Organizations and Ethics Developing a Culture Essay

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Exxon Valdez and Ethics

Regarding the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the organizational culture of the National Park Services (NPS) influence ethical decision making in the disaster because the leaders in the NPS had a "can-do" spirit infused in them over generations of story-telling about how they were the leaders of the campaign to protect the parks and they did not want to cede control to other organizations that might have more effective strategies for helping to prevent an oil spill form spreading (Kurtz, 2003, p. 310). The problem was that the organizational culture did not reflect the reality of the situation -- the NPS was not able to properly address the situation and required help; the egoistic mentality its leaders had cultivated in the organizational prevented it from adequately preventing the oil spread.

The ethical issues involved in this situation stemmed from a lack of communication, as the Incident Command System (ICS) felt left "out of the loop" by the NPS, which viewed itself as the ring-leader and commander. It did not cooperate with the other group leaders seeking to help, and as a result the disaster was made all the worse.

The issues facing the decision makers in this case were how to address the spill.

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The decision makers in the NPS addressed the spill as though it were like a forest fire (Kurtz, 2003) -- which was a major tactical error; fires are contained much differently than oil spills, and the "can-do" mentality fostered by the NPS did not serve it well in this capacity.

The organizational culture influenced decision making in this case by laying the groundwork for this mode of thought and action. Since its inception, the NPS had served to cultivate a sense of self-worth within the organization that made its leaders feel superior in terms of their role of protecting parks and the natural environment. They saw themselves at the front line -- yet their vision of themselves was not supported by any actual competency in terms of knowing what to do in particular disasters such as the Exxon spill.

What I learned from this case that I can use as a public administrator is that when leading organizations and attempting to instill a "spirit of mission" (Samaan, Verneuil, 2009), it is important to have an accurate and humble assessment of oneself and one's organization. The abilities of the team members have to match….....

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