To assess your ability to:

• Explain the influence of organizational culture on individual and group ethical behavior.
• Analyze the role of leaders in maintaining or changing organizational culture.
• Evaluate an organization’s strategies for the enhancement of ethical behavior and legal compliance.

Overview

For this assignment you will respond to several questions by reflecting upon the reading assignments as well as connecting the readings to your own personal experience in your professional environment.

Action Items

1. Review the assigned readings from the text and the articles by Lamberton, et al. (2005), Ciulla (2005), and Jennings (2006).
2. Write 3 paragraphs addressing the following 3 items. Each paragraph is to be 100-150 words and one paragraph addresses one item. Each response is required to meet the requirements as outlined in the section of Discussion Questions of the Assignment Guidelines and the grading criteria of this assignment.
   • Explain how organizational culture influences individual and group ethical behavior.
   • Describe the role leaders play in maintaining or changing organizational culture.
   • Identify strategies that can be used to change an organization’s ethical behavior and legal compliance, and analyze each strategy on its impact on the organization.
3. Create your initial posting on the discussion topic, “Week 5: Discussion Questions”, by Thursday.
4. Review your classmates’ postings.
5. Respond to at least 1 of your classmate’s postings by Sunday (100-150 words). Note: Responses to other students are required to be substantive and adhere to the requirements as outlined in the section of Discussion Questions of the Assignment Guidelines and the grading criteria of this assignment.

DISCUSSION TO RESPOND TO:

Explain how organizational culture influences individual and group ethical behavior.

The culture of an organization has heavy impact to all who are involved in an organization, from the president of the companies to the vendors and consumers. When an organization has a solid and ethical culture, the groups involved in the company are most likely to follow in the likeness. This is because the culture sets the tone for how everyone involved will conduct business on a daily basis. If there is motivation, respect and ethical influence, the group will feel that and feel the pride to work ethically. However, if an organization has unethical cultural influences, the groups involved will unravel, having no idea of consequence or what is to be expected of them.

Describe the role leaders play in maintaining or changing organizational culture.

The role leaders play in maintaining an organizations culture is to hold the companies standards to their expectations. Leaders are often the face of the company and also who employees look up tp. When the leaders display the ethically correct culture of a company, then their staff will follow in their footsteps. The same can be said for being involved in changing a companies culture. If a company is headed in the wrong directions, leaders can be responsible for the fall or rise of the company. The leaders can implement new rules and hold meetings to discuss the ways the company should change ethical behavior.

Identify strategies that can be used to change an organization’s ethical behavior and legal compliance, and analyze each strategy on its impact on the organization.

There are many ways that a company can enforce ethical behavioral changes and legal compliance. Since this is vital for a company to thrive on, it is important companies have ways of enforcing and teaching the ethical ways they want to promote through the company. One strategy that a company can use to change and enforce ethical behavior is having an ethical/cultural committee, a board of members that sets standards and holds meetings in the company to make sure these standards are known and being enforced. This can promote a healthy culture and community aspect to a company. Another strategy is to make sure each ethical standard is being withhold by evaluating employees. Some companies have secret shoppers who watch not only customers but make sure that employees are acting ethically in each department. This can be a way to make sure that employees are withholding ethical behaviors when not being watched by direct supervisor.