Introduction
This essay discusses some unconventional techniques used by Lockheed and a substantial majority of weapons manufacturers to sell their commodities internationally when they were unable to do so in the United States. Additionally, the report examines the adage that ‘just because everyone is playing the same game does not mean it is the proper action to undertake.’ The Defense Industry Program (DII) revolutionized Lockheed’s enterprise business morals. This study demonstrates how this program contributed to Lockheed’s ultimate success. Finally, the essay examines how CEO Norman Augustine influenced the corporation’s ethical culture via two very unusual inputs: a cartoon book and a board game.
Lockheed’s Unorthodox Strategies
Terris detailed and discussed several of Lockheed’s unconventional techniques. They engaged in various unethical corporate methods, the most egregious of which was extortion, which appeared to be accomplished secretly by sponsoring or donating to specific organizations in certain countries. After being beaten in the United States market, Lockheed abroad executives went to other nations to help cushion the pain of their collapsing losses. Lockheed abroad administrators sought out good volunteers or brokers connected to the highest echelons of any sovereign entity and the ability to influence determinations for a fee.
They did so since their new F-104 Starfighters did not sell as they had projected in the United States. Lockheed engaged the Princes and intelligence operatives and made charitable contributions to organizations such as the Indonesian Widows and Orphans initiative. They sold nearly 2,000 Starfighters due to their ties in the Netherlands, Japan, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia (Terris, 2013, p. 3). Lockheed had access to top-level state officials and a not rigorously monitored finances pool.
Extortion was a part of conducting business, which may have been unlawful in the United States, but was not criminal in other countries under the American legislation. Due to these legal loopholes, Lockheed sold a significant amount of the Starfighter; it was never a tremendous success, but it saved Lockheed from financial ruin (Terris, 2013). This strategy worked for the firm as they staved off humiliation and restored their losses by selling to foreign partners, as they did with the Starfighter. However, their success was short-lived since, within three years, auditors arrived in force and began probing their massive unaccounted for expenses.
Overseas Bribery
Between the 1950s until the early 1980s, it was broadly acknowledged that huge corporations, such as Lockheed, accepted bribes from foreign governments and engaged in other unethical activities. Lockheed was involved in this unscrupulous behavior to outperform the rivalries, preserve jobs, and acquire reasonable earnings. Lockheed’s vice-chairman, Carl Kotchain, substantiated the bribes as enrollment to a ball activity, implying that they had to embrace the inducements to be adequate to participate in the game (Terris, 2013). He was convinced they were functioning within the bounds of morals as they comprehended them at the time.
Operation Ill-wind began in the 1980s in response to widespread corruption and controversies. As a result, the US state came under constant surveillance, culminating in national news. Typically, the wider populace and the American government remained blind to these controversies since they sold American-made commodities during that age. At the time, it seemed as though every massive defense manufacturer was soliciting bribes, and Lockheed was singled out as an illustration. Backdoor transactions were regularly conducted to defeat rivalry that was also exploring international deals; this does not make these immoral judgments right, but at the time, a corporation was obliged to commit this atrocious conduct to survive. Simply because everyone is engaging in questionable transactions and accepting bribes does not make it legitimate; two negatives do not turn right.
The Importance of DII
Not only was the Defense Industry Initiative (DII) critical to Lockheed but practically every military manufacturer in the industry. The DII balanced the competitive landscape by emphasizing corporate ethics and behavior. The specific goal was to make it simpler for all companies to operate morally, given that all of its opponents promised to do so as well. Lockheed had a basic set of guidelines and standards of practice, but their approach had to change once the DII was approved and enforced. The DII was a more extensive and formalized variant of moral norms that had never been witnessed in the American business sector (Terris, 2013). Until then, the organization chose to commit its participants to a set of standards that would curb their operations’ extremes.
Upon signing and implementing the DII in organizations, Lockheed began formalizing its ethics program by incorporating ethical language into the workplace culture and essentially alerting personnel of reasonable and unreasonable behavior. Lockheed developed its moral code of conduct during a challenging time. The end of the Cold War resulted in stagnation in defense department procurement. Lockheed produced high-tech airplanes and armaments that ultimately resulted in the American-led triumph over Iraq (Terris, 2013). Since the DII leveled the competitive landscape, it required everyone to meet the same standards. Therefore, this enabled Lockheed to fully execute its ethical climate, which resulted in the company merging with Martin Marietta, generating 200,000 jobs and establishing itself as the nation’s largest military contractor.
Lockheed Martin’s Ethics Program Turning the Corner
Augustine, the new CEO, placed a premium on morality, and not only did he esteem them highly, but they had to be following the Egyptian incident. Norman Augustine identified a flaw in Lockheed Martin’s ethics program; he observed that it was tedious, uninspiring, and failed to convey the underlying point. The ethics program had become ineffective, prone to skepticism and hatred against the concept of workplace ethics. To revitalize the ethics model, he assigned Carol Marshall, the attorney responsible for the corporation’s ethical culture, to develop a new concept of ethics. She constantly saw a Dilbert cartoon series as she traveled to various areas and staff cubicles. After hiring Steven Cohen and David Gebler, the comic show’s creators, they sought to develop suggestions to reduce the negativity connected with ethics in the corporation.
Cohen and Gebler decided to establish a Dilbert-based moral education campaign with the support of top management. They created the ethics challenge board game, which has been adopted as an obligatory ethical sensitization program for all Lockheed employees. The activity was intended to guarantee that each Lockheed Martin employee served as a leader during the hour-long competition. This game transformed Lockheed for the best; while only one component of a larger effort to update the moral program, it had a noticeable effect (Terris, 2013). Personnel continued to discuss it in their work centers and breakrooms long after their game concluded. The cartoons drew awareness that the corporation attempted to turn its weakness of continually being embroiled in controversies into a benefit by reviving its ethical culture.
Conclusion
Lockheed utilized unconventional techniques to cover their losses, and its executives considered they were behaving ethically within their corporation’s ethical constraints. Bribery occurs worldwide; however, it is not accepted in companies in the United States. Simply because all businesses follow immoral regulations does not make it right. The DII leveled the competitive landscape for all businesses, guaranteeing that everyone made moral business choices. Finally, a basic board game and a comic transformed the largest defense manufacturer’s ethics technique.
Reference
Terris, D. (2013). Ethics at work: Creating virtue at an American corporation. Brandeis University Press.