Ethical Considerations

Social Responsibility

Thomas Cook Group plc is a travel company that was founded on 19th June 2007 by Thomas Cook and MyTravel Group plc. On 8th October 2010 the United Kingdom high street agency as well as foreign exchange business of Cook’s group merged with the co-operative travel forming United Kingdom’s largest travel network. Thomas Cook Group is one of the best leisure travel groups that have yearly sales of £8.9 billion as well as 22.5 million clients operating in 21 nations (Thomas Cook Group 2010). The Thomas Cook Group PLC contains seven major consumer brands comprising of Thomas Cook, Aitours, My Sunquest, Condor Airlines, Direct Holidays, Neckermann as well as Ving. The firm operates in five key divisions, Unite kingdom, Northern Europe, German Airlines, North America as well as continental Europe (Beck, Levine, & Loayza, 2000).

The company’s business strategy is focused on strengthening its core mainstream and investing in parts of future development primarily travel related services. Its policies are built around its dream of going further to make visions come true. Moreover the company aims to provide long term exceptional services to its shareholders. Its business is primarily to sale package holidays like flights and hotels. The holiday packages are sold to clients through phone, online websites or brochures and agents. All this are offered at a favorable price with quality services which has made the reputation of the company to increase over time (Thomas Cook Group 2010).

The Board of directors in Cook’s company recognizes the significance of applying the best standards of corporate governance to facilitate efficient and effective decision making. The company also provides structural support for directors to perform their roles in order to promote the accomplishment of the business so that the shareholders can benefit. The board of directors has the responsibility of:

1. Developing and approving of the group’s plan as well as its financial and business plans

2. Approving of noteworthy investments as well as capital expenditure

3. Approving of yearly and half-year outcomes and interim management accounting policies and statements

4. Approving of interim as well as recommendation of final shares

One of the factors that have contributed to the success of Thomas Cook PLC is management support. Management support involves including support as well as involvement of top management. The top management makes it clear within the business culture that the project is valuable and that they should support it. The function of the top management in a corporation should not serve as the supervising manager, but it should serve as a facilitator and sponsor of the project (Thomas Cook Group 2010).

Thomas Cook Group plc’s approaches to social responsibility comprise of philanthropy, creating of shared value, community consideration and ethical leadership. The stated approaches are used by Thomas Cook Group plc to achieve social responsibility standards which have assisted it develop from a local business to an international business.

Philanthropy: Thomas Cook Group plc monitors donations and aid given to local organizations and improvised communities in different nations. Because time, resources or staff volunteer hours are limited in such communities, they benefit from initiatives like grants to hospitals, schools and education.

Thomas Cook Group plc’s has adopted sustainable business practices that do no harm to the community’s environment and people. This helps it in building lasting and meaningful relationship with customers, employees and the public. Apart from creating long term relationships with the community they also avoid environmentally and socially damaging services. Thomas Cook Group plc also provides products and services that improve the quality of life in the community. It does this by helping the homeless, providing medical care and supporting cultural institutions.

Then again, Thomas Cook Group plc always takes action to voluntarily eliminate production practices which cause harm to the public, irrespective of whether they are needed by law for instance, it has instituted hazard prevention program that comprises of steps to safeguard the public from exposure to dangerous substances through awareness and education.

Like consumers, employees hold particular expectations from the business. They expect safe and good working conditions, reasonable payment, equal opportunities, and adequate benefits for instance health insurance, vacation, and time off to care for sick children. Employees also want know what is going on in the company and want managers to be responsive to their problems or complaints. In order to ensure that employees are satisfied with their job so that they can treat the customers to their satisfaction Walt Disney Corporation has implemented the following employee motivation or job satisfaction techniques (Purdy, 2008).

One of the techniques that Thomas Cook Group plc uses to ensure that employees work effectively is motivation. Thomas Cook Group plc’s motivation approach focuses on the levels of efforts to be put to pursue specific goals. The human resource Managers at Thomas Cook Group plc do not just observe the motivation process directly since it happens internally. Therefore, they observe behaviors and then reach conclusions about a person’s motivation. When employees begin to exhibit a lack of performance, productivity problems, reduced commitment to quality, and resistance to management programs it is a sign of lack of motivation. Thomas Cook Group plc uses the behavior modification approach to motivate employees who are not satisfied with their job (Purdy, 2008).

In behavior modification, Thomas Cook Group plc human resource managers not only change the attitude of employees towards their work but also ensure that their behavior has changed. They shape the behavior of employees by controlling reinforces. A reinforce is a consequence of behavior, one that can improve the likelihood that the behavior will not occur again. For instance, a positive reinforce inform of praise that is given immediately after an employee completes a job on time may increase the occurrence of finishing work on time or a reprimand-a negative reinforcer-given immediately for not finishing on time may also increase the likelihood of work being done on time. By finishing on time, the employee creates a situation in which the supervisor will not issue a reprimand.

As the globe becomes more environmentally careful, Thomas Cook should look for techniques to get on the cause and minimize their carbon footprints. It should also change the way it functions to conform to new environmental legislation

Ethical leadership in Thomas Cook Group plc has two elements to consider. First, leaders in Thomas Cook Group plc make decisions and act justly. Secondly, leaders in Thomas Cook Group plc govern morally, that is in the ways in which they treat persons in everyday interaction, and in the way in which they run their organizations,

Ethical leadership involves leading in a way that the leader considers the right and self-respect of those that he or she is leading. Therefore, an ethical leader must have self-regulation and also permit external regulation. This offers the foundation for individual characteristics that govern a leader’s decisions and ethical beliefs. Some of the ethical features the leaders in Thomas Cook Group plc posses include the capacity to put aside there ego and personal yearnings for the sake of the organization they lead and the needs of the people they serve (Kish-Gephart, Harrison, & Trevino, 2010).

On the other hand, leaders in Thomas Cook Group plc have integrity features. Cohen, (2011) points out that adhering to business ethics and showing personal integrity is a necessity for leadership. Although integrity and ethics do not guarantee effective leadership, it can be argued that in the absence of this two, leadership loses its definition and contributes to the disintegration of the corporation.

In addition, Thomas Cook Group plc has implemented mechanisms to prevent corruption and other multi-practices that may hinder the relation between the company and the customers. Duggar (2009) argues that for efficient management of a corporation leaders must be fair (avoid corruption). This implies that honest or fairness is closely related to human ethics.

Leaders in Thomas Cook Group plc also consider external regulations such as other people’s core values. Core values are those things that people believe are most essential to them. The implication here is that how people are treated will impact on how they are managed on daily basis. Employee’s leadership styles may be dissimilar, but effective, since the leader’s essential values are solid. Employees who see their leader as being truthful and taking into consideration of what they want become confident that they work in a place of stability. They understand that their leader’s integrity cannot be shaken when there is need for tough decision making. They will have the feeling that their leader will ‘stick up’ for them and defend them. Moreover, they will have a perception that their leader will always be fair and willing to share any information to them, which is essential for their working.

Some of the steps that Thomas Cook Group plc should take to improve ethical behavior include having ethics in training programs. Then again, Thomas Cook Group plc should institute strict measures to ensure that the codes of ethics are followed. A code of ethics is a statement specifying exactly what the organization considers ethical behavior. Many firms, as well as trade and professional associations, have established code of ethics. For instance, the American medical association has its own code of ethics that limits the amount and types of advertising used by doctors. By enforcing codes of ethics, rewarding ethical behavior, and punishing unethical behavior, the opportunities of behaving unethically are limited.

Organization viability implies the ability of an organization to survive. For many organizations Viability is connected to profit. Key concepts of viability in Thomas Cook Group plc involve economic viability, ethical viability and manageability system viability. Innovation also forms part of viability in Thomas Cook Group plc.

Technology remains one of the most essential factors for the development of any organization in this contemporary society. Over the years, there been has a lot of changes and development with businesses incorporating information technology into their system. Walt Disney Corporation mostly uses technology for purposes of marketing.

Then again, the presence of the information department has also contributed to the success of Thomas Cook PLC. Proper information management can comprise of anything from a spreading of memos to high-end software that manage projects. The conveyance as well as communication of cost, schedule, as well as response information is essential to a company’s success in this contemporary world. Currently most customers have gone online which calls for creating of a means to reach them. In response to this, Thomas Cook has the information management that controls their websites in order to offer support to their customers.

The major recommendation that can be made to Thomas Cook Group plc to enhance its business operations and management techniques is by starting a project management office which is one approach that can be employed in resolving of persistent problems in an organization. It is a foundation of centralized incorporation and source of knowledge that can be used to tell more efficient, as well as effective IT project management.

Another action that Thomas Cook should take to increase profits include enhancing the marketing techniques for instance focusing more on online advertising than advertising using television.

Legal environment factor

Business operations particularly in the US are influenced by legal regulations that provide workers different rights and safeguards against prejudicial and insecure employment practices. The HRM in Thomas Cook Group plc monitors the authorized and controlling environment to make sure that the business’s HRM policies comply with the organization’s environment. Furthermore, the organization’s practices takes into consideration of the practices of other businesses competing for the similar labor.

Cultural and institutional aspects are challenges that face Thomas Cook Group plc in implementing different strategies. However, larger enterprises which have been in the business sector are sensitive to institutional and cultural variations. This enables them to identify the vital disparities in the cultures and institutional environments in various countries. Understanding these differences is a challenge that requires a larger business which can align elements of the external environment like political trends and economic conditions (Whitley, 2000).

CAI, Liu, & Huang (2010) reveal that Laws and regulatory agencies bear directly on marketing decisions. Numerous federal, state, and local laws have been enacted to preserve competition and to protect consumers. Thomas Cook Group plc is forced to operate within the boundaries of governmental laws and international regulations. International laws are developed not just to safeguard consumers but also preserve international competition. Government agencies and international bodies enforce these laws. Tourism industries that do not comply with laws face fines and other penalties.

CAI, Liu, & Huang (2010) studies also show that Laws as well as governmental rules are determined by particular officials that can form legislation having a promising or an unfavorable effect for profit and non-profit organizations alike. Organizations and entire industry often use lobbying to inform politicians and elected officials about issues of concern and to obtain support for favorable legislation. Legislators or federal officials who believe tourism industries are trying to comply with environmental standards.

The global, regional and local factors affecting Thomas Cook Group plc comprise of the issues challenging experts in in enterprises. Thomas Cook Group plc has a challenge of developing an international approach that controls human resources in a way that embraces a few universal values, which give the entire world system evenness while also permitting local and regional autonomy. Besides, in order to attain the right balance between autonomy and evenness, it necessitates continual assessment and discussion about which strategies as well as practices should be international and, which should be local or even regional. This can only be achieved by large enterprise (Jingting, Shumei, & Jian, 2010).

Political effects: The political scene is the US, where the company has its headquarters is relatively stable. The governance of US is democratic in the sense that various bodies are given freedom of speech and association. The government has also deregulated some companies and passed laws that control monopolistic control of markets. The country has also enacted trade agreements with foreign countries. This has enabled Thomas Cook Group plc not only conduct business in foreign countries but also source for labour and raw materials.

In regard to legal and regulatory issues in Thomas Cook, it should focus on changing the way it operates to conform to the government and environmental legislations. On the other hand, Thomas Cook should set up a department that deals with all kinds of regulations that affect its operations.

In conclusion, the practice of social responsibility has seen Thomas Cook Group plc improve staff welfare, work environment, it has embraced transparency and accountability in its business transaction. It should thus be noted that social responsibility is a prerequisite for good corporate leadership and governance as well as sustained operations and profitability.

References

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Duggar, J (2009). ‘The role of integrity in individual and effective corporate leadership’, Journal Of Academic & Business Ethics, 3, p. 1-7.

Jingting, M, Shumei, W, & Jian, G (2010). A Study on the Influences of Financing on Technological Innovation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises’, International Journal Of Business & Management, 5, 2, pp. 209-212.

Karp, T, and Thomas I. H. (2009). “Leadership as Identity Construction: The Act of Leading People in Organisations.” The Journal of Management Development 28.10: 880-96.

Kish-Gephart, J. J., Harrison, D. A., & Trevino, K. L. (2010). Bad Apples, Bad Cases, and Bad Barrels: Meta-Analytic Evidence About Sources of Unethical Decisions at Work. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 95, No. 1, 1–31.

Purdy, J. (2008). Job Satisfaction Within a Nonprofit Organization: An Application of Hertzberg’s Motivation-hygiene Theory. Michigan: ProQuest Publishers. Print.

Thomas Cook Group. (2010).Corporate governance retrieved on 6th January 2013 from < HYPERLINK “http://www.thomascookgroup.com/” http://www.thomascookgroup.com/>

Whitley, R., (2000). The institutional structuring of innovation strategies: business systems, firm types and patterns of technical change in different market economies. Organization Studies 21/5, 855 – 886.