Module 4: PCA Ethics

Christine Kim

OGL-481 Pro-Seminar I

Professor Willmott

November 21, 2021

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 CONFIDENTIAL

1) Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and your role.

The specific situation that I can describe is the development of the company’s website for
its new cosmetic brand. Since the organization was unfamiliar with how to start a new
cosmetic brand, the beginning of the brand creation was very rough. The team started off
small with individuals who were not very experienced with brand creation, marketing, or
website building. Even the management team seemed a little lost at times. We were all
thrown into projects here and there, and when it came to the website, things felt unstable.
Luckily, I had previous experience with graphic design and website development, so I
didn’t feel as overwhelmed as the other team members. However, the whole process of
the website’s development was rushed and managed very poorly. These problems mainly
arose due to poor management, an inexperienced team, and disagreement issues. The
manager and lead graphic designer were unable to take initiative and properly explain to
each team member what they expected them to accomplish. They had ineffective ways of
communicating and left the team to figure out a plan amongst themselves. With the team
being inexperienced, the members felt confused and had to take extra steps to research
ways to set up an appealing website with easy user functionality. The confusion and lack
of management support created disagreement between the team and managers.

2) Describe how the ethics of the organization influenced the situation.

The leaders of my organization contributed to several unethical actions/behaviors that

negatively impacted the organization’s culture and employees. Effective leadership was
almost completely absent in the organization, which eventually caused many employees
to leave and make the ones that stayed feel unvalued and miserable. Successful leaders
tend to show discipline and determination and focus on the success of their team rather
than the success of themselves (Bolman, 2017, p. 335). However, this kind of selfless and
disciplined leadership was not present in my organization and was not beneficial when it
came to the project of the new website.

The fact that the leaders of the organization were not focused on the success of their team
was unethical. Instead of providing opportunities for success and helping the team
through unfamiliar work, the managers were only on the lookout for outcomes. If there
was little progress with the website, the managers would get angry with the team for not
working good or hard enough. “Effective leaders help articulate a vision, set standards for
performance, and create focus and direction” (Bolman, 2017, p. 339). Unfortunately, the

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 managers did not have the capability to work alongside the team to create focus and
direction. The team was left to come up with their own vision because of the managers’
failure to help establish a vision and goal for the company’s website.

3) Recommend how you would apply one of the ethical communities for an alternative
course of action regarding your case.

I find the symbolic ethical community as the most influential course of action that my
organization needs. The vision and value symbols of my organization were nonexistent,
which led to its downfall and corruption of the management team. Inspiring vision and
values can “bring cohesiveness, clarity, and direction in the presence of confusion and
mystery” (Bolman, 2017, p. 263). This sense of togetherness, clarity, and direction were
difficult to experience when building the website because the managers were never able
to set a good example of relationship building or provide us with genuine vision.

A stronger presence of vision and value between the mangers and team members would
have helped to inspire the team. Inspiration goes a long way and would’ve allowed the
team gain confidence in their skills and work. Instead, there was an immense amount of
disconnect with the managers and team, which caused team members to feel unvalued
and work without a sense of direction.

4) Reflect on what you would do or not do differently give what you have learned
about ethics.

Because there were several concerns about the ethics of the organization, I would have
helped managers and employees understand what good ethics is and why it is crucial for
an organization to display ethical actions/behavior. A key element that the organization
was missing was the proper use of the ethical code of conduct. I feel that the managers
did not consider that their behaviors were unethical, and it would have been helpful if
they had someone to remind them of the ethical standards that every organization should
take part in.

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 Reference or References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership

(6th  ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass