Business Ethics – Case Study
Benji Watson had an opportunity to attend a “Get to Know Us” event with New Gen Health Sciences, a company that was recruiting him for employment, during a weekend long event sponsored by the company. Prior to arriving at New Gen, Benji researched the company, on line, to assist in his questions regarding the company. He found several sites, which could possibly question the ethics of the company, as well as the culture in which this company represented.
In order for Benji to make a decision, he will need to base his decision on many critical factors.These factors may include: offers from other corporations, the ability to work within the business ethics of New Gen. and the culture of New Gen. Understanding business ethics will be useful for Benji to evaluate New Gen. De George refers to business ethics as the “everyday moral or ethical norms to business.
” (De George, 2005, para. 3). De George goes on with the example of ethics identifying the Ten Commandments from the bible is still in use today by many people as a guide to living life. (2005). Ethical behavior is the understanding of what is right and wrong. Business ethics is a subset of the study of ethics and is defined as the study of what makes up good and bad business conduct” (Kubasek, Brennan, & Browne, 2012, p.
204). In business, we can relate to a company based on their actions and the actions of their employees. Consider the first encounter Benji had with the New Gen recruiter. He was given a New Gen shirt, IPAD, and a carrying case. Some might view this as a bribe instead of a gift. “A gift is something of value given without the expectation of return; a bribe is the same thing given in the hope of influence or benefit.
” (Nadler & Schulman, 2006, para. ). In this instance, one would question if the items for Benji were given to him to provide influence on a decision to join the New Gen team. Benji’s inquiries into the items he researched in regards to the company left many responses open to interpretation. For example, the recruiter was proud of the “P. R.
” team, as they lead people to believe their products are from an “exotic” location, when in fact they are manufactured locally. The recruiter also talked of the company’s ethics code, and that the legal team made sure they were compliant and was structured to “attract investors”.These comments would suggest a lack of integrity and honesty. “To most people, integrity means honesty. Though some don’t consciously realize it, honesty includes not only telling the truth, but also leaving the right impression”(Covey & Merrill, 2006, p. 62).
The recruiter may be telling the truth, but it would appear that the impression is negative. Another questionable ethics practice was New Gen being a large contributor to companies like Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. “The crucial factor here is not observable action, but rather the underlying motivation” (Dobson, n. . , p. 3).
This might be a strategy to portray them as a great company, or it could be motivated purely by the economics. The ethical behavior of New Gen will play a role in their corporate culture. The CEO made several comments relating to the culture of New Gen. When the CEO “harshly told the infant’s mother to please show some consideration…and take the child out of the room” this reaction demonstrated a lack of compassion. As the company has portrayed itself as a Christian organization, it surprises me that the CEO does not follow in the footsteps of our Lord. The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love” (Psalms 145:8).
The CEO is a representative of the company and could have handled that situation with more dignity and compassion for the mother. Another remark from the CEO pertained to getting rich as a result of transforming the nation to the company’s image. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Mat 6:24).The CEO was unable to “talk the talk” and demonstrate it’s Christian values towards the culture of the organization.
One of the articles in which Benji reviewed also suggested the CEO was more interested in building up companies to sell at a profit, again showing his desire for money over serving the Lord. Even though the CEO claimed to “care about people and about making their lives better,” it became apparent that the culture of New Gen focuses more on making money. Benji was offered a contract of $80,000. 0 plus commission and is assumed to be within his compensation requirements. It would be recommended that Benji not accept this offer.
He needs to review the other companies that are recruiting him. New Gen has shown several business practices of being an unethical company by being dishonest, lacking integrity, and offering questionable bribes to recruited candidates as a practice. This unethical behavior, along with the questionable representation of the CEO, would be a deterrent from seeking employment. ?
