Ethical Climate Survey
Question
| <br /> Assignment 3: Ethical Climate Survey<br /> <br /> Due Week 9 and worth 300 points<br /> <br /> A study by the U.S. Sentencing Commission recognized the importance of organizational culture and its impact on an organization’s commitment to ethical conduct and compliance with the law (LRN, 2006). Imagine that a business of your choosing is concerned about recent ethical breaches by its employees. The business has hired you as a consultant to evaluate the current ethical climate of the organization. The leadership has requested that you to develop a comprehensive survey that the business can use to determine the ethical climate of the organization. Note: You may create and / or make all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of this assignment.<br /> <br /> In preparation for this assignment, read the article titled “Measuring Your Organization’s Climate for Ethics: The Survey Approach”. Also, for tips on writing effective survey questions read the article titled, “Writing Good Survey Questions”, located at https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/writing-survey-questions/.<br /> <br /> Write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:<br /> <br /> Provide a brief (one [1] paragraph) description of the organization for which you are providing consulting services.<br /> Recommend key steps that the organization can take to create a strong culture.<br /> Develop an introduction paragraph to the survey explaining the tie between organizational culture and ethical conduct.<br /> Designate at least two (2) groups within the organization who will take the survey, and provide a rationale as to why these two (2) groups should complete the survey.<br /> Develop a one (1) paragraph invitation to participate in the survey explaining the purpose and intended use of the survey.<br /> Develop criteria for conducting the ethical climate survey of the organization. The criteria should identify:<br /> Who the target audience is;<br /> The method by which the you will administer the survey;<br /> Instructions for participants on accessing and completing the survey.<br /> Construct at least three (3) sample questions that address each of the following areas (12 questions total). At least two (2) of the twelve (12) questions should require an open-ended response.<br /> Determine the organizational culture<br /> Examine the ethical climate of the organization<br /> Examine the impact of existing ethics training program(s)<br /> Determine the overall satisfaction of employees with the management on leading the organization in an ethical manner<br /> Write a concluding paragraph that summarizes the intent, the purpose, and expected impact of conducting the ethical climate survey.<br /> Use at least three (3) quality academic references in this assignment. You may include the resource(s) provided in the assignment. Note: Wikipedia does not qualify as an academic resource.<br /> Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:<br /> <br /> Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.<br /> Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.<br /> The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:<br /> <br /> Explain the variety of leadership theories and roles.<br /> Analyze the formation and dynamics of group behavior and work teams, including the application of power in groups.<br /> Evaluate ways organizational culture can be managed and promote ethics in an organization.<br /> Use technology and information resources to research issues in leadership and organizational behavior.<br /> Write clearly and concisely about leadership and organizational behavior using proper writing mechanics.<br /> Click here to view the assignment rubric.<br /> <br /> Assignment Help<br /> Click here to view a video on submitting a clickable rubric assignment<br /> <br /> Turnitin Submission for week 9<br /> <br /> <br /> Points: 300<br /> Assignment 3: Ethical Climate Survey<br /> Criteria<br /> <br /> Unacceptable<br /> <br /> Below 70% F<br /> <br /> Fair<br /> <br /> 70-79% C<br /> <br /> Proficient<br /> <br /> 80-89% B<br /> <br /> Exemplary<br /> <br /> 90-100% A<br /> <br /> 1. Provide a brief (one [1] paragraph) description of the organization for which you are providing consulting services.<br /> <br /> Weight: 5%<br /> <br /> Did not submit or incompletely provided a brief (one [1] paragraph) description of the organization for which you are providing consulting services.<br /> <br /> Partially provided a brief (one [1] paragraph) description of the organization for which you are providing consulting services.<br /> <br /> Satisfactorily provided a brief (one [1] paragraph) description of the organization for which you are providing consulting services.<br /> <br /> Thoroughly provided a brief (one [1] paragraph) description of the organization for which you are providing consulting services.<br /> <br /> 2. Recommend key steps that the organization can take to create a strong culture.<br /> Weight: 10%<br /> <br /> Did not submit or incompletely recommended key steps that the organization can take to create a strong culture.<br /> <br /> Partially recommended key steps that the organization can take to create a strong culture.<br /> <br /> Satisfactorily recommended key steps that the organization can take to create a strong culture.<br /> <br /> Thoroughly recommended key steps that the organization can take to create a strong culture.<br /> <br /> 3. Develop an introduction paragraph to the survey explaining the tie between organizational culture and ethical conduct.<br /> <br /> Weight: 10%<br /> <br /> Did not submit or incompletely developed an introduction paragraph to the survey explaining the tie between organizational culture and ethical conduct.<br /> <br /> Partially developed an introduction paragraph to the survey explaining the tie between organizational culture and ethical conduct.<br /> <br /> Satisfactorily developed an introduction paragraph to the survey explaining the tie between organizational culture and ethical conduct.<br /> <br /> Thoroughly developed an introduction paragraph to the survey explaining the tie between organizational culture and ethical conduct.<br /> <br /> 4. Designate at least two (2) groups within the organization who will take the survey, and provide a rationale as to why these two (2) groups should complete the survey.<br /> <br /> Weight: 10%<br /> <br /> Did not submit or incompletely designated at least two (2) groups within the organization who will take the survey, and did not submit or incompletely provided a rationale as to why these two (2) groups should complete the survey.<br /> <br /> Partially designated at least two (2) groups within the organization who will take the survey, and partially provided a rationale as to why these two (2) groups should complete the survey.<br /> <br /> Satisfactorily designated at least two (2) groups within the organization who will take the survey, and satisfactorily provided a rationale as to why these two (2) groups should complete the survey.<br /> <br /> Thoroughly designated at least two (2) groups within the organization who will take the survey, and thoroughly provided a rationale as to why these two (2) groups should complete the survey.<br /> <br /> 5. Develop a one (1) paragraph invitation to participate in the survey explaining the purpose and intended use of the survey.<br /> <br /> Weight: 5%<br /> <br /> Did not submit or incompletely developed a one (1) paragraph invitation to participate in the survey explaining the purpose and intended use of the survey.<br /> <br /> Partially developed a one (1) paragraph invitation to participate in the survey explaining the purpose and intended use of the survey.<br /> <br /> Satisfactorily developed a one (1) paragraph invitation to participate in the survey explaining the purpose and intended use of the survey.<br /> <br /> Thoroughly developed a one (1) paragraph invitation to participate in the survey explaining the purpose and intended use of the survey.<br /> <br /> 6. Develop criteria for conducting the ethical climate survey of the organization. The criteria should identify:<br /> <br /> a. Who the target audience is;<br /> <br /> b. The method by which the you will administer the survey;<br /> <br /> c. Instructions for participants on accessing and completing the survey.<br /> <br /> Weight: 15%<br /> <br /> Did not submit or incompletely developed criteria for conducting the ethical climate survey of the organization.<br /> <br /> a.Did not submit or the criteria incompletely identified who the target audience is;<br /> <br /> b.Did not submit or the criteria incompletely identified the method by which the you will administer the survey;<br /> <br /> c. Did not submit or the criteria incompletely identified instructions for participants on accessing and completing the survey.<br /> <br /> Partially developed criteria for conducting the ethical climate survey of the organization.<br /> <br /> a. The criteria partially identified who the target audience is;<br /> <br /> b. The criteria partially identified the method by which the you will administer the survey;<br /> <br /> c. The criteria partially identified instructions for participants on accessing and completing the survey.<br /> <br /> Satisfactorily developed criteria for conducting the ethical climate survey of the organization.<br /> <br /> a. The criteria satisfactorily identified who the target audience is;<br /> <br /> b. The criteria satisfactorily identified the method by which the you will administer the survey;<br /> <br /> c. The criteria satisfactorily identified instructions for participants on accessing and completing the survey.<br /> <br /> Thoroughly developed criteria for conducting the ethical climate survey of the organization.<br /> <br /> a. The criteria thoroughly identified who the target audience is;<br /> <br /> b. The criteria thoroughly identified the method by which the you will administer the survey;<br /> <br /> c. The criteria thoroughly identified instructions for participants on accessing and completing the survey.<br /> <br /> 7. Construct at least three (3) sample questions that address each of the following areas (12 questions total). At least two (2) of the twelve (12) questions should require an open-ended response.<br /> <br /> a. Determine the organizational culture.<br /> <br /> b. Examine the ethical climate of the organization.<br /> <br /> c. Examine the impact of existing ethics training program(s).<br /> <br /> d. Determine the overall satisfaction of employees with the management on leading the organization in an ethical manner.<br /> <br /> Weight: 15%<br /> <br /> Did not submit or incompletely constructed at least three (3) sample questions that address each of the following areas (12 questions total). Did not submit or incompletely included at least two (2) open-ended responses.<br /> <br /> a.Did not submit or incompletely determined the organizational culture.<br /> <br /> b.Did not submit or incompletely examined the ethical climate of the organization.<br /> <br /> c. Did not submit or incompletely examined the impact of existing ethics training program(s).<br /> <br /> d.Did not submit or incompletely determined the overall satisfaction of employees with the management on leading the organization in an ethical manner.<br /> <br /> Partially constructed at least three (3) sample questions that address each of the following areas (12 questions total). Partially included at least two (2) open-ended responses.<br /> <br /> a. Partially determined the organizational culture.<br /> <br /> b. Partially examined the ethical climate of the organization.<br /> <br /> c. Partially examined the impact of existing ethics training program(s).<br /> <br /> d. Partially determined the overall satisfaction of employees with the management on leading the organization in an ethical manner.<br /> <br /> Satisfactorily constructed at least three (3) sample questions that address each of the following areas (12 questions total). Satisfactorily included at least two (2) open-ended responses.<br /> <br /> a. Satisfactorily determined the organizational culture.<br /> <br /> b. Satisfactorily examined the ethical climate of the organization.<br /> <br /> c. Satisfactorily examined the impact of existing ethics training program(s).<br /> <br /> d. Satisfactorily determined the overall satisfaction of employees with the management on leading the organization in an ethical manner.<br /> <br /> Thoroughly constructed at least three (3) sample questions that address each of the following areas (12 questions total). Thoroughly included at least two (2) open-ended responses.<br /> <br /> a. Thoroughly determined the organizational culture.<br /> <br /> b. Thoroughly examined the ethical climate of the organization.<br /> <br /> c. Thoroughly examined the impact of existing ethics training program(s).<br /> <br /> d. Thoroughly determined the overall satisfaction of employees with the management on leading the organization in an ethical manner.<br /> <br /> 8. Write a concluding paragraph that summarizes the intent, the purpose, and expected impact of conducting the ethical climate survey.<br /> <br /> Weight: 5%<br /> <br /> Did not submit or incompletely wrote a concluding paragraph that summarizes the intent, the purpose, and expected impact of conducting the ethical climate survey.<br /> <br /> Partially wrote a concluding paragraph that summarizes the intent, the purpose, and expected impact of conducting the ethical climate survey.<br /> <br /> Satisfactorily wrote a concluding paragraph that summarizes the intent, the purpose, and expected impact of conducting the ethical climate survey.<br /> <br /> Thoroughly wrote a concluding paragraph that summarizes the intent, the purpose, and expected impact of conducting the ethical climate survey.<br /> <br /> 9. 3 references<br /> <br /> Weight: 5%<br /> <br /> No references provided<br /> <br /> Does not meet the required number of references; some or all references poor quality choices.<br /> <br /> Meets number of required references; all references high quality choices.<br /> <br /> Exceeds number of required references; all references high quality choices.<br /> <br /> 10. Writing Mechanics, Grammar, and Formatting<br /> Weight: 5%<br /> Serious and persistent errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or formatting.<br /> <br /> Partially free of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or formatting.<br /> <br /> Mostly free of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or formatting.<br /> <br /> Error free or almost error free grammar, spelling, punctuation, or formatting.<br /> <br /> 11. Appropriate use of APA in-text citations and reference<br /> Weight: 5%<br /> Lack of in-text citations and / or lack of reference section.<br /> <br /> In-text citations and references are provided, but they are only partially formatted correctly in APA style.<br /> <br /> Most in-text citations and references are provided, and they are generally formatted correctly in APA style.<br /> <br /> In-text citations and references are error free or almost error free and consistently formatted correctly in APA style.<br /> <br /> 12. Information Literacy / Integration of Sources<br /> Weight: 5%<br /> Serious errors in the integration of sources, such as intentional or accidental plagiarism, or failure to use in-text citations.<br /> <br /> Sources are partially integrated using effective techniques of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Sources are mostly integrated using effective techniques of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.<br /> <br /> Sources are consistently integrated using effective techniques of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.<br /> <br /> 13. Clarity and Coherence of Writing<br /> Weight: 5%<br /> Information is confusing to the reader and fails to include reasons and evidence that logically support ideas.<br /> <br /> Information is partially clear with minimal reasons and evidence that logically support ideas.<br /> <br /> Information is mostly clear and generally supported with reasons and evidence that logically support ideas.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Information is provided in a clear, coherent, and consistent manner with reasons and evidence that logically support ideas. |
Answer
Ethical Climate Survey
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Contents
How Organizational Culture is related to Ethical Climate. 2
Designating Survey Participants. 3
Criteria for the Ethical Climate Survey. 4
Assessing Organizational Culture. 5
Examining the Ethical Climate of Walmart. 5
Examining Ethics Training Programs and their Impact on the Company. 6
Introduction
The company I choose for this analysis is Walmart. The objective of the analysis is to evaluate the current ethical environment. Walmart is an American multinational corporation that operates discount department stores as well as warehouse stores. Currently, the company operates some 11,462 stores in 27 countries. It also maintains e-commerce websites targeting 11 countries. It has an elaborate organizational culture considering that it was established 70 years ago.
Nevertheless, the need to improve the existing culture is ever-present, and as such there are two major steps that Walmart should take to strengthen its culture. One of them is enhancing its organizational structure. Structure is the main driver of culture in organization, and this is the main reason why it should be enhanced. The second step is promoting teamwork. A strong culture can be created if Walmart promotes a new concept whereby success is attributed to teams rather than individuals. This will encourage gifted individuals to mobilize like-minded employees to work as a team in order to achieve certain objectives.
How Organizational Culture is related to Ethical Climate
There is a close relationship between organizational culture and ethical climate (McDowell & Tabuena, 2007). This relationship s because the two constructs are in the first place complementary. Culture encompasses the values, beliefs, and norms that guide the behavior and thinking of members in an organization. It is best defined using a qualitative approaches such as unstructured interviews, observation, case studies, and storytelling. Similarly, ethical climate focuses on how members of an organization are wired to behave or act when confronted with certain situations (Martin & Cullen, 2006). In other words, it focuses on the perceptions of individual members and how they influence their practices and procedures that can be observed (Barnett & Vaicys, 2000). Thus, these two concepts are closely interlinked conceptually, only that in the case of ethical conduct, perceptions can be categorized into analytical dimensions and then measured quantitatively. Moreover, both culture and ethical climate reflect the employees’ view of the organizational structures. The employees use this information to make sense of the organizational setting.
Designating Survey Participants
In this ethical climate survey, a designation was made for two groups within Walmart. The survey participants were divided into two groups because of the need to come up with two sets of findings. A comparison between the data obtained from the two groups provided a viable framework based on which to test the accuracy and generalizability of the results.
The following was the invitation to participation in the survey:
“This message is to invite you to our survey, whose purpose is to identify the ethical climate at Walmart. We feel that this is a crucial towards gaining insights into how employees at the company make decisions whenever they are confronted by different ethical issues. We would like to assure that participants were selected randomly, and you only happened to be one of them by chance. This means that all employees had an equal chance of being selected for participation because random sampling was used. The lessons that will be learned from it will be applied equally on all members of the organization regardless of their seniority, experience, academic qualifications, socio-economic background, designation, or any other factors. We would also like to assure that all the information you provide will be treated with absolute anonymity and confidentiality. We also hereby clarify that this survey is not a test. Please feel free to give any answer without worrying about whether it is the “right” one. After all, the survey will target only group-level data and not individual data. For example, analysis will be undertaken based on the responses of entire teams, departments, and work groups and not the individual members of those teams, departments, and work groups.”
Criteria for the Ethical Climate Survey
The target audience comprises of low-cadre customer service employees who attend to customers at Walmart’s stores in New Jersey. There are three Walmart stores in New Jersey, and they include Secaucus Walmart Supercenter, Union Walmart Store, and Kearny Walmart Supercenter. The survey’s findings will be applied to these stores.
The survey will be administered using questionnaires. These questionnaires will be sent to the employees using online platforms. This will enable the researcher to get quick responses. Although no empirical evidence has been gathered to show that online surveys lead to a higher response rate, they are preferred by most companies due to their convenience (McDowell & Tabuena, 2007). It is for this same reason that they will be chosen for this survey.
The instructions to be used by the participants to access and complete the survey will guide them on where to write their responses, clarification on the person being referred to in the questions, and interpretation of the response scale. Regarding where to write responses, I will clarify that each answer should be highlighted against the question. Regarding the person being referred to in the questions, I will clarify that each question targets the individual who is answering it, only that the anonymity of the response will be protected, and that the overall findings of the survey will be applied to the entire employee population as opposed to individual employees. On the other hand, the response scale will comprise of three items: Completely False, I Don’t Know, and Completely True. In total, the participants will answer 12 questions, 10 of which will involve the response scale while 2 will require open-ended responses. These 12 will be grouped into four categories: organizational culture, ethical climate, impact of ethical training programs, and employee satisfaction with the management’s efforts to promote ethical practices.
Assessing Organizational Culture
1. Organization culture is often defined as the values, beliefs, and assumptions that determine the behavior of employees in an organization. Please describe the values, beliefs and assumptions that influence the way you do your work as a customer service employee at Walmart.
………………………………………..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. The organizational culture of Walmart promotes unethical behavior by employees.
A. Completely False B. I Don’t Know C. Completely True.
3. I support the efforts being undertaken by management to promote a good organizational culture
A. Completely False B. I Don’t Know C. Completely True.
Examining the Ethical Climate of Walmart
4. I feel that the company is being operated in an unethical manner
A. Completely False B. I Don’t Know C. Completely True.
5. Our supervisors are trying to promote an ethical climate at Walmart.
A. Completely False B. I Don’t Know C. Completely True.
6. As a customer service employee, my contributions to the company’s Walmart are being appreciated by management
A. Completely False B. I Don’t Know C. Completely True.
Examining Ethics Training Programs and their Impact on the Company
7. How has the existing ethics training program affected your way of resolving ethical issues?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
8. Ethics training is a waste of employees’ and company time since unethical behavior will never cease at Walmart.
A. Completely False B. I Don’t Know C. Completely True.
9. Our supervisors and managers here at Walmart are dedicated to the improvement of the company’s ethical climate through ethics training
A. Completely False B. I Don’t Know C. Completely True.
Overall Satisfaction
10. I am satisfied with the level of commitment to ethics by the management at Walmart.
A. Completely False B. I Don’t Know C. Completely True.
11. The management seems overwhelmed by the ethical issues that keep arising every now and then.
A. Completely False B. I Don’t Know C. Completely True.
12. I am optimistic that our managers are doing their best to lead the company in an ethical manner.
A. Completely False B. I Don’t Know C. Completely True.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this ethical climate survey is aimed at creating a better understanding of corporate culture and ethical climate at Walmart’s three stores in New Jersey. The objective is to categorize the perceptions of employees regarding the ethical situation at the stores into analytical dimensions that can easily be measured. The expected impact of conducting the survey is that its findings in terms of the nature of the ethical climate at Walmart will enable the company’s managers to predict outcomes in terms of how customer service employee respond to different ethical issues. Consequently, this will provide a justification for the continued implementation or review of the existing ethics training program(s) at Walmart.
References
Barnett, T. & Vaicys, C. (2000). The Moderating Effect of Individuals’ Perceptions of Ethical Work Climate on Ethical Judgments and Behavioral Intentions. Journal of Business Ethics 27(4), 351-362.
Martin, K. & Cullen, J. (2006). Continuities and Extensions of Ethical Climate Theory: A Meta-Analytic Review. Journal of Business Ethics, 69(2), 175-194.
McDowell, T. & Tabuena, J. (2007). Measuring Your Organization’s Climate for Ethics: The Survey Approach. Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics. Online.
