QUALITY MANAGEMENT, ETHICS, AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

1. Define the term ethics.

Is an inquiry into the nature and grounds of morality where morality is taken to
mean moral judgments, standards, and rules of conduct.

2. What is morality?
Morality refers to the values that are subscribed to and fostered by society in
general and by individuals within society.

3. Explain how a certain behavior could be legal but not ethical.

Just because a choice made is legal does not necessarily mean it is ethical. A
person's behavior can be well within the prescribed limits of the law and still be
unethical. If a course of action is not legal, no further consideration of it is in order. If an
action is not legal, it is also not ethical. A course of action that is balanced will be fair to
all concerned. A course of action that leaves people feeling good about themselves is
one that is consistent with their personal value system.

4. What role does trust play in a total quality setting?

The total quality approach cannot be successfully implemented in an
organization that does not subscribe to high standards of ethical behavior. This is
because ethical behavior builds trust, and trust is an essential ingredient in total quality.
Consider the various elements of total quality that depend on trust: communication,
interpersonal relations, conflict management, problem solving, teamwork, employee
involvement and empowerment, and customer focus.

5. Describe how managers can build trust.

One of the best ways managers can help build trust is "to be loyal to those not
present" Mother way is to apologize when wrong instead of making excuses. Keeping
promises is another way. In attempting to build trust, managers should take the
initiative, rather than sitting back and waiting for others. Dependability builds trust.

6. What role do values play in a total quality setting?

 Our values guide our behavior. This also applies to organizations. An
organization will not produce a quality product or provide a quality service unless the
organization values quality. Values that lead to ethical behavior include fairness,
dependability, integrity, honesty, truthfulness. Values that lead to peak performance and
excellence include achievement, contribution, self-development, creativity, synergy,
quality and opportunity. These values tend to support and supplement each other in a
work environment that involves, empowers, values, and nurture people, one that holds
employees responsible, but also gives them the support, leeway, and resources needed
to fulfill their responsibilities.

7. What role does integrity play in a total quality setting?

When an individual or an organization has integrity, ethical behavior automatically

follows. People with integrity can be counted on to do the right thing, to do things right,
to accomplish tasks thoroughly and completely, to complete work on time, and to keep
promises. The same is true of organizations.

8. What role does responsibility play in total quality?

In a total quality setting, people are responsible for their actions and accountable
for their performance. Accepting responsibility helps build trust, integrity, and all the
other elements of ethics that are so important in a total quality environment.

9. Describe and differentiate among the following approaches to ethics best-ratio, black-
and-white ratio, and full-potential ratio.

Best Ratio Approach

The best-ratio approach is a pragmatic approach based on the belief that people
are basically good, that under the right circumstances they will behave ethically
and that under certain conditions they can be driven to ethical behavior.
Managers should do everything possible to create conditions that promote ethical
behavior and try to maintain the best possible ratio of good choices to bad and
ethical behavior to unethical behavior. When hard decisions must be made,
managers should make the choice that will do the most good for the most people.
Black-and White Approach
 Right is right, wrong is wrong, and conditions are irrelevant. The manager's job is
to make ethical decisions and carry them out. It is also to help employees
behave ethically regardless of circumstances. When difficult decisions must be
made, managers should make fair and impartial choices regardless of the
outcome and do the right thing without concern for short-term circumstances.
Full-Potential
Decisions are made based on how they will affect the ability of those involved to
achieve their full potential. People are responsible for realizing their full potential
within the confines of morality. Choices that can achieve this goal without
infringing on the rights of others are considered ethical.

10. What is a manager's role in ethics?

Managers can play a role in promoting ethical behavior on the job by
encouraging higher management to develop written ethics
philosophies/credos/guidelines and then by modeling the behavior they encourage.

11. Explain the organization's role in promoting ethical behavior.

Employees must be able to trust their employers to conduct all external and
internal dealings in an ethical manner. Companies that do not pay their bills on time,
companies that pollute, companies that do not live up to advertised quality standards,
companies that do not stand behind their guarantees, and companies that are not good
neighbors in their communities are not setting a good ethical example. In addition to
creating an ethical internal environment and handling external dealings in an ethical
manner, organizations must support managers who make ethically correct decisions: not
just when such decisions are profitable but in all cases.

12. Why, in your own words, would an otherwise ethical person make an unethical decision?

Student response.
Yes, when the person in on rush, stress, on Peer pressure, boss tells the person
to, or the person might keep the moral and immoral choices separate and act as if the
immoral side isn't there.

13. Define the term corporate social responsibility.

 Corporate social responsibility is a balanced approach for organizations to
address economic, social and environmental issues in a way that aims to benefit people,
communities and society.

CASE STUDIES

Case 1: I need this promotion

Case Synopsis: Janice Carlson is an ethical person who always tells the truth and hates lying
because of her experienced with her husband that results to divorce. Her daughter is now in
college with a high tuition rate and her ex-husband refuse to help. Because of these, Janice is
badly need this promotion as a director of civil engineering department in Comstock Engineering
Company. After 15 years of service in CEC, Janice got the promotion but on the day of
promotion she felt so bad. The reason was, couple of days before the promotion test Janice
went to the outgoing directors office to return the file she borrowed and she saw the exam and
its solution on the directors desk. Janice is a person who prides herself on dishonesty, but in
this case, her personal interest overcame her commitment to the truth. On the one hand, she
needs the promotion in order to help pay her daughters college costs. On the other hand, the
way she received it was dishonest. Put yourself in Janices shoes. What would you have done?

Recommendation:

There are three dishonesty that Janice may refuse to do. First is when she saw the test on the
director desk, she should have told the outgoing director that she accidentally saw the
promotion test before the examination day. Second is during the examination day, she should
have told the outgoing director that accidentally saw the test before she take the exam. Lastly
before she take the promotion she should have confessed what she did. Now that she had the
position, if I were her, I will take the position and just burry the fact that the promotion is from a
dishonesty. It too late to confess what I made, and there are three chances that I missed.

Case 2: To Pay or Not to Pay?

Case Synopsis: John Hingas is the leading marketing representative of Government Product Inc
that was sent to Mexico for the expansion of the company. 8 months in Mexico, John learn their
language and had contacts of key people there. He also learned now how to succeed the
Mexican market and it is by the word bribery. John knew that the company can play the game
of bribery more than its competitor. GPI could increase its annual sales by 15% in less than 2
years but on the other hand GPI enjoys a well-deserved reputation for integrity with its
customers, and nobody in the company wants to damage that reputation. John has a
recommendation to make, and he will have to make it soon. Put yourself in his place. What
would you recommend?

Recommendation:
The company should compete the Mexican market with reputation not by bribery. Its a very big
risk to take if the company will compete in a dirty way and it is better if the increase of sale is
from the high reputation of the company.

Case 3: The Product Is Inferior, but the Profits Are Good

The executive management team of Athletic Footwear Inc. (AFI) faces both a threat and an
opportunity. The threat is that unless it can find a buyer for a large production run of soccer
shoes, the company is going to lose a lot of money. The opportunity is that the vice president of
marketing has found a buyer. The problem is that although this batch of shoes is the companys
best-selling, most popular model, the shoes are defective. Several months earlier, AFIs
management team had decided to save on production costs by using a different glue provided
by a new supplier. The glue came highly recommended, and it was much less expensive than
that previously used. Consequently, AFIs management team had jumped at the opportunity to
save money without first running in-house tests on the glue. Much to their dismay, the new glue
turned out to be inferior to that normally used when securing the sole of the shoe. Now, the
company is stuck with a warehouse full of defective shoes. Normally, the company would simply
write off the defective shoes and absorb the loss. However, the company has just gone through
a year-long battle to stave off a hostile takeover. As a result, its coffers are practically empty and
its debt has nearly doubled. Nobody seated around the table in the executive conference room
is in a mood to just absorb the potential loss they face. Legal action against the supplier has
already been ruled out for fear of permanently damaging the companys image and credibility.
Nobody wants the companys regular customers to know that a defective batch of shoes was
produced. Management doesnt want customers thinking, If AFI produces one large batch of
defective shoes, maybe it will produce another. The potential buyer is a distributor that has
retail outlets throughout South America. This company is even willing to pay more than the
market price for the shoes in order to be the first distributor in South America to carry the AFI
brand. No sport in South America is more favored than soccer, and the AFI soccer shoe is very
popular in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The shoe has a reputation for being
comfortable and durable. It lasts a long time in even the most demanding conditions. But the
defective batch in question wont; in fact, based on initial trial runs, the soles will probably begin
to separate after less than 20 hours of use.

Recommendation:
AFI should not sell the defective products in market and tell the buyer about their case so the
buyers will acknowledge their honesty and it will bring up the reputation of the company. And if
the market accepts the fact that the product is defective they could sell the product at low cost
with a label of being defective.