Lecture 9a

COMMUNICATION AND ETHICS IN ORGANIZATIONS

Decision-Making and Ethics

Ethics: “a practice … by which we may reach conclusions concerning the rightness or wrongness of voluntary acts related to our [goal] last end” (AR)

Some that believe that ethics and economics cannot be reconciled.

Success in business requires greed, deceit and unfeeling ruthlessness…

Advancement … can come only from unsavory actions...a truly good person cannot succeed in business”

Decision-Making and Ethics

Others, however:

Business Ethics: “The study of how personal moral norms apply to the activities and goals of commercial enterprise. It is not a separate moral standard, but the study of how the business context poses its own unique problems for the moral person to act as an agent of this system”

THE CHALLENGER DISASTER

January 1985, engineer Roger Boisjoly of Morton Thiokol, a contractor to NASA, suspected trouble.

Begins tests: Do low temperatures negatively affect the ability of the booster rocket’s O‑rings to seal?

March 1985, the tests confirmed danger. June 1985, post‑flight inspection of shuttle launch

revealed erosion of both primary and backup seals Erosion that was close to being severe enough

to cause an explosion.

THE CHALLENGER DISASTER Talked with his immediate supervisor. Wrote a memo

to the vice president of engineering, discussing it first with his immediate supervisor.

Boisjoly and others came up with recommendations that included studying ways of improving the O‑rings. Got a team to study problem.

Day before the Challenger launch, the overnight temperature to be eighteen degrees, much lower than the fifty‑three degree minimum recommended by Morton Thiokol

Boisjoly and other O‑ring team recommended not to launch. Bob Lund, engineering vice president and Joe Kilminster, recommended against the launch after having met with Boisjoly and the O‑ring team.

THE CHALLENGER DISASTER

Video Case StudyVideo Case Study

THE CHALLENGER DISASTER

THE CHALLENGER LAUNCH

73 SECONDS LATER

THE CHALLENGER DISASTER INVESTIGATION

Morton Thiokol’s top managers reversed their recommendation not to launch under pressure from NASA, their customer.

NASA itself was under great pressure from the White House to deliver a successful launch.

Earlier in the year, the President had made a public commitment to have the space shuttle fly on a regular basis and he was upset by the number of delays and scrubbed launches.

INVESTIGATION CONCLUSION

Ensuing investigation concluded…engineers at Morton Thiokol were aware of the problem and warned against launching, but organizational and organizational and management problems prevented their management problems prevented their warning from reaching NASA.warning from reaching NASA.

Lecture 9b

COMMUNICATION AND ETHICS IN ORGANIZATIONS

ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN ORGANIZATIONS FREE SPEECH

1. PUNISHMENT - OBEDIENCE1. PUNISHMENT - OBEDIENCE

2. NAIVE EGOIST - INSTRUMENTAL2. NAIVE EGOIST - INSTRUMENTALPRE-PRE-CONVENTIONALCONVENTIONALSTAGESSTAGES

KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL GROWTH

KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL GROWTH Level One - Stages One and Two

Child can respond to rules and social expectations in terms of “good” - “bad”

Rules enforced for outside Followed in terms of pain and pleasure resulting from actions Self-interest is child’s concern

Punishment and Obedience Little awareness of others’ needs and desires

Naively Egoistic and Instrumental Recognizes others’ needs; defers to get what he/she wants “Right” is a fair exchange satisfying individual

1. PUNISHMENT - OBEDIENCE1. PUNISHMENT - OBEDIENCE

2. NAIVE EGOIST - INSTRUMENTAL2. NAIVE EGOIST - INSTRUMENTAL

3. INTERPERSONAL CONCORDANCE- 3. INTERPERSONAL CONCORDANCE- DOING WHAT’S EXPECTEDDOING WHAT’S EXPECTED

4. LAW AND ORDER4. LAW AND ORDER

PRE-PRE-CONVENTIONALCONVENTIONALSTAGESSTAGES

CONVENTIONAL CONVENTIONAL STAGESSTAGES

KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL GROWTH

KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL GROWTH

Level Two - Stages Three and Four Responsiveness to one’s family, peers, nation is “right”

thing Regardless of consequences loyalty is highest value Subordinating individual needs to group

Interpersonal Concordance “Good boy-Good Girl” principle Good behavior is doing what’s expected - feeling loyalty,

affection trust Law and Order Orientation

Doing one’s duty, obey authority; maintain social order Fulfilling contracts; obligations and following rules defined

as good for society Recognizes differences between individual and society -

society first

1. PUNISHMENT - OBEDIENCE1. PUNISHMENT - OBEDIENCE

2. NAIVE EGOIST - INSTRUMENTAL2. NAIVE EGOIST - INSTRUMENTAL

3. INTERPERSONAL CONCORDANCE- 3. INTERPERSONAL CONCORDANCE- DOING WHAT’S EXPECTEDDOING WHAT’S EXPECTED

4. LAW AND ORDER4. LAW AND ORDER

5. SOCIAL CONTRACT5. SOCIAL CONTRACT

6. UNIVERSAL ETHICAL 6. UNIVERSAL ETHICAL PRINCIPLES PRINCIPLES

PRE-PRE-CONVENTIONALCONVENTIONALSTAGESSTAGES

CONVENTIONAL CONVENTIONAL STAGESSTAGES

PRINCIPLEDPRINCIPLEDSTAGESSTAGES

KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL GROWTH

KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL GROWTH Stage 5 Social Contract

Realize others hold a variety of conflicting views Use fair ways to reach agreement - consensus, contract,

due process Social views and values are relative Agreement is vital but certain “higher values” must always

be upheld Stage 6 Universal Ethical Principles

Right action means following self-chosen principles: comprehensive, universal, consistent

Not codes of specific behaviors (like 10 Commandments) but universal moral principles - justice, equality of human rights, respect for human dignity

Uses these principles to evaluate all other rules

5. SOCIAL 5. SOCIAL COMPLEX COMPLEX MUTUALITYMUTUALITY

MORAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN ADULTHOOD

DEVELOPMENT STAGE COGNITIVE STYLE INTERPERSONAL STYLE 3. CONCORD-3. CONCORD- SIMPLICITY, SIMPLICITY, LOYALTY, LOYALTY,

ANCEANCE STEREOTYPESSTEREOTYPES CONFORMITY CONFORMITY 4. LAW AND4. LAW AND GENERALIZED GENERALIZED ASSERTIONASSERTION

ORDERORDER PERCEPTIONSPERCEPTIONS

UNIVERSALUNIVERSALSEES SEES CONTRADICTIONSCONTRADICTIONSAND PARADOXES AND PARADOXES

EMPATHY, EMPATHY, GROWTHGROWTHRELATIONSHIPSRELATIONSHIPSPRINCIPLESPRINCIPLES

6. 6.

CONTRACTCONTRACT PATTERNS PATTERNS

The Loss Ethical Focus and the Ability to Talk About It

Enron Rapid shift from pipelines to deal-making produced

enormous growth -- for a while In the process, Enron lost a sense of core identity and

values (“lots of smart people, but no wise people”) But also corrupt, manipulative leaders - lots of strategic

control talk Use of positive values to deceive

No room to talk about contradictions Raising concerns - personal weakness or disloyalty

The Loss Ethical Focus and the Ability to Talk About It

Aggressive culture. Brutal system inside the company in which each

employee was graded on their performance. And the bottom ten percent were supposed to be fired.

“Rank and Yank”

Hostile, Warrior Culture Everybody would battle each other inside of the company

so they could go outside into the marketplace and defeat the competition by any means.