Ethics in organizations (Aramark)
It is paramount that every organization acts ethically to avoid the wrath of the law when acting unethically or have a negative impression on the clients. When an organization acts ethically, chances of being sued in a court of law are minimal, Clients are retained, more clients are attracted in, and the reputation and the image of the organization maintained and improved. Every organization must have good customer relations and make sure they stick to the mission and vision statements that define who the company is and what they intend and aspire to do. One of the companies that are widely known to be acting ethically is Aramark corporation. The company operates under the food and beverage industry. It is an American company whose headquarters are in Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, US. The organization of the corporation is also involved in facility services and the provision of uniform services to the prison and correctional facilities, education, healthcare, leisure, and business. Their services are customer orientated since they give quality food to patients in healthcare and warm food to the students.The employees of the company are never exploited .exploitation is a common phenomenon in any organization, and this trait makes the Aramark stand out.The employees are paid minimum wage and are nit or never forced to work on extra time. The payment of Overtime is legally settled based on the prevailing premium rates.The company acts ethically in satisfying the customer needs and providing high-quality products and services to the clients .the company has been appearing in Forbes magazine based on the performance and being in line with ethical requirements. Complains forwarded against the products and the services offered by the company are few, and this translated to customers or clients’ satisfaction. The company has remained relevant by making sure they retain the clients and attract more by acting as the law requires and being properly certified; hence they don’t find themselves compensating the clients or spending resources in rebranding themselves out of a tarnished name.The above reasons are the ones that make me describe the organization as the best in the food and beverage industry based on the way they conduct themselves, the quality of goods and services, clients’ response, and customer satisfaction.
The company is well structured, and each staff has a defined role he or she plays. The company is under the leadership of John Zillmer and Lynn Mckee, who is the CEO and executive vice present, respectively. Mrs.Mckee is also a human resource. Tom ondrof in the executive vice president and also doubles his roles as a chief financial officer. Mrs. Lauren Harington is a senior vice president to the company and a counsel who look into legal matters concerning the company. Carl Mittleman is the chief executive officer international. Others in the leadership and management positions include Mark Breno, who acts as a CEO for the US food and facility services under the Aramark Corporation. Brad Drummond is the CEO of refreshment and uniform services, which are also offered by Aramark. The company has successfully brought onboard qualified and experienced staff who are knowledgeable in their roles and are best suited in the company operations.
The Aramark company is a successful company based on the market share, clients, and customer satisfaction, and the profits accrued.The company has successfully managed to expand beyond Philadelphia territories and has also managed to expand its operation.it has expanded to a global scenario where it serves food to homes.It has its presence in North America, Asia, South America, and Europe. The company operates in Germany, Ireland, UK, Spain, and Italy.in North America, it operates in Canada and the US (Publisher & Staff, 2011). In South America, it operates in chile.In Asia, the company has markets in the Philippines and South Korea. The success of the company is also felt and witnessed in the number of employees who, by the year 2016stood at 215000 employees in total. the company’s net worth, I stand at $287.81 million. In the records, the company has been making profits since 2015, and there is a steady rise in profit margin until 2018.The success of the company is globally recognized and appears in term fortune 500 companies. Having a market distributed globally helps the company is enjoying the benefits associated with market expansion and international trade.
According to many types of research conducted, organizations need to operate ethically to avoid negative repercussions, as a drop in sales, decrease in customers, declining operations, and tarnished reputation (Perry, 2012). The reason why companies and organizations strive to be ethical is usually to avoid court cases, which happens at a cost, and it is possible to avoid them. The company with a good reputation is known to be attractive to the clients and stakeholders .an organization is usually considered ethical if it has a strong leader who has respect for the employees and the clients. The company that follows ethics in its operation operates with integrity and fairness (Sims,2003). All the customers are treated equally without any traces of biases and prejudice. When a company lacks integrity and fairness, it would be portrayed in a bad light, and customers may move out of the organization. The company adheres to its core value statements, including vision and mission statements. If a company does contrary to the statements, it is considered unethical. A company can also be considered ethical if it has a loyal relationship with the customers and the b employees. Unethical company will mistreat the employees who will be disloyal and may move out of the company insert of other opportunities .lack of ethics by a compony disrupts a relationship that needs to be loyal and mutually shared between the management, the employees and the clients and the success can be gauged by the duration they stick with the company (Shwartz, 2013). The ethical company cares for the environment it operates it.it treats the effluent before releasing it to the environment and also gets involved in community services like garbage collection and many more. A company has to look into the environment because some of the effluents may be pollutants to the soil, air, and water. To be in line with the laws requiring environment conservation, companies need to operate ethically by restricting the amount of effluents and treating them before disposal or release to the ecosystem. An ethical company needs to be concerned about the employees and the community (Sims,2003). Employees need to work in a secure environment where there is no likelihood of being injured and a risk to their lives.The community also needs to be ensured of their safety by the company that is ethical by ensuring theta they are safe when the company is in operations. The above is the criteria for gauging an organization if it is ethical or unethical.
Based on the research and the view of the stakeholders, the Aramark company is an ethical company. The company has secured the services on many employees meaning if the company does not operate ethically, they could have left the company. The company pays its employees minimum wage without having them to work overtime. According to the company files, it is not easy to find the evidence of court cases for violation of the rights of the employees and other stakeholders or being involved in illegal activities (Morrison,2015). There are no records of clashes with the environment activists since the employees work in a secure environment, and they are from incidences of injuries.The company’s compensation for overtime is done in accordance with the company policies and the prevailing rate. There is a good relationship between the employees, outsiders, and management, and this has even allowed expansion internationally.
What I would change about the organization is the involvement in charitable work and make it involved in environmentally friendly campaigns. The company also needs to give back to the society to make have a strong bond with the community around and make them feel as part and parcel of the company. The company can also change its employment policies and put a certain percentage for the people around, especially in the neighborhood. The company need to change ways it treats its industrial effluent to avoid harming the residents and also to decrease the level of emissions that pollute the environment and play a role in the reduction in global warming
References
Morrison, J. (2015). Business ethics: New challenges in a globalized world. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Publishers, A., & Staff, A. E. (2011). Directory of corporate counsel 2011-2012. Aspen Publishers Online.
Schwartz, M., & Harris, H. (2013). Research on ethical issues in organizations. Emerald Group Publishing.
Sims, R. R. (2003). Ethics and corporate social responsibility: Why giants fall. Greenwood Publishing Group.
Sperry, L. (2012). Dictionary of ethical and legal terms and issues: The essential guide for mental health professionals. Routledge.