ETHICS & VALUES

Analysis of Personal and Organizational Ethics and Values between For-Profit and Not-for-Profit Organizations



Analysis of Personal and Organizational Ethics and Values between For-Profit and Not-for-Profit Organizations

Introduction

This discussion will attempt to identify key problems related to business ethics in a Not-for-Profit and For- Profit organization. For this purpose, the Not-for-Profit chosen is Habitat for Humanity, while the organization For-Profit organization chosen Apple Inc. The discussion will begin by outlining the company profile of Habitat for Humanity in order to highlight the ethical dilemma that it faced or is currently facing. This will entail the conduction of an analysis of the way that Habitat for Humanity has responded to the identified ethical dilemma.

This part of the discussion will examine the obstacles that the company faces in its sector and the manner in which the company chooses to utilize innovative approaches to overcoming those obstacles (Frantz, 2005). This will also incorporate an identification and description of a time in which the company faced a major crisis that threatened its business; followed by an elaboration of the manner in which the company addressed and overcame this situation. This process will then be repeated for Apple Inc.

The third section of the paper will please provide my personal reflections on the ethical actions that were taken in relation to the problem (Frantz, 2005). I will evaluate those actions from my own ethical standpoint. Specific areas that will be considered in this regard will include the morality of the company's response, the company's cause-and-effect relationship with the dilemma, the possibility of having done more and the source of the problem, addressing which could have prevented the identified complications.

The last section of this paper will constitute a critique of the actions of these companies (based on two of the philosophical theories); in order to determine which moral theory the company appears to be abiding by in relation to this issue. This section will also constitute the explanation of the attributes of the decision that make me believe that this is the ethical perspective of the company.

Habitat for Humanity

The Founders of the organization are Millard and Linda Fuller. They founded the organization in 1976 with the goal of providing housing to people without financial conditions. To date, Habitat for Humanity is responsible for building over 250 thousand homes across 90 countries. Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity International has strived to help the needy and homeless families build their own homes. The work of Habitat for Humanity is held by the community and locally controlled. Habitat for Humanity joins people in their struggle to build adequate housing and economical for families in need.

The key to the success of the Habitat for Humanity housing construction projects is mutual collaboration (Chiras, 2003; Chong & Marshall, 1999). It is essentially a Christian organization that works on a nonprofit basis and accepts with joy the support, participation and collaboration of people from all religions, ethnic groups and social classes. Habitat for Humanity works in partnership with families in building their own homes, ...