A year ago, a production facility of a beverage company became the subject of negative news coverage following complaints that it had been slow to alert the community to some contamination of the water supply. During the reporters' investigation, several employees came forward to blame a supervisor who they claimed ignored their suspicions about the contamination. After the stories spread, the human resource department noticed that the number of workers applying for jobs at the facility had rapidly declined and so had the quality of applicants who did apply. The troublesome manager was dismissed, and now the human resource department is investigating how to improve the ethical climate at the facility. Which measure would contribute most to the effort?
A) recognizing that, for a business, ethical issues are mainly relevant in the short term
B) sending executives to an off-site private retreat to write a code of ethics together
C) shutting down channels through which unethical acts might become known
D) keeping quiet until the incidents are forgotten
E) including measures of ethical behavior in performance management

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Including measures of ethical behavior in performance management would incentivize employees to behave ethically and improve the ethical climate at the facility. This would help establish a culture of ethics and deter unethical behavior in the long term, rather than just addressing short-term ethical issues. Sending executives to write a code of ethics might help establish ethical guidelines, but it would not necessarily change behavior without incentives and consequences tied to performance management. Shutting down channels through which unethical acts might become known and keeping quiet until incidents are forgotten are both unethical behaviors themselves and would not address the root problem of the facility's ethical climate.

A Year Ago, a Production Facility of a Beverage Company