Implementing Values and Ethics in Globalized Business
Abstract
Today's global business world requires companies to take into account its peoples values and to follow through with ethically sound practices. Companies form their organizational values in light of what its employees' value. From a company's organizational values come a universal code of conduct which is tried and revised until it results in successfully resolving situations demonstrating solid ethics.
Implementing Values and Ethics in Globalized Business
Today's business world is much different from the business world of the early years in our country as well as the world. In the early years, little regard was given for employees: children worked long hours, women worked in unsafe conditions and the like. Today however, the world can see a drastic change: children under 18 years old can only work so many hours a week, there are health and safety codes in every company. And these are just the tip of the iceberg of pro-employee changes that have happened over the last 100 years. People use words like values and ethics to describe the policies and the actions of companies in how they treat their employees, especially globally.
Personal Values
Personal values, just like cultural values, need to be considered when a company is forming its policies. Personal values are linked closely to cultural values and need to be viewed as such by a company. Generally, if a company is compliant with its employees' cultural values, so also it will be with its employees' personal values. While personal values are just that personal, many personal values are shared in a way that cultural values are shared.
Companies make efforts to be sensitive to people's personal values via surveys and comment cards. They also show personal value sensitivity by giving management freedom to make exceptions for their own group of employees as it gets to know each employee personally. Companies now strive to get to know their employees.
Cultural Values
Cultural values are one of the values that need to be considered by a company drafting or changing its policies. The values that employees hold, their group values are where companies can have problems with nowadays, especially when expanding globally. Companies need to take into account people's values when forming policies and working hours, it can be a group of people's religious beliefs whether they dictate for them to go to church on Sunday morning or not to eat while the sun is up for a whole month.
Values include competence, integrity, objectivity, honesty, loyalty to the employer, responsibility to users of financial...
Employees of companies must consider their actions before making decisions and remember they have an ethical responsibility to the organization and use high moral standards to influence their decisions. Ethical responsibility is crucial and goes beyond personal values, it takes into account which actions provide the greatest benefit for the greatest number and produces the least amount of harm. Not all decisions are black and white, many fall into gray areas. When individuals make unethical decisions it can damage the name of the organization. In the business world the reputation of an organization is based on its integrity. A company must acquire and maintain customers to survive and grow in today’s competitive global market. Rational
In today’s society, business is a melting pot of diverse cultures. With the present technology, the distance between locations has become virtually borderless. Different backgrounds produce different understandings of very basic concepts, like what is right and what is wrong. Simply stated, right versus wrong is the definition of ethics. First, this paper will discuss key areas that are of significant importance to the business. Second, this paper will converse ways a company can ensure employees follow codes of conduct. Finally, this paper will confer ways a business can engage in socially responsive
In today’s global society, a Code of Ethics policy is used to label established, acceptable behaviors among that industry’s business associates, potential investors, and the corporation’s executive officers and employees, and most important, the consumer (Ethics Resource Center, 2003). In an attempt to promote an increased efficiency and productivity potential level, among employees and prospective clients, a corporation’s standard Code of Ethics should guide its members toward a more in-depth examination of their personal moral activity, and how these actions affect the people or acquaintances they encounter. A company should utilize this strategy as a model for the professional behaviors and responsibilities of its constituents, and proves the occupational advancement of that business. Ethics are important in every level of a corporation, but specifically in the day-to-day actions of its members, and the image the company broadcasts to its associates is fundamental in building a stable business foundation. These pledges are a vital communication tool used to covey the firm’s standards for business operations, and predominantly, its relationships with the surrounding communities (Ethics Resource Center, 2003).
Values are “ideas held by individuals or groups about what is desirable, proper, good, and bad. What individuals value is strongly influenced by the specific culture in which they happen to live.” Values are important to many individuals because in a way, it defines who they are as a person. Dependant on the culture an individual lives in, it is important
Values are a core set of beliefs and principles by one or many. A number of factors contribute to the development of values. These include membership in a community or culture, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Values determine what is important in decision-making. Ethics involve conduct, the ability to determine right and wrong. All organizations face ethical dilemmas. Organizations develop corporate social responsibility in reaction to the values and expectations of society. Corporate social responsibility initiatives aim to protect public health, safety...
With all discrimination aside, what’s important is to show some honest respect, ethics, value, and loyalty to every employee.
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.
...d rules that are managed and reinforced can make a difference in the organization. Senior leaders must be aware of the influential impact that immediate leaders play in the daily duties of the workplace. Then the immediate leaders can emphasize and support the ethical character of their workers. Civility demands that a person must be self-disciplined for the sake of others. “By putting ethics into practice in our day-to-day encounters, civility is that moral glue without which our society would come apart” (Brannigan, 2008, para. 13). It is more important than ever for companies to act responsibly, as customers are buying products and services from the companies that they trust. Ethical values can be incorporated into an organization’s culture. Ethics plays an important role in the company and can have beneficial and profitable results on the corporation.
To provide an example of a breach of ethical conduct in the workplace, we may remember the case of a financial manager in a corporation that decided not to pay overtime to some employees. After a deep outside investigation, the company was summoned with thousands of dollars to remedy the payment that was supposed to be paid to all employees who worked more than forty hours per week. Again, it is needed more than just a booklet stating that the company adheres to the code of business ethics. It is needed serious managers that can run the company with the most seriousness as possible. Consequently, any written codes of business ethics, regardless of how well it has been crafted, need people that adhere to its internal content with a serious desire to do the right thing.
My values affect my business life exactly the same as my personal life. I am kind, friendly and respectful to everyone I meet. I believe that if I show someone kindness I will receive kindness in return. I take what I learn on the job as well as in the real world and apply it to both scenarios. Even at work I try my best to show my individuality, through my makeup and hair. I still keep the makeup work appropriate, but most of the time I just wear a funky clip in my hair, for which I get a lot of wonderful comments. I like being a fun person. So I smile a lot and strike up conversations with customers. I sometimes discover we have stuff in common. For example, since I work in a grocery store, we like the same foods, and when they leave I am left with a happy
Values remind me of ethics and morals, necessary in any walk of life and imperative in the work place. These concepts are guidelines in which employees need to follow to be successful. “Values represent basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence.” (Robbins, 136) Integrity, courage, service, wisdom, respect and goal setting are a few of the values that are most crucial to me and what I hope to achieve within any work place setting. Values should be lived every day in the work place and should exemplify the
Kumar, N. (2012). Relationship of Personal and Organizational Values with Job Satisfaction. Journal of Management Research , 12 (2), 80.
Business Ethics are much more than the buzz word stories on late night news. The Corporate Social Responsibility of a company goes well beyond that. “Business Ethics are moral guidelines for the conduct of business based on notions of what is right, wrong and fair.” (Bellow, 2012). Individual backgrounds play a huge role in person by person code of conduct can vary from employee to employer. To help solve some grey areas in what is ethically correct, companies now make a code of conduct that is over everyone in the company. This code of responsibility helps employees have better understanding of what is required of each and every one of them. “Corporate Social Responsibility is a business philosophy which stresses the need for
Business ethics are a set of moral rules that govern how a business operates, how people should be treated within an organization, and how business decisions are made. They are a crucial part of employment and in managing a sustainable business, mainly because of the serious consequences that can result from decisions made with a lack of regard to ethics. Even if you don’t believe that good ethics don’t contribute to profit levels, you should realize those poor ethics have a negative effect on your bottom line in the long-run. Every business in every industry has certain guidelines to which its employees must stick to, and regularly outline such aspects in employee handbooks.