ROLE STRESS

Stress: condition that results when person-environment interaction leads someone to perceive a painful discrepancy, real or imagined,

between the demands of a situation on the one hand and their social, biological, or psychological resources on the other.

ROLE STRESS:It is the strain, conflict, or disruption that results from a lack of

agreement on certain job-related activities.

MEANING OF ROLE STRESS

•The conflict that arises between: role played by an individual and the specific tasks that go with that role

•It has an unswerving bearing on: ethical decision making behavior of

the individual

•Stress on the job: a key aspect influencing unethical behavior

•Tasks necessitate decision maker to formulate many tradeoffs and thus

face more ethical dilemmas than others

EXAMPLE:Salespeople confronted with

customers who expect incentives that are against the company policy.

CORPORATE EXAMPLE:CORPORATE EXAMPLE:

NUVEEN INVESTMENTS: An investment solution company’s

advertisement shown during the Super Bowl.

THE AD:It featured Christopher Reeve and

led people to believe that the paralyzed Reeve could walk again.The ad might have given too much

hope to paralyzed people.ETHICAL DILEMMA:

The dilemma faced by the ad maker was the narrow line between trying

to be creative (HIS ROLE) and being misleading at the same time.

DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION

DEFINITION:It refers to the idea that people learn ethical or unethical behavior while

interacting with others who are part of their role-sets or belong to other intimate

personal groups.MEANING:

Association with ethical/unethical persons along with the opportunity to act on the

same lines affects ethical decision making a lot.

FINDINGS OF RESEARCH STUDIES:

Employees, more often young managers, go by their superiors’ moral judgments to

show loyalty.EXAMPLE:

Two cashiers John & Jenna work in different shifts in same company. John is influenced by unethical friends and Jenna by ethical friends. Both behave according to their friends’ actions. John believes in the justification of his unethical friends, though, he also views stealing as wrong.

CORPORATE EXAMPLECORPORATE EXAMPLE

Co-workers at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility taught Mark

Hernandez to repair scratches in the insulation without reporting the repairs.

This was encouraged by supervisors to avoid paper work and meet tight

schedules.

After the shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry, killing all 7 astronauts,

investigations are being carried out to find out if a piece of foam falling off a fuel tank during the lift-off may have caused

the irreparable damage.

WHISTLE- BLOWING

INTRODUCTION:

Conflict ensues when employees know they are right but the company promotes unethical decision. Employees conclude to follow their values & cannot discuss

this with colleagues, they may go outside to publicize & correct the unethical

situation.

DEFINITION:

Exposing an employer’s wrongdoing to outsiders, such as media or government

regulatory agencies.

WHISTLE BLOWERS:

•Provide pivotal evidence to show unethical practices

• Importance was highlighted in 2002 when TIME magazine declared 3 as

“Persons of the Year”

CORPORATE EXAMPLE:CORPORATE EXAMPLE:“Persons of the Year” awardees: Sheron

Watkins (ENRON), Cynthia Cooper (WORLDCOM) & Coleen Rowley (FBI)

Sheron Watkins (VP) warned Kenneth Lay (CEO) that the company was using improper accounting procedures and later she testified

before the Congress that ENRON had concealed billions through off-balance-sheet

partnerships.

PLIGHT OF WHISTLE BLOWERS

• Do not receive positive recognition for pointing out corporate misconduct

• They are labeled as traitors• They lose their jobs

FINDINGS BY UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA:

69% Whistleblowers lost their jobs or forced to retire.

EXAMPLE:An Associated Press story describes that employees of military contractors in Iraq who have reported fraud and corruption

were fired or demoted, shunned by colleagues, and denied government

support in whistleblower lawsuits against contracting firms.

SOURCE:www.wvbusinesslitigationblog.com

CORPORATE EXAMPLE:CORPORATE EXAMPLE:

Year 2002: Ted Beatty exposed Dynegy’s Project Alpha, a deal that exaggerated cash flow from operations and cut taxes to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) & media after he was passed over for promotion.OUTCOME:• Resignation of firm’s top officers• Ted Beatty: Unable to find a job• Had his home broken into• He received numerous threats

CHECKLIST OF QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE WHISTLE BLOWING

• Is this the only method to resolve my concerns?

• Do I have the appropriate documentation & evidence to prove my case?

• What is my motivation for expressing concern over employee or company activities?

• Am I prepared to deal with the matter on both a personal & professional level?

IN TED BEATTY’S CASE:All hoped to take Mr. Beatty's information and benefit from it.

Some assured him his assistance would earn him big money.

But no such payout has materialized.

He was then unemployed, in financial stress & had to move to a small town

because of threats.

He was quoted as saying:

"They all said they wanted to help me," he says. "I was dumb. I fell for it.” ( Source: www.happinessonline.org/MoralCode/images/whis..)

COURT SETTLEMENT CASES & SARBANES-OXLEY ACT

COURT SETTLEMENT CASES:

Some whistle-blowers turn to courts and obtain substantial settlements.

EXAMPLE: Whistle-blowers who exposed Medicare fraud at SmithKline were awarded $52 million

SARBANES-OXLEY ACT:

The act makes it illegal to “discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass or in

any manner discriminate against” a whistle-blower and sets penalties of up to

10 years in jail for executives who retaliate against whistle-blowers.

Also, the law requires publicly traded companies must implement an

anonymous reporting mechanism enabling employees to question actions

they believe may indicate fraud.

Opportunity Creates Ethical Dilemmas

• One man’s opportunity can come at another man’s exploit leading to ethical dilemma.

• Example: Launching a product to capture market without proper testing

• Example: Mc Donald's happy meal toys being manufactured by

children of china

Conflict Resolution• Conflict occurs when it is not clear which goals or values are

more important

• conflict can be resolved through debates and discussions

Improving Ethical Decision Making in Business

• Workers should be given greater participation in the designing and implementation of assignments

• Managers and co workers should provide direction and encourage ethical decision making among peers

• Members should assume ethical responsibility

Thank You