Running head: ETHICS REFLECTION PAPER 1

A Report On Ethics

And

The Strategic Planning Process

by

Kenneth Ross

MAMBA07B

STR/581

Facilitator: Dr. Charles A. von Urff

Workshop 1 Assignment

Due November 20, 2010

Submitted November 20, 2010

Executive Summary
In the development of strategic plan the senior leaders will develop a business or corporate level

strategy to obtain the goals of the company. The strategy process is dependent upon the

leadership’s ethical perspectives and values. The formulation begins with the vision statement or

goals of the company, mission statement and the core values of the company.

The character and values of the organizational leaders are very important to employees, and is

the key to motivating employees to obtain the company’s goals. During the development process

the leadership will communicate the vision, mission and values to all employees to obtain

feedback about the strategy and goals for the company. The strategic team must ensure everyone

understands the goals and values of the company and how they fit into the vision.

The strategic plan must be aligned with the goals and objectives of the organization;

management must support the plan and provide feedback at all stages of the process. The ethical

views and values of the leadership will determine the effectiveness of the strategic plan process.

The workplace ethics can affect how the leadership is perceived by employees and make the

work environment amiable or hostile.

 Introduction

In the development of strategic plan the senior leaders will meet to develop or change the

business or corporate level strategy to obtain the goals of the company or identify the new vision

or mission of the company The process can be very lengthy and ineffective if the leadership is

varied and have different ethical perspectives and values, and refuse to compromise or

communicate. I will highlight some of the ethical issues that can arise during the formulation of a

strategic plan.

Strategic Plan Process

The company leadership will schedule a meeting to develop a plan and build rapport

between the leaders so that can break down barriers and open the lines of communication.

During the rapport building phase the leaders’ ethical perspectives and values will surface and

the facilitator will have to ensure the leaders effectively communicate without attacking an

individuals in the group. The senior leaders will attempt to persuade the team about their beliefs,

values and concerns but the group must acknowledge the different values and perspectives and

collectively continue on with the development of the strategic plan. Hopefully this phase will

build cohesion among the leaders and they will become an effective team.

The team will then be tasked with identifying the stakeholders, key customers and

suppliers, inputs, outputs, and processes to formulate a strategy for success of the organization.

The leaders have a social responsibility to the stakeholders to develop and implement a plan that

considers the employees, environment, economy, and how the product or service will positively

impact the customers and provide a return on investment for the stakeholders. The formulation
begins with the vision statement or goals of the company, mission statement or purpose and the

core values of the company.

The beliefs of the management will permeate the organization so it is imperative that the

leaders project and display values that are consistent with those of the organization. The

employees will not follow the leaders if they perceive the leadership to be untrustworthy or

duplicitous. The character and values of the organizational leaders are very important to

employees, and is the key to motivating employees to obtain the company’s goals. The

significance of a company’s core values can not be understated, management must lead by

example or their will be disgruntled and unhappy workers. Establishing or modifying the core

values is critical to the culture and the type of employee’s management wants working for the

company. Supervisors and lower level employees will emulate the leadership and strive to be the

type of employee the company covets. During the development process the leadership will also

communicate the vision, mission and values to all employees to obtain feedback about the

strategy and goals for the company. Some leader’s ethical perspectives impede downward

communications, so the strategic team must ensure everyone understands the goals and values of

the company.

External and Internal Assessment

The strategic team will accomplish a SWOT analysis and identify the organizations

strengths weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The ethical perspectives can have a negative

effect on this process and cause the team to lose sight of the company’s vision and goals.

Managers are reluctant to identify weaknesses in their departments and may exaggerate about the

strengths; therefore presenting the team with false or misleading information. However, if these

results-oriented leaders’ moral and ethical compasses compel them to provide accurate and
relevant information, the team could focus on the opportunities and threats and save valuable

time and resources.

The process involves completion of external and internal assessments to provide

information about employees, stakeholders, competition, customers, and the economy, and how

it may affect the strategy of the organization. These assessments will help the organization

identify risks and develop a strategy to mitigate risks and the effect on the strategic plan.

Planning for the unexpected may prevent bankruptcy and chaos within the organizational

structure. The equitable manager could have difficulty with the techniques and methods used by

the senior leaders to mitigate risks and may question their reasoning if he or she feels they didn’t

assess the risks fairly (Williams Institute, 2010).

Strategy Selection and Implementation

The senior leaders will then formulate a strategy from the information gathered and

convey it to the employees so they can support the strategy wholeheartedly. The egos and

ethical perspectives may interfere with the communication process to the lower levels and

hamper the effectiveness of the plan especially if there is a change in culture. The strategy will

be either business or corporate level, most corporate level strategies are not communicated to the

lower level employees until the action is completed (ex. merger, acquisition, and diversification).

The strategy team must be ethical when seeking alliances or merging with companies; providing

false or incorrect financial or product information can be very costly and detrimental to the

reputation of the company.

The implementation of the strategy must support the goals and objectives of the

organization and management must support and follow up on the plan and provide feedback to

the leadership and lower level employees. The organization should align the management
structure with the compensation plan, to hire and promote the right people to increase the

probability of success. The policies and programs developed during this process must be

implemented and supported by management. Again; communication is the key and the

leadership must initiate the downward communication to the lowest employee in the organization

to facilitate buy-in to the strategy.

Personal and Workplace Ethical Views

During the last 15 months my ethical perspectives have changed and made me not only

consider the character of a person but also the results and obligation perspectives of an

individual. Some people have advanced through the program with the goal of achieving results

by any means and may have compromised their values or beliefs to achieve their goals. One of

my goals is to learn the basics of each subject and become a well rounded MBA graduate. The

university and professors constantly reminded me about ethics when writing or submitting papers

and how it could affect my grades and enrollment in the MBA program. My character has not

changed but my commitment has waned because of my personal and family values.

I do believe that the professors were equitable but I also believe that some professors

were not as passionate about passing their knowledge to their students. As the customer I felt

some people were obligated to impart knowledge and help students achieve their goals, and I

applaud them for all of their help. The decisions we make on our journey is a by product of our

beliefs and values and this program has made me aware of the different perspectives and view of

other individuals with similar goals.

The workplace ethical awareness survey was very enlightening and made me answer

some difficult questions about my perceptions, the ethical views of my employers, and how they

affected my decision making and career choices. My workplace doesn’t foster creativity and the
leadership doesn’t promote personal growth and career development. The leaders are results

driven do to contractual obligations and they do not support personnel on human relationship

issues. This work environment has affected my school work and has distracted me from my

studies. The workplace ethics of the leaders is always questioned during a crisis because we

never know what to expect, there values are constantly changing and we cannot predict how they

will behave in a given situation.

Conclusion

The strategic plan process can be affected by the ethical perspectives and values of the

senior leaders in the organization. The values will determine the culture of the organization and

how people respond to the style of leadership used while attempting to reach the goals of the

company. The workplace ethics can affect how management is perceived by lower level

employees and make the environment amiable or hostile. The leadership must ensure the work

environment promotes creativity and innovation if they are going to keep their employees

motivated and productive.

 References

University of Phoenix. (2007). Gaining and sustaining Competitive Advantage (3rd Ed):

Prentice Hall, Barney, J. B.

University of Phoenix. (2003) .Week 1: The Strategy Process: Concepts, Contexts, Cases, 4e.

Retrieved November 12, 2010 from University of Phoenix, Week 1, STR/581 – Strategic

Management, Chapter 1

Williams Institute. (2010). Week 1: Ethics Awareness Inventory. Retrieved November 15, 2010

from University of Phoenix, Week 1, STR/581 – Ethics Awareness Inventory

Williams Institute. (2010). Week 1: Ethics Choices in the workplace. Retrieved November 15,

2010 from University of Phoenix, Week 1, STR/581 – Ethics Choices in the workplace