The graduate analyzes ethical and socially responsible courses of action in a given business situation. 3066.1.2 : Ethical Leadership The graduate analyzes ethical considerations that shape business leadership. 3066.1.3 : Employment Issues in Business The graduate applies ethical principles to employment. 3066.1.4 : Environmental Concerns in Business The graduate applies ethical principles to environmental concerns confronting business. 3066.1.5 : International Business The graduate applies ethical principles to international business. 3066.1.6 : Ethics Programs The graduate evaluates ethical policies in a given business scenario. INTRODUCTION In a complex, multicultural business environment, it is important that business professionals adhere to ethical standards throughout their daily activities. The goal of this course is to introduce you to concepts and guidelines for ethical courses of actions in business. In order to assess understanding, you will analyze the ethical and socially responsible courses of action for the business scenario below. You will take on the role of human resources (HR) director of the firm to discuss the situation, propose ethical guidelines for the organization, and analyze possible solutions to address the ethical dilemma for the company. SCENARIO TechFite, a British company that produces high-technology goods, recently began production of its innovative recreational equipment in its first U.S. factory in Dellberg. TechFite is widely known for its culture of workplace collaboration and leadership development. Additionally, the company culture encourages employee empowerment and engagement in corporate decision making. The company also prides itself on being actively involved in the communities in which they have a presence. As the human resources (HR) director of the new factory in Dellberg, you soon realize there are financial obstacles that must be addressed as it relates to hourly employees. The budgeting process has constrained the amount of funding available to provide full-time employee benefits, and hours have been reduced to keep many employees classified as part-time. The HR department needs to develop policies to address the legal and cultural differences between the United States and the United Kingdom pertaining to hours and benefits. As the HR director, you are grappling with the ethical obligations to your employees and the limited funds available. Upon a review of the budget, excessive bonuses are being paid out to top executives. During one of the company’s presentations to the Dellberg city council, commitments were made to sponsor community events, to support local youth leadership development programs, and to invest in infrastructure to aid in the rebuilding of the city of Dellberg utilizing environmentally responsible techniques. Up to this point, these commitments have not been addressed or funded by TechFite. The leadership team realizes the importance of community involvement, and this commitment is central to their corporate culture. A plan needs to be developed to meet the company’s corporate social responsibility to the city. While residents of the city were excited about the company’s investment and the opportunity for new jobs in a bankrupt city, relationships quickly began to deteriorate when employees began to complain about wages, benefits, and weekly hours that fell far below the 40 hours necessary to receive full-time benefits under company policies. In addition, the company is not fulfilling the commitments it made to city officials about community involvement. As part of its launch into the United States, TechFite realizes that corporate actions must be consistent with company culture to gain acceptance. Two primary focuses will be making this a great place to work and developing a strong presence as a company that is good for the community. REQUIREMENTS Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of the submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide. You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course. A. Create three corporate policies that reflect the organization’s culture and ethical viewpoints. 1. Explain the rationale behind the policies, including how they align with the organization’s culture. 2. Distinguish between ethical and legal issues. 3. Analyze the ethical issues at stake in the scenario (e.g., conflict of interest, misuse of resources, whistleblowing). 4. Describe the purpose of the ethics officer. B. Describe corporate social responsibility and how it applies to the scenario. 1. Explain the ethical desirability of improving the company’s reputation in the community based on the scenario. The explanation should include three supporting examples of what the company has done or failed to do that has harmed its image in the community. 2. Describe an ethically, socially, and environmentally responsible course of action to address each example from part B1 based on the company’s culture and core values. 3. Explain how the course of action from part B2 is ethically, socially, and envi​‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍​ronmentally responsible. C. Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. D. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission. File Restrictions File name may contain only letters, numbers, spaces, and these symbols: ! – _ . * ‘ ( ) File size limit: 200 MB File types allowed: doc, docx, rtf, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, odt, pdf, txt, qt, mov, mpg, avi, mp3, wav, mp4, wma, flv, asf, mpeg, wmv, m4v, svg, tif, tiff, jpeg, jpg, gif, png, zip, rar, tar, 7z RUBRIC A:CORPORATE POLICIES NOT EVIDENT The 3 corporate policies are not included or do not demonstrate the organization’s culture and ethical viewpoints. APPROACHING COMPETENCE The 3 corporate policies are provided, but at least 1 policy is inconsistent, irrelevant, or implausible in terms of the viewpoints of the organization’s culture and ethics. COMPETENT The 3 corporate policies are consistent, relevant, and plausible in terms of the viewpoints of the organization’s culture and ethics. A1:RATIONALE NOT EVIDENT An explanation is not provided or does not include how the policies align with the organization’s culture. APPROACHING COMPETENCE The explanation inaccurately aligns the policies with the organization’s culture, or the explanation of the rationale is illogical. COMPETENT The explanation accurately aligns the policies with the organization’s culture. The explanation of the rationale is logical. A2:ETHICAL VERSUS LEGAL ISSUES NOT EVIDENT A discussion does not cover the distinction between ethical and legal issues. APPROACHING COMPETENCE The discussion does not accurately distinguish between ethical and legal issues. COMPETENT The discussion accurately distinguishes between ethical and legal issues. A3:ETHICAL ISSUES IN THE SCENARIO NOT EVIDENT An analysis of the ethical issues at stake is not provided. APPROACHING COMPETENCE The analysis is illogical or does not include all of the ethical issues at stake in the scenario. COMPETENT The analysis logically discusses the ethical issues at stake in the scenario. A4:PURPOSE OF THE ETHICS OFFICER NOT EVIDENT A description of the purpose of the ethics officer is not provided. APPROACHING COMPETENCE The description is inaccurate, or the described purpose would not ensure compliance. COMPETENT The description is accurate, and the described purpose would ensure compliance. B:CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY NOT EVIDENT A description of corporate social responsibility or how it applies to the scenario is not provided. APPROACHING COMPETENCE The description lacks details or is conceptually unclear. The application fails to address specific issues in the scenario. COMPETENT The description of corporate social responsibility is thorough and conceptually clear, and the application addresses the specific issues in the scenario. B1:COMMUNITY REPUTATION NOT EVIDENT An explanation is not included, or 3 examples are not included. APPROACHING COMPETENCE The explanation is provided and includes 3 examples of what the company has done or failed to do that has harmed its image. However, the explanation is inconsistent with the scenario or poorly reasoned, or the examples are generalizations. COMPETENT The explanation is relevant, well reasoned, and includes 3 specific examples. The examples are based on the scenario and are not generalizations. B2:COURSE OF ACTION NOT EVIDENT A description is not provided. APPROACHING COMPETENCE The described course of action would not accurately address each example from part B1, or the course of action does not align with the company’s culture and core values. COMPETENT The described course of action is well developed and logical. The course of action addresses each example from part B1 and aligns with the company’s culture and core values. B3:COURSE OF ACTION: EXPLANATION NOT EVIDENT An explanation is not included. APPROACHING COMPETENCE The explanation addresses ethics, environmentalism, and social responsibility, but it lacks cohesion or detail, or it is illogical. COMPETENT The explanation addresses ethics, environmentalism, and social responsibility. The explanation is well reasoned and logical. C:SOURCES NOT EVIDENT The submission does not provide both in-text citations and a reference list for sources that are quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. APPROACHING COMPETENCE The submission includes in-text citations for sources that are quoted, paraphrased, or summarized and a reference list; however, the citations and/or reference list is incomplete or inaccurate. COMPETENT The submission includes in-text citations for sources that are properly quoted, paraphrased, or summarized and a reference list that accurately identifies the author, date, title, and source location as available. D:PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION NOT EVIDENT Content is unstructured, is disjointed, or contains pervasive errors in mechanics, usage, or grammar. Vocabulary or tone is unprofessional or distracts from the topic. APPROACHING COMPETENCE Content is poorly organized, is difficult to follow, or contains errors in mechanics, usage, or grammar that cause confusion. Terminology is misused or ineffective. COMPETENT Content reflects attention to detail, is organized, and focuses on the main ideas as prescribed in the task or chosen by the candidate. Terminology is pertinent, is used correctly, and effectively conveys the intended meaning. Mechanics, usage, and grammar promote accurate in​‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍​terpretation and understanding.