Brittany Sobel MGMT 405-04 10/30/08 In the article The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the Moral

Management of Organizational Stakeholders, Archie Carroll assessed the importance of corporate social responsibility, and the need for managers to conduct business in a more ethical and moral manner. Carroll suggested that there are three types of managers: immoral, amoral, and moral. An immoral manager operates almost entirely on the first tier of the pyramid of corporate social responsibility and cares about nothing else but profits. An amoral manager however, may be an ethical person but fails to apply the ethical values they hold in their personal lives to their business lives. Finally, a moral manager maintains strong ethical values and is concerned about profitability while still adhering to legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities. It is important to recognize mangers who are immoral or amoral, because as a stakeholder in the company, it is not only in your best interest, but in that of all stakeholders who have potential to be effected by decisions made by people who hold leadership roles. A manager may be recognized as immoral by the way they treat various people within the stakeholder group, which includes shareholders, employees, customers, the local community, and society at large. You can recognize when a manager is acting in an immoral manner toward shareholders, when they exploit the positions of executive groups without making shareholders aware. Such managements inevitably use their enhanced power for their own gain, often at the investors expense. Perhaps the most famous instance of this was with the collapse of Enron, whose managers knowingly committed a corporate crime for their own self-interest. There are a number of ways to go about handling situations like this when you are made aware of poor

decisions managers make. I feel that many people fear to step out and take control of such predicaments, because it is not easy to act against someone who has higher authority over you, and many negative consequences could be involved such as loss of a job, and ostracism from other employees and managers. One way to start making shareholders aware is to simply report unethical decisions being made by managers. This may be done by writing rip-off reports, writing to the local news, emails, etc. If it is a really serious issue, then one may consider getting the government and or police involved. The first action to take in my opinion would be to first confront the manager and make him or her aware that what they are doing is wrong and is putting a much larger group of people at risk. The manager should be made aware that their actions can and will result in negative consequences if things do not change. One may recognize a manager as being immoral to employees, when they are being treated as factors of production, and little attention is given toward their rights, needs, or expectations. Such managers make working conditions unbearable by being disrespectful and enforcing unreasonable expectations. It is important however, that employees are treated as human beings and that managers utilize leadership techniques to allow for mutual trust and confidence. One way to help resolve an issue where a manager is treating you disrespectfully is to simply confront them. Tell them what you need in terms of direction, feedback and support. Be polite and focus on your needs. Telling them they are not good at their job or mean is counterproductive and wont help you meet your goals. Another thing you can do is seek a mentor from other managers or more skilled peers, with the full knowledge of your current manager, to enlarge your opportunity for experience. You can also go to your Human Resources staff to gain advice. If nothing changes, despite your best efforts, and you think the problem is that they dont believe you, draw together coworkers who also experience the behavior from the

manager. As a last resort you can take the issue up with someone of higher authority to help him or her see the size and impact of the behavior. A manager is identified as immoral toward customers, when it is obvious that they perceive them as mere tools for obtaining profits, rather than human beings who should be offered proper care and service. These types of managers will take any measure to rake in extra profit, whether it be through lying, cheating or deceiving. This happens most commonly with the marketing decisions that are made such as false advertising, unfair pricing and distribution, deceptive packaging, etc. In each of these instances, customers are taken advantage of, and there is no sense of remorse or regret from the manager. When employees witness such behavior from their managers, it is important that they are made aware of their unethical decisions. They should be approached and warned that their behavior will have consequences. It might also be a good idea to show them how customer satisfaction is a key factor in long term profit. There have been many studies done that revel the correlation between customer satisfaction, short term profit, and long term profit. It may also be beneficial to take a log of customer complaints and look at online reviews customers may have posted, to show your manager the negative feedback from the companys products/services. However, when you are dealing with someone who is ruthless and has shows little empathy for people, it is probably most effective to tie everything back to the company profit model. Chances are that a manager who is more concerned with profit than the satisfaction of their customer base will be more influenced by this approach. If no change is made, and deceit continues to occur, it may be a good idea to get someone else of higher authority involved. The first job I ever had, I worked at Togos-Baskin Robins, and I had a very money driven manager who made some poor decisions when serving food. When preparing the sandwich toppings for the day, we were never allowed to throw out expired vegetables, if it was

in our extra inventory. He always required us to use old lettuce, avocados, and tomatoes if it was still somewhat presentable. I always had a hard time bringing myself to do this, so I would still throw it out in a very discreet manner. One time he caught another food preparer doing this and fired her, so I contacted the stores health inspector to take proper action. Immoral management against the local community stakeholders takes place when there is little concern for the environment, and no attempts are taken toward conservation of energy and resources. These types of managers will be seen polluting, zoning, and exploiting community resources to the maximum. The manager should however be able to see that community goals and company goals are interdependent. Getting involved in volunteer work and motivating others to do the same should be acknowledged by the manager as it will not only benefit others, but could also be seen as a marketing opportunity to shed good light on the company. It should be no surprise that there is a mutual relationship between revenues and ethical decisions made by companies. While short term profits may increase with exploitation of executive groups, employees, customers, and community resources, long term profits will decline significantly as the companys value, reputation, and legal threats increase. Managers who put profits at the forefront of their goals and make unethical decisions to achieve those profits should be held accountable and be able to see things from a new perspective. Working for a company whether you are an employee or a manager is a commitment to both the company and the people it services.