There has always been a direct link between ethics and organizational culture. Organizational culture impacts the way employees react and respond when placed in compromising ethical situations. Analysis of a company’s culture shows the unwritten ethical standards that lead employees in their decision-making. Businesses, through this information can avert risky ethical behavior by revising their initial organizational culture. This paper will analyze how ethics is used as an integral part of corporate culture showing why it is considered to be both a source of conflict and the basis for solution for people’s behavior within the organization. Furthermore, it will highlight if these set ethical rules are in contradiction with personal ethics and discuss if the rules implementation depends on certain behaviors or expectations of the organizational culture. It will finish by giving a conclusion of the papers findings.

Initially I worked for a food packaging company and it was structured around 10 set ethical rules that had to be adhered to by all employees. The introduction to the food packaging company’s code of ethics suggested that all employees in all cases had to let their actions be led by value. The company code also stressed that anything that seemed wrong had to be directly addressed. The rules also included a speak-up policy that needed employees to talk if they knew of any code violations, even those that they did. The company 10 rules included market responsibly, make food that is safe for consumption, equal treatment to everyone, compete fairly, respect the free market, deal with the government honestly, respect the environment, keep honest records and books, give the company your complete loyalty and never give outsiders company information.

The ethics implementation reflected on the organizations culture by the way the organization managed to retain its customers loyalty. It also showed from the aspect of the employees since they tended to respect and participate more in the company operations, they felt great pride in company success and conformity since the company was managed ethically. The ethical aspects of the company are also reflected by the increased revenue and greater sales since the food packaging company attracted new skills and retained talented personnel.