Post on 28-Oct-2014
description
ROLE STRESS
Stress: condition that results when person-environment interaction leads someone to perceive a painful discrepancy, real or imagined,
between the demands of a situation on the one hand and their social, biological, or psychological resources on the other.
ROLE STRESS:It is the strain, conflict, or disruption that results from a lack of
agreement on certain job-related activities.
MEANING OF ROLE STRESS
•The conflict that arises between: role played by an individual and the specific tasks that go with that role
•It has an unswerving bearing on: ethical decision making behavior of
the individual
•Stress on the job: a key aspect influencing unethical behavior
•Tasks necessitate decision maker to formulate many tradeoffs and thus
face more ethical dilemmas than others
EXAMPLE:Salespeople confronted with
customers who expect incentives that are against the company policy.
CORPORATE EXAMPLE:CORPORATE EXAMPLE:
NUVEEN INVESTMENTS: An investment solution company’s
advertisement shown during the Super Bowl.
THE AD:It featured Christopher Reeve and
led people to believe that the paralyzed Reeve could walk again.The ad might have given too much
hope to paralyzed people.ETHICAL DILEMMA:
The dilemma faced by the ad maker was the narrow line between trying
to be creative (HIS ROLE) and being misleading at the same time.
DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION
DEFINITION:It refers to the idea that people learn ethical or unethical behavior while
interacting with others who are part of their role-sets or belong to other intimate
personal groups.MEANING:
Association with ethical/unethical persons along with the opportunity to act on the
same lines affects ethical decision making a lot.
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH STUDIES:
Employees, more often young managers, go by their superiors’ moral judgments to
show loyalty.EXAMPLE:
Two cashiers John & Jenna work in different shifts in same company. John is influenced by unethical friends and Jenna by ethical friends. Both behave according to their friends’ actions. John believes in the justification of his unethical friends, though, he also views stealing as wrong.
CORPORATE EXAMPLECORPORATE EXAMPLE
Co-workers at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility taught Mark
Hernandez to repair scratches in the insulation without reporting the repairs.
This was encouraged by supervisors to avoid paper work and meet tight
schedules.
After the shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry, killing all 7 astronauts,
investigations are being carried out to find out if a piece of foam falling off a fuel tank during the lift-off may have caused
the irreparable damage.
WHISTLE- BLOWING
INTRODUCTION:
Conflict ensues when employees know they are right but the company promotes unethical decision. Employees conclude to follow their values & cannot discuss
this with colleagues, they may go outside to publicize & correct the unethical
situation.
DEFINITION:
Exposing an employer’s wrongdoing to outsiders, such as media or government
regulatory agencies.
WHISTLE BLOWERS:
•Provide pivotal evidence to show unethical practices
• Importance was highlighted in 2002 when TIME magazine declared 3 as
“Persons of the Year”
CORPORATE EXAMPLE:CORPORATE EXAMPLE:“Persons of the Year” awardees: Sheron
Watkins (ENRON), Cynthia Cooper (WORLDCOM) & Coleen Rowley (FBI)
Sheron Watkins (VP) warned Kenneth Lay (CEO) that the company was using improper accounting procedures and later she testified
before the Congress that ENRON had concealed billions through off-balance-sheet
partnerships.
PLIGHT OF WHISTLE BLOWERS
• Do not receive positive recognition for pointing out corporate misconduct
• They are labeled as traitors• They lose their jobs
FINDINGS BY UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA:
69% Whistleblowers lost their jobs or forced to retire.
EXAMPLE:An Associated Press story describes that employees of military contractors in Iraq who have reported fraud and corruption
were fired or demoted, shunned by colleagues, and denied government
support in whistleblower lawsuits against contracting firms.
SOURCE:www.wvbusinesslitigationblog.com
CORPORATE EXAMPLE:CORPORATE EXAMPLE:
Year 2002: Ted Beatty exposed Dynegy’s Project Alpha, a deal that exaggerated cash flow from operations and cut taxes to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) & media after he was passed over for promotion.OUTCOME:• Resignation of firm’s top officers• Ted Beatty: Unable to find a job• Had his home broken into• He received numerous threats
CHECKLIST OF QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE WHISTLE BLOWING
• Is this the only method to resolve my concerns?
• Do I have the appropriate documentation & evidence to prove my case?
• What is my motivation for expressing concern over employee or company activities?
• Am I prepared to deal with the matter on both a personal & professional level?
IN TED BEATTY’S CASE:All hoped to take Mr. Beatty's information and benefit from it.
Some assured him his assistance would earn him big money.
But no such payout has materialized.
He was then unemployed, in financial stress & had to move to a small town
because of threats.
He was quoted as saying:
"They all said they wanted to help me," he says. "I was dumb. I fell for it.” ( Source: www.happinessonline.org/MoralCode/images/whis..)
COURT SETTLEMENT CASES & SARBANES-OXLEY ACT
COURT SETTLEMENT CASES:
Some whistle-blowers turn to courts and obtain substantial settlements.
EXAMPLE: Whistle-blowers who exposed Medicare fraud at SmithKline were awarded $52 million
SARBANES-OXLEY ACT:
The act makes it illegal to “discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass or in
any manner discriminate against” a whistle-blower and sets penalties of up to
10 years in jail for executives who retaliate against whistle-blowers.
Also, the law requires publicly traded companies must implement an
anonymous reporting mechanism enabling employees to question actions
they believe may indicate fraud.
Opportunity Creates Ethical Dilemmas
• One man’s opportunity can come at another man’s exploit leading to ethical dilemma.
• Example: Launching a product to capture market without proper testing
• Example: Mc Donald's happy meal toys being manufactured by
children of china
Conflict Resolution• Conflict occurs when it is not clear which goals or values are
more important
• conflict can be resolved through debates and discussions
Improving Ethical Decision Making in Business
• Workers should be given greater participation in the designing and implementation of assignments
• Managers and co workers should provide direction and encourage ethical decision making among peers
• Members should assume ethical responsibility
Thank You