Rockwell Automation, Inc. is the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information. Their mission is to make their customers more productive and the world more sustainable. Recently they were named “World’s Most Ethical Companies” by Ethisphere Institute for the seventh time. This honor is for companies that continuously improve ethical leadership and corporate behavior at every level of their organizations. (ThomasNet, 2015)
According to Northouse (2013), there are five main principles of ethical leadership. These principles include respect, service, justice, honesty and community. Rockwell Automation show these principles as they ensure long-term value to customers, employees, suppliers and investors. Timothy Erblich, Ethisphere’s chief executive officer said, “Rockwell Automation uses ethics as a means to further define its industry leadership.”
“Many researchers have found that individuals with strong value systems tend to behave more ethically.” (PSU WC, 2015) This is why Rockwell undergoes an extensive behavioral based interview process to really get to know the candidates before they become part of the team. A few studies found that unethical behavior was more likely to occur when there was no formal ethics policy governing behavior, when there was no threat of punishment for unethical behavior, or when unethical behavior actually was rewarded. (Hegarty & Sims, 1979; Malinokowski & Smith, 1985; Trevino & Youngblood, 1990) Rockwell pushes the existence of the ethical policies and their code of conduct in their organization. This helps employees realize they are not just talking the talk, they are walking the walk too.
“Ethics and integrity are deeply rooted and ingrained in our culture,” said Keith D. Nosbusch, Rockwell Automation chairman and CEO. “I’m proud of our employees who consistently do the right things, the right way, every day. They differentiate our company, giving us a competitive advantage.” (ThomasNet, 2015) The company has a whole website page based on sustainability and ethics. You can find it here: http://www.rockwellautomation.com/about-us/sustainability-ethics/overview.page . This shows the true dedication to ethics of all types, whether it be how they treat their suppliers or how they treat the environment by restricting the use of hazardous substances in their products
References:
Rockwell Automation Named One of World’s Most Ethical Companies for Seventh Time. (2015, June 30). Retrieved July 5, 2015, from http://news.thomasnet.com/companystory/rockwell-automation-named-one-of-world-s-most-ethical-companies-for-seventh-time-20046050
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