Ethics and the Organisation

Question 1

What are Anthony’s Hierarchy of Objectives?

Answer 1

• Strategic:
  
  • Made at the highest level
  • Medium-long term focus
• Tactical:
  
  • Taken at departmental level
  • Short-medium term focus
• Operational:
  
  • made by lower level managers
  • Short term focus

Question 2

What do companies have to comply to?

Answer 2

• Internal Policies, practices and procedures
• Informal standards generally accepted by all employees
• Central/local law
• Regulatory bodies
• Sector wide voluntary codes
• Suprenational authorities e.g. EU treaties

Question 3

What is organisational culture according to Schein?

How is it manifested?

Answer 3

A pattern of showed beliefs learned by a group that worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel. It is manifested through:

• Artifacts:
  
  • On the surface: what we see, hear & feel
  • Visible aspects: language, tech, products and creations
• Espoused Values:
  
  • Influence of leaders
  • Universally shared values
  • Group learning assimilates through original and emerging values

Question 4

What are Handy’s cultural stereotypes of orgs?

Answer 4

1. Power culture (e.g. Wal-mart)
   
   • Power concentrated with a few individuals
   • Quick decisions, low bureaucracy
2. Role culture (e.g. HMRC)
   
   • Clearly defined structure
   • Bureaucratic in nature
3. Task culture (e.g. Accenture)
   
   • Power and authority derived from capabilities
   • Matrix structure
4. Person/existential culture (e.g. Virgin)
   
   1. Individual is key influence
   2. Common in small businesses

Question 5

What did Deal & Kennedy study?
What did they identify?

Answer 5

They believed that the risk involved in making a poor decision and the time it takes to find out whether a decision is the right one (feedback time) both have a bearing on how cultural elements develop and influence an organization’s employees.

• Tough-Guy, Macho – This culture contains a world of individualists who enjoy risk and who get quick feedback on their decisions. This is an all-or-nothing culture
• Work Hard/Play Hard – This culture is the world of sales (among others). Employees themselves take few risks; however, the feedback on how well they are performing is almost immediate.
• Bet-Your-Company – Here, the culture is one in which decisions are high risk but employees may wait years before they know whether their actions actually paid off. e.g. oil/pharma companies
• Process – In this culture, feedback is slow, and the risks are low. Large retailers, banks, insurance companies and government organizations are typically in this group.

Question 6

What are Miles & Snow’s view on organisational culture?

Answer 6

There are 4 stereotypes of strategic culture:

• Defenders: prefer low risks with tried & tested solutions
• Analysers: balance risk and potential benefits. Follow rather than lead change
• Prospectors: focused on results and inclined to take risks
• Reactors: no strategic orientation and manage on a day-to-day basis

Question 7

What is the cultural web?

Answer 7

Six inter-related elements that make up the paradigm of the work envinronment:

1. Stories: past events that are still discussed
2. Routines & rituals: actions and behaviours that are acceptable or unacceptable
3. Symbols: visible artifacts
4. Power structures: whol holds the real power?
5. Control systems: Financial and quality control systems as well as rewards
6. Organisational culture: both formal (organisational chart) and informal (who has influence?)

Question 8

What is the the Change Kaleidoscope by Balogen & Hope?

Answer 8

Considers organisational culture in the context of change management.

Inner ring: Decisions available

Outer ring: Constraints/enabling functions

Question 9

What is Theory Z by Ouchi?

Answer 9

Combines elements of American and Japanese organisational culture:

1. Theory Z:
   
   • Long term employment
   • More emphasis on training and education
   • Group participation and consensus in decision making
2. Theory A (USA):
   
   • Short-term planning
   • individual approach
   • internally competitive
   • recruitment based on short-term needs
3. Theory J (JPN):
   
   • Long term planning
   • Collective approach
   • Promoted cooperation

Question 10

What are Hofstede’s basis for International Cultural differences?

Answer 10

1. Individualism/collectivism: which role does the culture emphasise?
2. Power/distance relationships: does society accept unequal power distribution?
3. Uncertainty avoidance: are there preferences for stability & rules?
4. Masculine/feminine: does society value money & posessions (masculine) or people and relationships (feminine)
5. Long/short term orientation: is society focused on patience (long term) or past and present (short-term)
6. Indulgent v Restraint: hedonism v tradition and norms

Question 11

What is the Stakeholder Approach?

What are the categories?

Answer 11

When forumalting strategies those who are most affected by or can influence the situation should be considered. Stakeholders can be:

1. Internal (employees etc.), External (govn., regulators etc.) or Connected (shareholders, customerts etc.)
2. Primary/Secondary: A primary stakeholder group is one without whose continuing participation the corporation cannot survive as a going concern
3. Narrow/Wide: Narrow stakeholders are those that are the most affected by the organisation’s policies and will usually include shareholders, management, employees, suppliers, and customers who are dependent upon the organisation’s output. Wider stakeholders are those less affected and may typically include government, less-dependent customers, the wider community (as opposed to the local community) and other peripheral groups.
4. Active/Passive: levels of participation

Question 12

What are Mendelow’s Matrices and what do they do?

Answer 12

They assess stakeholder inlfuence through 2 matrices:

1. Power vs Predictability of shareholder
2. Power vs Level of Interest of shareholder

Question 13

What is Johnson & Scholes’ Ethical Stance and what are the factors?

Answer 13

A company’s ethical stance is influenced by 4 factors:

1. Short-term shareholder interest: it’s the role of the govn. to impose corporate governance
2. Long-term shareholder interest: consider the affects on corporate image and pressure for legal regulation
3. Multiple stakeholer obligations: recognising stakeholders other than shareholders
4. Shaper of society: the company sees itself as setting ethical standards

Question 14

What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?

Who are the stakeholders?

Answer 14

The responsibilities that organisations have to act in the interests of a broader community and external stakeholders.

• Customers
• Employees
• Suppliers
• Local community
• Environment

Question 15

What views are there for and against CSR?

Answer 15

• Narrow view: Imperative of CSR is to maxmise shareholder value
• Mintzberg rejects this view because:
  
  • firms get govn. support
  • business decisions have social consequences
  • most businesses are not effectively controlled by shareholders

Question 16

What are Gray, Own & Adams’ 7 CSR Viewpoints?

Answer 16

• Pristine Capitalists: companies exist to make profit, so moral responsibility is only owed to owners and creditors
• Expediants: CSR is only appropriate if it’s in the firm’s financial interests
• Social Contractarians: Firm must realise that compliance with social norms is necessay
• Socialists: promote the notion of equality in society
• Radical Feminists: balancing prevalent masculine values within firms with feminine values
• Social Ecologists: firms should act morally to address or repair the damage that they do
• Deep Ecologists: humans have no higher right to the world’s resources than other species

Question 17

What are the types of motivation to respond to stakeholder concerns?

Answer 17

• Instrumental – orgs have mainly economic responsibilities so will consider responsibilities to stakeholders in order to max profits
• Normative – orgs have moral duties to stakeholders and will therefore take into account ethical and philanthropic concerns