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Current ethical leadership issues
The importance of ethics in an organization
The importance of ethics in an organization
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Ethical Culture
Notably, ethical cultures do not just happen in organizations; they come from a strong belief in doing what is right and they are instilled in every employee throughout the organization. Effectively, organizational ethics is how an organization ethically responds to internal or external situations. Additionally, it reflects the values of an organization to its employees as well as other stakeholders ("Ethical Issues at an Organizational Level", 2017). Furthermore, organizational culture exists on two levels, the surface level, and the underlying level. On the surface level, specific behaviors are observed, while on the underlying level is where you will find the shared values, belief patterns, and thought processes that are common to the members of the organization. Moreover, the underlying level is the most critical (Crandall, Parnell & Spillan, 2013). Furthermore, employees in an organization need to share the same values to have a successful ethical culture, however, if they do not all hope is not lost there are ways to assist an organization in improving their ethical culture. First and foremost, developing an ethical work culture is crucial, however, it will rarely happen without the assistance of the management and executives, truthfully they need to be the
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& Spillan, J. (2013). Crisis Management Leading in the New Strategy Landscape. Thousand Oaks, CA: Savant Learning Systems. Retrieved from https://www.betheluniversityonline.net
Ethical Issues at an Organizational Level. (2017). Boundless. Retrieved 8 August 2017, from https://www.boundless.com/business/textbooks/boundless-business-textbook/business-ethics-and-social-responsibility-3/business-ethics-33/ethical-issues-at-an-organizational-level-174-7767/
Newton, T. (2017). 7 ways organisations can create an ethical culture. Central test. Retrieved 8 August 2017, from
The ethical code of an organization illustrates the importance of being honest, acting with integrity, and showing fairness in decision making (Bethel, 2015). Ultimately, “laws regulating business conduct are passed because some stakeholders believe they cannot be trusted to do what is right” (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2015, p. 95). In the last couple of years, culture has become the initiator for compliance, which means from the top down there has to be a commitment to act in a way that represents the company’s core values (Verschoor, 2015).
For a company to be successful ethically, it must go beyond the notion of simple legal compliance and adopt a values-based organizational culture. A corporate code of ethics can be a very valuable and integral part of a company’s culture but I believe that it is not strong enough to stand alone. Thought and care must go into constructing the code of ethics and the implementation of it. Companies need to infuse ethics and integrity throughout their corporate culture as well as into their definition of success. To be successfully ethical, companies must go beyond the notion of simple legal compliance and adopt a values-based organizational culture.
An integrative model for understanding and managing ethical behavior in business organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 9(3), 233-242. Doi: 10.1007/BF00382649
When I think of corporation culture I think of vision, beliefs, values having a united front and activities of member within the company that affect society and the environment. A company’s leadership provides the vision and support needed for ethical conduct, in order to be successful. As well as to maintain a good relationship with society companies needs plans and structure for addressing ethical concerns. (Ferrell et al, 2013 p.219)
According to Ferrell (2004), “Organizations create ethical or unethical corporate cultures based on leadership and the commitment to values that stress the importance of stakeholder relationships. Establishing and implementing a strategic approach to improving organizational ethics is based on establishing, communicating, and monitoring ethical values and legal requirements that characterize the firm's history, culture, and operating environment” (p. 129). Ethics programs ensure satisfactory relationships with all stakeholders by aligning with all of their demands and needs, and determine conduct with customers and relationships with regulators, shareholders, suppliers, and employees (Ferrell, 2004).
Ethical behavior is behavior that a person considers appropriate. A person’s moral principles are shaped from birth, and developed over time throughout the person’s life. There are many factors that can influence what a person believes is right, or what is wrong. Some factors are a person’s family, religious beliefs, culture, and experiences. In business, it is of great importance for an employee to understand how to act ethically to prevent a company from being sued, and receiving criticism from the public while bringing in profits for the company.
Corporate governances actually illustrate that no entity or agent is immune from fraudulent practices (Arjoon, 2005 p 342-344). Therefore, it is crucial for an organization to have a stable ethically healthy corporate culture, Patagonia is "doing things right" by influencing the actions of the workforce. Through the integration of ethical conduct in an organization, employees see the complexity of making ethical choices; also, it helps the staff understand what an ethical decision entails and how to talk about hard ethical choices and taking responsibility for making moral choices carefully and
Many ethical dilemmas are philosophical in nature, an ethical issue can be described as a problem with no clear resolution. In order to solve the issue or dilemma a consensus between the parties involved must be reached. There are several reasons to come to an agreement over an ethical dilemma, it is the basis for all aspects of personal and professional dealings. Each one of us is part of a civilized society and as such it is our responsibility to be rational, honest and loyal in our dealings with others. (Alakavuklar, 2012) states that individuals make decisions for different situations in business life involving various ethical dilemmas. Each time either consciously or unconsciously individuals may follow some ethical approaches
Everyone in this world has experienced an ethical dilemma in different situations and this may arise between one or more individuals. Ethical dilemma is a situation where people have to make complex decisions and are influenced based on personal interest, social environment or norms, and religious beliefs (“Strategic Leadership”, n.d.). The leaders and managers in the company should set guidelines to ensure employees are aware and have a better chance to solve and make ethical decisions. Employees are also responsible in understanding their ethical obligations in order to maintain a positive work environment. The purpose of this case study is to identify the dilemma and analyze different decisions to find ways on how a person should act
Having an ethical climate is important because it directly reflects the ethical behavior of organizational leaders. Consequently, it can be viewed as an extension of organizational culture, which ultimately dictates organizational behavior (Boundless, 2014). Therefore, if an organization
Ethics is central for any organization in treating employees fairly and helping the organization advance its mission. There is no single best way for dealing with ethical challenges, but it is very important for managers to develop ethical policies and procedures for implementation. To minimize possible unethical decisions by staff members, it is important to incorporate written standards grounded in organizational values in the code of conduct.
Ethics in the workplace is a very important thing to have. Without a sense of ethicality in the workplace there are many things that could go wrong. You could even end up losing a job because of a lack of ethics, or other consequences could be felt due to a lack of caring or morality. The workplace is a place that you should show respect and dignity, and a deeper sense of ethics is very important in order to uphold these senses of morality. Workplace ethics, which include such things as behavior, integrity, commitment, teamwork, and other things, are important, if not required, in most workplaces and can help to improve performance and morale for workers and employers.
Ethics is the responsibility of each individual person, but starts with the CEO and the Board of Directors, setting the right tone at the top and moves down through the organization, including setting the tone in the middle. A company’s culture and ethic standards start at the top, not from the bottom. Employees will almost always behave in the manner that they think management expects them, and it is foolish for management to pretend otherwise (Scudder). One of the CEO’s most important jobs is to create, foster, and communicate the culture of the organization. Wrongdoings or improper behavior rarely occurs in a void, leaders typically know when someone is compromising the company
Ethics and values are very important in guiding employees and management in an organisation. It encourages employees to be accountable and transparent and also in make ethical decisions. In an organisation that ethics are practiced there are less conflicts and there is consistency at all times even when an organisation undergoes difficult times. A code of ethics is established in an organisation to solve problems when the do arise and explains how employees should respond when faced with different situations. Values and ethics are important for employees to get along. Our values tell us what we think is important and that helps us in making right decisions. For example a person who values justice will not be coursing conflicts and will adhere to ...
There is ways to help people learn and get used applying ethics in the workplace. Take Clorox for example, to keep their ethics strong and present they require their employees to take part in annual online training with ethic courses, even after that they go through refreshment courses throughout the year covering various ethical practices and relevant laws, these courses remind employees how to treat certain situations and what to do when it comes to unethical decisions. Not a lot of companies do this and for them to do this tells us a lot about the company. It shows us that they care and want their employees to be ethical and want to have a connection with their customers. This is very important because when people know you are ethical they build a relation with your company, they know that you truly care for their employees and customers. A lot of people like to have a connection with companies so if they like what you do and know what you do it’s good for the company.