| Course | BUS 560 Business Ethics |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 5 |
| Paper type | Culture and incentives analysis |
| Length | About 1,095 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | MBA |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BUS 560 Module 5
Paid to Be On Time, Told to Be Safe: How a Delivery Bonus Undermined a Trucking Company's Safety Culture
Student Name
MBA Program, Aspen University
BUS 560: Business Ethics
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Paid to Be On Time, Told to Be Safe: How a Delivery Bonus Undermined a Trucking Company's Safety Culture
Heartland Reefer Lines, a composite company in Kansas City, Missouri, hauls refrigerated food for grocery distributors across the Midwest with about 240 drivers. Two years ago, to win a large grocery contract that penalized late deliveries, the company introduced a $150 weekly bonus for drivers with no late arrivals. On-time performance improved. Last spring, a roadside inspection found a driver whose electronic log showed less driving than his fuel receipts and toll records implied, and an internal review found similar patterns among 31 drivers. Leaders were shocked; the company's posters and training had always said that safety came first. This paper examines how the bonus and the company's culture produced this result.
The Rules
Federal regulations limit how long property-carrying commercial drivers may drive. Under 49 C.F.R. § 395.3, a driver may drive no more than 11 hours after ten consecutive hours off duty, may not drive beyond the 14th hour after coming on duty and is subject to weekly limits (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 2024). The limits exist because fatigue impairs reaction time and judgment. Electronic logging devices record driving time, but drivers can misreport off-duty time or manipulate other records, which is what the review found.
Rewarding One Thing, Hoping for Another
Kerr (1975) described a common organizational failure: rewarding one behavior while hoping for another, and then being surprised when people do what is rewarded. His examples ranged from universities that hoped for teaching but rewarded research to managers who hoped for long-term growth but rewarded quarterly results. At Heartland, the company hoped for safe, legal driving but rewarded on-time arrival with no regard to how it was achieved. When traffic, weather or a late loading dock made a delivery window impossible to meet legally, the bonus rewarded drivers who met it anyway.
What Was Said and What Was Paid
| Stated priority | What the company actually rewarded or tolerated |
|---|---|
| Safety comes first | $150 a week for never arriving late, however it was achieved |
| Honest logs | No review of logs against fuel and toll records |
| Report fatigue and stop driving | Dispatchers called drivers who stopped to ask when they would arrive |
| Plan realistic routes | Dispatch schedules assumed ideal traffic and immediate loading |
Culture Beyond Pay
Treviño et al. (2006), reviewing research on behavioral ethics in organizations, found that employees' ethical conduct is shaped by the ethical climate and culture they experience, including the messages sent by leaders and supervisors, the norms among peers and whether ethical concerns can be raised without penalty. Formal codes matter less than what people see rewarded, punished and ignored. At Heartland, dispatchers praised drivers who made tight schedules on team calls and never asked how. A driver who once refused a load because he would exceed his hours was given fewer loads the following week, and others noticed. The culture told drivers that delivering on time was what counted, and that questions about how were unwelcome.
Why Good Drivers Cut Corners
Most of the 31 drivers had clean records. They faced a schedule that could not be met legally, a bonus that made up about 10% of their weekly pay, and dispatchers who signaled that the schedule was the priority. Several said in interviews that they believed a little extra driving was safe for them, that everyone did it and that the company wanted it. These are the conditions research associates with ordinary people crossing lines they would not cross elsewhere.
The Customer Contract Behind the Bonus
The bonus did not appear from nowhere. The grocery contract that prompted it imposed a penalty of $250 for each delivery more than thirty minutes late and gave the distributor the right to cancel after repeated lateness. Sales leaders negotiated those terms without consulting the safety or dispatch teams, and the delivery windows assumed loading times that the distributor's own docks rarely met. The company passed the pressure from its customer to its drivers without examining whether the promised schedule could be kept legally. Part of the remedy therefore lies in how Heartland negotiates contracts.
The Cost of a Crash
The stakes are not abstract. A fatigued driver of a loaded refrigerated truck is a danger to everyone on the road, and a serious crash involving a driver who exceeded hours limits would expose the company to large legal claims, higher insurance costs and possible loss of its operating authority. The $150 weekly bonus, about $1.9 million a year across the fleet, bought on-time performance at a risk far larger than its cost.
What Drivers Said
In confidential interviews, drivers described the bonus as a large part of what made the job worth doing, especially for those with families. Several said they would have welcomed a rule that made legal compliance non-negotiable, because it would have removed the pressure to choose between safety and pay. That reaction suggests a redesign would be accepted if it protected drivers' total earnings.
Redesigning the Incentive
The weekly on-time bonus should end. In its place, Heartland should pay a monthly bonus based on a score combining on-time delivery measured against realistic, legally achievable schedules, clean inspections, no hours-of-service violations and log accuracy verified by random audits against fuel and toll records. A late delivery caused by a legal stop should not count against a driver.
Changing the Culture
Pay alone will not change what drivers believe the company wants. Dispatchers should plan routes using actual traffic and loading times, with buffers, and should be measured on how many of their schedules are achievable within the rules. Managers should publicly recognize drivers who stop when tired or refuse unsafe loads. The company should create an anonymous channel for drivers to report pressure from dispatch, reviewed by the safety director, and should tell customers that delivery windows will be met within the law, renegotiating penalties where needed.
Measuring Change
Heartland should track hours-of-service violations found in audits, the share of schedules dispatch builds with adequate buffers, driver survey responses on whether they feel pressure to break rules and on-time performance under the new definition, reporting quarterly to senior leadership.
Conclusion
Heartland's drivers did what the company paid for and its dispatchers praised. Kerr's insight and research on ethical climate explain why a sincere commitment to safety on posters lost out to a weekly bonus and daily signals from dispatch. Aligning pay with legal, safe performance and changing how dispatchers plan and talk about schedules can bring what the company rewards back in line with what it says.
References
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles, 49 C.F.R. § 395.3 (2024).
Kerr, S. (1975). On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B. Academy of Management Journal, 18(4), 769-783. https://doi.org/10.2307/255378
Treviño, L. K., Weaver, G. R., & Reynolds, S. J. (2006). Behavioral ethics in organizations: A review. Journal of Management, 32(6), 951-990. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206306294258
BUS 560 Module 5 instructions, in plain terms
Because BUS 560 treats misconduct as a product of systems as much as of individuals, and a module on culture and incentives usually asks students to analyze how rewards and norms shaped behavior in an organization. Your classroom holds the Module 5 directions; this example analyzes one company's incentive and culture. Describe the behavior and the rules or standards it violated. Identify what the organization rewarded, formally and informally, and compare it with what leaders said they wanted. Use research to explain how incentives and culture shape ethical behavior. Look at signals from supervisors and peers, not only pay. Redesign pay and everyday practice together, and name the evidence that would show the redesign is taking hold.
How the BUS 560 Module 5 example is put together
The paper opens with Heartland Reefer Lines, its 240 drivers and a roadside inspection that found falsified logs. The federal hours-of-service rules for property carriers are summarized, including the 11-hour driving limit and the 14-hour window. Kerr's Academy of Management Journal article argues that organizations often reward behavior they claim to discourage. A table contrasts stated priorities, safety and honest logs, with rewarded behavior, on-time arrival regardless of how it was achieved. Treviño, Weaver and Reynolds's Journal of Management review explains how ethical climate and leaders' signals shape conduct. A section describes dispatchers who praised drivers for making impossible schedules and asked no questions. The redesign replaces the weekly bonus with a safety and service score, changes dispatch practices and adds anonymous reporting.
Reading the BUS 560 Module 5 grading rubric
Culture and incentive papers in an MBA ethics course are marked on clear identification of the misalignment, accurate use of research, attention to informal signals and practical redesign. This example states the federal rule that defines the misconduct and shows how the bonus made breaking it rational. Kerr's Academy of Management Journal article provides the central insight, and Treviño, Weaver and Reynolds's Journal of Management review supports the analysis of culture and leadership signals. The table makes the gap between stated and rewarded behavior visible at a glance. The redesign changes both pay and everyday practices, such as how dispatchers plan routes, and includes measures to test whether it works, which shows the student understands that culture is built through many small signals.
BUS 560 Module 5 help from the desk
The usual weakness in culture papers is blaming individuals without examining what the organization rewarded. Ask what behavior earned money, praise or promotion, and compare it with what leaders said. Another is treating culture as a slogan; describe concrete signals, such as what supervisors say, notice and ignore. If a law or regulation is involved, state it accurately with its source. Use research to explain why misaligned incentives produce predictable behavior. When you redesign, change both formal rewards and informal practices, since a new bonus means little if supervisors keep praising the old behavior. Include measures and a timeline. Finally, keep the tone analytical; the goal is to understand and fix a system, not to assign moral blame.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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BUS 560 Module 5 questions, answered
What does BUS 560 Module 5 usually ask for?
Aspen's BUS 560 covers organizational culture and incentives in this module, so analyzing how rewards and norms shaped ethical behavior and proposing changes is typical. Check your classroom prompt.
What is the folly of rewarding A while hoping for B?
Kerr's description of organizations that say they want one behavior but reward a different one, and then are surprised when people do what is rewarded.
What are hours-of-service rules?
Federal limits on how long commercial truck drivers may drive and work, including an 11-hour driving limit within a 14-hour window for property carriers.
Where can I find a free BUS 560 Module 5 sample paper?
The full analysis is above: a trucking company's on-time bonus that pushed drivers past federal driving limits, with Kerr's insight, research on ethical climate, a table and a redesign.
How do supervisors shape ethical culture?
Through what they notice, praise, question and ignore, which tells employees what really matters more clearly than written policies.