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Effective leadership and ethical decisions
Effective leadership and ethical decisions
Effective leadership and ethical decisions
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Organizational culture is key to fostering ethical decision making. The first step in creating an ethical climate is for managers, especially top managers, to act ethical themselves. The second step in establishing an ethical climate is for top managers to be active in and committed to the company ethics program themselves. Managers who consistently talk about the importance of ethics and back up that talk by participating in their companies’ ethics programs send the clear message that ethics matters. When management/owners engages and communicates about ethical issues, employees are less likely to break rules and more likely to report ethical violations. The third step would be to put in place a reporting system that encourages managers and
Assuming that the leaders of Raider Inc. do not want their employees to behave unethically, what are several (at least three) things that can be done to improve the ethical climate (from both an ethical and decision making standpoint)? What steps can the managers at Raider Inc. take to guide employees to make more ethical decisions?
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.
Ethical behavior cannot be successfully shaped and maintained in isolation. Therefore, the internal controls characterized by individual attributes must be usually consistent with organizational structure, organizational culture and societal expectations. These four components are key elements for designing an environment supportive of theses ethical conducts (Cooper, 2012 pg. 164).
The behaviors addressed in this article are essential in the aspect of ethical decision making in management area.
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).
The leaders in an organization use ethics to manage employees. The code of ethics determines discipline procedures and the acceptable behavior. When there is a high ethical standards it encourages employees in the company to meet the same standard. Ethical leadership not only enriches a company’s financial market and the integrity in the community, it also helps to improve the business.
The concept of organizational cultures was first raised in 1970s, and soon became a fashionable topic. Organizational culture is the shared beliefs, values and behaviours of the group. Theorists of organizations believe that organizational culture represents the pattern of behaviours, values, and beliefs of an organization. Hence, studies around organizational culture have been seen as great helpful and essential for understanding organizations and their behaviours. Additionally, organizational culture has been considered to be an important determinant of organizational success. Therefore, leaders and managers pay more than more attentions on this topic, focusing on constructing and managing organizational cultures.
In the “Case Study: Organizational Culture: Life or Death”(BOOK), eleven hospitals are examined to show the impact that cultural systems play in the life or death situation of heart attack victims. Each hospital is studied and pin pointed as to what makes them so effective. Each member of a team must share a common goal, in this study it is saving the lives of heart attack victims. This passage will demonstrate the power of a team utilizing their strengths to help patients. There are three topics that will be discussed, the values that motivate the doctors and nurses, the importance of the team’s culture coordinating with their habits, and the events that could alter their overall harmony.
Inappropriate behavior can include lying to managers or clients, engaging in fraud or embezzlement, failing to meet specific operational standards or other similar conduct. A code of ethics can help employee’s understand why these actions are inappropriate and the reasons companies expect better behavioral performance. Companies may also limit their legal liability from poor employee performance by using a code of ethics.” (Vitez, 2015). If Jennings’ had an in-depth company ethics code, then maybe their employees and managers would understand the importance of acting in an ethical behavior and see the damages their poor decisions can have on the future of the
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
Ethical responsibilities are very important in the management field. Managers are in positions of authority, which makes them accountable for any and all ethical conduct throughout the company. With managers being in such high positions, they are held to high standards of ethical behavior. Managers are in charge of making sure employees are made aware of the company’s ethical codes and that they have the opportunity to ask questions to clarify their understanding. As a manager, it is very important that you understand and adhere to the ethical and legal obligations of your position in order to meet the expectations of all stakeholders, and to set an example of such behavior for others. Managers must go by both their own ethics and the
By inducting ethical business practices, the need for whistleblowers will not be needed, but there is always someone that crosses the line. Therefore, by encouraging whistleblowing and supervised departmental and corporate performance concerning ethical questions. Whistleblowing is an ethical procedure when there is clear evidence of serious evidence, that will harm the public and the blower has tried to find an internal solution to effect change. The whistleblower who is associated with the unethical activity has a moral responsibility to do the right thing. Companies always know there is a possibility that the whistle will be blown, in this case the obstacle is created by knowledge that their employees stand to gain an advantage from uncovering corporate misbehaviour and thus they may be proactively looking for other people outside the organization to inform the authorities.
The concept of organizational culture is one of the most debated topics for researchers and theorists. There is no one accepted definition of culture. People even said that it is hard to define culture and even more change it. It is considered a complex part of an organization although many have believed that culture influences employee behavior and organizational effectiveness (Kilmann, Saxton, & Serpa 1985; Marcoulides & Heck, 1993; Schein, 1985a, 1990).
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
The following chapter will explain in detail the aspects of the culture that creates an image of the company.