Organizational Ethics Resolution Paper - MGT344

IntroductionBusiness ethics examines the principles of behavior within an organization that is morally accepted as "good" and "right" as opposed to "bad" or "wrong" in a specific context. Various perspectives are examined in the process of evaluating ethical behavior including the perspective of the employee, commercial interests, as well as society as a whole. An effective organizational culture should encourage ethical behavior and discourage unethical behavior. However, situations often manifest in the form of conflict between one or more parties in which servicing the interest of one party is detrimental to the other.

There are two basic schools of thought pertaining to the purpose of a business ethics in terms of society. On one hand, economists such as Milton Friedman suggest that the primary object of a business is to maximize its returns to its owners or shareholders. According to this stance, only activities that increase profitability and shareholder value should be encouraged including obeying the law and basic moral principles.

Portrait of Henry Ford (ca. 1919)

English: Ford Motor Company Headquarters, Dearborn...

1961 Ford H-Series trucks

On the other hand, some theorists contend that a business has moral obligations beyond serving the interests of its owners and stakeholders that consists of more than simply obeying the law. They postulate that a business has moral responsibilities to its stakeholders as well, which include employees, vendors, customers and even the society as a whole. (Harrington, 1991)The imperatives of day-to-day organizational operations are typically numerous and complex. Accordingly, the ethical climate of different organizations can encompass various elements-one example being conflicting interests. A conflict of interest is defined as a situation in which someone in a position of trust has competing professional and/or personal interests, making it difficult for the individual to perform his or her duties impartially. (Wikipedia.org)Depending upon the rules or code of conduct set forth by a specific organization, the existence of a conflict of...