Introduction

In the global economy, we see law and ethics wrestling with similar issues; laws from different jurisdictions and ethical codes from different cultures may clash or not connect. How can these parallel systems be reconciled? Considering the legalities of ethics and how the two are intertwined reveals insights into how ethical cultures are fostered.

Learning strategies are also key elements in the fostering of ethical cultures. And lastly, the types of communication used and ethical codes are important features in how ethical corporate cultures are nourished and sustained.

Overview

Creating an ethical culture within an organization or company is key; it is one thing to know about ethics, but it is entirely different to actually create an ethical culture. So how do you create an ethical culture?

Multiple strategies and actions can be used, all of which are valid and important. But as the rule of effective presentations states, you have to tell people what you are going to tell them, then tell them, then recap what you have told them. In other words, reinforcement is key to understanding. In order to successfully create an ethical culture, multiple tools and messages should be used. Completing this assessment will help you to understand how and why using multiple strategies is important for creating an ethical culture.

Instructions

You are an ethics consultant and just landed a consulting project for an organization. Your client has hired you to design a plan with recommendations to create an ethical corporate culture. For the purpose of this assessment, you can “work” with a company you are interested in or familiar with. Feel free to select the company you are currently working at, a company you admire, or a company that you think could benefit from an ethical corporate culture makeover.

There are many practical applications of ethics and ways to foster an ethical culture. If you explored the suggested resources for this assessment, you have encountered several strategies.

Follow these steps to complete the assessment. For all of these steps, make sure you provide examples and information from credible sources to support your writing and claims.

• Step 1: Analyze the components that make up an ethical corporate culture.
  • Describe the components that constitute a company’s corporate culture:
    • What are the company’s values?
    • What are the company’s ideals?
    • What are the company’s assumptions?
  • Explain how all of these components work together to create a company’s ethical corporate culture.
• Step 2: Design a plan for creating an ethical corporate culture.
  • Explain how you will go about designing a plan to help your client create an ethical corporate culture.
  • Analyze the organization’s current corporate climate including its ethical culture.
  • Describe the ethical behaviors demonstrated in this organization, such as their business practices. Also, include how people or the general public perceive the ethics of this organization based on the current corporate climate and business practices.
  • Explain how you will know if people are adopting the new ethical corporate culture. For example, if you created an educational program, you might track the number of people who complete the program.
• Step 3: Recommend learning strategies to foster ethical corporate culture.
  • Recommend 3-4 learning strategies for your selected organization that will foster ethical corporate culture, including how you will employ them to sensitize employees to ethical issues.
  • Explain why your recommendations are appropriate and will provide the desired outcomes. Be sure to connect your rationale to the analysis of the organization’s current climate and ethical culture.
  • Select three learning strategies that can be used to help support employees and explain why these are the appropriate strategies.

Additional Requirements

Your submission should meet the following requirements:

• Written communication: Write in complete sentences free from errors that detract from the overall message. Communicate in an exemplary and professional manner through clear, concise, well-organized, and grammatically correct writing.
• Font: Arial, 12-point.
• Page length: 3-4 pages.
• Citations: Include complete citations of your sources. Review Evidence and APA for more information on how to cite your sources. You can also use the Writing Center and Smarthinking as resources to help you with the writing process.

Review the assessment scoring guide for details on how your assessment will be graded.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Evaluate the parameters for ethical decision-making in 21st-century multi-cultural business environments.
  • Analyze the components that make up an ethical corporate culture.
  • Design a plan for creating an ethical corporate culture.
  • Recommend learning strategies to foster ethical corporate culture.
• Competency 4: Convey purpose, in an appropriate tone and style, incorporating supporting evidence and adhering to organizational, professional, and scholarly writing standards.
  • Write in a well-organized and concise manner that adheres to the rules of grammar, usage, and mechanics.