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The Worlds Most Ethical Companies:

Assessment and Evaluation of the Ethical Requirements of the Microsoft Corporation


Dawn Shell

(ACC 573)
Prepared for Dr.XXXXXXXX


In Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements for a Masters Degree in Business Administartion
Strayer University

August 25, 2014

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Worlds Most Ethical Companies:
Assessment and Evaluation of the Ethical Requirements of the Microsoft Corporation

I. Conceptual Framework
II. Determine at least two (2) ways in which the chosen company behaves in a morally
responsible way toward each of the following:
III. Predict the effects that these morally conscious decisions would have on the company's
bottom line.
IV. Review the company's policies from a critical perspective, and list at least two (2) areas
where the company could improve its treatment of consumers, the environment, or
employees. Justify the response with specific examples.
V. Recommend viable policy options that address the selected business areas, reflect key
ethical considerations, and foster an ethical work environment.
VI. Recommend ways in which businesses can be partners with nature by applying the
concepts of business ethics, business ecology, and environmental ethics.
VII. Analyze the concepts of public safety and government regulation along with the role of
business responsibility.
VIII. Analyze the concepts of public safety and government regulation along with the role of
business responsibility.
IX. Executive Summary


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Conceptual Framework
The Worlds Most Ethical (WME) Companies designation recognizes companies that
truly go beyond making statements about doing business ethically and translate those words
into action. The WME honorees not only promote ethical business standards and practices
internally, they exceed legal compliance minimums and shape future industry standards by
introducing best practices today (www.ethisphere.com). This years 144 honorees represent 41
industries and include 21 first-time honorees. In this eighth year of recognizing companies,
Ethisphere is honoring the largest group of organizations based outside the U.S. 38
organizations from 21 countries and 5 continents (www.ethisphere.com). .
Earlier in the year, the Ethisphere Institute announced their seventh annual list of the
Worlds Most Ethical Companies. The aim of this work is to select one company that behaves
morally responsible to their consumers, the environment, and their employees. As such, this
paper has chosen the Microsoft Corporation. The Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses,
markets, and supports software, services, and devices worldwide. Microsoft's ambitions are
anything but small. The company markets and distributes its products through original
equipment manufacturers, distributors, and resellers, as well as online. Microsoft Corporation
was founded in 1975 and is based in Redmond, Washington (www.Hoover.com, 2014).
Now, I caveat. Although they may try, NO large corporation makes a profit by
performing their business ethically. The criticism of Microsoft has followed the company's
existence because of various aspects of its products and business practices. The ease of use,

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stability, and security of the company's software are common targets for critics. More recently,
Trojan horses and other exploits have plagued numerous users due to faults in the security of
Microsoft Windows and other programs (www.ethisphere.com). Microsoft is also accused of locking
vendors into their products, and not following and complying with existing standards in its software
total cost of ownership comparisons of Linux as well as OS X to Windows are a continuous point of
debate (www.ethisphere.com).
The company has been in numerous lawsuits by several governments and other companies for
unlawful monopolistic practices. In 2004, the European Union found Microsoft guilty in a highly
publicized anti-trust case (www. hoovers.com). Additionally, Microsoft's EULA for some of its
programs is often criticized as being too restrictive as well as being against open source software
(www.hoover.com).
More importantly, Microsoft has been criticized for its involvement in censorship in the
People's Republic of China (www.ethisphere.com). Microsoft has also come under criticism for
outsourcing jobs to China and India. Also, there are reports of poor working conditions at a factory
in southern China that makes some of Microsoft's products.
Determine at least two (2) ways in which the chosen company behaves in a morally
responsible way toward each of the following:
Personally, I am on an opposite side of the view. There is no such thing as an ethical big
corporation. They cannot exist without exploitation of cheap labor. There is the science that gives
us knowledge, but only philosophy can give us wisdom. The standards of business conduct are an
extension of Microsofts values and reflect our continued commitment to ethical business practices
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and complying with the law. Most people expect the companies to be well informed and exercise
good judgment when making business decisions (Columbus, 2012).
The standards are designed to help us make the right decisions for ourselves and Microsoft.
The standards are not intended to cover every issue or situation a company may face. These
standards summarize, and are supported by, the principles and policies that govern the company. If
all goes as intended, people should use the standards, in conjunction with corporate policies, to guide
and inform their conduct. All Microsoft employees are responsible for understanding and complying
with the standards, Microsoft policies, laws, and regulations. All have a responsibility to raise
compliance and ethics concerns.
Predict the effects that these morally conscious decisions would have on the company's
bottom line.
The concept behind the triple bottom line is that companies are responsible first and foremost
to all their stakeholders, and these include everyone that is involved with the company whether
directly or indirectly, as well as the planet we're all living on (www mindtools, 2014). This approach
sees shareholders as part of the stakeholder group, but only as part of it.
With this paper would like to awaken the reader to the fact that we're destroying the very thing that
we should value: the opportunity to live together with meaning and purpose (Liebs, 2013), Leaders
have to step outside the daily issues surrounding profitability and say, "What's this all about? I say,
"You bet it's hard to be a good steward of people, but what's the alternative? This is the fabric of life."
(Liebs, 2013). All employees need to feel as though they can discuss everything with their bosses
even the negative news. If employees arent aware of
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organizational news, team shakeups, and how they need to operate, dont throw it in their face when
they are going in the wrong direction (Columbus, 2012). Be clear and transparent with what you
expect from them.
First, Microsoft needs to know how their employees work. As a manager of people it is their
job to make sure everyone on their team is being as productive as possible, even if they have to treat
everyone a little bit differently to do so. The more effective you are at flexing their managing style,
the more effectively your employees will carry out their assignments (Columbus, 2012). If an
employee works better in groups or with flexible work schedules, encourage this behavior. If they
are the loner type, thats okay, too. Dont force them to change how they perform; its essentially
ingrained in them and will likely backfire and decrease their morale. The company should adjust to
them (Columbus, 2012).
Next, the company should encourage their employees strengths. If Microsoft has a star
performer who is great at hands-on presentations, dont have them only work on preliminary
research. This isnt what theyre good at and its not what will make them the happiest. If employees
are doing work theyre passionate about, the output will more likely be positive (L Columbus,
2012). Encourage their unique strengths. Push the employees and use their skills to your advantage.
Review the company's policies from a critical perspective, and list at least two (2) areas where
the company could improve its treatment of consumers, the environment, or employees.
Justify the response with specific examples.

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First, Microsoft needs to know how their employees work. Over time, the morale of any
company's employees can drop, and this leads to lack of motivation to produce. As a manager of
people it is their job to make sure everyone on their team is being as productive as possible, even if
they have to treat everyone a little bit differently to do so (Columbus, 2012). The more effective you
are at flexing their managing style, the more effectively your employees will carry out their
assignments. If an employee works better in groups or with flexible work schedules, encourage this
behavior. If they are the loner type, thats okay, too. Dont force them to change how they perform;
its essentially ingrained in them and will likely backfire and decrease their morale (Columbus,
2012). The company should adjust to them.
The company should encourage their employees strengths. If Microsoft has a star performer
who is great at hands-on presentations, dont have them only work on preliminary research (L
Columbus, 2012). This isnt what theyre good at and its not what will make them the happiest. If
employees are doing work theyre passionate about, the output will more likely be positive.
Encourage their unique strengths. Push the employees and use their skills to your advantage.
Recommend viable policy options that address the selected business areas, reflect key ethical
considerations, and foster an ethical work environment.
The company needs to be clear and transparent. Employees need to feel as though they can
discuss everything with their bosses even the negative news (Vivian Giang, 2012). If Microsofts
employees are not aware of organizational news, team shakeups, and how they need to operate, dont
throw it in their face when they are going in the wrong direction. Be clear and transparent with what
you expect from them. Instead of yearly reviews, employees now want feedback and they want it
often especially the younger workers (Vivian Giang, 2012). By offering employees real-time
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feedback helps them with their individual goals. This gives employees the answers they need now,
rather than later. A company should not wait till yearly or quarterly performance reviews to offer
advice and direction. "By the time those roll around, that feedback doesnt really matter anymore
since its probably old news."
The company should encourage their employees strengths. If the company has a star
performer whos great at hands-on presentations, dont have them only work on preliminary research.
This isnt what theyre good at and its not what will make them the happiest. If employees are doing
work theyre passionate about, the output will more likely be positive. Encourage their unique
strengths. Push your employees and use their skills to your advantage.
Analyze the concepts of public safety and government regulation along with the role of
business responsibility.
As a manager it's your job to make sure everyone on your team is being as productive as
possible, even if you have to treat everyone a little bit differently to do so. The more effective you are
at flexing your managing style, the more effectively your employees will carry out their assignments.
If an employee works better in groups or with flexible work schedules, encourage this behavior. If
they are the loner type, thats okay, too. Dont force them to change how they perform; its
essentially ingrained in them and will likely backfire and decrease their morale. Microsoft will be
better served adjusting to their employees needs.
Recommend ways in which businesses can be partners with nature by applying the concepts
of business ethics, business ecology, and environmental ethics.
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According to the Nature Conservancy (2014), the private sector has an important role to play
in advancing our conservation mission. Most, businesses around the globe can, and do, have
significant impacts on our climate and on the lands and waters that people and nature rely upon for
survival. Thats why by applying our science, reach, expertise in conservation planning, and on-the-
ground experience businesses make better decisions and understand the value of nature, and
ultimately protect it (www.nature conservancy.com, 2014). Most companies increasingly understand
that investments in conservation help protect business assets, mitigate risk and create opportunities
(www.nature conservancy.com, 2014). To not work with companies as they seek to become more
environmentally sustainable is to miss an opportunity to create real conservation gains around the
world.














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Works Cited
Columbus, L. (2010). The World's Most Ethical Software Companies: What They All Have in
Common. Business Ethics, 12(16). Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2013/03/25/the-worlds-most-ethical-
software-companies-what-they-all-have-in-common/
Columbus, L. (2012, August/September). Putting People before the Bottom Line (and Still
Making Money) . Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/audacious-co Be clear and
transparent
Ethisphere Institute. (2014). The Worlds Most Ethical Companies. Retrieved from
http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical/wme-honorees/#sthash.dGwkkNtC.dpuf
Giang, V. (2012). 7 Ways To Boost Employee Morale. Business Insider. Retrieved from
http://www.businessinsider.com/7-ways-to-boost-employee-morale-at-your-company-
2012-11#ixzz3BKbzUtVB
The Hoovers. (2014). Hoover's proprietary company profiles and industry information:
Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved August 22, 2014, from
http://www.hoovers.com/microsoft..
Liebs, S. (2013). Audacious Companies. Inc. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/audacious-
companies/scott-leibs/barry-wehmiller.html
The Nature Conservancy. (2014). Businesses Partnering with Nature. Retrieved from
https://support.nature.org/site/Donation2?df_id=13500&13500.donation=form1&matcht
ype=b&creative=30955432598&device=c&network=g&src=sea.AWP.PR91.CP105.AD
781.KW6092.MT92.BU553&gclid=Cj0KEQjwveufBRDlsNb3kb-
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