Ethical Communication in Crisis

Crises provide serious tests of ethical leadership. It is easy for most leaders to do the right thing during days filled with routine, but even the least complicated task grows increasingly difficult in a crisis, and leadership often fails during these times. The textbooks (and the news) are full of such examples. Studying these examples will help prepare you to make the ethical decision when you find yourself faced with a crisis.

Upon completion of this assignment, you should be able to:

Select the appropriate and ethical response to a crisis.
Resources
Bible
Textbook: Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership
Background Information
In Romans 12:2 (New International Version), you are told: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Though it is not likely that Paul anticipated social media sites such as Facebook, it is clear that God did. Paul, however, experienced many of the same challenges you face with today’s media, just at a different pace. In this study, we will examine potential responses to organizational crises catalyzed by social media.

Instructions
Review Chapter 11 in the textbook Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership. As you review, think about how news about a crisis is communicated, and how the failure to response to news of a crisis can make the crises even worse.
Read Case Study 11.2 on pp. 445-447.
Navigate to the threaded discussion and respond to the following:
How would you evaluate the crisis response of Southern Cross Austereo based on the five components of ethical crises leadership presented in the chapter? Provide a detailed evaluation that demonstrates clear, insightful critical thinking.
What steps should Southern Cross Austereo take to restore the firm’s reputation and that of station 2Day FM? Provide a detailed evaluation that demonstrates clear, insightful critical thinking.
Your initial post should be 200 to 300 words in length and include two academic resources that are properly cited.
Your initial post is due by the end of the fourth day of the workshop.
Read and conduct a critical analysis of a posting by two of your classmates by the end of the workshop.
The topic of your discussion response should be your classmate’s posting and should be written as if you were reviewing his or her posting in an academic journal. Your discussion response should therefore answer the following questions as applicable:
Were the arguments of your classmate articulate and logical? Were the facts correct?
Was the interpretation your classmate provided reasonable and consistent with experts in the field? Was your classmate consistent with both the substance and intent of his/her references?
The focus for your critical analysis is not whether or not you agree with your classmate, but how well his/her position was presented.
Each response should be at least 200 words in length and cite two academic sources. (Note: the academic sources do not count towards the word length requirement.)
Respond to the following:
How would you evaluate the crisis response of Southern Cross Austereo based on the five components of ethical crises leadership presented in the chapter? Provide a detailed evaluation that demonstrates clear, insightful critical thinking.
What steps should Southern Cross Austereo take to restore the firm’s reputation and that of station 2Day FM? Provide a detailed evaluation that demonstrates clear, insightful critical thinking.
6.4 Personal Ethical Framework
Introduction and Alignment
Perhaps the most noteworthy case of corporate fraud in the United States was Enron. Only after the collapse of Enron did the full magnitude of the corruption and ethical misconduct become known. Yet another lesson learned from Enron is that the corruption and ethical misconduct did not develop overnight, but as a result of many actions and decisions that created a culture where profitability was more important than ethics. Scholars have concluded that the ethical collapse of Enron came as a result of a culture that slowly chipped away at the ethical standards of employees until almost any action could be justified. The most potent defense against this erosion of ethics is a robust, pre-determined ethical framework for personal decisions. This assignment will lead you through the process of establishing your personal framework for ethical decisions.

Upon completion of this assignment, you should be able to:

Evaluate one’s personal ethical standards and create a personal/professional framework to guide decision making compatible with a Christian worldview.
Synthesize the interrelatedness of biblical principles and the ethical and legal fabrics in American society.
Resources
Video: A Conversation About the Documentary “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room”
Background Information
Jesus often taught with parables. A parable is a story, usually shared verbally, that uses an image or story to illustrate a truth and defines the unknown by using the known. Parables help the listener to discover the deeper meaning and underlying truth of the reality being portrayed. An example of a business-related parable can be found in Luke 16:1-12, where a business man conducted a test of three of his employees. The collapse of Enron was vividly described in the documentary “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.” Although the documentary is not available to view in class, it is available for you to watch as a private individual. Be aware that it contains both profanity and nudity.

The documentary sparked a great deal of conversation over its message, as you will hear in the YouTube video. In this video, you will see an interview with the movie’s producer and the author of the book by the same name discussing the underlying causes and issues involved in the Enron collapse.

Instructions
Watch the video “A Conversation About the Documentary ‘Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room’” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNIooXEeVu4.
As you watch, make note of how the Enron culture applied a constant pressure on employees to compromise on their principles.
Write a 1200- to 1400-word research paper that addresses the following issues:
What factors led to the development of the culture of profit before principle at Enron? Provide a detailed evaluation that demonstrates clear, insightful critical thinking.
Create a personal code of ethics that will guide you in professional and personal decision making. The code should address behavior in the following areas (as a minimum):
Relationships
Honesty and integrity
Work ethics
Transparency and disclosure of information
Fairness
For each element of your code, justify your principle by linking it to a concept articulated in the secular or biblical ethical frameworks presented in this class. Provide a detailed evaluation that demonstrates clear, insightful critical thinking.
Support your positions with at least six references from scholarly sources.
Use proper spelling, grammar, and APA formatting for your analysis paper. (Note: cover pages, academic sources, reference pages, etc. do not count towards the word length requirement in your paper.)
When you have completed your assignment, save a copy for yourself and submit a copy to your instructor using the Dropbox by the end of the workshop (Turnitin will be enabled).