business ethics report assignment case 16 ethical leadership at cardinal ig the foundation of a culture of diversity

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY

Business Ethics Report Assignment

Case 16:

Ethical leadership at Cardinal IG: The Foundation of a Culture of Diversity

Name : Doan Quang Huy Student ID : 11222765

Class : International Business Management 64B Lecturer : Dr Nguyen Bich Ngoc

Ha Noi , 2023

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2 How has Cardinal’s principles and values shaped the ethical behavior of employees? 9 3 How has Cardinal empowered its employees to practice responsible and

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A ABOUT CARDINAL IG 1 Background

Cardinal Glass Industries, is a renowned corporation specializing in the design and construction of high technology insulating and solar glass It reigns as the foremost global company in its industry whose 5,500 employees serve a number of customers throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East

One of its manufacturing plants, Cardinal Insulating Glass (Cardinal IG) in Fargo, North Dakota, consistently outperforms all others in production efficiency and financial performance with a diverse workforce

This case study delves into the primary factors contributing to the Fargo plant’s success through the narratives of plant manager, Dave Pinder, his leadership team, and the Cardinal IG employees

2 The Cardinal IG story

Dave had been employed since 1998 He was tasked with not only building the Fargo plant from the ground up but also cultivating strong connections with the company's clientele He began with building the leadership team Instead of glass specialists, Pinder chose people with leadership potential, a good attitude, and a desire to learn the business and teaching others instead of glass experts

Today, Cardinal IG operates a cutting- edge facility, providing the majority of insulating glass found in Marvin Windows The Fargo plant became a leadership training center for other Cardinal plants, and Pinder’s responsibilities expanded to include troubleshooting and leadership coaching at other producing plants

3 Mission and Vision

Cardinal IG’s mission merges the business purpose with Pinder’s viewpoint of how that purpose will be achieved It is stmple and straightforward: To make money, by thrilling our customers with our product and service, and by taking care of our people

The mission affects the hiring process, reward system, leadership, team culture, and work processes The organization is intentional in keeping all three mission objectives ( profitability, customers, and employees) paramount and visible

4, Values, Principles, and Behavior

The company values include loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal and moral courage Values are the foundation of culture but remain abstract unless they are lived in day-to-day actions The values are further translated into specific expectations in Cardinal’s Guiding Principles, statements that serve as a code of conduct for the way employees do their work and treat one another Specifically, they concentrate on:

e Safety ( their #1 priority)

¢ Quality e Service e Training

e Leadership/ Teamwork/ Communication e Cost Awareness

e Respect for Others e Care for Families e Integrity e Attitude

e Keep a Sense of Humor and Have Fun 5 Leadership through a multilevel Team Structure

Structure is the process of aligning work through tasks, responsibilities, departments, and divisions Cardinal IG has a hybrid-type structure that includes a traditional hierarchy, using basic centralized administrative functions that include accounting, sales, and marketing Yet the heart of the company is an integrated team network embedded in this organizational framework Teams operate both at the top level and within the many manufacturing divisions within the plant, assuring everyone is working toward the same purpose

The company's six manufacturing divisions are in charge of producing specialized production components There are three teams, each with a team leader, in each of the six categories Team leaders serve at the front of production, managing the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the plant, and also take on a major part of the human resource functions of the employees

Although Cardinal IG doesn't have a human resources division, it does retain a centralized role for the technical administration of payroll and benefits to ensure adherence to legal requirements and internal coherence The team leaders and department supervisors are responsible for tasks including scheduling, recruiting, firing, dealing with personnel issues, and training

The team leaders are regarded as being the most important component of the company At Cardinal IG, every employee is a leader who is responsible for both their individual actions and teamwork Employees must meet four criteria: First, be willing to work hard Second, have a good attitude Third, be a team player Fourth, be willing to support the mission

The Cardinal IG leadership development program is broad, ongoing, official, and informal The Cardinal IG Leadership Handbook is supplemented by quarterly leadership traning sessions Building competent and confident leaders is a vital component of leadership development, which also guarantees that there is a ready pool of candidates for leadership roles Furthermore,

a leader should always train his or her subordinates to be ready to take over their position at any time

6 A Culture of Discipline and Respect

Companies with superior performance, according to Jim Collins, have a "culture of discipline." They are free (and accountable) within a predetermined framework They adhere tenaciously to doing what they do well

Pinder demonstrated how to blend discipline and affection Pinder's leadership style is characterized by stories, which also strengthen Cardinal's culture and identity

7 Ethical Expectations

The unchangeable characteristics of actions are evident and supported by repercussions Employees can first be fired if they fail to uphold the four standards (work hard, have a positive attitude, work as a team, and support the purpose) Second, Pinder does not tolerate any racial or gender-based jokes, thievery, physical altercations, drug use, or alcohol use within the factory

8 Aligned Incentives, Rewards, and Recognition

All employees are part of Cardinal’s profit-sharing plan Cardinal IG pays their employees well but, in addition, they can receive anywhere up to 52 percent additional each month if they meet the target profit goal Cardinal IG in general does not advertise or recruit outside of the company for new employees

The award program for recognizing excellent team members and exceptional teams is a crucial component of the Cardinal IG culture The award program for recognizing excellent team members and exceptional teams is a crucial component of the Cardinal IG culture 140 Employee of the Month awards have been given out by the firm since January 2000 Of those honors, The New Americans took home 80, or 57% Winners of the Employee of the Month Award may compete for the Employee of the Year Award The company's annual employee dinner, which is hosted at the Ramada Plaza & Suites in Fargo with all employees and spouses in attendance, is when the Employee of the Year Award is given out Nine of the Employee of the Year honors given out over the last 11 years have gone to New Americans

9 Synergy through Diversity

Pinder's leadership style uses the universal languages of love, respect, and honesty to cut past linguistic and cultural barriers He respects his employees’ dignity and uses it as a driving force in the accomplishment of "the Big Story” by getting to know them, their families, and their experiences

10 Conclusion

Cardinal IG plant in Fargo? The financial performance of the company as the top performer within the organization of 29 different plants is evidence of this along with the overall success

of the corporation - Cardinal Glass Industries Inc., It is an exceptional plant in taking care of its employees

As we examine the company from a holistic and systems perspective, a great example of an organization “designed” to accomplish its purpose The elements that make this happen are the strength of its leadership, specific goals and objectives, a team-based structure, strong values and culture, and intentional and disciplined procedures throughout the organization The Cardinal IG plant also exemplifies ethical leadership The firm developed solid principles that are nonnegotiable, such as respect for employees The firm lives and breathes its values Cardinal’s strong ethical leadership enables the company to thrive while providing it with the opportunity to become a positive force in its community.

Ethical leadership is not just about motivating and encouraging followers but motivating them to do what is nght (Bonnici, 2011) One of the fundamental characteristics of moral leadership is treating subordinates with respect and dignity Through his moral leadership, Pinder makes sure that every employee, regardless of position or other forms of discrimination, is treated with respect and dignity He also encourages them to show others the same respect and dignity they have been shown Discrimination based on age, sex, ethnicity, culture, nationality, or handicap is practically never tolerated by Pinder The non-negotiable aspects of behavior are communicated clearly to employees and have strict consequences Pinder showed high intolerance against sexist or racist jokes and comments, fighting, stealing, alcohol or drugs in the plant A team leader who was accused of making racist jokes was fired because racism is unacceptable and results in a dismissal without the opportunity for discussion Pinder made sure that every employee received equal treatment, and neither his managers nor team leaders exhibited any preference for any one individual As a moral leader, Pinder clearly

shared all information about the business, demonstrated honesty and dedication to his firm, and encouraged his colleagues to do the same Ethical leadership emphasizes on fostermg a sense of team spirit within the organization (Fluker, 2009) Ethical leaders are not only concerned about achieving personal goals, team goals and organizational goals are more important for them Through their genuine efforts they ensure that both their teams and organization are benefited (Langlois, 2011) Pinder adopted moral leadership in order to promote teamwork at the Cardinal IG facility in Fargo Pinder placed a strong emphasis on creating an organizational framework from the start in order to help his group work as a big team The business created a hybrid organizational structure that combined a typical hierarchical structure with fundamental centralized administrative tasks including sales, marketing, and accounting However, an integrated team network is incorporated inside this organizational structure at the core of the business He created six manufacturing divisions, each of which was in charge of overseeing specific production components Each of these divisions is overseen by a supervisor, a paid employee who was a team leader before being elevated to the position of supervisor based on prior performance and leadership potential Pinder had developed well-defined promotion and hiring programs that helped him strengthen his teams Each of these six divisions 1s further divided into three teams which are managed by team leaders Cardinal IG plant in Fargo does not have a human resource department as Pinder feels that supervisors and team leaders can solve human resource related issues more effectively as they are close to the situation This helps create a strong bond between team members, reduced bureaucracy, ensures fairness and enhances accountability

Ethical leadership is recognized for its value driven decision-making, all decisions made are analyzed to ensure they align with the overall organizational values (Leigh, 2013) Pinder ensures that choices are made about hiring, incentives and recognition, team dynamics, leadership, and work procedures in a way that is consistent with the overall corporate values The process of creating a strong ethical work culture starts as soon as a team member is employed Pinder meets with each new hire and informs them of the four requirements they must fulfill in order to work at the Cardinal IG factory in Fargo: Be willing to work hard in the beginning Second, have a good and positive attitude Third, be a team player Fourth, be willing to support the mission Pinder encourages two-way communication and initiatives He, his supervisors and team leaders are available to employees all the time Pinder has developed several leadership training programs to develop leadership skills in his employees who will be prepared to lead when required Pinder’s ethical stories formed an important component of the company’s ethical culture Thus, Pinder has very effectively embraced ethical leadership to develop a culture of discipline and respect at the Cardinal IG plant in Fargo.

David Pinder as an ethical leader ensures that both his people and organization benefit from his actions and efforts From the very beginning he had a vision of what the organization and its culture should look like He wanted to create a world-class facility where employees who love to come every day because the work is meaningful, challenging and fun He ensured that employees felt they had ownership and a say in the business and were treated with respect and dignity His aim was to develop an ethical culture that would support the mission of the organization and influence ethical behavior of employees He mainly used two types of moral philosophies, utilitarianism moral philosophy and deontological moral philosophy in order to develop an ethical culture and minimize work discrimination at the Cardinal IG plant in Fargo

2 How has Cardinal’s principles and values shaped the ethical behavior of employees? Ethical behavior is defined as acting in ways that are consistent with what individuals and society typically recognize as good values (Sreedharan & Wakhlu, 2010) Ethical behavior is essential for the development of an ethical organization where every member demonstrates respect and commitment for moral principles such as fairness, honesty, dignity, equality, diversity and individual rights

Values are defined as essential and lasting beliefs or ideas that are shared by members of a culture to define what is good or bad and what is acceptable or unacceptable (Erll, et al., 2008) Values play a very vital role in attitude formation and determine how people respond to different people and situations Principles enforce values; they are the rules, ideas and beliefs that guide individual behavior

The values and principles of the Cardinal IG factory in Fargo have a significant impact on how people behave ethically at work Duty, loyalty, respect, honor, integrity, unselfish service, and moral bravery are among the organizational principles listed in the Cardinal IG Leadership Handbook These principles serve as the cornerstone of the ethical culture at the Cardinal IG facility in Fargo, where Pinder, managers, team leaders, and employees uphold these principles on a daily basis The Cardinal's Guiding Principles further translate the firm principles into concrete requirements These beliefs and principles serve as the company's code of conduct, outlining how staff members are to conduct themselves at work and with one another The statements that serve as code of conduct for Cardinal IG plant in Fargo employees include:

Safety, which is number one priority and nothing is considered more important than that Pinder wants to provide a safe and secure environment where workers feel at ease Employees at the Cardinal IG facility in Fargo work together as a team and are concerned for both their own safety and the safety of their coworkers.

Quality, of every product and service delivered to the customers must be flawless Since clients are the most significant stakeholders, employees are required to never compromise on the quality of products or services

Service to the customers must be provided in a way as if they are the most important people in the world Employees are expected to remain customer-oriented and deliver best services to their customers

Training is delivered through well-developed, implemented and maintained top-notch training programs Employees are expected to be passionate about learning new skills and training others in order to develop a knowledge sharing culture

Leadership/Teamwork/Communication form the foundation of Cardinal IG plant in Fargo as it is led as a team to make Fargo IG the flagship of the company Employees are anticipated to have leadership potential, work well in a collaborative environment, and express their opinions freely The Cardinal IG plant in Fargo's organizational structure is built on a foundation of teamwork, and leaders are required to build that foundation via effective communication and accessibility

Cost Awareness requires all employees to spend the company’s money wisely as if it’s their own money Employees are expected to feel like an owner of the organization and understand that any problem faced by the organization will have a direct impact on them Thus, they are expected to use and allocate monetary resources in an efficient manner

Respect for Others is at the heart of acompany’s ethical culture where employees are expected to treat others with dignity and fairness and also encourage other employees to do the same Respect and dignity is the biggest strength of ethical organization and has a powerful influence on the ethical behavior of employees

Care for Families is that code of conduct which encourages employees to attain a work life balance so that they can spend more time with their families Work-life balance increases job satisfaction and reduces work related stress thus influencing employee behavior at work

Integrity requires employees to do the right thing, when in doubt Trusts act as a very important component in developing long lasting relationships Integrity influences ethical behavior of employees and makes them choose the right course of action when faced by ethical dilemmas or conflicting situations

Attitudes both negative and positive are contagious, thus, employees are expected to keep a positive attitude Employees with a positive attitude are more likely to make a fair and ethical decision when faced by conflicting situations Their attitude towards their work, people and organization influences their ethical behavior

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