Chapter 8 Discussion:

The Individual in the

Organization
Paul L. Schumann, Ph.D.

© 2004 by Paul L. Schumann. All rights reserved.

8-1
Rational Organizations
♦ How does the traditional, “rational,” model
of an organization define the organization?
♦ What is the glue that holds together the
organization’s many layers of managers and
employees?

8-2
Employee’s Duties
♦ According to the rational view of
organizations, what is the employee’s main
moral duty to the organization?
 Why do employee’s have this moral duty?
 What is the “law of agency”?

8-3
Conflicts of Interest
♦ What is a conflict of interest?
 What are some examples of conflicts of
interest?
♦ What’s an example of a commercial bribe?
 How does a commercial bribe create a conflict
of interest?
♦ What’s an example of commercial
extortion?
 How does commercial extortion create a
conflict of interest?
8-4
Conflicts of Interest
♦ How can accepting a gift create a conflict of
interest?
 What are the guidelines to consider in judging
the morality of accepting a gift?

8-5
Employee Theft
♦ How does theft by an employee violate the
moral duties of the employee?
 What are some examples of employee theft?
 What are some examples of employee theft
involving computers?
 What are trade secrets?
 What are some examples of employee theft
involving trade secrets?

8-6
Insider Trading
♦ What is insider trading?
 What are some examples of insider trading?
♦ While insider trading is currently illegal in
the US, what are the arguments for why it is
not unethical?
♦ What are the arguments for why it is
unethical?

8-7
Organization’s Duties
♦ According to the rational view of
organizations, what is the organization’s
main moral duty to the employee?
♦ What guidelines can be used to judge if pay
is fair?
♦ What guidelines can be used to judge if the
health and safety risks of a job are unfair?

8-8
Organization’s Duties
♦ What are the 2 dimensions along which jobs
can be specialized?
 What is the advantage to the organization of
specializing jobs?
 According to research, what happens when jobs
are too specialized?

8-9
Organization’s Duties
♦ According to Hackman, Oldham, Jansen, &
Purdy, what are the 3 determinants of job
satisfaction?
 According to Hackman, Oldham, Jansen, &
Purdy, what are the 5 dimensions along which
jobs can be expanded to enhance job
satisfaction?

8-10
The Political Organization
♦ How does the political model of the
organization differ from the rational model
of the organization?
♦ What are the main ethical problems that we
see about organizations when we use the
political model to understand organizations?

8-11
Employee Rights
♦ In what 4 ways is modern corporate
management similar to a government?
♦ What are the important differences between
the power of corporate managers and the
power of government officials?
 How do the critics of these differences, who see
management as similar to government,
respond?

8-12
Employee Right to Privacy
♦ What is meant by a right to privacy?
 What are some examples of how managers
might infringe on an employee’s right to
privacy?
♦ What are the 3 guidelines we can use to
decide if an employee’s right to privacy is
being threatened by management?

8-13
Freedom of Conscience
♦ What is meant by an employee’s freedom of
conscience?
♦ What is the basis of this right?
♦ To what extent do US laws protect this
right?

8-14
Whistleblowing
♦ What is whistleblowing?
 Examples?
 What is internal versus external
whistleblowing?
 What is the argument for why whistleblowing
is always wrong?
 What are the counter-arguments?
♦ What are the 4 conditions under which
external whistleblowing is morally
justified?
8-15
Right to Participate in Decisions
♦ What are the arguments concerning whether
or not the ideals of democracy should be
embodied in business organizations so that
all employees have a moral right to
participate in the decision-making processes
of the organization?

8-16
Right to Due Process
♦ What is the doctrine of employment at will?
♦ What are the criticisms of the doctrine of
employment at will?
♦ What is due process?
♦ How can organizations implement due
process?

8-17
Plant Closings
♦ What can companies do to minimize the
harmful effects of plant closings?

8-18
Right to Unions
♦ What rights do workers have with respect to
unions?

8-19
Political Tactics in Organizations
♦ What is the goal of organizational politics
(political tactics)?
 Examples?
♦ How can we analyze the ethics of political
tactics in organizations?

8-20
The Caring Organization
♦ What is a caring organization?
♦ What are the arguments in favor of a caring
organization?
♦ What are the key ethical issues that arise
from the:
 Contractual model of the organization?
 Political model of the organization?
 Caring model of the organization?

8-21
Case: The Gap
♦ Is a company like the Gap morally
responsible for the way its suppliers treat
their workers? Explain.
♦ What should the Gap do?

8-22