Code of Ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Code of Ethics - Research Paper ExampleThe current J&J head is the CEO and Chairman of the play along, William C. Weldon (Flamholtz & Randle, 2011). Unlike other companies, J&J does not put up a mission or vision statement but it has a Credo that has been guiding wholly the actions and decisions of the company for more than the past 60 years. Furthermore, unlike other companies, this Credo or code of morals is a simple iodin-pager document that hangs on the walls of company office in 57 countries and in 36 different languages (Flamholtz & Randle, 2011). Discussion It was in the year 1943, when the Chairman and a member of the companys origination family, write this credo for the company, just before it was going public (Leonard-Barton, 1998). The term corporate social obligation did not even exist at that time. The period of James E. Burke who served as the companys Chief Executive Officer (1976-1989) was the defining moment in the history of the company ad its credo. During h is period, the company faced several allegations and litigations and he asked his fellow executives to either follow the Credo or tear it floor the wall. However, during the mid 1970s, Burke found that the classical Credo of the company has lost its legacy and influence in the company. He took up the task to revitalizing the energy of the Credo and sat down with other executives to take for minor adjustments to it (Wit & Meyer, 2010). Burke believed that t here(predicate) was another more important for the company than its Credo because for the past one hundred, it has been the values and good standards of the company defined in the Credo, which have helped the company to perform well and outclass its competition (Flamholtz & Randle, 2011). Since and then, the company has been putting a lot of its emphasis on the Credo regardless of the situations or the geographical regions. All the employees in the company, whether at managerial or non-managerial, regardless of their geographi cal location, know around the Credo since from their day one. At every office and floor of the company, the Credo is framed and hung on the wall. Employees give birth extensive trainings to ensure that they know about the ethical values of the company and its history of compliance to ethical values (Pride, Hughes & Kapoor, 2008). There are four essential elements of the Credo, which are customers, employees, community, and stockholders. The company has the responsibility of providing good and gauge products to the customers. Employees must receive the due respect and development through their career. For the community, the company must act as good and responsible citizens of the community. Lastly, the stockholders of the company must receive a fair return (Lagan & Moran, 2005). The credo of J&J does not have the greatest words or the unique ones in the history of businesses. What males J&J credo so influential and important is the order of those words. J&J believed that customers come first, then employees, then the community and lastly, the stockholders (Flamholtz & Randle, 2011). It does not mean that the stockholders could be avoided but it means that the company believes that if customers are receiving gauge products, employees are being respected, we become good citizens of the community, and then profits would flow for the stockholders as well. Furthermore, important here to note is that