How Could Tyco's Ethical Violation Been Avoided?
How could Ethical Violation Been Avoided?
Throughout the many business scandals that have occurred over the years, some have had the same violations and some were different; however, all of them have consistently had ethical wrong doings involved in their scandal. In this paper we look specifically at the Tyco Industries scandal which resulted in indictments of the top executives of the company in 2002-2003. There are several ways that this scandal could have been avoided.
First convening a board to screen potential hires for key positions. Limiting the control CEO Dennis Kozlowski had in the hiring of those meant to monitor his actions might have gone a long way in preventing the unethical culture that inevitably developed at Tyco Industries. Dennis Kozlowski surrounded himself with like minded individuals and any that disagreed with the status quo would be fired or be offered an incentive to conform. (Eisenberg, Fonda, & Zagorin, 2002) Although, that is what most Chief Executive Officers would want to do, hiring executives who share the same vision as they, this practice can lead to the downfall of an organization. Even if the culture is not unethical the lack of diversity in thinking and action can lead to stagnation. In the Tyco Industrial case there were no checks and balances to the unethical practices that Kozlowski exercised which led to the downfall. (Eisenberg, Fonda, & Zagorin, 2002)
The second way that this scandal could have been avoided would have been to have an outside auditor to conduct periodical audits on the books for the company. Having a impartial 3rd party without interest in the company to perform audits would have prevented the unethical practices at Tyco. Many executives believe that because the company they work for condones the unethical conduct that they are not liable for their actions. The Tyco scandal and the subsequent jail terms by several of the top executives at Tyco proves that this is not the case. As a
Throughout the many business scandals that have occurred over the years, some have had the same violations and some were different; however, all of them have consistently had ethical wrong doings involved in their scandal. In this paper we look specifically at the Tyco Industries scandal which resulted in indictments of the top executives of the company in 2002-2003. There are several ways that this scandal could have been avoided.
First convening a board to screen potential hires for key positions. Limiting the control CEO Dennis Kozlowski had in the hiring of those meant to monitor his actions might have gone a long way in preventing the unethical culture that inevitably developed at Tyco Industries. Dennis Kozlowski surrounded himself with like minded individuals and any that disagreed with the status quo would be fired or be offered an incentive to conform. (Eisenberg, Fonda, & Zagorin, 2002) Although, that is what most Chief Executive Officers would want to do, hiring executives who share the same vision as they, this practice can lead to the downfall of an organization. Even if the culture is not unethical the lack of diversity in thinking and action can lead to stagnation. In the Tyco Industrial case there were no checks and balances to the unethical practices that Kozlowski exercised which led to the downfall. (Eisenberg, Fonda, & Zagorin, 2002)
The second way that this scandal could have been avoided would have been to have an outside auditor to conduct periodical audits on the books for the company. Having a impartial 3rd party without interest in the company to perform audits would have prevented the unethical practices at Tyco. Many executives believe that because the company they work for condones the unethical conduct that they are not liable for their actions. The Tyco scandal and the subsequent jail terms by several of the top executives at Tyco proves that this is not the case. As a