homework help

Running Head: Ethics

Ethics and Social Responsibility

Samantha Jones

Principles of Management

Section 08

Samantha Jones

Principles of Management

Instructor Adam Samuelson

May 4, 2014

Ethics and Social Responsibility- Part IV

The company I chose to research in regards to ethics and social responsibility is Rent-A-Center. Rent-A-Center owns and operates more than 3,000 stores in 50 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and Puerto Rico. (Rent-A-Center, 2014). A brief history of RAC was created to offer brand name furniture, appliances, and electronics through a flexible rental purchase in which allows the customer to obtain ownership of the merchandise throughout a period of time. They offer “90 Day Same as Cash with no interest and even delivery on the same day! Just for those who can’t afford to pay off in 90 Days have an early purchase option in which still saves the consumer a lot of money. They repair the merchandise at no additional cost while the customer is still making payments for it. RAC provides an easy and affordable way for people to furnish their homes without needing credit.

The reason why I chose Rent-A-Center was because I have heard many good and bad stories about this company. I have heard world famous comedians tell jokes and wonder is there any truth behind them as the well-known saying goes. The most important reason why I chose this organization is because I actually work for one of their franchises called Acceptance Now. This franchise has grown into being in at least 5 different major vendors such as Value City, Harlem Furniture-The RoomPlace, Ashley Furniture, and Sears Outlet. Throughout my time with this company, I have experienced a lot of mission moments and inspirational stories that prove we have helped so many people despite all the negative connotations others may think.

Their mission statement and core value of the company is “To Improve the Quality of Life for Our Coworkers and Our Customers.” One of the main reasons why I chose to accept this offer was because of the benefits. I’ve learned that this company treat their employees fair and entitles us to what we deserve. Our company matches our 401k up to 50% of what employees contribute. We have medical insurance options, short and long term disability, etc. We are also eligible to purchase merchandise using the “Co-Worker Purchase Program” in which after 6 months-2 years of employment, there is a $1500.00 purchase limit.

Have you ever dreamed of taking a paid all inclusive vacation to Hawaii or the Bahamas? This is one of the incentives that are provided to the top performers in the region. You are allowed to bring one person with you and have access to a prepaid card with a spending limit of about $500 dollars! No out of pocket expenses are required unless the coworker has to purchase a passport. Other incentives are a bonus which comes with store performance. Especially for newer locations that have just recently opened, there is a chance to bonus every quarter entitling the store manager to 60% and a 40% split between assistants and customer service reps. There are also automatic raises after 90 days, 6 months, and then a year. We have recently just switched to being merit based about 6 months ago.

One major issue that I experienced with this company at first was the fact that training was a major problem. This was a personal experience that I have had and the outcome is not good. Not only did lack of training affect my work ethic, but it also affected others such as supervisors and managers as well. It makes the staff look really disorganized because everyone is considered a team in the workplace. If one person messes up, it looks bad for the whole company. I suggested ways to solve this problem and now the company has put into place a training course called DRIVE. New hires are lucky to have this program and I’ve noticed that it actually does help the employees a lot which is something that was not presented to me when I first started.

Corporate culture also entails the hiring process as well as the turnover which brings me into the next subject. I must admit that this is one of the company’s biggest flaws. There was a point in time where one of the Human Resource managers had to come out into the field to speak with employees to get their feedback on the issues that was making people quit all the time. I gave her my honest opinion as to why and told her that my suggestion would be to take into consideration potential candidates they choose to hire. This may not be the job for a woman who has a newborn or child under 5 years of age with an indefinite baby sitter because of the long 11 hours shifts daily.

Unlike others who chose not to “stick” around, there is an advantage to working those long hours not to mention the pay is worth it. We have established a good database of customers who really have had nothing but positive reviews about our program. Sometimes society can tend to focus on the negative and not so much the positive aspects. I researched and located an article from Newswire that focuses on the corporate responsibility of large companies.

On March 10, 2008 Rent-A-Center started raising funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters at its 3,000 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico. Then 11 years since 2003, the company has participated in a yearly campaign to help raise money for the agency. The money that was raised went back to the nearest location. This demonstrates their responsibility to help give back to the community. Not to mention also the company has matched dollar for dollar up to 100,000 dollars. Since the program began records indicate that Rent-A-Center has donated a total of 1.25 million dollars within the past few years! (CSR Press Release, 2008)

Our focus is the customers and our business help change their lives. We are a risk based company that gives those in need a second chance to start over again. Customers who were bankrupt have the advantage to go through our program to help them re-establish their credit. Those who do not have any credit or have bad credit can also use our program to help build their credit and hopefully in the future be able to purchase a car or home without a high interest rate.

In my opinion, I feel the company has a very strong ethical code. Rent-A-Center has provided a business code of conduct and ethics located within their annual report/proxy statement for all staff.   This code of ethics is designed to help reduce the risk of unethical and illegal conduct by providing a clear statement of the standards company coworkers must follow. V9.08 1 Rent - A - Center Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. (2011). Part of the ethics is holding yourself accountable as well as managers and co-workers. There must be respect for the community and stakeholders. The code of ethics states to lead by example, be honest and fair, and always put ethics first.

It is very important that all workers respect each other and hold themselves accountable for their actions. In a personal interview I had with my district manager Dominic Lucarelli, I mentioned that we have ethical standards to live by as a company and the most important is “get help when you need it.” I asked Mr. Lucarelli to elaborate on this certain piece of our ethical standard and why it is so important amongst all the other ones. He stated that often times, co-workers get influenced by others and it put them in a state of confusion. The code of conduct states that you are to immediately seek guidance and raise concerns that you may have when in doubt about violating the company policies or procedures.

For those who are in management, the ethical outline is very specific as we are to lead by example for our other workers. We are to take responsibility and deal with ethical issues immediately. We must conduct ourselves in a professional manner at all times and avoid displaying unethical conduct whatsoever. We are to express our expectations amongst our workers. Inform them of the importance of ethics is and let them know it is very necessary to report unethical conduct, as it is not an option but a responsibility. We are to ALWAYS put ethics first and never intend to retaliate for any reason.

Often times, even managers may get caught up in the “moment” and forget anything that happens at a store level is to be maintained at a store level because it is a reflection of your guidance. Personally speaking, I have just been promoted to a store manager and my viewpoint of our ethics is certainly at standard. I believe the company has high expectations of all workers and we are to live up to the standards as required.

References

CSR Press Release. (2008, March 11). Retrieved from Corporate Social Responsibilty Newswire: http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/14553-Big-Brothers-Big-Sisters-Benefits-from-Rent-A-Center-Fund-Raiser

Rent-A-Center. (2014). Company Overview . Retrieved from Rent-A-Center: http://www6.rentacenter.com/about-rent-a-center/company-information?WT.z_position=foot&WT.z_content=Company%20Information

V9.08 1 Rent - A - Center Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. (2011). Retrieved from Rent-A-Center:

website: http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/90/90764/corpgov/

Code_of_Conduct_Final_10-16-2008_2.pdf