. What do you think about the notion presented by Terris that Lockheed's ethics program does little to prevent ethical breaches at the highest level of the organization?
I somewhat agree with the notion present regarding Lockheeds ethics program. As stated by Terris on page 117, Lockheed Martins ethics program addresses people, but it does not address systems. Here, Terris looks to make that point that ethics programs within the corporation are much more reactionary as oppose to forward looking. Likewise, according to Terris, little is done to oversee the ethical standards of top-level management. In the case of Lockheed Martin, the lower level employees often have standards and procedures to operate ethically, but high-level management often does not have nor even comply with these standards. For one, there is very little oversight and pushback for top level executives in the organization. In many instances the board of directors is subject to the information provided them by senior leaders (Hoffman, 1982). As such, the board of directors, who are often closely related to the executives through formal relationships are often complicit in any unethical behavior on the part of executives. Terris uses the examples of Enron, Tyco and Adelphia as examples of unethical practices from higher ranking corporate executives. Here, the executives essentially lied, obfuscated and concealed vital information from the board of directors and the investors they were to represent. These executives even went to extraordinary lengths to essentially hide critical information from regulators and government authorities. Even more alarming, many of the employees pension and retirement assets were tied to Enron stock, which eventually became worthless during the bankruptcy. All of these circumstances prove that point made by Terris that ethical programs do little to prevent breaches from top level executives (De George, 1994).
2. Are the efforts put forthsuch as making sure higher level executives participate in trainingenough to help executives navigate what Terris calls the "ethical minefield" faced by leadership in such an organization?
Unfortunately, theses efforts are not enough. Although training is helpful and a welcomed addition, more safeguards will be needed to help prevent unethical behavior. Here, as Terris alludes to, many of the most unethical executives...
…focused on individuals and that it doesn't really address group dynamics that can impact ethical situations. For instance, there can be a tendency for groups to "go with the flow" of the group decision-making process and overlook ethical issues in the process. What would you recommend that Lockheed Martin do to address this situation?As noted above, Lockheed must create a corporate culture that allows employees to properly voice their fears or concerns without fear of reprimand. This can be done through management and other initiatives that look to provide a safe communication infrastructure for employees. Those that do speak shall be rewarded to further incentivize the detection and prevention of unethical behavior throughout the organization. The board of directors will also play a large role in helping to better safeguard the interest of the organization, its investors, and communities. The board should be independent with strong oversight powers to help alleviate ethical considerations on the part of executives. Finally, severe punishments must be put in place for those executives who are found to have violated the code of ethics for Lockheed Martin…
References
1. De George, R. T. (1994). International Business Ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly, 4(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.2307/3857554
2. Hoffman, W. M., & Moore, J. M. (1982). What Is Business Ethics? A Reply to Peter Drucker. Journal of Business Ethics, 1(4), 293–300. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25071354
3. Sears, B. (2007). Ethics Corner : Building an Ethical Culture from the Top. National Defense, 92(645), 75–76. http://www.jstor.org/stable/453717464. Stafford, J., & Hickey, D. (2005). ETHICS CORNER: Defense Industry Teams Must Consider Conflict-of-Interest Concerns. National Defense, 90(623), 58–59. http://www.jstor.org/stable/453683895. Svensson, G., & Wood, G. (2008). A Model of Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 77(3), 303–322. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25075564
Lockheed Martin What privacy rights issues must be addressed? Over the last few years, the issues of privacy and employee testing have been increasingly brought to the forefront. This is because firms are requiring more of their applicants and want to see if they are a good fit for the organization (based upon intense competition from the global workplace). In the case of Lockheed Martin, there are a number of privacy rights
(The Model 2 Organization: Making Your Company Safe for Zealots) Thus the main strength is in the organization while the weaknesses are in the diversifications that it has gone through. To summarize, Lockheed Martin is one of the largest players in the defense industry and they are well diversified so that they can take advantage of any changes. Whatever may happen, it does not seem that the business of war
This continues act as a barrier to entry for aerospace manufacturers located throughout Asia, specifically China, who are looking to capitalize on increased government spending on defense. The costs associated with hiring, retaining employees and funding security clearances for employees in this industry makes recruitment and retention critical. As a result of all these factors combined the barriers to entry are exceptionally high in the global military aerospace products
Lockheed Martin, which handles bidding, negotiations, and performance of government contracts. Lockheed Martin has a reputation for conducting business nationally and globally and is well respected within the industry. The company and competitors or similar manufacturers including Ball Corporation regularly conduct marketing and advertising research to determine what products/services are best suited for consumer interests. Research suggest that a company such as Lockheed must engage in the highest level of
The company's efforts to sell globally make this aspect of their ethics and online initiative programs noteworthy according to Saywell (2002, May). The use of online initiatives to protect intellectual property rights online, in addition to the protection of line data is well documented in the analysis completed by Sears (2006, July) and Pollach (2003) as well. Lockheed-Martin uses a series of proxy servers to protect online data, and
There is an emerging set of new technologies for online marketing collectively called Web 2.0 marketing techniques and are profiled in Appendix a of this memo. These technologies allow for a much more interactive communication with customers, and while the Lockheed Martin customer base is quite conservative, the use of web services that combine multiple areas of interest to them (called Mashups in Web 2.0 vernacular) that bring insights
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