Organizational Ethics Essays - Ethics, Business Ethics, Free Essays

Organizational Ethics Essays - Ethics, Business Ethics, Free Essays Organizational Ethics ETH/316 Organizational Ethics The purpose of this paper is to discuss the findings from the research conducted on the U. S. Postal Service. This paper will discuss the ethical principles and how they can address organizational issues as well as the roles that external social pressure have in influencing ethics, how these issues might be relevant to organizational and personal decisions, and lastly discuss the relationship is between legal and ethical issues of the USPS. How ethical principles can address organizational issues Ethical principles are applied to all type of organization and the ethical obligations extend to all members of an organization which can include the customers, employee, and employer that work for the U.S. Postal Service which is also part of the federal government. Some of the ethical issues that can come up are mail being delivered on a timely basis, hiring and firing of a worker and in some cases the promotions. Ethical principles can address organizational issues because they can help the Postmaster over their location handle an issue in the best ethical way possible. Roles of External Social Pressures There are some issues, but the main issues are the stealing of mail. Having and keeping a positive image is very important for an organization to survive. All employees of the U.S. Postal Service are expected to follow a certain code of ethics and also the rules that are governed by the laws under the Postal Reform (USPS 2014). Social pressure has a major influence on the Postal Service considering the fact that they provide a service to every business and residence in the US and outside of the US. They have one of the largest customer bases in the world and to maintain a positive image to the public the employees personal decision must follow the organizations code of ethics. External social pressures the need to look successful has a lot of influence on organizational ethical decisions. How the issues Relevant to Organizational and Personal Decision Some of the most common principles that are relevant to organizational and personal decisions are personal and social benefits. The security and safety of the mail can be an ethical issue, the number of times that each piece of mail changes hands can provide plenty of potential opportunities for damage or stolen mail to occur. These confidential documents can contain personal information that could lead to identity theft when they are allowed to fall in the wrong hands. I have heard of many stories where the postal worker has stolen mail that contained credit cards, money that was going to a charity to help sick kids or tossed it so that they didnt have to deliver so much. These were personal decision that the employee made that not only had consequences to the employee but also to the post office. According to the United States Postal Service, the Postal Service demands an unwavering commitment to strong ethical values and principled decision making from all of it employees. All pos t employees are required to place loyalty to the Constitution, the laws and ethical principles above private gain (USPS, 2014). Relationship between Legal and Ethical Issues Legal and ethical issues both deal with issues within a company or organization and every company has legal and ethical responsibilities when the issues cross the law. The law might not always address ethical issues that happen within all organization because all unethical behavior is not illegal. The situation with the postal worker that stole the money from the charity became a legal issue because it was report to the postal inspector by the charity. The inspector set it up to where they were able to catch the worker with the stolen stuff. What that worker did was not only unethical but also illegal, that worker was giving jail time and also has to pay all the money that was missing back and will not allow the working any federal jobs in the future. That worker was made out as an example to the other workers so that they know what consequence will happen if they stole what did not belong to them. Conclusion In our society today, there are many unethical decisions made for ones own selfishness and greed. It