Martin Marietta Case Essay

The survey was performed in 2010 involving members of the Ethics and Compliance Officer Association (ECOA). They focused on the evolution of business ethics by analyzing six other studies over a span of two-and-a-half decades. Members of the survey were ethics manager, but members on the previous studies were regular employees and management. The results of the analysis of the previous studies showed that ethics programs in companies during a time span of the 1980’s through the 1990’s was used to show social responsibilities and not necessarily to enforce it throughout the company. It showed that ethics programs now that companies follow ethical laws and they are motivated to be ethical. Another result of the study showed that ethics training at companies has increased since the 1990’s due to the passing of Sarbanes-Oxley and other laws directed at ethics. The passing of the laws in the early 2000’s has led to ethics being a major component of everyday

Nova Chemicals operates in both the basic and specialty chemicals segments. The IPD division that produced basic chemicals is under review for sale to United Chemicals due to its apparent poor performance. On further review it appears that the offer of $160 million is much lower than the actual value once the R&D expense is reallocated. At the same time since the IPD division does not share synergies with the other divisions it is recommended to either spin off the division or institute a tracking stock to make its actual value transparent to the market and thereby prepare it for a future sale. In order to raise the capital for a capacity expansion for the high growth Environmental Products division we recommend

The problem to be investigated is the application of business ethics. In the business world, ethics are extremely important. Ethics are prime elements that help a business to grow and to become more productive. It is by applying proper business ethics that a business can operate in a moral or ethical business environment and managed to conduct all activities in a manner that maximizes profits while not compromising all other non-economic concerns(Schwab, 1996). Businesses have over the years failed to nurture business ethics in order to fulfill shareholders' interests and to have a culture that is oriented towards profit maximization and high performance(Jennings, 2012; Sims & Felton, 2006). This has led business to have gray areas in their activities. Gray areas are those situations or problems that do not fit exactly into any ethical analysis. These are the activities which may be represented to be immoral as a result of lying and false representations on the part of the business.

According to our text, “Ethics is the moral principles and standards that guide the behavior of an individual or group” (Bateman & Snell, 2013, p. 68). Mark Hurd’s behavior was unethical to his values, character, and morals. Therefore, there were consequences that were created, to keep the company’s “ethical climate” properly shaped (Bateman & Snell, 2013, p. 76). Thus, unethical corporate behavior may be the responsibility of an unethical individual, but it often reveals a company culture that is ethically lax (Bateman & Snell, 2013, p. 76). Overall, maintaining an ethical environment can be challenging, but it is important to assess the company’s morals—to ensure that their reputation will not be in

There are several steps corporate and governmental leaders can take to promote ethical behavior to include developing a code of ethics and implementing ethical policies. Maintaining and supporting open communication with stakeholders and employees builds trust so that concerns are brought forward without fear of retaliation. Establishing systems and processes that support and do not sabotage ethical practices is significant to safeguarding against fraudulent and unethical behavior. However, even with the proper policies and reporting mechanisms, companies are not guaranteed that unethical behavior will not occur. With systems in place, a company is able to address issues and take action to discontinue the behavior. The most effective way to promote ethical behavior is through leadership commitment, training and demonstrating appropriate behavior. (Center for Ethical Business Cultures, 2008)

The implementation of a new ethics program would involve a great deal of communication (Ruddell, 2004). Assessing the common ethical concerns within an organization helps to create a more tailored plan for the organization (Belhaven, 2015). Initially sharing the code of conduct, training employees on the steps to resolve ethical problems, and providing guidelines to report concerns could be communicated multiple ways (Belhaven 2015). Another task is to identify a group to investigate

This presentation is on the organization integrity and social responsibilities. As the leaders of the company, if we “act unethically and/or without integrity” (Ross, 2009, para 1), our employees will lose confidence and trust in our organization, however, if our employees do the same than our customers will “lose confidence and trust in our products and services” (Ross, 2009, para 1). For example, Intel had issues with its Pentium chip. They used unethical practices, which consisted of a five-point plan. This presentation will discuss the following:

“Other practical glass ceiling matters include unequal pay rates and the idea that women lose out

Ethics is a very gray area for me. I admire and look up to individuals and companies that uphold to ethical standards. However, I feel that in the real world being ethical is an expectation. When a company or individual honors ethical behavior they are not congradulated, rewarded or sometimes still not view positively. But when there is a scandal everyone wants to know about it and has negative opinions. Terris presents that Lockheed’s ethics program does little to prevent ethicl breaches at the highest level of the organization. I agree with Terris. In my opinion when it comes to a company enforcing a ethics program everyone that is employed by that company should be held equally accountable to honor the programs guidelines. Terris

It is only during moral lapses and corporate scandals that interest groups and the broader public ask themselves the fundamental ethical questions, who are the managers of the organization and were they acting with the ethical guidelines. For a long time, the issue of ethics was largely ignored, with organizations focusing on profit maximization. However, this has changed, and much attention is now focused on ethics management by researchers and leaders. The issue of ethics has arisen at a time when public trust on corporate governance is low, and the legitimacy of leadership is being questioned. Leaders are expected to be the source of moral development and ethical guidance to their employees.

Ethics in the Lockheed Martin Corporation didn’t always have the message it has today. As I read through the book, Ethics at Work: Creating Virtue at an American Corporation, specifically chapter two, I came across some very interesting issues this corporation has had to deal with over the past few decades that go back to the 1920’s and earlier. In the following I’ll go over a few points that led to the development of Lockheed Martine’s current ethics program. Ill cover some ethics issues that were overcame on the way to a great ethics program. First let’s talk about the beginnings that started the Lockheed Martin Corporation so you can get an idea of the foundation of the company itself.

Business ethics is a very extensive subject that is not easy to define. According to Andrew Crane and Dirk Matten (2004: 5), business ethics is the study of business situations, activities and decisions where issues of right and wrong are addressed. With an increasing globalization, environmental and social issues have amplified and therefore companies have to take full responsibility for the wrong impact their actions have. Gap pays a lot of attention to the social issues and challenges that large companies face, although it had some ethical issues in the past.

Installing an ethics program in a factory is in many cases ineffective because the respective factory's manager is inclined to assume control over the factory and over everything that happens there. The company thus needs to monitor the manager's behavior and to make sure that he or she is well-acquainted with the importance of business ethics and that he or she will always refrain from introducing strategies that would be unethical (Ferrell, Fraedrich, and Ferrel,

Ethics programs are becoming more popular in modern day businesses. Ethics programs present employees with clear guidelines regarding expectable behavior. They also ensure your company is in compliance with all laws and regulations with in your specific industry. As you can imagine these are all very important things an ethics program can provide. Today I want to talk a little more about Lockheed’s ethics program. I also want to critique some other impacting issues faced with in the company.

In their personal and professional lives, people can and, unfortunately, sometimes do go against their moral and ethical standards. Ethical standards are what it means to be a good person, the social rules that govern our behavior. Ethics in business is essentially the study of what constitutes the right and wrong or the good or bad behavior in the workplace environment. A business is an organization whose objective is to provide goods or services for profit. The organization has a group of people that work together to achieve a common purpose. The moral challenges that these men and women face each day along with a whole range of problems that could occur, are why ethics plays such an important