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Virtue Lester M. Legette Trident University International

ETH501- Business Ethics Dr. Bonnie Lee Adams November 22, 2011

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Virtue is best described as attitudes, dispositions, or character traits that enable us to be and to act in ways that develop this potential. They enable us to pursue the ideals we have adopted. Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control, and prudence are all examples of virtues. Three virtues that I chose to use in this case study are Compassion, Integrity, and fairness. Compassion is a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. I had compassion for the hurricane Katrina victims, because they were displaced, and they didnt have the ability to help themselves. Integrity is the adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. Integrity is one of my best qualities, because I have a strong belief that everyone deserves to know the truth no matter how bad or hurtful it might be. It is also one of my values that I have been charged to live by in the military. Fairness is the state, condition, or quality of being fair, or free from bias or injustice; evenhandedness. Being a soldier, I work with many different types of people, and many different types of attitudes. In order to make sure that I dont treat any soldier different I must treat each one of them fair and impartial. In the case study of Mattel we have a company that is operating abroad, and has been confronted with acquisitions of market power abuse, unfair and unethical business conduct. These exploitation ranges from low wages, excessive work hours, and unsafe work environment. Mattel is also being accused of pollution and contamination of air and ground water.

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In order to protect the organizations reputation, and lead the company in the right direction, the company takes steps to improve their public appearance. Mattel implements voluntary codes of conduct called Global Manufacturing Principles (GMP). The GMP among other actions was taken in order to improve the company reputation and restore the publics trust. Unfortunately, the companys commitment to code was abandoned, when Mattel became self-obsessed and began making rationalizations to justify their actions. The company began showing traits of Organizational Narcissism, when the company started blaming Chinas weak regulation for the unethical acts of the countrys toy factories. ( D u c h o n & D r a k e , 2 0 0 8 ) Mattel top management did not see the benefits of keeping the code in good standing, if other companies in the industry were not putting forth the same effort, and not being penalized for it. (Springer, 2010). Virtue Test A. INTRODUCE THE TEST Does this action represent the kind of person I am or want to be? Does it represent my organizations reputation or vision of the kind of enterprise it wants to be? If we implement a voluntary code of conduct, are we representing the organizations reputation? Validity: In this instance by implementing the code of conduct, Mattel was trying to do the right thing. Global Manufacturing Principles covered issues such as forced labor, discrimination, freedom of association, legal, ethical business practices, and respect for local cultures, values,

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and traditions. Therefore by taking initiative and creating the voluntary codes of conduct Mattel was trying to restore their credibility and regain the publics trust. B. WHY IS THE CHARACTER OR VIRTUE TEST A VALID WAY TO DECIDE RIGHT AND WRONG? The Virtue test is a valid test, because it determines the culture of the organization by the actions and the aspirations of the company. The virtue test is not to judge ones actions and determine one rights or wrongs. Virtues ethics governs how one should live their life, and how businesses should organize their ethical structure. Mattel knew in order to keep the companys reputation in the best of standings, they would need to establish and implement codes of conduct. Implementing the code of conduct would commit them to specific standards for addressing the issues. C. APPLY THE TEST STEP 1: Will this action help to make you the kind of person you want to be? When Mattel was first accused of the negative acquisitions they immediately put measures in place that would create standards to comply with societal concerns. These actions provided the company and the workers with a set of guidelines needed to continue forward. STEP 2: Will this action fit the companys reputation or vision of what it would like to be? MISSION STATEMENT Mattels Board of Directors strives to ensure good corporate management and governance. It selects, monitors, evaluates and supports the Chief Executive Officer and oversees the development and pursuit of corporate policies and strategies. It serves the

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Companys stockholders through a strong commitment to the effective and ethical management of the Company in a manner which optimizes sustainable long-term profitability and is responsive to the legitimate interests of other corporate constituencies, such as employees, customers, suppliers and the communities in which the Company operates. (Mattel, 2011) STEP 3: Will this action maintain the right balance between excellence and success for the firm? Mattel found their balance in the initial phase of the code of compliance. The company committed themselves and their strategic partners to comply with all the provisions of the GMP. The process accelerated and became more robust and effective. The success of the compliance code increased public trust, and enhanced corporate reputation. (Springer, 2010) Conclusion: Because the code of compliance represents the character of Mattel, the code should be implemented and be a guide for how Mattel continues to do business. Three Virtues The three Virtues I chose in this case assignment are compassion, integrity, and fairness. Mattel being the largest toymaker of childrens toys would have applied these three Virtues then they wouldnt have abandoned their code of conduct so easily. As Americans we should always lead the way in doing the right thing for humanity. Mattel could have showed compassion in the beginning by not employing underage kids, and having humans working in sweatshop like conditions with little or no pay. These actions were unbecoming of Americans, and should have never happened. If Mattel CEOs would have put

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themselves, and their children into the shoes of the less fortunate, Im sure that they would have had compassion, and these inhumane actions would have never happened. As a leader, Integrity is a major part of what makes us successful. When Mattel decided to implement the code of conduct into their business, they should have had enough Integrity to make sure that they finished what they started. Instead the company abandoned the plan when they found out that other cooperations in the industry did not receive the same consequences for not pursuing a robust and transparent form of code compliance. Virtue teaches us that the honest person behaves honestly for the right reason not simply because it will get them admired, or win them some praise. Honest people are honest because this is a part of the way of eudemonia. In this case study we see that Mattel was only implementing the code of conduct to satisfy the need of the Media and not because it was the right thing to do. (Seven oaks, 2009) Mattel didnt think that is was fair for them to continue with proactive response to the code of compliance, if other companies in the industry would not be held to the same standards. Mattel ended up abandoning the code of compliance after 9 years. If Mattel was so concerned about fair, they would not have been employing underage kids for little or no pay. They also would not have allowed humans to work in sweatshop like conditions. If Mattel would have been more concerned about doing the right thing they wouldnt have to worry about the other businesses in the industry, doing the right thing. In this case study I think that deontological ethics would have been most useful in evaluating the Mattel case. As Americans it is our duty to do the right thing by all of mankind. I think that we should be held to a higher standard than the rest of the world. I believe this because our country is based of freedom and the American way of life. As a leader in the

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Military, I cannot rightfully ask a soldier to do anything that I wouldnt do. Deontological ethics would have giving us the chance to apply Kants theory. Immanuel Kant believed that Good lies in the intention of the will. Those acts are morally praiseworthy that are done out of a sense of duty rather that for the consequences. If Mattel would have acted out of sense of duty then they would have done the right thing no matter what other companies in the industries were doing. Conclusion In this paper we have discussed and defined virtues. I have applied the virtue test to the case study of Mattel. We have also discussed how Mattel could have made better decisions if they would have applied compassion, integrity, and fairness into their decision making process. We have also discussed how Deontological ethics would have been most useful in evaluating the Mattel case. In all, no matter what normative ethics we apply, if we treat every situation and everyone with dignity and respect, we will make the right decisions for the greater good.

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References Duchon, D., & Drake, B. (2008). Organizational narcissism and virtuous Journal of Business Ethics, 301-308 Hartman, E. (2007). Socratic questions and Aristotelian answers: A virtue based approach to business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 313-328 Mattel Inc. Governance guidelines 1-5 Retrieved from http://corporate.mattel.com Sethi, S., Veral, E., Shapiro, H., & Emelianova, O. (2011). A life-cycle analysis of a companybased cod of conduct in the toy industry. Journal of Business Ethics, 483-517 Sevenoaks philosophy Retrieved from http://www.sevenoaksphilosophy.org

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