Running head Journal Analysis 1 1
Branden Prentice
Journal Analysis 1
Liberty University
Running head Journal Analysis 1 2
Heller, J., Heller, N., and Burch, G. (2014). Perceptions of ethics among supply chain
management professionals. Academy of Business Research Journal, 4, 90-102.
Purpose
The authors of this article investigates the ethical issues that are seen in the field of supply
chain management. These issues are then broken down into the following four categories:
overall supply chain, education, tenure, and gender. The article then goes into greater detail on
each one of these categories and how they inherently have their own ethical issues that can
have negative impacts on an organization. This article can be used by an organization's
leadership team to see potential ethical issues within an organization and how best to tackle
these issues before they have a negative impact on the organization.
Background of the Issue
Since its inception, supply chain management has continued to grow in the role that it takes
within an organization. Today, supply chain management takes on more of a strategic role that is
seen as a differentiator from the competition and has become a part of a company’s business
model. This is a change from what was once viewed as a smaller role within the organization
handled by a single person behind a desk. As supply chain management has grown, the
demographics that work within supply chain management has grown as well. This can cause
many ethical dilemmas with employees and how they handle each other. The hiring of a very
diverse workforce has led to the organization in and of itself needing to change the way that it
handles ethical decisions in a way as to not cause negative ripples in the organization. This in
turn will cause an organization to update their policies and in turn will give more employees an
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equal opportunity to grow and can move up in an organization. While every level of the supply
chain is important it is imperative to ensure that a set standard of ethics are established and
continually practiced to ensure that each level from the raw material to the consumer remains
strong and does not fall by the wayside.
Application of Supply Chain Management Theory
There are ethical issues within supply chain management, and we must look at all of the ways
that employees attempt to win over the clients of an organization. This is especially true when it
comes to sales where an employee's goal is to maximize their time to make the organization
money. This can lead to an employee making unethical decisions in order to meet their goals.
These ethical issues can include offering a client gifts or some sort of incentive to make a
purchase. If a salesperson can offer gifts but never receive them, it could lead to resentment
from employees.
The second issues that can be seen in supply chain management is gender and the potential
inequality that stems from this. The article looks at whether or not women are afforded the
same opportunity for success as their male counterparts. A study by Akman (2011) states that
Considerable evidence exists in the current and past literature that supports the assertion that
differences exist in ethical standards between men and women and that these results held in
various academic and professional settings and in different countries”. For this reason, it is
important that both genders are treated as equals in every level of an organization. Doing so
creates a sense of cohesiveness within the organization and allows employees to grow as a
team rather than rivals.
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The third issue is the idea of tenure and how it causes employees to be treated. There have
been numerous studies that have caused tenure to become an ethical issue where before it was
not viewed as such. These studies looked at how longer tenured or higher ranked employees
were treated in relation to their subordinates or less tenured coworkers. Kidwell, Stevens, and
Bethke (1987) found that individuals with more years of employment tended to display more
ethical attitudes than those with fewer years of employment.
Finally, the article looks at how employees are treated that are at differing levels of education. It
is presumed in the article that employees with higher levels of education are more likely to
make ethical decisions than employees with lower levels of education.
Managerial Implications
When it comes to ethical decisions it is important for managers to realize that they are better
off being proactive rather than reactive. One unethical decision can ruin an organization’s
reputation that can eventually cause the business to go bankrupt. This can be seen in many
organizations and their business dealings like the unethical decisions made by Enron. Leadership
is better off when they constantly evaluate and change their ethical standards to prevent their
employees from overstepping their bounds. Additionally, leadership must remain consistent in
their enforcement of these standards to prevent employees from getting too comfortable or
feeling like one person gets away with more than another. There are many ways that an
organization can ensure that these standards are upheld such as certifications, trainings, office
meetings, among others. It is ultimately up to both leadership and the employees themselves to
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ensure that the standards are not online followed, but when an unethical decision is made,
everyone involved should be held responsible for the decision.
Organizations can also help to curb unethical behavior by introducing programs that help to
cover the four categories that were introduced before. In order to prevent the unethical
behavior that comes with giving a client gifts, an organization can ban the practice from its
employees. By doing this, it gives clients and suppliers of all levels the opportunity to compete
for the organization’s business.
Gender can be a bit of a hot topic issues for leadership because of the idea that leadership may
favor one gender over another. Therefore, an organization must ensure that females are treated
equally to their male counterparts. To do this, an organization must ensure that both genders
are compensated equally for the work that they do. Additionally, it is imperative that an
organization gives women the same opportunity to promote within the organization that a male
employee will have. A climate of being gender inclusive will help an organization with their
recruiting and retention programs and will also make employees feel more appreciated and
welcome. It is also important that employees of all educational levels, it is important to allow
employees the opportunity to gain the education that they need to advance and to offer them
the same benefits that someone of a higher education level would receive to further their
education. These benefits can include tuition assistance as well as scholarships for employees to
attend school.
When it comes to tenure, it is important for an organization to treat their employees well,
regardless of how long they have been with the company. Additionally, they can promote
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employees based on their time with the company as well as their knowledge of their job, like
the way that the military promotes their members. If an employee can demonstrate their
knowledge for the job as well as not have a serious ethical infraction, this member should be
eligible to promote if a position is available. All these suggestions set a base standard that can
be implemented to improve moral, retention, and ensure that an understanding of ethics is
implemented at the lowest levels.
Summary
It is important for employees and managers to not forget the impact that ethics can have on an
organization. One unethical dilemma can ruin the reputation of not only the company but also
those who work for that organization. An organization will find itself in hot water if they are
producing a good or providing a service in a way that is not the standard or what the consumer
has come to expect from this company. One way that an organization can ensure that ethical
standards is to take a top-down approach. By setting the tone with upper management, it
allows for those in the level below to know what the established standards are and that those
above them follow the same standards. These standards will ensure that the company can and
will survive in any market climate.
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References
Akman, V. (2011). Empirical look at the factors affecting perception of business ethics in Turkey. Emerging
Markets Journal, 1, 1-11.
Heller, J., Heller, N., and Burch, G. (2014). Perceptions of ethics among supply chain
management professionals. Academy of Business Research Journal, 4, 90-102.
Kidwell, J., M., Stevens, R., E., & Bethke, A., L. (1987). Differences in ethical perceptions between male
and female managers: Myth or Reality? Journal of Business Ethics, 6, 489- 493.
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