Written report on a business or not-for-profit organization, investigate their ethicspolicies and practices, and preparing a written report to address thequestions that follow below.

Questions to Address:

1. Does orghave a mission or values statement? What ethical values are reflectedin their mission or values statement? What is your critical appraisal?Is statement complete? Any important elements missing?
2. Does the organization have a code of ethics or formal statement ofethical policy? If so, how is it framed? How, if at all, does it gobeyond compliance with the law? Is it complete? If not, what is missing?Does it flow from the mission or values statement?
3. Does the organization have a formal structure and dedicatedpersonnel to handle ethical issues? For example, is there an ombudsman,compliance officer, ethics trainer, an ethicist on the board, etc?
4. What does the organization offer in the way of ethics training foremployees? If you can ascertain it, what is the general sentiment ofemployees regarding such training? Is it a good program? Is it regardedas a waste of time? Does the content go beyond teaching “rules” andtelling employees not to break them?
5. How are the organization’s ethical values transmitted to employees? How is ethical compliance monitored?
6. What are the procedures for reporting ethical violations withinthe company? Does the system provide protection for “whistle blowers?”
7. How are the organization’s ethical values communicated tocustomers and prospective customers? For example, does their promotionalcommunication reflect their values?
8. Has the organization gotten into trouble for legal violations orgotten any bad press / negative publicity for something they have done?What has the company done to redress the situation?
9. Identify gaps (if any) between principles, policies, and practice.
10. Are the organization’s ethical values mere ideals, or are they a living reality?

Other Criteria to Include:

• In summation of your final “ethics audit” paper, how would youadvise this organization? What improvements can they make in theirethics policies, in how they are communicated to employees, in how theyhandle infractions, etc?

• You are welcome to address other ethics-related questions in yourreport as may be appropriate to the specific organization you areauditing. Please try to keep your report to no more than 10-12 pages oftext (12 pt font, 1 inch margins, 1.5 spacing preferred). Less is okay,more is discouraged. Appendices containing press clippings, missionstatements, training materials, etc., are encouraged and do not countagainst the page total. Your report should have a cover sheet with title(“Marketing Ethics Audit: [organization name]”), your name, coursenumber, and date. This should be followed by a one page executivesummary with an overview of the organization, its ethical policies andpractices, your critical assessment (“grade?”) and main recommendations.The body of the text that follows should address the above questions insome detail, ending with a “Recommendations” section. References (anystyle) and appendices should follow. As you conduct your audit, be verycareful to avoid cut-and-paste plagiarism from on-line sources. Usequotation marks around direct quotations (e.g., organization’sMission/Values Statement), cite the source, and list it among thereferences. In auditing the organization, you can consult any resourcesavailable to you, including published materials, interviews, personalexperience, etc. But you are expected to do research and to cite yoursources.