What is morality in corporation?
By definition, morality is the "principle concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior". In corporations we can apply this definition to the interactions between employees but also toward the company's objectives.
In the movie "The Corporation", we can notice how this social being has evolved during the last century. From the union of companies to a specific agent, which can act and behave, corporation became almost something with a conscience. But who says conscience must see morality because without morality a corporation adopts (very quickly) a psychopath behavior. So, making the distinction between right and wrong became essential in order to sustain both business and workforce.
In a first part we will see why corporations began to get interested in morality in the last century and what kind of rules they are using in order to be more transparent towards the public. Secondly we will analyze why workspace is a place where morality must be a priority and we will offer some clues for executives and managers to handle the everyday life of their teams. Finally, we will talk about executives themselves who can deviate from their first mission because, mainly, of the power they have in their hands.
[...] Dorsett, D. (2006, September). The High Cost of Low Morale. Workforce Performance Solutions. Leblebici, D. (2012). IMPACT OF WORKPLACE QUALITY ON EMPLOYEE'S PRODUCTIVITY. Journal of Business, Economics & Finance Oxford. (2012). Dictionnary. Oxford. Strother, G. [...]
[...] Nowadays employees may have a large number working alternatives, then the environment in workplace becomes a critical factor for accepting and/or keeping the jobs. The quality of environment in workplace may simply determine the level of employee's motivation, subsequent performance and productivity. How well employees get along with the organization influence the employee's error rate, level of innovation and collaboration with other employees, absenteeism and ultimately time period to stay in the job.” (Leblebici, 2012) First we will see what risks can happen if morality is not part of the company. [...]
[...] The master word is to transform the workspace environment into something where employees feel comfortable. Indeed, the environment in directly related to employees' efficiency. At last but not least, we tried to look at executives themselves who can sometimes fell into bad behaviors. The power they have in their hand is difficult to pace. They need trainings and support from their hierarchy. Bibliography ( 10). Retrieved from ISO: http://www.iso.org Abbott, J., & Achbar, M. (Directors). (2003). The Corporation [Motion Picture]. [...]
[...] So they can be considerate as psychopath. They can profit from crisis “Crisis” matches with “opportunity” for some companies. Indeed, several examples are in the movie showing how some corporations benefit from wars, terrorism attacks etc So how can we not think about they might have generate crisis in order to increase their profits. Over communication Corporations want to sell products or services. Goals can be reached thanks to communication, advertisement. Corporations spend a lot of money on advertisement on the TV, newspaper etc They want the people to see and integrate what there are producing. [...]
[...] So we know that all we listen to the air is previously filtered by the corporation. Of course there is ways to speak freely, but companies' lawyers are ready to attack anyone who does not respect their rules. Sustainability processes For some years, companies realized that sustainability must be a priority, so they began to apply processes in order to “greener”. Since 1995 we can notice a nice effort, but still the way is long. Now we have identify risks that corporation are about, let's have a look on some of rules which have been created to control them: About accountability: Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Federal Sentencing Guidelines and the New York Stock Exchange governance. [...]
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