A SEMINAR PRESENTATION
BY
UKAOBI JESSICA CHINYERE
TOPIC: STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AND DECISION-MAKING: ETHICS AND VALUES
APRIL, 2010
INTRODUCTION
Values and ethics are central to any organization. What exactly do we mean by values and ethics? Both are extremely broad terms, and we need to focus in on the aspects most relevant for strategic leaders and decision makers. What we will first discuss is the distinctive nature of ethics; second, we will take a look at work ethics; third we will look into strategic leadership and decision making; fourth we take a closer look into the positive and negative leadership climates and how they influence work ethics; fifth we will see the essence of participative management on ethical
…show more content…
In the same perspective, Denga (1986) defines work ethics as “ethical standards which guide the performance of group members, governs their preparation or training, and serves as legal or constitutional and ethical control.” But Iwu (1995) defined work ethics as “behavioural code of conduct which involves both the desirable and undesirable activities of workers in various occupations and associations.” This definition shows that work ethics could be positive or negative. While negative work ethics which produces such behaviours as lateness to work, abandonment of duty, insubordination, truancy, disloyalty, indiscipline, absenteeism, non-conmmitment, etc is dysfunctional to organisational effectiveness. Positive work ethics which produces such lofty manifestations as punctuality, hard work, dedication to duty, selfless service, loyalty, regularity in attendance to work, discipline, cooperation, and so on, is an indispensable condition to high productivity.
Work ethics takes its roots, and indeed is conditioned by, the culture of the society in which the work organisation is situated. Generally, a well established work group or organisation establishes a standard code of conduct suited for the organisation which is designed to guide the organisational behaviour of workers and also serve as a source of unity within the organisation. Positive work ethics serves as a source of motivation, fosters hard work and aims at high
A code of ethics stands for a set of principles of conduct set within an organization to assist or guide employees to making decisions and adhering to ethical behavior. It’s a set of guidelines that must be followed to make ethical choices when conducting work related matters. Code of ethics is an organizations form integrity. This paper will discuss what an appropriate code of ethics is, and summarize the features of deontological, consequentialist, and virtue of ethics in a professional code of ethics. It will also analyze both the advantages and disadvantages of each approach to ethical theory in the context of the workplace.
Past research has discovered that managers react to ethical dilemmas according to the situation. If specific values that are related to ethical behavior can be identified, they would offer strong tools for managers who want to retain high standards of ethical behavior in their society.
Business ethics and values have developed through time and crosswise over orders into a field, which is a standout amongst the most vital subjects in the field of business. For the authentic improvement of business morals, it is vital, to begin with, a meaning of business ethics and values in a worldwide setting (Savage, 2005). The study characterize business ethics and values from an administrative viewpoint as choices about what is correct or wrong (worthy or unsuitable) in the authoritative setting of arranging and actualizing business exercises in a worldwide business condition to profit (Child, 2015). The development
Ethics are principles that are kept throughout one’s life so that he/she maintains a respectable level of honest value. Based on my moral outlook on life, my view of ethics may differ to that of many in this class. The reason for that is ethics partially depends on the individual feelings of a given situation. For example, some cultures believe that it’s unethical to have multiple partners, but in other cultures, you find that this is the norm. Morals and values are the framework to having and understanding ethics. Morals and values are the drivers
This is a case study on A New Work Ethic written by James Sheehy a human resources manager. According to the Business Dictionary (2011) ethic is define as the basic concepts and fundamental principles of right human conduct. It includes study of universal values such as the essential equality of all men and women, human or natural rights, obedience to the law of land, concern for health and safety and, increasingly, also for the natural environment.
Ethics are values and principles that individuals use to govern his decisions and activities. Ethics are about moral judgment of an individual about right and wrong. In an organization, code of ethics refers to set of guiding principles and organizations use these principles in their policies, programs, and decisions for business. Within organizations, decisions are taken by groups or individuals and these decisions are influenced by the culture of the company. Decision making and relevance of ethics may also differ for nonprofit and for profit organizations. In contemporary business environment, organizations must have a clear ethical policy and implement it in proper manner. There are many social, legal and economic outcomes that company has to face in case of any ethical dilemma, so there must be a smart strategy to deal with ethical dilemmas. In this paper, we will address the ethics for nonprofit and profits organizations, ethical dilemmas being faced or faced by each of these companies and the outcomes of these ethical dilemmas. Critique of actions of each of these companies will be provided from the point of view of applicable philosophical theories of organizational ethics.
Workers must meet their organisation’s objectives and the professional standards of their occupation which requires them to have the ability to operate within a relevant code of ethics, conduct or practice. Each organisation may have its own code of ethics or may refer to an external
In society, in the United States, today you can be lazy and be taken care of through social programs, but is that joyful. Work ethics is not much about the work and more about the characteristics that are involved in the work such as accountability and honest. Charles Marshall wrote: “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” (Marshall 2002) We are taught in the Christian faith that God see all things, knows all things, he sees are work ethics and that we are accountable to him for what we do.
In the workplace as well as one’s personal life is essential for ethics to be maintained; often taking the right action is not always the most popular choice. It is important for maintaining an upstanding ethical code of conduct to be a productive individual as well as function as an employee in the workplace.
The purpose or aim of every organization is to establish such an organizational culture and behavior among its employees that helps in achievement of ideal ethical standards. There are certain determinants that play a critical role in helping achieve the right organizational culture. Some of these include personal moral intensity, social ties, codes of ethics, locus of control and Machiavellianism. These
Business ethics and values are closely related, their effect and application in business activities correlate and they make one to ask very important questions that may or may not guide an individual in an organisation to make an ethical decision.
Values and ethics are essential in the workplace. It establishes how a company is run and remains profitable. Leaders are the key to demonstrating and creating the organization’s culture, ethics and values. It has to start at the top of the organization including the Chief Executive officer, board and owners. Leaders’ internalization and manifestation of the values in how they operate have a great influence on the employees. Every organization must start with a foundation, a code of conduct, code of ethics and a statement of values ( Ferrell, O.C., John Fraedrich, and Linda Ferrell).
According to Osibanjo and Akinbode and Falola and Oludayo (2015), strong work ethics fosters excellent outcomes in work performance. This paper evaluates how strong work ethics (SWE) or weak work ethics (WWE) contributes to encouraging or discouraging an employee’s job performance. Based on existing research, a conceptual model is developed suggesting that work ethics is influenced by variables such as integrity, quality, self-discipline, sense of responsibility and teamwork to determine ethics which has a bearing on the employee. Integrity is critical and has a direct impact on employee job performance and so is self-disciplined because then the employee is focused on individual or team goals and possess a high-level of commitment to the organization’s goals. On the other hand, unethical behavior cannot be ignored, instead it should be discouraged and this is possible by the ways of leadership. Their daily conduct must portray a high ethical conduct. Ethical policies, procedures and practices must be implemented. The more openness there is in the workplace, the quicker unethical conduct can be dealt with. In conclusion, the need for strong work ethics in an organization is to keep the employees’ performance genuine, help them adapt to fluctuating conditions, prevent errors, cope with any complexity and minimize costs.
Strategic decisions move a company toward its stated goals and perceived success. Strategic decisions also reflect the firm’s social responsibility and the ethical values on which such decisions are made. They reflect what is considered important and what a company wants to achieve. Mark Pastin, writing on the function of ethics in business decisions, observes: There are fundamental principles, or ground rules, by which organizations act. Like the ground rules of individuals, organizational ground rules determine which actions are possible for the organization and what the actions mean. Buried beneath the charts of organizational responsibility, the arcane strategies, the crunched numbers, and
Work ethics is a value base where you treat all the work concerns equally, and it 's connected with fairness, when the working ethic in an organization reach high level, it will assess indirectly the performance to achieve certain goals and targets. In another hand, we can simply define it also as a set of principles that the company establish to control the behavior of its worker and gives a legal reference of each action. However, a solid ethical organization does not happen by its own, people, by their human nature, may recognize the right and wrong, however written procedure helps to avoid the conflicts raised.