Select 2-3 postings from your peers (attached) to analyze in your personal assignment response.
Write a 1-2 page summary on your analysis of the discussion comments and how you believe this content has increased your ethical self-awareness. Please include alternatives, analysis, application, and action.
The assignment should be submitted as a Word document and APA format is required. The title page and reference page are not counted in the 1-2 page requirement.
Include your results from this assignment on the ethics portfolio (attached).
Nathan Javins
Week 6 Discussion
Collapse
Top of Form
was on the forefront of combining the internet with an easily used search engine to scour the internet to provide superior search results.
It has been able to retain 64% of the global market share despite other significant comparable search engines (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2019). As it has grown in popularity it has created joint ventures which have led tow questionable tactics regarding the management of personal information which leads to profit.
As Google has been able to transcend time it has remained “the best company to work for” based on the strong stand on green initiatives and how it empowers its employees to be creative to come up with new technologies to address global challenges. Which also plays a role in how it manages personal information, based on new regulation Google has been forced to draw a line between using information to generate revenue which may cross into violating user privacy. As Google skirts this line it is continually changing and adapting to new innovative technology to manage user privacy and continues to lobby for and against legislation which will be unfavorable for the company. (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2019)
As Google moves through a mine field it not only has to understand how to legislate for the global populace’s privacy information it must also provide the same provisions for its employees. As tensions have risen over the use of personal information for profit it has also grown within the realm of employee/employer relationships. Continual changes require consistent law reviews and legal protection to both employers and the global populace. Although different global locations the law appears to remain the same across the board as it pertains to the protection of personal information and the growth of profits for numerous companies. (Evans, 2007)
As Google continues to grow globally it has learned to adapt ethically, which it continually struggles with, as expansion has reached new cultures. Based on this growth it has reached new economic systems which have encompassed new ethical values systems and it has been forced to alter some of their practices (not always successful) at times to reach into new economic systems to ensure growth and stability. With continued growth and expansion Google has been forced to find new ways to adapt ethical decision making practices as well as ensuring risk compartmentalization. As a multinational corporation Google has successfully maintained its growth through the acquisition of new companies and consistent updates to its ethical practices which at times are questionable but it remains an innovative company to work for which create new technologies and are a staple for the global consumer.
REFERENCES
Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, J., Ferrell, L. (2019). Case 10: Google: The Drive to Balance Privacy with Profit. Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, Twelfth Edition. Cengage, 20 Channel Center Street, Boston, MA 02210.
Evans, L. (2007). Monitoring Technology in the American Workplace: Would Adopting English Privacy Standards Better Balance Employee Privacy and Productivity? California Law Review, 95(4), 1115–1149.
Bottom of Form
—————————————————————————————————————–
William Behr
Week 6 Discussion
Collapse
Top of Form
I found the case study into Google and the challenges they have faced in regard to privacy quite interesting as I had no idea they had faced such concerns in the past. I have used Google extensively for years and have no complaints about my experience with their various offerings.
To be fair, I think online privacy in today’s day and age is a pipe dream. Anything we put on the internet is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to control. Maybe if we were interacting with one or two websites in our day-to-day lives it would be a different story. But, if I had to guess, I probably interact with at least ten different websites in one hour of boredom. And that doesn’t include the sites I interact with for shopping, banking, schooling, news, weather, investments, etc. On top of that, every few years or so, a large corporation or the government gets hacked which means there is a good chance my personal information is compromised from those events as well.
What I think is really hurting Google is their handling of the legal challenges they have faced. When they make an agreement not to track something but are found to still track it, it does not make them look good. And good points were made from the aspect that what works in one country or region from a privacy standpoint does not always work in another. France’s expectations from Google and how it handles privacy (Weiss, 2013) won’t necessarily match up to what the U.S. would expect.
I don’t think there is any way to get to a “one-size-fits-all” solution when it comes to privacy. At least not until the international community can get on the same page and publish their expectations. Google, in the meantime, has to focus on doing what feels right. Make it easy for users to opt out of sharing their data while making it clear that this will lead to them losing some accessibility when it comes to their products and the features within them. Furthermore, users need to start taking the user agreements they agree to more seriously by reading them in their entirety.
Fruhlinger, J. (2020, February 12). Equifax data breach FAQ: What happened, who was affected, what was the impact? Retrieved May 16, 2020, from https://www.csoonline.com/article/3444488/equifax-data-breach-faq-what-happened-who-was-affected-what-was-the-impact.html
Lord. (2018, September 12). Top 10 biggest government data breaches of all time in the U.S. Retrieved May 16, 2020, from https://digitalguardian.com/blog/top-10-biggest-us-government-data-breaches-all-time
Fraedrich, J., Ferrell, L., & Ferrell C. (2019). Chapter 5: Ethical decision making. In Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases (12th ed.). Boston, MA: CENGAGE Learning.
Weiss, T. R. (2013). Google Faces French Order to Fix Privacy Issues Within 90 Days. EWeek, 3
Bottom of Form
————————————————————————————————————————–
Keith Wandoloski
Collapse
Top of Form
Good Evening,
“GOOGLE!”, “Do you even google?”, “Just use Google.” What are these phrases? Common things you’ve heard people say in regards to Google without a doubt. Google is not only a company name but has become a verb in languages. How many companies can claim this sort of product penetration into people’s lives? Google though has had a long arduous road to get to the point they’ve attained. I say arduous because any company that is truly as multinational as Google has become there had to have been roadblocks and setbacks to its operations both from external sources and internally. Google’s main problem is its constant problems with privacy. Hardly surprising because data has really become the currency of choice over the last twenty years or so for companies that deal with data and Google definitely deals with data.
What I find most irritating is that a company that could be an advocate for the consumer, while still finding a way to be profitable and beneficial to the company, for their data has really failed to be the role model we would hope a multinational corporation would become. Google does a great many good things for people and the environment (Greenwood, 2008), but they’ve routinely failed ethically in protecting or ethically utilizing consumer data. As we move into the future, privacy has become more important to a greater population percentage. This is reflected by the number and scale of fines being levied against companies around the world. TikTok, which has seen a significant surge in use with quarantine orders around the world, was levied a $5.7 million fine by the FCC (Cavanagh, 2019).
I hope that Google can become a company that is an advocate for consumer privacy and protection, sets the example for companies around the world to emulate, and its name becomes synonymous with ethical use of consumer data and a privacy leader.
References
CAVANAGH, S. (2019). FTC Hits Company With Record Fine Over Children’s Privacy. Education Week, 38(25), 5.
Greenwood, B. (2008). Technology Turns a Brighter Shade of Green. Information Today, 25(6), 52.
Bottom of Form
——————————————————————————————————————————-
Cody Lasseigne
Week 6 Discussion
Collapse
Top of Form
After reading the case study, I have to say that I am not surprised by the actions of Google and the ethical issues that encompass their business practices. Google has become an industry leader for a reason. Their business strategies and innovations have become a staple in the world that we know today. One of the significant ethical issues that Google faces is violating consumer privacy. The case study made it clear that Google could care less about user privacy. Time and time again, they have been caught violating user privacy agreements, and the lack of concern is exacerbated by the continuous cycle of apologizing or paying a fine and then repeating the same act. As a multinational corporation (MNC), Google has encountered several issues with legal ramifications due to the lack of understanding of what is deemed appropriate in a particular nation. Domestic success does not always correlate or transfer into a foreign market and requires businesses to reconfigure capabilities and develop new operational models (Chen et al., 2020). Google found out first hand that what is legal in one country is not legal in another. For instance, the European Union does not hold the same values as their American counterparts and have fined Google billions of dollars’ due to privacy violations and violating antitrust laws. The continued violations go directly against the organization’s original core value/mantra of “Don’t be evil.” Google also went against their mantra by working within China and censoring the content that was presented to Chinese customers. Essentially, Google was seeking profit by creating a communist based service for an oppressive country to increase their market share and profit margin. Being a multinational corporation, Google did not realize the image they presented to other countries, namely the United States, when they created the new service in China. Overall, MNCs such as Google must base their decisions using their core values as a guiding light and understand that national cultures will dictate certain business operations. I feel that Google could benefit by living by their core values/mantra and spend more time finding a way to be more transparent within their operations and not continue to take advantage of a lagging regulatory system.
I feel that it is up to the consumer to decide if they are being tracked or their information is gathered. The decision should be up to the user how they want to use Google services, and Google must be more transparent when providing tracking or information gathering methods. If people want a personalized experience, then let them have it, if they don’t, then they don’t have to have the “personalized experience” provided by information gathering by Google. In all reality, if a person disagrees with the user agreement, then that person can use a different service other than Google that aligns more with their needs such as Apple. Being a Google user, I do not care if my information is gathered because the advantages provided by linking my accounts suit my lifestyle. I use several different devices at any given time for various reasons; if the price I have to pay for seamless transitions between devices and the use of a free service is my information being collected, I am willing to pay that price.
References
Chen, L., Zou, S., Xu, H., & Chen, Y. (2020). Entrepreneurial orientation in multinational corporations: antecedents and effects. Management International Review (MIR), 60(1), 123–148. doi:10.1007/s11575-019-00397-4
Bottom of Form
·
Assessment: Make sure you have all the facts about the dilemma. This first step includes a question that relates to much of the dilemma: “Does it align with your ethical values and those of the surrounding culture?”
· Alternatives: Consider your choices. This second step asks, “Have you listed possible alternative choices?” and “Have you considered pros and cons for each possible choice?
· Analysis: Identify your candidate decision and test its validity. This third step calls for a considerable amount of critical thinking in response to questions, including “Will your candidate decision have a positive impact…?” and “Are you free from external influence…?” and “Looking back, will this decision seem like a good idea a year from now?”
· Application: Apply ethical principles to your candidate decision. This fourth step draws upon several of the dominant ethical theories. Utilitarianism, put forward by Aristotle and others, addresses the question, “Would your choice result in the greatest good?” The “golden rule” ethical theory, which is sometimes referred to as the ethics of reciprocity, is represented by the question, “Would your choice treat others as you would like to be treated? This theory appears prominently in many religions in the form of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
· Action: Make a decision. This fifth step includes the challenging questions. “Are you willing to accept responsibility for your decision?” and “Could you make your decision public and feel good about it?” These questions call for consequential evaluation, not just of the decision itself, but also of the resulting impact of the decision. This resulting impact, which could be emotional, social, and professional, could extend well beyond those directly involved in the dilemma.
Ethical Decision-Making Framework Model
|
Assessment Summary |
Alternatives |
Analysis |
Application |
Action |
Notes |
|
|
Ethical Assessment #1 |
This exercise was about right and wrong answers. You either knew the material or you did not |
I didn’t do as well as I hoped but that is to be expect given this is week one of the course |
Form the reading it was clear that ethics and business is not as simple as making right, wrong, good, or bad choices based on one’s personal belief. The reason this is so is because in personal life, profit of a company is not a consideration. There are no shareholders but, in some cases, there are stakeholders dependent on the decision. being made. But it was clear that you can’t just be a good person and be an ethical business leader. |
I will need to consider the appropriateness and how to apply my personal morals and values when making business related decisions. I hope that we will see a good example of a company that does this during this course. |
||
|
Ethical Assessment #2 |
In the Values Inventory I rated assistance, character, honesty, integrity, sacrifice, and truthfulness very high as these are principles that I value in making ethical decisions. My response was based on not knowing the situation or scenario. An alternative would have been to rate some of the other areas high, but I found this difficult because those I selected are always non-negotiables for me. On the |
The pros for the Values Inventory are limited to the fact that I was comfortable with them because they are what I consider non-negotiables. The con is that I didn’t give the others appropriate consideration because I didn’t feel like I had the information to do so. |
Form the reading it was clear that ethics and business is not as simple as making right, wrong, good, or bad choices based on one’s personal belief. The reason this is so is because in personal life, profit of a company is not a consideration. There are no shareholders but, in some cases, there are stakeholders dependent on the decision being made. But it was clear that you can’t just be a good person and be an ethical business leader. |
|||
|
Ethical Assessment #3 |
Moral Philosophy Assessment, I scored 25 overall which was 10 points higher than my classmates. An alternative would have been to put aside my personal morals and values to elect to assist a loved one end their life. |
The pros for my choices on the Moral Philosophy exercise were limited to the fact that it aligned with my personal morals and values. The Con is that I was not willing to consider an alternative because to do so would have been a significant departure from my personal beliefs |
||||
|
Week One Summary |
See Above |
See above |
||||
|
Week Two Summary |
The case study on Mark showcased a good approach to corporate citizenship while the microchip case study left me with a sense of uncertainty on how that citizenship should be applied to the fielding of new technologies. The only alternative would have been for Mark to not shift his mindset and engagement to one of sustainment and for the fielding of the microchip to be mandatory without the proper oversight and regulatory environment. |
The pros of Mark’s decision clearly enabled relationships with companies like Dow Chemical and create opportunities to look at their business practices to identify areas of improvement that would facilitate sustainment. Conversely, if he would not have made the shift, I am not sure these things wouldn’t have happened anyways as Mark was doing it for Goldman Sachs prior to his departure. The pros of fielding new technology and allowing the oversight and regulatory environment to catch up after the fact really revolve around convenience and the change of organizational practices to benefit from their use. Conversely, this would allow it to be exploited in a way that could cause irreparable damage |
From the reading corporate citizenship is very important and often will determine a company’s success or failure depending on their willingness to change as a result of the changing needs landscape. An article by Donovan McFarlane was important because it said “By having a social vision, a company becomes clear about what it needs to do to become an important corporate citizen and how it will carry out its plan to build an image and reputation as part of community progress and growth.” |
It was apparent that a solid approach to corporate governance is required to “keep the wheels turning” but also holds leaders and workers accountable for unethical conduct. This is interesting because I did some follow-up research on Mark Tercerk and found that he stepped down in June 2019 amid complaints about the culture at the environmental group and his handling of complaints about gender inequality and discrimination (Colman 2019). In the business world, perceived bad behavior or inability to resolve ethics-based issues in the organization can have disastrous consequences. |
||
|
Week Three Summary |
The first alternative had to do with our discussion post and how to handle a situation that teetered on the edge of ethical decision making. The situation had to do with relationships that led to the perception of an advantage. I decided that the issue wasn’t the relationship and thus would not ban relationships in the work area. An alternative would be to ban the relationship in the work area. The other thing we looked at was peer-reviewed articles covering a topic related to our reading on the essential Elements of Ethical Decision-making. I chose an article based on cause-related marketing and Rawl’s Difference principle. The alternative to cause-related marketing is to make and sell a product that only benefits the consumer and turns a profit for the business. The alternative to Rawls Principle is to not consider the disadvantages associated with social mobility and therefore not provide any incentives or programs that help those in society who are least advantage overcome their status to become successful |
The pros to prohibiting romantic relationships in an organization are that it creates a necessary separation between business and personal. The con is that it doesn’t address the problem. As the problem is why the perception exists on the advantage in question. That advantage can exist whether there is a romantic relationship or not. The pros to not employing cause-related marketing are that it streamlines the considerations required by the business. In a lot of ways, they could ignore things like supply chain ethics and management. The con is that you lose a market sector of stakeholders who are willing to pay a higher price for a cause-based product and miss out on the social responsibility outcomes as well. |
The reading made it clear that businesses must institutionalize ethics in their business practices and make ethical decisions based on a variety of factors that may not always apply to the service they hope to provide. For cause-related marketing, the articles by Hamby & Brinberg as well as Eikenberry illuminated the benefits of cause-related marketing practices but left me with the notion that as a consumer I don’t really care about the social benefits of a product and care more about fit, form, and function. For Rawl’s principle, I read an article by Machin that talked about the complexities associate with the issue of social mobility. There is no easy solution to this problem and penalizing those who are successful to benefit those who would perhaps never be successful seems unfair. In my opinion this is a combination government and business problem to solve. |
I need to be more open minded to the benefits of cause-related marketing strategies and be less fit, form, and function focused. While I want a product that meets my needs, I guess I am willing to pay more if it benefits a cause that I can relate too. In short it makes me feel like a good human being to do so. |
||
|
Week Four Summary |
There were two case studies this week that focused on Theo Chocolate and CVS. My thoughts on Theo Chocolate is that it is admirable that they sell a chocolate bare that doubly benefits the farmers in the DRC. The alternative would be to sell a normal chocolate bar or continue to buy the beans from DRC farmers without the investment to protect the supply chain or partner with NPOs to benefit the community after the sale. CVS placed more emphasis on profit, and it cost them. Their many ethical challenges really resulted from poor oversight and programs. They eventually turned it around and even decided to eliminate the sale of tobacco products in their store because its sale did not align with their core values. The alternative would be to do like many others and continue to sale it. |
The pros of Theo changing would be simplicity of operations and maximize the profit returned to the company provided they made a good product if all they did was make a regular priced chocolate bar. The con would be they would be just like everyone else and the benefits of their existing CSR practices would be lost. The pros of simply buying the beans at a higher cost would be limited additional overhead driven by supply chain oversight, etc. For CVS the pros to continue selling tobacco would be the profits associated with those products. The con would be it would slow their reputation gains as refusing to sell that product clearly shows their commitment to their core values and the changes necessary after so many ethical issues. |
This week reading covered a lot of topics related to moral philosophies and values, the role of culture and relationships, and developing an effective ethics program. There were several articles I read to help me understand the impacts of business practices and their effectiveness on eliciting change based on their investments. One of those articles was The Effectiveness of Rural Versus Urban Nonprofit Organizations in the Democratic Republic of Congo which showcased that there is limited data to prove that these company’s efforts truly benefit the cultures they are interacting with. |
After this week, I am committed to take a closer look at things versus jumping to conclusions that a company’s unethical behavior automatically equals nefarious conduct. While I am sure there are plenty of examples of where this has occurred, what is also clear is that complacency can be just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than bad behavior. |
||
|
Week Five Summary |
This week was all about managing and controlling ethic programs. The case study on BP showed how failing to maintain a functioning ethics program can result in disastrous consequences that can last for years. I chose to criticism BP for there action following the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill because of how they responded to the crisis and how it continues to affect other industries today. I could have chosen to applaud their cleanup efforts and consider the bulk of their actions from a different perspective but fell short in coming up with a good reason to do so. I also looked at the implications of shareholder activism on influencing corporate decisions and governance. |
The only pro to how BP responded is in the fact that the spill was contained, and practices were implemented to mitigate the impacts on other industries. The con list is lengthy beginning with how the CEO of BP responded say “I wish I had my life back.” Also, of note is even today fishing and tourism industries are impacted by the lasting impacts of an event that should have been avoidable. For shareholder activism the pros were clear. Allowing shareholders to truly influence the decisions made by corporations would lead to undeniable accountability for the practices of those businesses as well as the results of those practices on stakeholders. The con to this approach would be the persistence regulatory that would be required to manage it and the cost associated with conducting it. |
These week’s reading focused on maintaining functioning ethics programs with heavy emphasis on the various ways a program can be audited to ensure in stays healthy. During the case study we were asked a what if question regarding shareholder ability to influence BP to change its business practices in the future which would, in leaderships opinion, have significant negative implications. I read several articles on shareholder activism and arrived at the conclusion that shareholder activism is an almost impossible task to accomplish |
I think going forward I would want to ensure the businesses I choose to use employ practices that not only maintain an ethical climate but also give equal footing to both shareholders as well as stakeholders affected by a company’s practices. |
||
|
Week Six Summary |
||||||
|
Week Seven Summary |
||||||
|
Week Eight Summary |
Assessment Make sure you have al lthe facts about the ethical dillemia
Alternatives Consider your choices
Analysis Identify your decision and tests its validity
Application Apply ethical principles to your decision
Action Make a decision
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
