How personal power and ethics manifest within WalMart

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Defining Politics, Power & Ethics

Ethics or moral philosophy defends, systemizes & presents concepts of right & wrong. A major branch of philosophy, its main aim is to ascertain the right conduct necessary to what is considered a good life. Politics is the social phenomenon by which groups, communities and organizations make decisions. Power, according to political scientist IC McMillan, is the capacity to restructure actual situations. The communication flow within our organization is structured according to the organizational hierarchy. Each employee has a specific role dictated by the nature of the job. It is this role& hierarchy that dictates politics, or more specifically, who has the power & responsibility to do what, where, why and when. Like in a bureaucratic setting, the organization is divided into divisions accordingly. All divisions/departments & branches operate without excessive limitations from others but are interdependent to one another; all are accountable to each other but especially to stakeholders empowered by organizational by-laws and rules of incorporation. Even then, power flows from the leadership & management of the organization, creating a group of leaders and managers known as the influential few who can influence and affect the state of things in the organization. The political relations and the use of power of those empowered to do oftentimes get entangled or are influenced by a sense of what is ethical and moral. Sometimes though, the danger of too much power results to some unacceptably unethical actions among those empowered employees who are scrupulous in using it for their own vested interest. It is here that organizational culture and ...