Organizational Ethics (Research Paper Sample)

Organizational Ethics
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Organizational Ethics
The response of any business to the internal and the external factors depends on the cultures developed by the organization on question- and its way of handling itself in situations regarding the surrounding heavily affect the performance of the company, its value, and these ethics express how the company values its employees, resources and market. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is a food company (one of the largest worldwide), dealing explicitly in the processing and sale of chicken-meat processed under various conditions. Its main products revolve around chicken- from where the company began with the initial products, it has however expanded its menu to feature hamburgers, halal food in countries with pre- dominance of Islam, soft drinks and an ever changing menu of potato products. The company is faced by a variety of responsibilities to its suppliers, its workers, the general market and consumers of their products. As a fast food restaurant chain, it has come a long way with various changes in management, production and marketing strategies (Grazin & Olsen, 1997). Its changes have also elicited reactions from the public and concerned groups over accordance to ethical guidelines and the use of chicken and the preparation has been a concern to many analysts and critics.
The company has various issues, as do many other fast food companies- regarding their consumers majorly. The company has had lawsuits against it, which has been a test to the company’s abilities and responsibility to external factors. The company has however displayed -different handling of the issues brought forward- in some cases taking the challenge of responding better to the affected parties. The controversy surrounding the company has been seen as failure by some of the departments to fully go over the ethical implications of the company on their supply of live and dead chicken, and the handling. It has also been seen as a failure of the company on the part of the health of the consumers of their chicken, as the food has been said to be ‘excessively greasy and prepared without health consideration’ (Schlosser, 2012).
The role of external social pressures cannot be ignored, as its effect on the organizational ethics of the company are evident in its handling of complaints. It is a useful strategy to rid the company of any negative effect of the products on the externalities. The company has been accused of offering low- nutrition, high- calorie foods. The impact of such pressure would definitely hit the marketing of their products, and it would thus have to be corrected (Grazin & Olsen, 1997). The company has also seen PETA advocates seek to check on their breeding, feeding and cruelty to animals. The pressure placed on the company form these factor is significant since consumers are sensitive and would react undesirably to such.
These issues are significant to the organizations decision making since the company has to factor the affected party’s opinion in the process. The cases involving the treatment of chicken before their preparation are significant to the consumers and the general public as a real ethical issue and has to be dealt with delicately. The relevance comes in where the company’s marketing and sales are affected. As an after-effect, this will lead to the financial aspects of the company being threatened. The decisions made on the making of healthier food have to originate from the actual ethical issue that the fast food restaurants have to be concerned over the health of their customers (Witkowski, 2007). They also have to practice humane rearing, handling and preparation of chicken. These organizational decisions will thus originate from the ethical issue raised by an affected party.
Legal issues surround the lawsuits that the company has had over the years- from persons claiming unhealthy lives as a result of KFC products, to PETA, claiming the improper handling of chicken by KFC and affiliates (suppliers) and to the health organizations using the improper nutrient balance as an elevation for lawsuits on life quality reduction (Schröder & McEachern, 2005). The ethical issues surrounding the effects on the lives of the consumers become legal issues when the individual’s quality of life is reduced as a result of consumption of the products in question (obesity). Issues surrounding the responsibility to animal welfare have
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