Acme Title Pawn

1. What decisions need to be made when an individual discovers that he/she is working in a company and industry with many ethical issues?

Decisions need to be made when individual discovers that he/she is working in a company or industry with many ethical issues, depend on individual’s values and beliefs. If person believes that his or her personal ethics conflicts with ethics of the organization or industry, individual only alternative is leaving the company. This is highly risky, because of the competitive employment market. Leaving a company because of ethical conflict requires lots of courage and ability to survive without a job.

When making this decision whether leaving the Acme Title Pawn or continue working with Acme, he needs consider the well-being of his family. His wife is satisfied with her job and the community which they are living, also his kids are very active in the school’s activities, and they have many friends.

2. If the organizational culture at Acme Title Pawn cannot be changed, can Joe continue to work there and avoid involvement in activities that are ethically questionable or possibly illegal?

Acme title pawn is in the title loan business. Title loans are also small consumer loans that leverage the equity value of a car as collateral. The car title must be owned free and clear by the loan applicant; any existing liens on the car cancel the application. Loan terms are often for 30 days, and failure to repay the loan or make interest payments to extend the loan allows the lender to take possession of the car. (1)

Avoid involvement to ethically questionable and illegal activities of Acme Title Pawn will be hard for Joe. Because of high turnover in his department he has been asked for higher responsibilities and if he stays with the Acme, he will be promoted to higher position. Joe will have more responsibility in the company and he will not be successful, unless he involves with the companies activities. It will be really hard for him to avoid illegal or unethical activities, when he is a position that has big responsibilities.

3. How could Acme create an ethical organizational culture and still be in the title pawn business?

Corporate culture is a set of values, beliefs, goals, norms, and ways of solving problems shared by the employees of an organization.(2) Organization corporate culture will help employees to realize its vision and achieve its goals. Acme needs to change the way of doing business. Acme can start its ethical organizational culture by changing loans terms and conditions which will be more affordable and customer friendly. Loans should have longer terms for customers to able to make payments on time. Also repayments of loan should be in installments depending on the size of loan. Also interest rate on the loan should be lower, more affordable for the borrowers. Also Acme can act more ethically on the business of repossession. Acme should send difference between the amounts owed and proceeds from the sale of vehicle minus any expenses incurred to debtor. In some cases Acme send this excess, if there is a complaint from customer. If debtor did not ask for excess amount of the sale, sometimes check would be sent and