Identify a major corporation that was in the news over the past twelve months for a major ethical failure. Read several articles about both the rise and the fall of this company

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Ethics refer to the values and principles upon which individuals base their decisions and activities. In the organizational context, ethics define what the organization stands for and outline the best ways to achieve the organizational goals. Thus, ethics govern employees’ behavior in task performance. Every organization has a code of ethics which governs decision-making. It is the ability of the organization to uphold this code of ethics that the organization would be rated in terms of doing what is perceived to be right. Ethical failures can have massive negative effects on the performance of the organization. This paper discusses the ethical failure of United Airlines which involved a passenger being dragged out of a flight in an unethical manner. The effect of this ethical failure will be discussed based on how the company was regarded before and after the incident. The corporate cultures that may contribute to ethical lapses will also be discussed.
An example of a corporation that experienced an ethical failure in the recent past is the United Airlines. This is an American corporation which is considered the third largest airline in the world on the basis of revenue. Commonly known as United, the airline has an extensive international network as well as a huge domestic presence. The most intriguing thing about this company is that it handles a large number of customers, with approximately 148 million passengers believed to have used the services of the airline in 2017.

With such a large number of customers, it should be expected that the company cultivates a strong culture and ethical values in dealing with customers.
United airline suffered an ethical failure in April 2017 when a bloodied passenger was forcibly removed from a flight by security officers. The victim, identified as Dr. Dao, was dragged out of the plane after refusing to give up his seat to the airline’s screw member. This act was considered unethical and attracted worldwide reactions with many calling for a boycott. Before this problem, the company was regarded as warm and welcoming as outlined in its mission statement and the statements of core values. The company’s culture is based on earning trust by doing what is right with high standards of reliability. In general, the company was regarded as having a strong corporate culture prior to the ethical failure.
According to Mouawad and White (2015), United Airlines merger with Continental was intended for the company to benefit from the strong reputation of customer services by Continental Airlines. However, this merger did not yield the expected outcomes as United Airlines’ customers continued to endure performance problems from the corporation. Cancelled flight, frequent delays, and lost luggage still remained major issues for the airline. Poor services to customers were rampant in the airline even before the ethical failure in 2017.
On-time performance problems have remained major issues of concern despite United Airlines merging with Continental Airlines. Thus, the airline experienced cultural problems long before the occurrence of the ethical failure. This suggests the difficulty of identifying cultural lapses in the corporate culture before such lapses are exposed publicly as personnel are used to the existing corporate culture. Problems in the corporate culture often lead to stressed employees who in turn pass their frustrations to the customers.
In another article, Mouawad (2015) suggests that the poor operational performance by United Airline following the merger with Continental Airlines led to many calling for a change in top management. After the merger, there was a big challenge integrating the cultures from the two airlines. This created a situation where stressed employees passed their frustrations to the customers hence the poor customer services. There were many complex issues pertaining to the corporate culture which were amplified by the ethical failure.
The instance of a passenger being dragged out of an airline had significant effects on the corporation’s public image with many terming the incident as bullying to passengers. There was a major social media outrage with many calling for people to boycott the airline. This was a serious lapse in the airline’s corporate culture and led to the destruction of the company’s reputation worldwide. It also led to a loss in the corporation’s market share. The company has since reviewed its policies and outlined the best procedure for handling oversold flights.(Bacon, 2017).
According to Broder, the United Airline’s ethical failure resulted in an incalculable damage to the airline’s reputation. The corporation had a reputational crisis which prompted the chief executive to issue an apology for the incidence both to the victim as well as to the general public. He had to reassure customers that they would be treated with respect in the future. The damage caused by a corporate crisis is largely determined by the public’s perception of the situation and the company’s response to it.
One of the key cultural signals that suggested that the ethical failure was possible is the fact that paying passengers were required to alight from flights in order to accommodate crew members in cases of oversold flights. This was common in United Airline whenever a flight was oversold. Asking a passenger to give up his/her seat is unethical as it would lead to that passenger having to alter his/her traveling plans. The airline ought to respect the traveling arrangements of each customer and thus avoid such inconveniences. Also, asking police officers to remove passengers from the flight is unethical. Having paid for the ticket, the passenger should make a voluntary decision on whether to give up the seat based on his/her traveling arrangements and not to be coerced to do so. (Bacon, 2017)
Another cultural signal that suggested that an ethical failure was possible is the repeated claims of poor service which include frequent delays, flight cancellation, and loss of luggage. The passengers constitute the major business partners for the airline and thus should be satisfied in term of services offered to them. The reluctance to satisfactorily meet the needs of customers could always signal a possible ethical failure. The airline needs to design the best ways it intends to interact with its customers without on-performance problems.
There are several possible ethical lapses that can occur in the future if United Airline does not effectively develop its corporate culture. The current corporate culture suggests that there is a form of disconnection between employees and customers as well as insufficient training of employees on how to handle customers. One possible future ethical lapse is a case where employees are hostile when handling passengers. This is caused by a corporate culture where employees are not motivated to take care of customers. For example, poor rewarding systems and lack of training can be influential in employees not willing to care for clients. Another possible ethical lapse is the deterioration of services. It is an ethical consideration for any corporation to meet the standards of services outlined in its mission and vision statements. To achieve effectiveness in service provision, the corporation should encourage all employees to embrace the set standards. Future chaos and disaster could also be witnessed if the corporation does not put the customer first and thus set the necessary procedures for handling oversold flights. (Bacon, 2017)
References
Bacon, J. (2017). USA Today.“United Airlines passenger dragged off flight suffered concussion, broken nose.”
Broder, J. (2017). Managing Corporate Crises:SAGE
Desjardins, J. (2014). An Introduction to Business Ethics, 5th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Companies
Mouawad, J. & White, M.C, (2015). United Airlines Customer Dissatisfaction Festers, 5 Years After Merger: New York Times
Mouawad, J. (2015). Leadership Shake-Up Reflects United’s Troubles: New York Times