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Apoorva Mahajan
aware of this problem until much later, meaning that the business could be very well losing out
on profit and the problem would go on undetected which could be seen as unethical to the other
stakeholders that are part of the business, especially the shareholders.
Stakeholders that are most likely to be affected by the ethical decisions that the
management and leaders take are shareholders and employees. Shareholders would be affected
by the decisions due to the fact it affects their return on capital employed; if most of the net
profits of the business are going into paying salaries and corporate social responsibility then the
shareholders will not be pleased because the amount of dividends they will receive will decrease
in quantity; this could be seen as unethical because most of the capital employed that Google
runs on often comes from its shareholders and if they are not paid accordingly, it could be seen
as unfair.
Employees are equally affected by managerial decisions because it is under the
instructions of the managers and the treatment of the managers that they are required to do their
work under; if an employee is given special treatment over the others it may seem like the
employer is being partial and it could be unethical to do so. However, Google manages to treat
all its employees fairly, creating a powerful work culture where all the employees are respected
and treated equally.
Cultural difference are often common within businesses, especially a business which
contains a high ethnic diversity; this can cause culture clashes between the different work
cultures, i.e. a lot of business focus on either power or role culture and so employees who are
new to Google may find it difficult to adjust to the person culture that is prevalent in the
business. Person culture is more individualistic and the employees are are allowed to provide
their own input, make their own decisions and have the freedom to express themselves. This is
shown in Googles practice of providing 30% of employee work hours to be dedicated to what
the employee wishes to do. Obviously this shapes the management style at Google to be one of
laissez faire due to the fact that the managers just provides objectives for the workers and they
are allowed to do it their own way, leaving the focus on the employees.
However, there is also the idea of power distance - measuring the extent to which the less
powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that
power is distributed unequally. This can be seen as shaping the work culture to be more power
culture and the manager exhibits traits of an autocratic management which could make the
employees unhappy because their voices are not being heard; at the same time, it could make
work more efficient.
Stakeholders that are affected by the culture within the business are employees and
managers. Employees are affected the most because they are put under the strain of the culture
that the business operates under. It depends from employee to employee because some work
better in person culture because it allows them to express themselves but some employees are
lazy and require a push - in which power culture is the best to use.
Apoorva Mahajan
Overall it can be said that ethics have a strong role to play within the business because
the treatment of employees can affect the productivity and motivation of the workers; if the
employees are being treated unfairly, there might be a feeling of resentment towards the
management and leadership. Culture is closely linked to where the business is, for example a
business in Japan will have a higher power distance than a business in California - it in turn
affects the business way of leadership and management.