Changes in U.S. business ethics practices after September 11, 2001

Business Ethics

Changes in U.S. Business Ethics Practices

Changes in U.S. Business Ethics Practices Since Sep 11, 2001

The incident of 9/11 made the world pass though many sad and undesirable changes. One of such changes is declining rate of ethical considerations in U.S. based commercial organization. The subject is important to explore as it is likely to affect the image of U.S. business organizations. Furthermore, it is also expected that U.S. literature upon management and business administration may fail to appeal the world as the practices are not aligned with it.

The paper explains the changes in lieu of unfortunate incident of 9/11 in USA and casts light upon the implication of ethical consideration presently enforced in U.S. based organizations.

Changes in U.S. Business Ethics Practices Since Sep 11, 2001

The incident of 9/11 was an unfortunate event for many nations of the worlds including Americans. The incident changed the political situation of the whole world and shattered the old established relationships among the nations. The U.S. economy was badly affected by the event which spread its unfavorable impact to many other economics of the world as well.

The changes occurred at political and economic platforms were evident by all the nations of the world. However, these are not the only changes to ponder upon. There were many other changes which were not noticed by any nation other than Americans themselves. To be more precise, these changes were experienced by the people living in USA. The communities associated with the groups considered responsible for 9/11attack were seriously affected by these changes. It will be no prejudice to mention that after 9/11, the image of USA at international platform was seriously damaged. It may still be considered as the most powerful country of the world, governing the international system of politics and economics, yet it is also true that behind the official representatives, the masses and citizens of many countries do not like USA and its policies. It is also a fact that many Americans are not happy with the policies of USA. They may not raise the voice and it may turn in no good favor for the affected people and nations, yet the feelings of contempt are there and bound to increase with every new policy and initiative.

The paper will cast light upon the changes which took place in business ethics practices of U.S. particularly after the incident of 9/11. The changes will be highlighted using various models. The analysis of the issue from the perspective of many researchers will help the reader understand the dimensions and aspects of the changes. The objective of the paper is to present a summed version of changes in ethical practices and their likely impact upon their stakeholders.

Moulton's Continuum

If the issue of declining ethical practices in USA-based firms is marked on Moulton's Continuum, it is evident that the policies are implemented using legitimate power of the organizations. The organizations have authority to hire or fire a person, establish or end relations with any client or supplier or introduce a new policy that is enforced. On ethical grounds, it calls for serious consideration that the declining rate of ethical standards is not a good sign and the international regulatory bodies should take initiative to combat these practice. The organizations should be forced to obey to the enforceable policies and actions. Since the law making agencies have more power than the organizational, the ethical conduct can be embedded in the organizations if it is made a legal requirement.

The example of corporate social responsibility can support the above mentioned argument. Commercial organizations do not like the extra expense of corporate social responsibility (Bacher, 2007) but when it was made a regulation, its enforcement was easy.

Stakeholder Analysis

There are many stakeholders for a business firm and in the modern culture of globalization; many governments and nations are also included in the list. There was a time when economic performance of an organization was linked to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. The changes in global trends and preferences have paved way for increased needs and demands by stakeholders which cannot be fulfilled by the traditional economic theory (Key, 1999).

The stakeholders of modern business organizations focus on value addition by the organization and are not contended with the economic performance only. A wine manufacturing organization may announce high dividends yet governments and other legal agencies have posed the requirement of corporate social responsibility to spread awareness about the harmful effects of alcohol.

Preston and Post Model

The concept of value maximization for stakeholders has been supported by various researchers. Preston and Post model identifies primary and secondary stakeholders to make the organizations realize the extent of influences each stakeholder has. The primary stakeholders are the ones who are directly related to the organization and are affected more with any change in any policy. It includes employees, customers, suppliers and partners. Society can be secondary but important stakeholders as the impact placed by business organization on society is long lasting. It is quite possible that the organization is not aware of its corporate social responsibility and the measures to maximize profits are in direct clash with measures of value maximization.

It is, therefore, important for the business organization to evaluate its policies keeping in view all the primary and secondary stakeholders. It is important to mention here that stakeholders are linked with each other. The disadvantage to one of them can lead to multiplier effect. It is also possible that stakeholders are connected in a zero-sum situation. Any benefit to one stakeholder may lead to disadvantage to another. For an organization to stay profitable, it is mandatory that all stakeholders are happy.

Jones' Issue Contingent Model

The factor of lack of equality and equity is a serious problem when evaluated from the perspective of Jones' Issue Contingent Model (Jones, 1991). It is morally intensive when closely observed that the same manager has different style for the employees belonging to various groups. It is surprising to note that the same manager used reward power for his favorite employees though the ones, who are not in his good book only because of their caste and creed, are subjected to coercive power.

This approach can affect the organizational internal environment and culture. The dis-satisfied employees may spread bad word of mouth among the potential employees of that very organization. It is no exaggeration to mention that Muslims have gone a long mile to serve U.S. industry and their talent is recognized and admired all over the world. If effective leadership style is not adopted, it is quite predictable that the U.S. based firms will no longer have access to the talent found in discriminated nations.

Carroll's Ethics Screen

If the modern U.S. based firms or their policies are examined in the light of Carroll's Ethics Screen, it becomes evident that Ethical test approach is not followed at all. It can be said that conventional approach is followed as U.S. firms want good results for their society and their people. They may be concerned about the growth and development of their organizations hence want to mitigate the risk associated with it.

Using the concepts of principles approach (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2011), rights of Muslims are not respects. Freedom of speech and action is no more there for the ones who do not agree with the dominant view that 9/11 was done by Muslim terrorists. Utilitarian approach can be assumed as enacted in the organizational policies as mentioned in the discussion of conventional approaches as well. Justice is not granted as all employees are not treated equal. The U.S. based organizations may defend this point saying that in a diverse workforce, equality cannot be ensured. But it is not a strong argument as the literature published by U.S. organizations still supports the concept of equality. Another argument can be of equity, yet ethical standards are not followed here as well as the Muslims are not entitled to holidays on their religious and other celebrations.

Discussion

Ethics are important in business organizations as they form the foundation of overall culture and environment. Talking in the perspective of international business in the 21st century where globalization has removed all barriers, the role and importance of ethics has increased manifold. It is because; organizations are expanding their businesses to various parts of the world and adding more and more diverse workforce in their portfolio. In order to satisfy the needs of customers belonging to various areas, organizations need to work closely with employees belonging to those areas so that they can understand the needs and offer the products and services accordingly.

After 9/11, the employment policies devised and implemented in U.S. based organizations do not comply with ethical standards as approved previously. All employees are not treated equal and there are many communities who are considered inferior to the ones natively belonging to USA. This differentiation is leading to workplace conflicts, increased dissatisfaction, job switching and bad word of mouth about the organization.

USA has been playing an important role in creating body of knowledge for various disciplines since the last many decades. After the invention of Internet, the transformation of knowledge into digital form has become a matter of routine. All over the world, USA standards are accepted as international standards and industry best practices are developed from the trend monitored in U.S. based organizations.

As USA has published much material on ethical implications of organizations, the students graduating from U.S. institutes and following U.S. learning material are in a fix. The increasing disparity between concepts and practices is giving birth to many questions in the minds of young businessmen who are there to adopt business practices for guaranteed success of their initiatives.

Conclusion

The incident of 9/11 is a tragedy for many people of the world. No doubt, Americans suffered from it and many of them lost their lives as well, but what is more important is, the attitude of Americans and their government towards Muslims. They are mistreated and discriminated. Not to talk about Muslims only, the supporters of Muslims belonging to America are also subject to task and punishment. It has been long time now since 9/11 took place but the fire of hatred is still burning among the Americans and Muslims.

It is important to consider that the political conflicts and policies implemented for Muslims in USA is adding bad name to the organizations of USA. There are people who love to work in American firms but their self-respect does not allow them to accept the humiliating policies. Muslims may or may not be responsible for 9/11 attack but the declining consideration towards ethics is a dangerous approach.

This weakness of U.S. firms can be perceived as an opportunity for other firms. As mentioned earlier, ethics provide guidelines about right and wrong action. Regardless of grudges and prejudices, the concept of right and wrong should remain the same. It is where the real application of ethical concepts is tested in an environment where hostile feelings prevail and it is easy for one stakeholder to hurt the other one.