Module 2 – Case
Ethical Decision Making in Difficult Situations
Assignment Overview
Moving Toward an Ethical Workplace
As you can see from your reading for the case assignment Lockheed Martin has a very interesting history and this history has had an impact on where the company is today with respect to its existing ethics program.
Case Assignment
After reading Chapter 2 of the text, please write a 4-5 page essay that addresses the following:
Lockheed has an interesting history that seemed innocent enough up until around the 1950s. You’ll note on p. 56 of Terris’ book that the company began to engage in some questionable sales strategies with other nations in an effort sell the F-104 Starfighter so as to recoup costs when their US sales strategy failed.
- Describe some of the unorthodox strategies covered by Terris during this era that made Lockheed become “…a byword for the shady practices of American multi-national corporations, and a major impetus for new legislation…”.
- On the issue of overseas bribes, Terris asks the questions, “Who was hurt by the [overseas bribes to secure sales of aircraft]? The competitors, of course, but what was unethical about beating out the competition that was playing by the same rules?” (p.59). What do you think about a situation where underhanded and back door deals are the way the game is played if everybody is on the same playing field? That is to say, if everybody is playing by the same shady rules, is it unethical to compete?
In your reading you will note that defense contractors continued to find themselves in hot water well into the 1970s as a result of overpricing and additional charges of bribery. In the late 70s Lockheed established its first code of ethics and later the major defense contractors came to the table to level the playing field with the Defense Industry Initiative (DII), by agreeing on a set of ethical principles. This was an important turning point as was bringing Norman Augustine on board.
- Why was the DII so important to the eventual success of Lockheed Martin’s ethics program?
- Discuss Norman Augustine’s and Dilbert’s contribution in helping Lockheed Martin turn the corner with its ethics program.
Assignment Expectations
Your paper should be 4 to 5 pages, should be double-spaced and in 12-point type size.
Your paper should have a separate cover page and a separate reference page. Make sure you cite your sources.
Use APA style, and proofread your paper.
Upload your paper to by the end of the module.
Module 2 – SLP
Ethical Decision Making in Difficult Situations
Ethical Decisions in the Workplace
After reading your background readings, please review the following scenario and address the questions at the end.
Jerry Stevens heads up an excavation crew for the municipal utilities district in a city in Nebraska. A sewer line needs to be replaced and it has been excavated with a back-hoe. The trench is 7 feet deep. The municipality’s safety rules indicate that employees should not go into the trench without a trench box. This rule is to prevent employees from being buried if the trench walls collapse. People die every year from trench cave-ins.
The trench box won’t arrive on site for another 6 hours and the city promised residents that the sewer would be fixed by the end of the day, which now seems impossible. The City Administrator called Jerry on his cell phone and indicated that it was imperative that the sewer be fixed as soon as conceivably possible because a City Council member is served by that sewer line and will raise a fuss if it’s not fixed by the promised time.
One of the more experienced workers states, “It’s only going to take 30 minutes to dig under the pipe and loosen the fittings. We don’t need the trench box. We used to do this all the time before we were required to use one of those darn things.”
Jerry knows he’s right. He used to do it himself before the rule was put in place. Also, the soil is clearly a cohesive soil and it’s highly unlikely that it will collapse. And although there is an organizational policy to use a trench box for trenches deeper than 5 feet, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not have
Jurisdiction over municipalities in Nebraska because municipalities are political subdivisions of the State. The only entity regulating safety policies is the City’s Safety Director and he took the day off.
- In this scenario, to what extent do you think allowing the crew into the trench without a trench box would be pushing (or exceeding) the limit?
- Discuss any ethical grey areas in this scenario?
- What in your mind is the right thing to do?
- What is the value of having an ethics program (and related programs like safety programs) and what are the responsibilities of front line leaders/supervisors and the workers when they face dilemmas such as the one described?
SLP Assignment Expectations
Please take some time to review the materials and take a position on the issue. Write a 2- to 3-page assessment of the authors’ claims, and your assessment of what might be done in a place of business to prevent the “moral amnesia” phenomenon from taking a foothold in a place of business.
Your paper should be double-spaced and in 12-point type size.
Your paper should have a separate cover page and a separate reference page. Make sure you cite your sources.
Use APA style, and proofread your paper.
Upload your paper by the end of the module.
Module 2 References
Terris, Daniel. (2005) Ethics at Work: Creating Virtue at an American Corporation. Brandeis University Press. Waltham, MA. Retrieved from ProQuest ebrary. Pages 49-75.
De Cremer, D., & de Bettignies, H. (2013). PRAGMATIC BUSINESS ETHICS. Business Strategy Review, 24(2), 64-67. Retrieved from Trident University Library.
Snell, R. (2013). Teaching rules-based and values-based ethics. Journal of Health Care Compliance, 15(1), 29-32. Retrieved from the Trident Online Library.
The following Pearson learning tools should be reviewed to help you prepare for your discussion board postings:
Pearson MyCourse Tools, (2015). Utilitarian Theory. Interactive Tutorial. Retrieved from: http://www.pearsoncustom.com/mct-comprehensive/asset.php?isbn=1269879944&id=22537
Pearson MyCourse Tools, (2015) Utilitarian Theory. Podcast. Retrieved from: http://www.pearsoncustom.com/mct-comprehensive/asset.php?isbn=1269879944&id=22539
