ETH 501: Business Ethics case module 3
ETH_501_module_3_case_assignment_instructions
Sethi_S_Veral_E_Shapiro_H_&_Emelianova_O._(2011)._Mattel__Inc_Global_manufacturing_principles_(GMP)
ackground:
In the Module 3 Case, you will apply virtue ethics to an organizational problem. Please be sure that you have completed the Module 3 SLP before you complete the Module 3 Case.
Required Reading:
Find and read the following journal article in the Library:
Sethi, S., Veral, E., Shapiro, H., & Emelianova, O. (2011). Mattel, Inc.: Global manufacturing principles (GMP) - A life-cycle analysis of a company-based code of conduct in the toy industry. Journal of Business Ethics, 99(4), 483-517. Retrieved November 19, 2012 from ProQuest.
While the Sethi et al. article is certainly a quite interesting case study, it is a very lengthy and fairly complex one as well. To this extent, I don’t want you to simply recount the storyline of the article in your response to the requirements. Rather, I want you to locate and evaluate the most salient business ethics issue, critically analyzing them within the context of virtue ethics - and the questions that I have posed for you below.
Assignment:
In a 5-6 page paper (not including your cover page and references), please address the following:
Choose three virtues, and then discuss how the three virtues you have selected may have appropriately guided the actions and behaviors of Mattel, Inc.
Keys to the Assignment:
- Choose three "virtues," and provide a clear definition of each (for example, you might choose such virtues as temperance, justice, honesty, or fairness);
- Apply each of the three virtues you have chosen to the Mattel case, describing how the virtue you have selected might have been used to more appropriately guide the actions, behaviors, and/or policies of the company (e.g., you may choose to discuss the company's working conditions, worker safety, company fairness, or Mattel’s attitudes towards the environment).
- Considering the normative ethical theories we've studied in the first three modules (deontological, utilitarian, and virtue ethics), which do you believe is most useful in evaluating the Mattel case? Why?
Assignment Expectations:
Your paper will be evaluated on the following seven criteria:
- Precision - Does the paper address the question(s) or task(s)?
- Breadth - Is the full breadth of the subject (i.e., the Keys to the Assignment) addressed?
- Depth - Does the paper address the topic in sufficient depth and include the background reading and other background resources as references?
- Critical thinking - Is the subject thought about critically (i.e., accurately, logically, relevantly, and precisely)?
- Clarity - Is the writing clear and are the concepts articulated properly? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of responding to the questions or are points conveyed through excessive use of quotations?
- Organization - Is the paper well written? Are the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary appropriate for graduate-level work? Are headings included in all papers longer than two pages?
- Referencing (citations and references) - Does the paper include citations and quotation marks where appropriate? Are the references from the background reading and assignment present and properly cited? Are all the references listed in the bibliography present and referred to via citation?
Tips and Suggestions:
1) Be sure that you clearly define each of the virtues you've chosen. Use the SLP information to guide you in finding a quality and objective source to do so (as we have discussed in the SLP, Wikipedia should not be used as a graduate-level source).
2) Be sure to integrate the theory from the journal articles you read in the Background Information section of this module (i.e., Hartman; Duchon & Drake) into your paper.
3) Perform some additional research in the Library (include at least three additional references).
4) Be sure that you include appropriate in-text citations throughout your paper, and include your sources in your end-of-paper Reference Section. Your references should be derived from at at least two peer-reviewed journals and at least one book that you have found in the TUI library. Your references may relate to business ethics, to virtue ethics, to the toy industry, or to any other relevant source. Of course, you are at liberty to include those references that you believe are most relevant and meaningful to your paper.
5) Remember to follow the Well-Written Paper guidelines.
6) The following link (the Character/Virtue Test) may be helpful to you in your evaluation of this Case:http://ethicsops(dot)com/CharacterVirtue.php
Business Ethics
Name:
Institution:
Introduction
A large part of any company ties to the ethical issues, due to the fact that they are connected to the company’s culture. Decisions that are made in the board rooms and outside during the operations, whether by individuals or groups, they are all regulated by the company’s culture. Moral judgement and theories try to establish the aspects of the actions and the decisions on the locus of right or wrong. While the idea of having the organisation follow a certain code of ethics could be seen to limit the financial gains that are associated with the costs of the compliance, there are benefits that can be accrued. These are benefits that will have long-term effects on the company’s reputations and economic ones, contrary to common believe. When the ethical behaviour is combined with the corporate social responsibility, the effects are much more than beneficial than avoiding the ethical focus (Rosen, 1999).
Where a company has chose to follow a given ethical code, there are chances that they will attract more customers, which by extension will amplify the profits due to the souring sales. Employees also feel better about their place of work by association and will maintain high level of integrity and loyalty. This in turn reduces the rate of employee turnover, as majority of the best employees would want not want to leave and look for better working conditions elsewhere. As such it much easier to build and maintain a talent pool within the company, which in turn reduces the training costs and boosts effectiveness and efficiency to an all time high. The investors are also bound to seek association with a company that recognises its ethical responsibilities. In some cases the government may also want to recognise and associated with a company that operates by the code of ethics that respects citizens at home and abroad.
Virtues
While the virtues are easily associated with individuals, they can to greater extent be applied in businesses. Virtues and moral go hand-in-hand and reflect on the positive aspects of any business’s operations. The core of success in any company lies with the understanding of the virtues. While the virtues may vary from one company to the next, there are those that cut across the platform, from the 500-fortune companies to the middle level businesses.
Fairness
This is a virtue that seems more intuitive and simple to carry out in any given scenario, in reality though it is much more complicated that it seems. At the work place is the one place that most people experience the blunt of the virtue as they spend majority of the time at work than any other place. In light with the Mattel firm, it is only fair that the employees are treated in a manner that upholds this virtue. As such, it would mean that the employees’ occupational safety and health is looked into. While the various stages of authority and job specialization may have different conditions, the minimum standards of safety and health should be humane to say the least (Tännsjö, 2013). It is the duty of the company to ensure that all its employees are working in the best conditions possible, with benefits that enhance their lives and those of their loved ones. It is common practice that the casual labourers are treated with utmost causality which is a violation even their basic rights.
With reference to the Mexico plants operated by Mattel, not a single firm provided their workers with sitting facilities while working and the workers were required to stand throughout their shift. There was also the aspect of the employees being pressured to work for overtime against their will in Malaysia and China. This had been a trend as the managers advocated for the check-in time but did not feel that it was important for the check-off time.
In china, the workers were not given their benefits, even though they are prescribed in the Chinese labour laws. According to the normative theories and specifically the deontological theory by Emmanuel Kant this was immoral and negates the vi...