according to the territory basis. Examples The department of homeland security and the California energy commission are examples of public sector organizations that are operating under matrix structure. Matrix structure is a mixture of divisional and functional structure. These two departments use highly specialized employees and equipment, employees do the same task repetitively and they get specialize in that particular task. How changes are implemented in public sector organization Diagram (Dolan & Garcia, 2002) Organizational change in public sector can be done through a proper process. First of all o rganization must do its SWOT analysis. After doing the SWOT analysis organization see that where they are standing today and what they want to be in future. So there is a gap between the today and future. This gap can be filled by doing some proper changes. These changes can be Corporate values and norms Organizational structure and process Regarding the products and services (This is 100% UNIQUE) Result of organizational change Organization also sees that from these changes Who will be affected? What will be the cost? How much time is required to fulfill this gap? What will be the major focus areas during fulfilling this gap? Public sector organization can make changes in the organization through Information Communication Involvement Education and training

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is an important part of the Essay

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is an important part of the English criminal trial process. Critically evaluate the role of the CPS ensuring you include any areas of criticism and calls for reform - Essay Example The 1999, Access to Justice Act also provided for public defenders appointment (Griffiths & Pritchard, 2010, p. 224). This has the implication that, each individual person arrested for a crime, in spite of his or her status, is legally unrestricted to have an independent and a free legal representative present, prior to the commencement of police interviews. The Crown Prosecution Service will focus on criticism while at the same time identifying and evaluating CPS’s functions, as well as, its applicability in defence during criminal trials. In addition, the paper will also focus on identifying and discussing sentencing powers as well as limitations that are accessible by a Judge during a particular criminal case. Prior to establishment of the CPS in 1986, the police conducted prosecutions that were presented by the state. Most of the people took into consideration that crime investigation should be treated separately from hearing cases as well as that that conflicts the role played by the police during prosecution. The passing of the PACE Act that was led by the Phillips Commission stated that, in England and Wales, there was no uniform system of prosecution. According to Griffiths & Pritchard (2010) the English Criminal Justice system could be described as an adversarial system; however, the system has shifted slightly to towards an inquisitorial system so as to increase efficiency and increasing the role of the judge through for instance judicial case management (Griffiths & Pritchard, 2010, p. 216). Establishment of CPS was mainly focused on conforming specific roles and functions. The mentioned roles and functions included making of decisions especially on which kind of offences should b e charged and case reviews to ensure sufficiency of the evidence to commence a criminal case, and the responsibility for the case and other functions. Nevertheless the Crown Prosecution

Burger King Beefs Up Global Operations Case Study

Burger King Beefs Up Global Operations - Case Study Example The company today enjoys a larger foreign market than its main MacDonald. Burger King’s core competency lies in the unique method it uses to cook hamburger. Burger King cooks using flame- broiled method, different from grills that fry. This relates to the company’s service delivery options to its customers. It also offers a variety of options to its customers on how they prefer the burgers served to them. Most of Burger Kings restaurants are in the United States. Since the company started in 1954, its menu has extended to include breakfast, chicken, fish, and salad as part of the menu. Whopper sandwich is until today considered the firm’s signature product. Burger King started in 1954 as InstaBurger King. It went public in 2006 and has since then operated autonomously. The company grew to five restaurants by 1959. It was still in Miami, Florida and operated as a private firm. The name changed to Burger King in 1959 when it started domestic franchising. Pillsbury bought it 1967, after which franchising improved considerably. Pillsbury, in 1989, sold the company to the British company Grand Metropolitan. The merging of Grand Metropolitan and Guinness later formed Diageo, in 1997. The company has well-structured advertisement campaign. It uses big campaign companies outsmarting its competitors. The United States is nearly a full-grown market for fast food despite the growth opportunities available. This is particularly for hamburgers. Burger Kings plans to increase its market to international scale (Parasuraman, Grewal, & Krishnan, 2006). The company targets countries with a large population, mainly of young people, high beef demand and consumption. Other factors include capital availability for franchising and a favorable business environment. McDonalds is the main competitor of Burger Kings. International expansion of Burger Kings is, however, higher than McDonald’s. This presents both

Branded Spaces Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Branded Spaces - Essay Example ispensable tool for real estate firms and property owners who are now prospecting to let their property for a short period in the wake of an economy down town pending its recovery (Vacant.com, 2011). A pop-up shop is a temporary venue. For instance, the space can be used for merchandise activities while on the following day hold a cocktail party. The tendency entails popping-up one day or week, then vanishing the same duration later. These shops, although they are small and temporary, have the capacity to build up interest through consumer exposure. Pop-up shops enable a firm to create a unique environment that involves its consumers, and develops a sense of significance and interactivity (Smith, 2009). The retail environment of pop-up stores in most cases is highly experiential, transporting emotions in an event-oriented type of atmosphere. While pop-up stores can also serve as retail events to sell special offers, they often serve as retail avenues to present and introduce product innovations or even conduct market tests. As such, locations are usually in city centres, or the trendy neighbourhoods of big cities (Townsend, 2010). With the strategy of pop-up stores being the creation of a climate of scarcity, retailers try to build a higher willingness to pay among their customer because there no option for price comparison and offers are only available for short periods of time, which can increase desirability. In particular, temporary stores that sell special offers are consumption events for customers and their main objective is to get discounts. In some cases, pop-up stores of this type are used to give special offers to long-term, high value customers. In these events, the scarcity effect is reinforced as there is not only a temporary limitation of the offers but... Center of discussion in this paper is Vacant of Los Angeles as the first company that developed the idea of pop-up retail. This was after the company had toured Tokyo on a business trip. The company was puzzled by the manner in which customers would literally line up to buy limited edition products from place retailers. When the products were all sold out, an exercise that took place in a matter of hours, the store closed down until its owner had brought in another stock, and then reopen it. This concept fascinated Vacant, who though to closing the store permanently after the stock had been sold. The company also thought of moving to another targeted destination because customers used to travel for long distances in order to buy products from niche retailers. Vacant picked up this idea and even today, the company still provides retailing alongside marketing for businesses. The company opened its second shop in NYC2003 through the sponsorship of Dr. Martens. Later in the same year, So ng Airlines opened their pop-up shop in the same city. In 2004, Comme Des Garcons opened up a pop-up shop known as the Guerrilla Shop, which lasts for a one-year term. Since then, the trend of pop-up shops has grown to become an indispensable tool for real estate firms and property owners who are now prospecting to let their property for a short period in the wake of an economy down town pending its recovery. Although pop-ups began as a way of artists to make use of disused space in urban areas, this has since changed modern entrepreneurial activity.

PromptDescribe your intellectual interests, their evolution, and what Essay

PromptDescribe your intellectual interests, their evolution, and what makes them exciting to you. Tell us how you will utilize the academic programs in the Col - Essay Example The phones, watches and stereos were all under my mercy. I could not get over my mesmerizing into the intricate connection of this device to that and the overall effect. Needless to say the string that followed such activity was endless circling around what is this, how and why. This was my favorite hobby. I suppose this kind of behavior is normal for kids and especially those that are destined to make great discoveries in future. It all starts with a question like why is the sky blue Of course our reaction to the response varies thereby demarcating each child's individuality and uniqueness. In my case the answer to this question was a start to what have become a resilient pursuit of greater knowledge and more answers to natural phenomenon. High school was an eye opener for me after the exposure to the topics on atoms and molecules. It is fascinating to know that here are millions of invisible elements in the atmosphere that cause such real effects in the daily life. (Schmelcher & Schweizer, 15) Physics and astronomy intrigued me and I kept myself enlightened with books such as black holes and time wraps by Kip S. Thome. My relentless questions soon became equally sophisticated to why dark matter exists. There was no turn around for me at this point.

Picking a stock Essay Example for Free

Picking a stock Essay Picking a stock is not as easy as differentiating NYSE from the Nasdaq. And more importantly, such differences are independent of the quality of the stocks. Both bourses make up the big majority of the US stock market. Easily, these stock exchanges maintain the country’s premiered blue chip stocks; wherein Microsoft is Nasdaq’s â€Å"flagship† stock and General Electric is arguably NYSE’s most well established listed company. The most glaring difference between the two is their own choice of medium to do transactions. â€Å"Nasdaq-listed trades are entirely automated. NYSE trades are still overseen by specialists. While traders have some say in how, when and at what price the trades are crossed, they cant pick the market† (NYSE vs. Nasdaq, (2003), from web site http://www. forbes. com/2003/08/18/cx_aw_0818mondaymatchup. html). Meanwhile, NYSE’s seven (7) specialists act as facilitators with the interest of making a very liquid market in the stock exchange. Nasdaq’s market makers on the other hand, actually act as participants in the buying and selling of shares (electronically, of course). NYSE is a well-know auction’s market wherein â€Å"the highest bidding price will be matched by the lowest asking price† (The Tale of Two Exchanges: NYSE and Nasdaq, from web site http://www. investopedia. com/articles/basics/03/103103. asp). Conversely, Nasdaq is more â€Å"organic† as a dealer’s market where market makers buy and sell from each other against their personal inventories. Lastly, history makes a big contribution to each bourse’s public perception. Whereas the NYSE is viewed as a more established institution (founded in 1792), Nasdaq is perceived as high-growth and highly volatile trading platform and subsequently attracts mostly firms from the IT and Telecom industries. Some first-time participants who are cost-driven prefer Nasdaq’s cheaper listing fee as well. The case of former Worldcom CEO Bernard Ebbers created a ripple effect in the telecommunications industry and severely put its existing form, MCI, into a whirlpool of debt amounting to around $35 billion. Even when Verizon purchased MCI for $7. 6 billion when the latter filed for bankruptcy, the new executive officers had the daunting tasks of regaining public trust while at the same unfolding more antitrust issues and financial window dressing perpetrated by the previous incumbents. Thousands of jobs were lost; creditors and investors alike could not recoup most of their stakes in the company. â€Å"†¦the fall of WorldCom altered the fortunes of a number of telecommunications industry participants, none more so than ATT Corporation† (Romar, Edward J. , Worldcom Case Study Update 2006, (2006), from web site http://www. scu. edu/ethics/dialogue/candc/cases/worldcom-update. html). The demise of Worldcom after the scandal affected the entire industry, especially the other forerunners that put too much reliance on the now bankrupt company as the beacon of industry standards. Bloated projections not only destroyed Worldcom, but it also damaged financially the competitors who reacted aggressively to counter these projections. For example, Worldcom’s former suppliers Nortell and Lucent Technologies took a nosedive via layoffs and below book value share prices because of these overstated figures that were never accomplished anyway.