| ||
| ||
|
Ethics Information | |
|
|
Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Work Ethics and the Customer
This article relates to the Ethics in the Workplace competency, commonly evaluated in employee surveys. It gives examples of how employees and customers consider ethical behavior and sound values an integral part of your organization. This competency covers a variety of topics like customer treatment, employee professionalism, and expected/acceptable organizational behaviors. At a high level, this competency will investigate the standards by which your employees treat your customers, co-workers, and the organization itself. This short story, Work Ethics and the Customer, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales from the Corporate Frontlines. It provides a view from the customer's side of the counter that might inspire you to rethink the old phrase "the customer is king". Anonymous Submission I work in a back office environment. The front lines of customer service are far away, so I don't think much about the ethical matters involved in providing good service. All of that changed recently, when I found myself on the customer side of that check out terminal (formerly known as a cash register), and in dire need of help. I was shopping for a USB computer keyboard to attach to my computer. I needed that type, and only that type, and I needed it that very day. I visited four different retail stores, all large chains, and had four noteworthy experiences that left me thinking about ethical behavior. On he first visit, I asked an obviously available (he was playing a video game) sales person how I could tell the difference between PS2 and USB port keyboards as the display models cords were embedded into the rack. His response was -" I just know from working here". Okay. Not unethical, but not helpful either. Well, which one is cheapest, I asked. He showed me a $70 keyboard. I left the store. At the next stop, I saw no keyboards, so asked a sales person (once she was off the telephone making plans for the evening.) "Oh, she said, the only ones we have come with the computers." I thanked her and went home. The rest of this odyssey would have to wait. At home, I called another chain store, navigated the voice mail, and asked the clerk if they had USB keyboards in the store and for the cost of the lowest priced model. After a quick click and a short silence, he told me of course, they are $24. Great, I was on my way. It was Saturday evening and the store was packed. I found the keyboard section, and stood there amazed. He had outright lied. The lowest priced model was $80. There was nothing remotely near $24. The few clerks on duty were swamped. I found one available in another department and told him about my situation. He was genuinely sympathetic and suggested that I visit the nearby superstore on the hill. I thanked him and left. There my journey ended. I found my keyboard, after hours of searching, amid opened boxes (apparently some of them lied, too) in a crowded aisle in the electronics department of a store selling every product imaginable. I was exhausted. No wonder people shop online. ------------------------------------------------------------- Measure. Report. Improve your organization with AlphaMeasure employee surveys. Josh Greenberg is President of AlphaMeasure, Inc. AlphaMeasure provides organizations of all sizes a powerful web based method for measuring employee satisfaction, determining employee engagement, and increasing employee retention. AlphaMeasure is fully customizable and allows you to target the organizational topics and challenges facing your staff today.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Everyday Business Ethics Crisis Or Im Mad as Hell and Not Going to Take it Anymore Breaking news may feature the Enron debacle, WorldCom activities, or accounting problems but we live our everyday business life making ethical choices that affect our employment and businesses. Consider the ethical choices made in these situations:-A restaurateur hired a firm, used the firm's ideas, benefited from them and refused to pay for the services rendered. The Only Thing You Get for Free in Life is Hungry! My grandfather was a very wise man. Simple but wise. Ethics in Business - Please Have Some Is your business ethical?What I mean is "Does your business do the right thing when faced with that decision?" It's a simple question, which many businesses struggle with. I just don't understand the struggle part?I have worked for companies that believed they were ethical, and really have no clue. Mind Your Own Damn Business Sexcess You have certainly heard the expression "mind your own damn business" used in a multitude of contexts. The most typical being the don't kiss and tell type statements, often uttered by responsibly private individuals about their love life. Do Organizations Serve Us Or Do We Serve Organizations We have seen an erosion in the confidence that society has in organizational leadership and its integrity recently with the numerous accounting scandals that have become public.Clearly this has led to the demise of several large organizations. MacDonalidisation: Braverman, Taylor & Mayo Background: George Ritzer defined McDonaldization as ".. Selling Truth as a Differentiator The last few years have been a period of heightened scrutiny and scandal for the financial services industry. Most recently, the SEC issued a report on pension consultants regarding conflicts of interest and the objectivity of advice given to retirement plan sponsors. Top 10 Principles for Positive Business Ethics This morning, I read about a company using on-line auctions to defraud customers. Last week, I consulted on an ethics complaint where a business coach betrayed a client's confidentiality. Ethics? How To Take the Measure Business When asked to write a small piece pertaining to ethics and integrity in the business world, my first inclination was to draw on personal experience.Everyone has bad experiences to relate. Work Ethics - A Paradigm Shift Work ethics is a hot topic in today's business and educational worlds. Yet, how do we define this hybrid phrase with the word work meaning more than a specific outcome and the word ethics being more than the values that enhance that outcome?When we say we are going to work, work becomes the place of employment. Ethics in Business...A Lost Art While watching Face the Nation one Sunday earlier this year, Bob Schiffer discussed the airline industry, his mother and ethics in business. Like Bob, I think it is a sad commentary today, that we have to police businesses. The Views of Karl Marx VS Max Weber Compare and contrast the views of Karl Marx and Max Weber with regards as to what motivates people to work.Karl Marx: [1] Exploitation[2] Proletariat have to sell their labour-power[3] The machines of the industrial revolution eliminate creativity require only the workers own labour, work is alienated, workers alienated. Six Reasons to Give If you run a business, you undoubtedly feel many pressures on your time and money. Why would you want to add "giving to the community" to your "to do" list? Here are six reasons . Ethics In The Workplace Workplace Ethics is a subject that we have all heard of. In fact, the subject of Ethics in general is something that most people are familiar with. Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Work Ethics and the Customer This article relates to the Ethics in the Workplace competency, commonly evaluated in employee surveys. It gives examples of how employees and customers consider ethical behavior and sound values an integral part of your organization. Diversity I know that diversity has been a big topic of conversation ever since the early 1990s when research supported the demographics that by the year 2000, 85% of the entering workforce would be female, African-American, Asian-American, Latino, or new immigrants. The fact that white males would be a minority entering the workplace was a wake up call for corporate America. Business Ethics: The Law of Corporate Karma According to the shamanic traditions, the great mystery of being is that all things are alive and have a level of intelligence. This is because all things are a part of the Great Spirit. Business Ethics: How The Sales Function Can Transmit Company Values I recently got a "thank-you" call from a man who read my new e-book Buying Facilitation."Boy," he said, "this method sure helps me close more deals and make more money. What is a Ponzi Scheme? This is for those who don't believe me when I talk about the dangers of "mystery money" schemes.The terms "pyramid scheme" and "Ponzi scheme" are used almost interchangeably. How To Detect Liars In Your Business & Personal Life We live in a world full of lies and deception. Most of us (or all of us?) lied or were forced to do so, in a small or larger scale, because of some circumstances.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
