Social & Ethical Issues in Management Brief Background/History of Corporation

Epitech is a technology company that creates and develops software for administrative use for other corporations. The company was founded in the year 2009 and has since then grown to become one of the renowned software technology companies in the region. The headquarters of the company is situated in the state of Virginia. The company is best known for its Omega software system which is employed by numerous corporations for their everyday administrative use. Epitech was officially established on 2nd April 2009 by James Hunt with the main intent of creating software for personal use. However, the company took a turn for the positive when the software developed were picked up by other corporations and has since then went on to become one of the most sought after software technology companies. Five years since its inception, Epitech has been able to produce software for over fifteen companies. The company intends on improving its status to become one of the best institutions to work in. This is not only through having a proper work environment for its employees but it is also through ensuring that a code of ethics that will guide the company is put in place.

Your leadership style as the Founder and CEO

Leadership can basically be described as an intricate process and practice of directing individuals towards the attainment of particular and distinct objectives and aims which have already been predefined. During the course of history, individuals have at all times strived to attain leadership positions. Each individual's style of leadership has a significant demeanor on how successfully an organization attains and achieves its objectives. This is particularly true when it comes to individuals who have key responsibilities and accountabilities to undertake and are in positions that necessitate making decisions. In recent years, the whole conception of leadership has changed and transformed as newfangled information is revealed, espoused and implemented. The different styles of leadership aid and facilitate in the realization and attainment of the mission and maintenance roles of an organization. Essentially, there are three fundamental styles of leadership which are situational styles of leadership, multifactor style of leadership and democratic style of leadership (Lester, 1975: 20).

Being the founder and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, my main style of leadership will be a transactional style of leadership and a democratic style of leadership. This is also referred to as a participative leadership style. It encompasses the stimulation of personnel to be part and parcel of the whole practice of making decisions. It also comprises ensuring that the personnel are up-to-date and well-versed or conversant regarding all that pertains to what influences their work and sharing in the responsibility of solving problems and making decisions. Through this style of leadership, I will be able to promote and foster open communication within the organization and be able to have operational members of the company to participate in the process of decision making (Germano, 2010) The democratic style of leadership will basically in a simple manner be able to share the whole burden of leadership and one that will enable me as the CEO of the organization to foster a sense of satisfaction and attainment as the personnel makes advancement on the everyday responsibilities that they undertake. This style of leadership will enable me to be successful as being the leader of the company I will be able to help the employees, comprehend the strides necessary in realizing the vision, mission and objectives of the company. One of the positives of this style of leadership is that the employees react to this form of leadership by becoming more responsible and accountable for the performance and achievement of tasks. By making the employees feel as if they have a stake in the company, there will be much more productivity from them and this will be an advantage for the company.

A transactional leader is assumed to basically place major emphasis on maintaining the associations and affiliations generated and created within and outside the company rather than inspiring and motivating for novelty and originality (Kuhnert and Lewis, 1987: 65). This is the style of leadership that is being employed in Epitech Technologies. It has numerous benefits in the sense that the strong relationships that are created instigate a synergy that will be of great importance to the company. The company is greatly aware of the different stakeholders of the company and the leaders concentrate and focus on the needs of the workers, the shareholders and also the different stakeholders.

This is because most companies spend minimal time and effort in selecting the right leaders and spends the rest of their time trying to correct this problem. Epitech Technologies undertakes a rigorous and fair selection system that ensures that all of the employees who are given leadership positions are the right ones for such particular positions. The first step of this process encompasses clearly defining the qualities and characters of the perfect candidate. This is by clearly looking at the leadership positions open for the candidates and thereafter keenly looking at what it is exactly that the company is looking for. Some of these attributes include being able to work together with other individuals as a team, being able to think critically and also the individuals need to have passion for software development and programming as this is the core activity that is undertaken by Epitech technologies. Once this is determined, the whole process of selection is put in place. Epitech first of all considers the in-house employees for any opening positions as they are already members of the company and have diverse understanding of what the company stands for and undertakes. However, if none of the employees are best suited for such positions or if such positions are more than the candidates, then the company goes ahead and advertises for such positions. The company subsequently collects the different applications made for the positions and thereafter compares the qualifications of the applicants with the minimum qualifications of such positions. The candidates are taken through three rounds of interviews. The first interview is an online aptitude test. The second phase of selection is another aptitude test that is undertaken within the premise of the company and has a time duration. Finally once the candidates prevail through these two interview processes they go ahead and get interviewed by a panel to consider their passion, outlook and attitude to see whether it goes in line with that of the company. Epitech Technologies ensures that this process is a fair and evenhanded one. The company's main objective is to ensure that the leaders selected are in sync with what the company stands for (Goodall, 2007: 6).
Formal and Informal Systems of Epitech

Organization usually comprise of labor forces or workforces, therefore it can be deemed as a social and financial entity. Present day companies are enormous with regards to the number of employees hired. For this reason, it becomes quite challenging and difficult for the employer and the personnel to have constant direct contact. A formal system of an organization encompasses the authorized and sanctioned chain of command and channels of authority, with their extents of control and regulation. The informal system of an organization encompasses the manner in which the authorized and sanctioned regulations are conveyed or disrupted through the unofficial practices of juniors or employees in the lower level. These two kinds of structures within an organization highlight and elucidate the difference between processes and communications in businesses which are arranged by written guidelines and those which hinge on individual interaction and relations within groups and teams in the workplace. The following analysis indicates the two kinds of system in Epitech.

1.

Formal System

The formal system of the company will take up a hierarchical structure. At the top most level of the system will be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. The system then branches out to the managers who head the various departments of the company. This includes the Human Resource Manager who is in charge of all matters pertaining the employee welfare and recruitment, the Software Development or Information Technology Manager who will be in charge of the operations and activities concerning the development and publication of the software. Lastly there will be the finance and sales manager who will be in charge of the financial operation of the company and also the sales of the software products developed by the company. Each of these managers will be followed by their subordinates in each of their individual departments.

2.

Informal System

The informal system of the company on the other hand will take up a network system of where all the employees in various departments will play an integral part in the success and operation of the company. Being a software company, it is imperative to appreciate and take note of the novelty that the employees have. Therefore, the conceptions and ideas that will…