Ethics are Important, No Matter what the Industry

Ethics are a highly discussed topic across all industries. In the simplest form, ethics concern what is right and what is wrong. This can differ from what is legal at times. Sometimes, just because something is legal does not mean that it is ethical and vice versa.
Being ethical is not only important to keep an organization out of trouble, but it is also important to keep a good reputation overall. People feel good about themselves if they consider themselves to be ethical and therefore would not want to be a supporter of an organization who makes unethical decisions.

So, how can this relate to a NASCAR team? The goals of Joe Gibbs Racing discussed in earlier posts were centered around racing well and maintaining sponsorships and a loyal fan base. To be ethical, drivers and team members need to be following the rules and regulations of NASCAR. No cheating can ever occur, because it would permanently tarnish the reputation of JGR.





Here we can see where some things might be allowed but are unethical at the same time. For example, bump-drafting is allowed. It is a more aggressive form of racing, but permissible. However, if a JGR driver does bump-draft and wrecks a fellow competitor, taking them out of the race, is it ethical? They are following the rules: They have not cheated, they were clearly racing following the rules and they are furthering their goal of finishing in a better position. However, this does not make that decision ethical. Furthermore, NASCAR fans will not think that it is ethical, so that decision can end up hindering their goal of having a loyal fan base.

Our book makes some suggestions to help uphold ethical practices in Chapter 10 (Crandall 206). One idea is to have a code of ethics. All employees need to be familiar with this code in order for it to work. In JGR's situation, it could be possible to have everyone be familiar with the entire document. But, each area of the team should have a section of ethics that deal with their own expertise. Mechanics should have a section about what is allowed in the engine. Account managers for the different sponsors should have ethical rules about how to get new accounts and maintain existing accounts.

Having an ethical record can go a long way in any industry, so it is important to keep up with the organization's ethical standards and altering them as needed.