Models of Ethical Decision Making



Models of Ethical Decision Making

Wal-Mart was established in 1962, and has turned into a giant in the retail industry due to its highly effective supply chain. This efficiency is due to the collaboration between the suppliers and Wal-Mart achieved through innovative technological software. Computer software is being extensively used at Wal-Mart to automate most of the time consuming tasks involved in the procurement, warehousing and finance departments. The success of Wal-Mart was a result of continuous commitment to investing in information technology initiatives.

As seen at the corporate level strategies involve some form of decision for or against society, in this sense, we can say that the ethical dilemmas faced by Wal-Mart in their day to day operations should be analyzed and discussion made ??so that the best solution is to benefit its stakeholders, without deviating from their objective. Wal-Mart is among the largest and most profitable retail store in the world with its operations spanning outside America (Freeman, 2006). The large scales of its business operations require pose several challenges to effective decision making. The corporate head require real-time information that provides insight into the operational and marketing effectiveness of the company. They aim to provide high quality at affordable price point and that is achieved by efficiencies in the supply chain (Smith, 2009). The department's needs real-time data helps them to making decisions regarding the forecasting, procurement and warehousing of the goods.

When Sam Walton founded Wal-Mart, he created a company based on values ??and ethics. The values ??that guided their decisions and their leadership were founded on three basic principles, whose pillar was Integrity:

Respect for the individual.

Customer Service.

Striving for excellence.

Their ethical principles were intended to guide their partners to make the right decisions. Some of them were:

Always act with Integrity

Leading with Integrity and supervise others to work with Integrity

Comply with the law at all times

Being honest and fair

Never manipulate, misrepresent, misuse or conceal information

Avoid conflicts of interest between work issues and personal issues

Respect and encourage diversity and never discriminate against anyone

Immediately report violations of the Declaration of Ethics

Cooperate in any investigation of a possible violation of ethics and maintain confidentiality of information

Wal-Mart started off as a small retail store and information technology has played a vital role in its international success and growth.

Its continuous innovation in IT has helped Wal-Mart to generate more profits for the company and the shareholders.

The major ethical dilemmas facing Wal-Mart are those related to:

Employees vs. Shareholders

The company sacrificed the welfare of their employees in search of higher profits for their shareholders. In this case, managers must decide whether to meet the requirements of the shareholders or watch first by the human factor in the organization, after all, is what gives our customers face and to express their displeasure formally to the company can generate large losses for damage to its image.

Interest Groups

In this case, faces the benefit of both shareholders and customers (low prices) against the welfare of employees, community and environment (Kastel, 2006). Here, Wal-Mart must choose between meeting the needs of its customers or to meet the needs of their employees and to assume social ...