Introduction
Decades ago the asbestos was the main and most likely the favorite construction merchandise among many clients. In line with Trevino and Nelson (2004), it is estimated that “over 3,000 products contained some kind of asbestos components”. This automatically shows that the management had to do what they could to keep the sales high and save the company from its short terms financial crisis or penalties that might have been in existence. Secondly, it is quite obvious that the management was in total denial of the health issue which they were already aware of. It is evident from the case study that they could not accept the long-term crisis the already known hazardous situation would have to the company and therefore they focused on the present. They believed and worked hard to show that the product was the only and the most key essential building material commonly in use. Lastly and most annoyingly they were ignorant since they knew the state of fairs but since everything fell well in line with the air quality standards then the health effects were easily directed to other factors such as the tobacco industries.
The issue of ethics and employees
Employees are key essential stakeholders of any firm and therefore the management has the key obligation to protect and be just to them. According to Trevino and Nelson (2004) on the issue of ethics and employees, some of the ethical obligations organizations should have on their employees include the right to a justifiable case, working in a safe environment, and the right to be treated fairly or just thus the need to disclose to employees all outcomes from any intensively conducted medical research. Disclosure of information even when the risks appear insignificant is also important. This ought to be done through proper communication to enable employees to avoid exposure and take proper precautions. There is also a need for insistent constant warnings or reminders.
The Chief Executive Officer plays a vital role in employees’ safety. The personality of this person ought to be that of fair treatment among all employees, promoting diversity and inclusions by stating the company’s expectations clearly, providing ground for open discussion or feedback, and most importantly ensuring the company’s compliance with the law, regulations, and code of conduct.
Organizational culture
Culture is comparable to personality and in this case of the organization, it is the assumptions, values, or norms of the employees as per the stipulated internal laws or regulations thus the reason why they are considered as complex formal or informal systems of governing or guiding.
In close referent to Trevino and Nelson (2004), the informal organization cultural system is meant to keep the working spirit alive since it involves the informal communication system where informal norms are used. In our case study, the informal culture seems to go against the formal and thus making the culture to be misaligned. “Recent research shows employees perception of the informal culture as an influence to their ethics-related behaviors.” (Trevino and Nelson, 2004) This is what makes them view the unethical behaviors as ethical.
Maybe Durand tried to use the procedure of changing the weak with a strong culture. Strong cultures have almost similar ethics and in this case, he should have been comfortable with the undertaking at TAP immediately after the appointment. He also might have tried the reward system to gain specific results and behaviors of the employees. His target was a formal cultural system where there exits respectable executive leadership and one where deals are done by the law and not informal cultural regulations.
Conclusion
In an effort aimed at changing a dubious organization culture, it is important to involve the employees or better still those involved in the scrupulous activities. According to the case study, Douglas Durand undertook a cultural change effort that would succeed by introducing the bonuses to representatives for them to ensure proper documentation of the drugs. These efforts failed because the benefits were cut out since the management knew the company was taking the right path and this would translate to lower-income.
References
Trevino, L. K. & Nelson, K. A. (2004), Managing Business Ethics, Westford MA: Leyl Publishers LLC