Does management, in your view, help shape the values and ethics of an organization?

Ethics refers to standards of behavior that tell us how human beings ought to act in the many situations (Velasquez et al, 2015). Ethics is about determining value; it is deciding what is worth doing and what does not matter so much (Brusseau, 2012) .Ethics has everything to do with management. Unethical business practice involves the tacit, if not explicit, cooperation of others and reflects the values, attitudes, beliefs, language, and behavioral patterns that define an organization’s operating culture (Paine, 1994).

DISCUSSION

What do you see as the role of ethics as it pertains to management and managers?

Managers in organizations face ethical issues every day of their working lives . As managers take decisions they face ethical issues . Whether they be engaged in planning, organizing, motivating, communicating, or some other management role, they face the fact that matters of right and wrong, fairness and unfairness, and justice or lack of justice creep into their decisions, actions or behaviors (Saremi & Nezhad, 2014).

Managerial ethics is a set of principles and rules dictated by upper management that define what is right and what is wrong in an organization. It is the guideline that helps direct a lower manager's decisions in the scope of his or her job when a conflict of values is presented. Management ethics is the ethical treatment of employees, stockholders, owners and the public by a company .It is the study of standards of business behavior, which promote human welfare and the good. Ethics in the workplaces helps ensure that when leaders and managers are struggling in times of crises and confusion, they retain a strong moral compass (Pareek, 2016). Ethics help managers and the management to create an enabling environment that ensures compliance to organizational standards and procedures.

Yes , management in my view helps to shape the values and ethics of an organization. Management can help shape the values and ethics of an organization by being a good role model. This can be done by being ethical and honest at all times, telling the truth, not hiding or manipulating information, admitting failure and not trying to cover it up, communicating shared ethical values to employees through symbols, stories, and slogans, rewarding employees who behave ethically and punish those who do not and protecting employees who bring to light unethical behaviors or raise ethical issues. (Pareek, 2016).

Managers must acknowledge their role in shaping organizational ethics and seize this opportunity to create a climate that can strengthen the relationships and reputations on which their companies’ success depends. Managers who fail to provide proper leadership and to institute systems that facilitate ethical conduct share responsibility with those who conceive, execute, and knowingly benefit from corporate misdeeds. (Paine, 1994).

Is employee behavior, ethical or not, a by-product of the organization's ethical climate?

Yes , I think that employee behavior is ethical because employees face ethical situations daily in the workplace .The behavior of employees within an organization determine how they will act in different situations. It is important to note that behavior refers to the ethical behavior of individuals in organizations (Somers, 2011).

I also believe that employee behavior is also a by-product of the organization's ethical climate. Creating an organization that encourages exemplary conduct and ethics may be the best way to prevent damaging misconduct (Brusseau, 2012).The presence of corporate codes of ethics is associated with less perceived wrongdoing in organizations (Somers, 2011).When ethical conduct is prioritized within the organization, employees generally will be conscious of that and act accordingly. Brown argued that ethical leadership promotes beneficial employee behavior, such as interpersonal helping (Brown et al ,2005).

What ideally is the manager's role in helping to create and maintain organizational integrity?

A key component of workplace ethics and behavior is integrity, or being honest and doing the right thing at all times (Amico, 2018). An integrity-based approach to ethics management combines a concern for the law with an emphasis on managerial responsibility for ethical behavior. Considering the integrity perspective, the task of ethics management is to define and give life to an organization’s guiding values, to create an environment that supports ethically sound behavior, and to instill a sense of shared accountability among employees (Paine, 1994). Managers can create and maintain organizational integrity by Hiring individuals with high ethical standards, establishing codes of ethics and decision rules, leading by example, providing ethics training, conducting social audits and providing support for individuals facing ethical dilemmas (Chinn, 2017).

Using your professional experience as a backdrop, provide examples of managers who have demonstrated ethical behavior (or not) and discuss how this affected the organization, the employees, etc. 

Considering my professional experience, here are some examples of how managers provided ethical behavior.

1 . There was an employee who was newly employed in my former company . She was barely a month on the job when she took some days off work and stayed beyond the approved days because she said that she was sick. Unknown to the company, she took the time off to participate in the recruitment process of a company in another city .Unfortunately for her , an employee of my former company who regularly travels for company duties spotted her and blew the whistle on her. The management was not pleased at her actions because she lied to the company and took more time off than was approved for her. She violated the organization’s core ethics of loyalty and accountability. The Human Resources Manager terminated her employment after several attempts to reach her were unsuccessful .She later came back and was pleading for her job but the management refused to accept her back. The impact of this case on employees was that it was a learning point for all employees as they were more accountable to adhering to only approved time off work. The organization afterwards enjoyed a higher level of loyalty from employees and employees were available to do their jobs when on duty. The company did not record any similar case afterwards.

2. There was an Accountant in the accounts department who was very rude and nasty to employees. She was very well behaved at the time of her employment however when her employment was confirmed, she took a turn for the worse. She was disrespectful to anyone who needed her assistance in funds disbursement and general office duties. She always portrayed her polite side to the management . Employees and Clients started complaining for a period that seemed forever. She obviously was violating the company ethics on being respectful to all. It seemed that her Supervising Manager was not going to enforce her compliance to the company’s set ethical standard but on a fateful day, reassignments were done within the organization. Her Supervising Manager had earlier recommended her for reassignment based on previous complaints and warnings issued to her , which she ignored. He concluded that she struggled with the pressure of her role and was not respectful to all. The management approved her reassignment to the audit department which was newly formed and she had the task of making sure the department was up and running. Interestingly she became more polite in her new role and was never rude to anyone again. The impact on employees was that they had faith that the management was committed to upholding ethical standards irrespective of who was involved and the time frame. The impact on the organization was that there was a general positive atmosphere and client relationships were strengthened.

3. In my former company, employees who travelled on official assignments were usually given logistics, accommodation and feeding allowances. They were expected to reconcile these items with appropriate receipts showing the amount spent on their return. It was observed by the Accounts manager that there were discrepancies in reconciliation of funds. Some employees reconciled more than they spent and could not produce the appropriate receipts to back their claims. They justified their actions by protesting that the allowances were not enough compared to other companies in the same industry. The Accounts manager investigated these claims and several employees were guilty of cheating the company by making unjustified claims on reconciliation. They violated the company ethics on honesty and they were disciplined. Impact on the affected employees were that the extra-unjustified funds were deducted from their monthly pay to serve as a warning to others. Impact on other employees was that everyone was more prudent with company funds and requested approval before spending extra funds on their business trips. The impact on the organization was that the fund loss from that area was managed.

CONCLUSION

The importance of ethics within an organization is non-negotiable. The key to promoting strong business ethics in an organization is to create an ethics policy that clearly spells out what is acceptable and unacceptable. The role of an organization’s leaders is to ensure the vision and direction of the company is met with organizational planning and guidance that provides a compass for all employees (Paine, 1994).

REFERENCES

Amico, S. (February 01, 2018) Workplace Ethics & Behavior, Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/workplace-ethics-behavior-5239.html

Brown, M. E., Trevin˜o, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97, 117–134.

Brown, M. E., & Trevin˜o, L. K. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. Leadership Quarterly, 17, 595– 616.

Brusseau, J (2012).Business Ethics. This book is licensed under a Creative Commonsby-nc-sa 3.0 license. Retrieved from http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/business-ethics/index.html

Chinn, D. (September 26, 2017) Ethical Employee Behavior in the Workplace. Retrieved from https://bizfluent.com/info-8314154-ethical-employee-behavior-workplace.html

Paine, L. S. (1994). Managing for Organizational Integrity. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/1994/03/managing-for-organizational-integrity

Pareek .M. (Apr 19, 2016).Ethics in Management .Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/Megha_pareek/ethics-in-management

Saremi, H & Nezhad, B, M (November 2014) .Role of Ethics in Management of Organization. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271139279_ROLE_OF_ETHICS_IN_MANAGEMENT_OF_ORGANIZATION

Somers, M.J. (2011) Ethical Codes of Conduct and Organizational Context: A Study of the Relationship between Codes of Conduct, Employee Behavior and Organizational Values. Journal of Business Ethics 30: 185–195, 2001.Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226990427_Ethical_Codes_of_Conduct_and_Organizational_Context_A_Study_of_the_Relationship_Between_Codes_of_Conduct_Employee_Behavior_and_Organizational_Values

Velasquez,M., Moberg ,D.,Meyer ,M.J.,Shanks ,T.,McLean,M.R., DeCosse ,D., André ,C., Hanson ,K.O (Aug 1,2015). A Framework for Ethical Decision Making. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Santa Clara University. Retrieved from https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/a-framework-for-ethical-decision-making/