“Companies are going to make mistakes. It’s seeing how they address their mistakes that shows their true commitment to value.”
Jeffrey L. Seglin wrote the above statement in his business ethics column, “The Right Thing,” that appears every Sunday in The New York Times. When a company is at fault, it is important to respond and resolve the issue in an appropriate, responsible manner. However, sometimes employees find it difficult to express their views on an issue.
Depending on the on the culture that management creates, the employee will follow. If upper management creates an open-minded and approachable culture, employees are more likely to express their thoughts. Even if a company’s upper management is approachable and accepting of an employee’s personal thoughts, it takes courage to speak up on an ethical issue. The employee is at risk of getting demoted or even fired.
In the article titled, “Follow the Leader: Ethics and Responsibility,” Virgil Scudder states, “One of a CEO’s most important jobs is to create, foster and communicate the culture of the organization.” The PR practitioner’s job is to communicate the message and explain the culture – both to the public and to the company.
Three ways CEO’s can ethically succeed is by knowing his or her role in the company, holding people accountable for their success, failures and/or mistakes, and by creating an ethical foundation as their workplace environment. There have been many successful CEOs across America from various different companies.
However, not all of these well-known CEO’s have been ethically successful. One CEO to take note of is Jim Skinner, successful CEO of McDonald’s from 2004-2012. Skinner restructured McDonald’s, redesigned the restaurants, and revolutionized the menu. More importantly, he choose to focus on improving current stores, services and food rather than on focusing on opening new stores that would ultimately make him more money. Skinner is most well known for adding healthier options to the menu, including the Fruit and Walnut Salad and Chicken Wraps.
More on Jim Skinner's success here.
Occasionally, companies make mistakes. Some mistakes are minor and others are major. It is how the companies react to the mistakes that maintain their reputation with the public. If they react poorly, their reputation may be similar to those at Bridgestone/Firestone.
The full Bridgestone/Firestone scandal here.
After the scandal of 2000, when faulty tires were found to have contributed to auto accidents that killed or injured hundreds of motorists, the company reacted so poorly that the public was outraged and the company received endless criticism. However, even though the company received a negative reputation from the public, it is upper management that received the most criticism. CEOs and other upper management employees make all the big decisions. It is probable that the CEO of Bridgestone/Firestone did not follow the three ways to ethically succeed (holding people accountable, creating an ethical environment and knowing their role in a company).
A CEO will face a plethora of small and large decisions while holding his or her position at a company. It is through previous work experiences and worked-out ethical decisions that allow success in upper management positions. A good employee will take a step back from the issue, identify the stakeholders, define the conflict and eventually justify and make the proper decision.
Photo from http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/Ethics/CodeEnglish#.VDSj5RYYEds
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