Organization and Management Theory
Instructions:
• Use Microsoft word 2010informulatingyouranswers.
• Write the answers in your language and avoid copying from the internet.
Answer the following questions:
1. What is organizational culture? State two benefits of a strong culture. How can managers establish an innovative culture in their organization?
2. Efficiency can be described as "Doing things right". Define efficiency and give an example to show your understanding.
3. Case Study:Business Ethics in the News:
McDonalds is the world's No. 1 speed service restaurant which serves more than 58 million customers per day with more than 32,500 restaurants in 117 countries and operating revenue of 4.473 Billion a year.
McDonald's: How Many Minutes Does It Take To Eat A Happy Meal? Friday, Jan. 17, 2014
How many minutes does it take to eat a McDonald's "happy meal?" A New York City McDonald's has walked into a firestorm, as the leaders in the local township's Korean community are calling for a national boycott/rejection of the fast food chain. For some time now, elders in the Korean community regularly visited a particular McDonald's daily, arriving at 5 A.M. and staying nearly until closing time.
The problem for this McDonalds branch is that, each person buys no more than a cup of coffee, spending only $1.09, while on other days the group will share a small packet of fries between them. The store manager first announced a "20-minute time limit" but when the group refused to leave, he called the police to escort the elderly customers out. The store management has defended the decision arguing that the elders were driving away business.
The Korean community leaders understand the business concern, but argue that its business interest is overtaken by the respect that elders are entitled to in Korean communities-an entitlement that McDonalds violated by "treating them like criminals."
(a) Is it reasonable to limit the amount of time customers sit in the restaurant?
• Why did you say yes or no?
• Is McDonald's obligated to align (match) its values with those of the Korean community that it operates in? Why?
(b) If you were a senior manager in McDonalds how would you look at the dilemma identified in the case study? Please provide your answers according to the 3 steps dilemma resolving method.
• From a McDonald's senior manager point of view, analyze the consequences in this dilemma.
• From a McDonald's senior manager point of view, analyze the action From a McDonald's senior manager point of view, analyze the action.
• From a McDonald's senior manager point of view, make a decision/
(Reference:http://www.scu.edu/r/ethics-center/ethicsblog/business-ethicsnews/
18560/MCDONALDS:-How-Many-Minutes-Does-It-Take-To-Eat-A-Happy-Meal)
4. Case Study: Plant Automation (Moral Reasoning)
George is a recent MBA student who has just joined a manufacturing firm's Cambridge plant as its only cost accountant. Cambridge is a town of 20,000 people, and the plant is one of several owned by the firm. George's boss Arthur tells him that management wants to automate this particular plant with robots as a pilot project, to help judge whether the other plants should be automated. Arthur admits that the community will be against it due to the loss of jobs.
However, the firm can save some of the jobs through retraining. Once George releases accounting information showing that the upgrade (project) is necessary, the community will be less likely to resist. George points out that the report he sent to headquarters last year found that automation would not benefit the plant.
Yet, Arthur points out that the report was based on cost assumptions, and these can be adjusted as necessary to make the bottom line come out differently. After all, market prices fluctuate (move) up and down, and there is no solid proof that one cost estimate is better than another.
(a) Identify and explain George's behavior using the four main forms of moral reasoning. Which one of the moral theories most closely explains George's reasons for his behavior? Explain in detail.
• Consequentialist
• Deontology
• Virtue Based approach
• Moral Relativism
(b) Referring to the above case, describe, in your own words the unethical issues that the case is describing? Support your answer with an explanation of the moral reasoning and link to the case.