The Ethics Program Implementation

A successful corporation must have a strong ethical foundation because ethics affect how stakeholders and the general public view an organization. The development of ethical behavior through effectively constructed ethics programs can have a significant positive impact on a business. It might draw clients to a business's products, lower turnover among staff, draw workers, and even draw investors. In the case of the Lockheed Martin Corporation, ethics has greatly helped the business preserve its standing as a preferred federal government contractor throughout the years. In the case of the Lockheed Martin Corporation, the code of ethics is contained in a document referred to as “Setting the Standard: The Lockheed Martin Code of Ethics and Business Conduct.” The code of ethics is essential to the organization’s ethics program since it is virtually the skeleton from which the company’s vision regarding ethics is created. The code of ethics lays down minimum ethical standards that are expected of each and every employee at Lockheed and Martin Corporation. The code of ethics also serves a legal purpose in that it absolves the firm’s management from the blame in case of unethical activity by some personnel. It is evidence that the organization has taken the initiative and let all employees know of their ethical obligations. The code of ethics of the corporation is printed out as a pocket- sized pamphlet which ensures that the employees can easily carry it around and refer to it whenever they feel the need.

The code of ethics at Lockheed Martin Corporation spells out six principles that form the basis of the corporation’s ethics program. The six principles- honesty, respect, integrity, trust, responsibility, and citizenship- are the basis of how the company perceives ethics. The emphasis on openness in communication which is clearly indicated in the letter prefacing the code of ethics is a statement of intent by the management. The code of ethics enables the management to orient its employees towards a certain direction regarding ethics. The fact that the code of ethics is a basic federal guideline for all companies illustrates how important a document it is to an organization. The key topics of concern as indicated in the corporation’s code of ethics are guidelines as to how employees are supposed to conduct themselves as members of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. They are an elucidation of the principles indicated in the preface. They obligations referred to in this code include promoting a positive work environment, keeping accurate and complete records, making accurate public disclosures, avoiding gifts or favors that are either illegal or questionable and following the law. The importance of these as part of the code of ethics is that they prevent the innocent or deliberate violation of ethics (Adams, Tashchian, & Shore, 2001). The indication of warning signs of unethical behavior in the Lockheed Martin code of ethics is necessary since employees can easily identify and deal with potentially tricky situations.

Ethics training programs are necessary to an organization due to the variety of purposes they serve. Besides promoting awareness to a company’s ethical practices, they also impact employee morale positively which could have an impact on overall productivity (Young, 2016). Ethics training at Lockheed Martin Corporation is achieved through annual awareness programs that ensure that employees at the corporation are fully conversant with their ethical obligations. The success of the ethics training program at the organization can be attributed to the high level of involvement of employees. The training program which changes its direction and format after every one or two years. Over the years there have been a variety of unique formats: “Ethics Challenge,” “Trust Building,” “Ethics Daily,” “Perspectives,” and “The Ethics Effect.” The training programs aim to engage the employees of Lockheed Martin Corporation in the training process with each focusing on a different aspect of ethics. While trust building centered on the importance of trust in the field of ethics, the perspectives program was all about how individuals in ethical dilemmas could consider the same factors but still come up with different conclusions depending on their inherent interest.

The ethics training programs usually roll out with great flash and the involvement of the company’s chief executive. This induces the perception of the seriousness of the program in addition to the fan factor. The division of the employees into groups that try to solve ethical dilemmas also helps increase the intrigue associated with the program. In the “Perspectives” format, volunteers from the team had to role play the ethical dilemmas and provide the most relevant solutions to the underlying issue. This fun aspect not only makes the program interesting but also enables participants to immerse themselves into the situation. Akeem’s Tax Refund case, for example, covered five of the six ethics principles of Lockheed Martin Corporation which show just how important and efficient the training programs are. The fact that the scenarios played out are situations that average employees at the organization can relate to also ensures that all employees are engaged and do not feel out of place during the training program. The introduction of the company’s Ethics Film Festival is also a great way of engaging employees while still making the process fun. The first short film festival attracted 20 entries which are an indication of the effectiveness of the company’s training program.

The success of the Lockheed Martin’s is usually measured to track progress and perhaps inform future policy decisions regarding ethics training. The tool used, in this case, is a biennial survey. The subject is the organization’s workforce in its entirety. The director of ethics operations, Phil Tenney, is responsible for this exercise with the help of the nonprofit group, the Ethics Resource Center. The survey questions are multiple- choice although individual comments are also allowed as an add- on to the ticked answers. There have been positive statistics over the recent past such as a majority of the employees knowing what ethical conduct was and how they could find advice regarding the same. A large percentage of the employees also feel that honesty is evident in the organization. However, there have been relatively negative results from the survey too over the years. Most of the employees at Lockheed Martin have not reported ethical improprieties in the past for fear of retaliation by senior officials at the organization. The survey has also rooted out the disappointment of employees when it comes to the issue of action taken by supervisors in the case of reported cased of ethical misconduct. The poor response is an indication that the organization needs to act more decisively if it is to stick to its support for ethical behavior. The inaction could undo the great strides made by the ethics training programs over the years.

Lockheed Martin Corporation mainly relies on ethics officers to implement their ethics programs at the operational level. The role of an ethics officer is the embodiment of an organization’s intent regarding ethical principles and guidelines. Ethics officers fulfill a variety of roles in an organization as regards ethics. Besides taking on a counseling role, ethics officers also investigate ethical misconduct claims in addition to marketing the organization’s ethical principles and guidelines to the employees. The efforts of the ethics officers are vital to the success of an ethics program. The advice that they give to employees, though informal, helps drive the agenda set by the management as regards ethical conduct. Lockheed Martin Corporation has local helplines through which employees can report complaints related to ethical conduct. The local helplines are only answered by ethical officers. This further reiterates the vital role that they play in the implementation of ethical programs by the management of Lockheed Martin Corporation. The insistence of VP Maryanne Lavan on the use of the post as a stepping stone for high- potential employees shows how important the position is to the Lockheed Martin Corporation. Ethics officers are the custodians and perpetuators of the company’s ethics strategy.

The importance of ethics programs in an organization cannot be underrated. The positive effects on the Lockheed Martin Corporation have enhanced its reputation and enabled it to be an illustration of a highly ethical corporation. The active involvement of employees throughout the implementation process increases the chances of success due to their engagement and motivation.

References

Adams, J. S., Tashchian, A., & Shore, T. H. (2001). Codes of ethics as signals for ethical behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 29(3), 199-211

Young, S. (2016). The importance of ethics training programs. Retrieved from http://blog.ung.edu/mba/the-importance-of-ethics-training-programs/