1st response:

Building a values driven culture in a business requires a whole company approach. The ideas may start with management, but the employees are the stakeholders that must buy into the culture. They will be the ones living and working the values of the company on a daily basis.

Within this merger, we want to establish a culture of integrity. To begin this adventure, we must start with our company code of ethics and mission. (Editorial Board, 2015) Through these we can build our company core values. Core values are used as the basis for ethics within an organization. (Editorial Board, 2015) Core values are defined as the principles that guide an organizations conduct. (Vijay Luthra; Business Dictionary, 2007-2011) For example, the United States Marine Corps core values are honor, courage, and commitment. (U.S. Marine Corps, 2017)

Values fall under the deontology theory of ethics. (Editorial Board, 2015) This means that they establish a set code that the company adheres to like a standard. (Editorial Board, 2015) These values will be the basis for ethical business and decisions for the future of the company. Our values will also serve as a test bed for our decision making. If we gauge our options against our values, then we will have an ethical base line to drive our decision making. During my time in the U.S. Marine Corps, we had extensive leadership training. The basis for all our leadership was our core values. Those core values were used in everything we did. They were the building blocks that the Marine Corps was built from.

A great way to reinforce our new value driven culture is to build a whole company training system that is based on our core values. Within the Marine Corps and other companies that I have worked, we had extensive training using our core values. These values were the standard that our company was gauged by both internally and externally. Incorporating our values into everything that we do will drive our company and employees to keep our values in the front of their minds.

Ultimately the key to this endeavor is leadership. Theresa and Mike will have to work together to present at unified front to the company. The core values of the newly merged company will have to be a constant topic. Theresa and Mike will have to instill a devotion to the core values to all employees. Their goal is to inspire the employees to make the values the basis for their day to day work.

Training and reinforcement will be vital to establishing unity in this company. Communication will help make this change a reality. Open and honest communication will allow the employees to have a voice in their company. Building a team mentality will help unify the company on a common front. Setting the example through action is the only way that the employees will believe in this new culture. Management must live these values, or we will fail.

Response 2:

Given the advances in technology and social networking, many organizations can provide products or services for a much broader range of people. These advances create opportunities and new relationships that require a great deal of communication with others. In any professional or personal relationship, making ethical decisions or focusing on the importance of integrity should be an important goal. Depending on the organization, values can vary, but should be based upon reliance, loyalty, and trust (Editorial Board, 2015). The values should be listed in the organizations mission statement or code of conduct and employees should be trained on these expectations at the time of hire (Editorial Board, 2015).

The utilitarian ethical theory supports the values of an organization as it is intended to focus on the result of a decision or action and how it can positively impact the largest amount of people(www.saylor.org/books,n.d.).

Two types of decision making processes that can be used to explore ethical actions or behaviors are the rational model or the intuitive decision-making model. The rational model uses six steps to reach a decision that is impartial and sensible (Editorial Board, 2015).

The six steps that are included in the rational decision-making model are: Determining the problem or concern, creating a list of optional and alternative resolutions, evaluating the alternative options, deciding about the alternative options, enforce the decision, and review the outcome to see if the correct decision has been made (Editorial Board, 2015). The intuitive decision-making model uses previous experiences and knowledge to make a decision instead of following an outline to arrive at a solution (Editorial Board, 2015).

Based on my past work experience, most decisions that are made are based on the intuitive decision-making model. The decisions are made based on what has been successful in the past, current trends, and the needs of the organization at that time. Training programs that are provided at the time of hire, as well as throughout the employee's career can help support a culture that is driven by integrity and values.

Theresa and Mike have the shared responsibility of leading by example in terms of making ethical decisions that have an impact on the organization. The leaders should identify the expectations of the organization and supply training and resources to support an ethical culture. It is imperative that the goal of the merger and the expected culture are explained to all the employees. Once all the employees understand the expectations from the company, they will be able to work toward building an ethical culture.