Application: Ethics in Diverse Hiring Practices

This week’s readings have dealt with the important issues of ethics, diversity, and social responsibility. Many people consider these issues to be inter-related or overlapping aspects of doing business in the 21st century. An organization’s diverse stakeholders can, and generally do, have diverse opinions and varied expectations concerning what constitutes ethical behavior and socially responsible management.

Consider the examples of Walgreens and Habitat International in Chapter 3 of your course text.

Submit by Day 7 a 300- to 700- word paper which answers all of the following questions:

• What impact, if any, has the practice of hiring and training employees with disabilities had on operations and management decision making?
• What motivated the managers of these two companies to begin this hiring practice?
• Which of following is more compatible with the policy of hiring employees with disabilities: 1) a short-term focus on profit, or 2) a long-term focus on profit?
• Should these companies rethink this hiring policy? Why or why not?
• Has the hiring practice positively impacted the shareholders of these companies and society in general? Please support your opinion.

Application Assignments must be in APA style and format. 

Resources:

Jones, G. R., & George, J. M. (2014). Essentials of contemporary management (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

• Chapter 3, “Managing Ethics and Diversity” (pp. 78–117)

  This chapter addresses concepts of ethics and beliefs about right and wrong. The concept of stakeholders and their importance and effects on organizations and decision makers are also discussed. The authors examine the reality, value, effects, and challenges of increasing diversity in the workforce and the general environment, as well as the reality of workplace harassment and how it is dealt from a practical and ethical viewpoint.

  Focus on the definitions and concepts provided throughout this chapter. After reading this chapter, ask yourself if you have a clear understanding of your own ethics. Do you operate according to your own clear understanding of right and wrong? Are there behaviors that you consider virtuous or wrong? What do you really think of the course text authors’ advocacy of utilitarian ethics? Do your ethics manifest in the way that you interrelate with others and make decisions in the workplace? Do you really value a diversity of opinions and perspectives? What, if anything, do race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, or age have to do with having access to or ensuring a diversity of opinions and perspectives? How would you, as a manager, deal with an incident of workplace harassment based on race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, or age?

• Chapter 4, “Managing in the Global Environment” (pp. 118–153)

  This chapter addresses the global environment of business. The subject is divided into two parts: (1) the big picture or general environment that all industries or businesses operate within, and (2) the more specific task environment of suppliers, distributors, customers, and competitors that influence managerial decision on a daily basis. The authors also examine the global forces and factors that contribute to rapid change in those environments, as well as how a change or trend in one of those factors can affect a specific business, region or entire national economy. The emphasis of this chapter is on smart adaptation to changing conditions by knowledgeable, sophisticated and flexible managers.

  Focus on the definitions and concepts provided throughout this chapter. After reading this chapter, ask yourself, which products or service that you use originate in some form from an overseas location? In what way does the company that you work for benefit and/or is damaged by products or services from an overseas location? Which businesses in your community, state or region benefit from the ability to sell to overseas markets? Which business do you know are not taking advantage of overseas markets or resources to stabilize or grow? What do you, as an actual or potential manager, need to do to better prepare yourself to be successful in the changing global business environment?