Ethical Standards in Business: Levi's

ETHICS CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
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ETHICS CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
Case Study
While sound leadership and management might be the building blocks for any successful business, the ethical standards in the business culture ultimately decide the longevity of the enterprise. Most of the time, a company built on strong management nous and proper functional structures goes down due to poor ethical practices by some of its senior members or even junior staff. Unethical leadership is a major mishap in workplaces in the United States that has adversely influenced business activities. The once iceberg can bring down mammoth conglomerates in just a few months if not quickly addressed. The last two years have forced managers and leaders to look at how their businesses and companies have been run. Those have been two years that have been coupled with the coronavirus pandemic and a great deal of social unrest centering on race. Corporates have been made to review their organizational policies and approach their staff to tread carefully. At Levi’s Company, this brought up a real ethical challenge, especially in leadership diversity.
 Many Fortune 500 companies have experienced this issue during the pandemic. For instance, in 2020, Levi Company faced a leadership problem due to the pandemic, and the widespread activism over the pandemic resulted in issues of equality and racial injustice in leadership. It is quite strange to note that in the history of the Fortune 500 companies, including Levi’s, there have only been 19 black CEOs, and currently, there are only four. For so long, this has been a grey area in the corporate world, and Levi’s has not been an exception to this leadership and diversity challenge. Against the backdrop of social injustice centering on racial inequality and justice, there was bound to be some element of ethical reawakening to keep everything under control within the company.
The company displayed a lack of diversity in leadership roles, which diminished the company's overall performance. However, Bergh showed that the pandemic brought new opportunities to the company as they embraced black leadership that could transform the company to perform better in the future. This ethical awakening jolted the company into consideration and appreciation of diversity in the workplace. Leadership is a critical element for the daily performances of organizations that needs reshaping to meet the demand of the dynamic technological world. For instance, Bergh, the CEO, believes that a company with diverse leadership will perform exceptionally and attract employees potentially qualified for the jobs raising a more varied group in leadership (Schuchter & Levi, 2013). Basing such an understanding on ethical foundations would be key to the company unlocking leadership talent and potential within its ranks while also generating traction to push itself further.
Ethical Theory
Deontological ethics is one of the ethical theories that address the idea of treating people with dignity and respect. In a company, every employee should be a leader and respected in the respective field they work (Bryman, 2013). They should feel that...