Essay Instructions: Earth Friendly Foods Ethics Case
Earth Friendly Foods packages and distributes organic foods to grocery stores, restaurants and hotels. You have been hired as a consultant to help Earth Friendly develop a corporate ethics program. There is currently no established ethics programs of any type; management relies on informal interactions between employees to communicate the company’s ethics philosophy. Earth Friendly Foods is a privately held corporation that operates internationally, with employees from countries across North America, Europe and most recently, South America.
The foodservice industry, particularly for organic food, is extremely competitive and is currently receiving a great deal of government scrutiny and media attention because of recent outbreaks of E. coli and salmonella that resulted in the hospitalization of hundreds of consumers. These outbreaks were caused by improper handling of produce, which can happen even if the food is organically grown. Further, the investigation of these outbreaks was slowed down by executives who hid important records from outbreak investigators. Earth Friendly was not involved in these outbreaks; however, the CEO of Earth Friendly, Celeste Olson, is concerned that Earth Friendly managers may be tempted to cut corners in the manufacturing process to meet heavy demand for Earth Friendly products which could possibly endanger employees and ultimately harm the health of consumers. She is aware of the pressure to keep organic food affordable yet safe for consumers as well as maximize revenues for the company. She also knows that food safety standards and ethical standards may differ from country to country but she wants to ensure that her company adheres to the highest possible ethical standards. She knows something must be done but she’s not sure how to move forward. Your recommendations must be cost-effective, creative and have measurable impact.
(Please note that this is a fictional organization, any similarity to an actual organization is purely coincidental).
Your paper must include the following sections:
I. Introduction:
• Address your understanding of the situation and note any assumptions you have made as you conceived your recommendations.
• Describe how managing the ethical behavior of employees can be a competitive advantage specifically for Earth Friendly Foods’ situation.
II. Recommendations:
• Describe two (2) distinct; well thought-out recommendations that are supported by the provided list of articles and the course material to help Earth Friendly Foods improve the ethical behavior of organizational employees (do not address issues regarding corporate social responsibility).
• This is a tactical plan that contains actionable recommendations and as such, should clearly state what actions the organization should take. Your recommendations are intended for Earth Friendly Foods’ Board of Directors and must include in-text citations and a list of references so that these executives know your recommendations are grounded in research.
• Describe each recommendation in detail and explain why each recommendation is useful to Earth Friendly Foods. You must be able to provide evidence that your recommendations are supported by the literature. Recommendations should reflect a true understanding of these articles; superficial use of these references will not be acceptable. Each recommendation must be supported by at least two references from the list below. You may use your book and lecture notes as supporting sources, but, again, at least two (2) of your references per recommendation must come from the list below. This means you must have a minimum of four citations, two for each recommendation. These articles may be obtained through e-reserves.
• Be sure to integrate your sources with your suggestions. Integration involves more than just a quote from a relevant source so you MAY NOT use any direct quotes in this assignment. You should discuss and paraphrase key points from the supporting articles and then discuss how those points relate to and support your recommendations.
• Every recommendation will have some limitations. You must indicate the limitations of your recommendations and state how the benefits of your recommendation outweigh its limitations.
• Recommendations should be realistic and reasonable. You must provide a short sub-heading for each recommendation.
V. Evaluation:
• In this section you will explain how Earth Friendly Foods should measure the impact and effectiveness of the recommendations you have made. For each recommendation you must:
1. Indicate specific employee behaviors that you would expect to change because of your recommendation.
2. Describe exactly how you would measure changes in those behaviors.
VI. References:
• You must include a reference page listing all the works you have cited in your report, including our text book and class notes, if you use them. Remember each suggestion must be supported by at least two of the articles listed below.
• This list should be in alphabetical order.
• You may use either MLA or APA reference style but you must use it consistently throughout the paper and in the reference section.
• If you use a chapter from the text book, the following is the acceptable format:
Kinicki, A. & Kreitner, R. (2009). Ethics learning module from Organizational Behavior: Key Concepts, Skills and Best Practices, 4th Edition. In MGMT 301: People and Organizations (pp. 56-67), McGraw-Hill Primis.
Formatting and Tone:
• Remember, executives at this level are busy people. The tone you use in your report should be professional and appropriate to the executive level; a casual tone should be avoided. The people to whom you are writing are your clients and should be treated with respect.
• Use complete, grammatically correct sentences. Avoid the use of “I” and “you”, do not use slang, or text messaging/IM abbreviations. Bullet points are NOT acceptable. Proofread carefully for spelling, noun-verb agreement, syntax and other elements of good writing.
• The entire report (excluding the references section and title page, if you include one) may NOT exceed four (4) pages double-spaced, times new Roman 12 point font, 1 inch margins.
