concept quiz chapters 6,7,9 Flashcards
Culture
A shared pattern of beliefs, expectations, and meanings that influences and guides the thinking and behaviors of members of a particular group
Six Dimensions of Culture
Created by Hofstede to compare cultures across diff. countries
1. Power distance index
2. Individualism vs. collectivism
3. Uncertainty avoidance
4. Time and order orientation
5. Masculinity vs. femininity
6. Indulgent vs. restrained
PUTIMI
Power Distance Index
The distance between individuals at different levels of a hierarchy (more equal = low power distance)
Individualism vs. collectivism
Degree to which people prefer to act individually or in groups
Uncertainty avoidance
Extent to which people are comfortable with uncertainty, ambiguity, change, and risks (higher= more avoidant)
Time and order orientation
High long-term orientation is comfortable with commitments, traditions, rewards.
Low LTO indicates that change may occur more rapidly.
Masculinity vs. femininity
Low masculinity indicates greater equality, stronger relationships, service and solidarity while high masculinity suggests assertiveness and competition
Indulgent vs. restrained
Extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses
Supports / Critiques to Hofstede
Supported:
- Validated his country scores across over 400 measures
- Results have been replicated many times
Criticized:
- Divisions are based on generalizations, stereotypes
- National cultures do not explain all differences
- His work focused in a single period of time and place
- His perspective is biased by his Western views
- Only a limited # of countries included
Components of Corporate Culture
- Tempo of work
- Organization’s humor
- Methods of problem solving
- Competitive environment
- Incentives
- Individual autonomy
- Hierarchical structure
Strong vs weak ethical culture
- Strong ethical culture can deter stakeholder damage, improve bottom-line sustainability
- Weak ethical culture could destroy long-term sustainability in financials, employee retention
Compliance Based Culture (traditional)
Obedience to laws and regulations is the prevailing model for ethical behaviors
Values-based culture (progressive)
Conformity to a statement of values and principles rather than simple obedience to laws and regulations
Culture is built and maintained through:
- Leadership
- Integration
- Assessment
- Monitoring
Mission Statement (corporate credo)
Articulates the fundamental principles that should guide all decisions
Code of conduct
Provides behavioral guidelines and expectations that govern all members of the company
Cultural Integration
Communication of culture must be incorporated into firm’s vocabulary, habits, and attitudes to become essential element
-Incentives must be in right place
Whistleblowing
- Practice where individual in an organization reports wrongdoing to the public or others in position of authority
Reports are made:
internally (management, company ethics line, HR)
externally (government agencies, press)
Sources of Ethical Corporate Culture
- Leadership of control environment
- Control activities, information, and communication
(Statement, policies, operating procedures, communications and training) - Review, assessment, ongoing monitoring
USCC mandated what?
Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSO)
- Lists “offense levels” based on severity of the offense
- Each offender categorized based on extent and recency of past misconduct
- Court uses this information to determine offender’s sentence range
USSC Due Diligence Requirements
- Standards and procedures
- Responsibility of board and other executives , adequate resources and authority
- Communication and training
- Monitoring, evaluation, and reporting processes
- Incentive and disciplinary structures
- Response and modification mechanisms
Due Process
Right to be protected against the arbitrary use of authority.
Legal contexts: procedure that police and courts must follow when exercising authority over citizens
Basic fairness
Broad ethical principle implemented through due process — demands that power be used justly, people treated equitably, impartially.
Employment at will
In the absence of legal obligation which specifies length/condition of employment, all employees are employed “at will”
- Employers may fire employees at any time, workers may opt to leave a job at any time
Just cause
Workplace standard, requires employers to have valid, documented reason for disciplinary action.
Downsizing
Reduction of human resources at an organization through terminations, retirements, or other means
Tesla case
- Tesla laid off approximately 14,000 employees (10% of its workforce) in April 2024.
- Reason: Elon Musk cited redundancy due to rapid growth.
- Key teams affected: Growth content team, EV charging leadership, and high-performing employees.
Poor communication led to backlash and concerns over internal handling. - How Employees Were Notified:
Employees were informed via email about their termination.
Many lost access to company systems abruptly, sometimes before reading the email.
Some employees learned about the layoffs from the media before official communication.
Intrinsic vs. instrumental value
Intrinsic:
- Not just “means to an end”; the value they hold as a person
- Dignity, rights, inherent worth
Instrumental:
- “Means to an end”
- Productivity, efficiency, how much $ they’re able to produce
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
Agency of federal gov’t that publishes and enforces safety/health regulations for US businesses
COVID Mandatory Vaccinations case
The Supreme Court allowed the CMS rule to take effect, requiring healthcare workers in Medicare and Medicaid-funded facilities to get COVID-19 vaccines.
Reasons:
- CMS never had to address infection problem on the scale of COVID 19
- Many states had already adopted their own COVID protocols, causing CMS not to get involved previously
WARN Act
The WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act requires companies with 100+ employees to provide 60 days’ notice before mass layoffs.
Acceptable Risk Approach
If probability of harm for any work activity <= probability of harm for similar, more common activities –> activity is safe.
If probability of harm for any specific work activity > probability of harm for similar, more common activities –> activity is not safe
Challenges:
- Ignores employee input
- Ignores deontological right employee might have to safe and healthy work environment
- Assumes equivalency between workplace and other risks, when there are significant differences
Free Market Approach to Health & Safety
Favors individual bargaining as approach to workplace health and safety
- Workers demanding higher safety standards and healthier conditions settle for lower wages
- Workers willing to take higher risks demand higher wages
Challenges:
- Labor markets not perfectly competitive and free
- Ignoring questions of social justice/public policy
Sweatshops
All workplaces with conditions that are below the standards in developed countries
Child Labor
Exploitative work that involves harm to a child who is not of an age to justify his/her presence in the workplace
- 152 mil. children are child laborers
- High levels of child labor are associated with poverty and disease
US Child Labor Guidelines
FLSA says:
- Minimum age of employment: 14 y.o., limited hours under 16 y.o.
- 14-15 y.o. <=8 hrs/day
- 16-17 y.o.: 40 hours/week
- Agricultural jobs: children young as 12 can work but only during non-school hours
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Unlawful to discriminate based on color, race, religion, sex or national origin
Diversity
Presence of differing cultures, languages, ethnicities, races, genders, religions, abilities, social classes , etc…
Good But may cause conflict
Human Resources Risk
- Regulatory requirements
- Established policies/procedures
- Consistency in application, practice
- Safe to Say (protects whistleblowers), employee relations, conflict of interest
Human resources reward
- Culture
- Engagement and impact on productivity, retention
- Benefits and perks, value proposition
Privacy rights
Legal and ethical sources of protection for privacy in personal data
Reciprocal Obligation
When an individual expects respect for his or her personal autonomy, he/she must also respect personal autonomy of others
- i.e. :
- employer - employee: employers must safeguard employee data while employees must respect company confidentiality
Hypernorms
Values that are fundamental across culture and theory
- Freedom of Speech, right of personal freedom, right of informed consent
Values determined by moral free space (i.e. culture) are not hypernorms
Three ways privacy can be legally protected
- Constitution (Fourth Amendment)
- Statutes
- Common law
Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)
Unauthorized access of electronic communications by THIRD parties (not employers if employers provided access to the service used)
Intrusion into seclusion violation
When someone intentionally intrudes on private affairs of another when the intrusion would be highly offensive to reasonable person –> reasonable expectation of privacy
Legal Status of Employee Monitoring
- Phone calls: allowed, but notice to the parties on the call is required; can only monitor work calls, not personal
- Emails: allowed ; in cases where reasonable expectation of privacy higher (such as with a password)
- Internet/social media: if company provides internet access they can search
European Union’s GDPR
General Data Protection Regulation
The GDPR protects personal data by requiring user consent for collection and sharing, ensuring transparency, allowing data corrections, and imposing strict fines for violations. It also restricts data transfers outside the EU unless the destination has strong privacy laws.
EU’s Privacy Shield
The EU Privacy Shield sets rules for how U.S. companies and intelligence agencies handle Europeans’ data, requiring oversight, compliance certification, clear privacy policies, and timely complaint resolution.
Google’s Privacy Policy
- If you’re signed into one Google account across different platforms (i.e. mail, search, etc.) they’ll use your data across the platforms to help better your algorithm
- One simplified privacy policy across all Google platforms, more concise
- Collecting your data to reuse it
Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act
Prohibits discrimination based on genetic information
* Comply with the Family Medical Leave Act
(FMLA).
* Monitor the biological effects of toxins in the
workplace.
Loving vs. Stengart
- Woman uses work device to send personal emails to her lawyer
- Trying to sue her current company for harrassment/hostile work conditions
- When company discovers these emails, they fire her
JP Morgan case
- JP Morgan fined $200 million for employees sending private information over Whatsapp messages
- Penalized for widespread failures in preserving written communication
Ethical Issues with Employees Using Technology
- Lose ability to protect our own information
- Ethical issues enhanced by knowledge gap between people who understand technology and people who don’t
Why do firms monitor technology
- Ensure compliance
- Allow manager to ensure efficient productivity (i.e. if worker is doing irrelevant things on work device)
- Protection against theft, equipment
Forms of monitoring
- Drug testing
- Third-party background checks
- Surveillance
