Starbucks

The Need for Organizational Ethics Programs ( Starbucks Case study)

■ Corporate scandals have lowered the public’s trust of businesses.

■ Understanding the factors that influence ethical decision-making can help companies encourage ethical behavior.

■ Employees are not legal experts and therefore need guidance with legal issues impacting their jobs.

■ One reason why ethics programs are required is to help sensitize employees to the potential legal and ethical issues within their work environments

■ Five top recommendations to CEO’s for rebuilding trust and confidence in American firms

■ Making customers the top priority

■ Assuming personal responsibility and accountability

■ Communicating openly and frequently with customers

■ Handling crises more honestly

■ Sticking to the code of business ethics no matter what

An Effective Ethics Program

■ Helps ensure that all employees understand the organization’s values and comply with the policies and codes of conduct that create its ethical climate

■ Diverse employee backgrounds (education, experience, family) make organizational socialization more critical.

Common Mistakes in Designing/ Implementing an Ethics Program

■ Not having a clear understanding of the goals of the program from the beginning – competitive advantage

■ Not setting realistic and measurable program objectives – organisational inputs

■ Senior management’s failure to take ownership of the ethics program

■ Developing program materials that do not address the needs of the average employee – too much jargon, not user friendly

■ Transferring a domestic program internationally – involve overseas personnel

■ Designing a program as a series of lectures – case studies and exercises

https://businessconduct.eawebline.com/...