Assignment on Ethical Behavior in Business
Ethical behavior is acquired at all levels of socialization such as in the family and at school. In a workplace, employees are expected to uphold certain outlined ethical behaviors. For instance, employees may be required to dress in a defined way and use acceptable language as indicated in codes of conduct. Using abusive language towards a client or a colleague is usually deemed unethical and may result in some form of punishment. Employees may also be expected to maintain a high level of integrity and accountability. For instance, reporting to work late may indicate a lack of commitment to a company. Similarly, for a company to be profitable, it has to conduct its business in a way that upholds certain key moral principles.
Ethical behaviors determine an organization’s reputation to the public as well as to its employees. An organization's leadership effects employee morale and loyalty. Employees with good ethical behavior display integrity and honesty in the dispensation of their duties.
proper way of ethical communication
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Ethical behavior in the workplace:
As there are no spoken rules for ethical behavior, the right conduct in business has become rather vague and largely depends on your interpretation of what is right and wrong.
How then can you be sure that you are behaving ethically in a business environment?
Firstly, you must understand what is meant by ethics.
Ethics: are defined as principles or beliefs that outline values and rules. They are a set of values that attend to the issues of morality through a collection of behavioral guidelines. It is the conduct governing an individual or a group, specially the standards you use to decide what your conduct should be.
One important element of ethical behavior is respect. You should always have respect for your job instead of coming to work merely to get paid.
When you have respect for your job, you will give your best when carrying out your work. You will ensure that you produce high quality outcomes instead of just getting the job over and done with.
You will take pride in what you do and never complain or lament whenever you are required to contribute more.
Apart from that, you will also treat your colleagues with respect regardless of their status or position. When you are respectful towards others, you would surely earn their respect in return.
Another element that constitutes ethical behavior is honesty. Though it is quite tough to be honest in everything you do, you should not compromise and do away with this great quality.
If you are honest in your conduct, in your dealings with others, in your mannerisms, in carrying out your work and in everything you do, you would surely be able to gain the trust of others.
In this era, many may not view honesty as a highly desirable characteristic. Yet those who embrace and live by honesty have great strength within them and will be deemed as reliable and trustworthy.
Ethical behavior has a lot to do with being professional in your workplace. A professional individual is responsible, dedicated, thorough, and accountable, has high integrity, is committed, punctual, and abides by the company’s rules and regulations.
While some individuals may not feel it is important to be professional all the time, yet the lack of professionalism could easily bring harm to your career and prospects.
Showing up late for work or appointments, breaching the company’s confidentiality, producing unsatisfactory work are some examples of unprofessional conduct.
No one likes to entrust any work to a person who lacks professionalism. They do not know whether that individual is able to deliver the work with good quality and within the given timeline.
In all your dealings with others, be fair and impartial without being prejudiced towards a certain gender, race, etc. You may have your opinion or preference on certain issues but do not let them affect your working relationship with others.
You have the choice to observe ethical behavior in the workplace or simply ignore it. Yet, failing to understand and observe ethics in the workplace will create unpleasantness among colleagues and bring about a lot of negative effects not only for you but also your colleagues and the company.
Important factors that shapes ethical behavior at work:
Workplace ethics and behavior are a crucial part of employment, as both are aspects that can assist a company in its efforts to be profitable. In fact, ethics and behavior are just as important to most companies as performance as high morale and teamwork are two ingredients for success. Every business in every industry has certain guidelines to which its employees must adhere, and frequently outline such aspects in employee handbooks.
The factors that shape ethical behavior are as follows:
Integrity
A key component to workplace ethics and behavior is integrity, or being honest and doing the right thing at all times. For example, health care employees who work with mentally or physically challenged patients must possess a high degree of integrity, as those who manage and work primarily with money. Workers with integrity also avoid gossip and sneakiness while on the job.
Accountability
Taking responsibility for actions is another major factor when it comes to workplace ethics and behavior. That means showing up on scheduled workdays, as well as arriving on time and putting in an honest effort while on the job. Workers who exhibit accountability are honest when things go wrong, then work toward a resolution while remaining professional all the while.
Teamwork
A vital aspect of the workplace is working well with others. That includes everyone from peers to supervisors to customers. While not all employees will always like each other, they do need to set aside their personal or even work-related differences to reach a larger goal. In many instances, those who are not considered "team players” can face demotion or even termination. On the other hand, those who work well with others often can advance on that aspect alone, with teamwork sometimes even outweighing performance.
Commitment
Ethical and behavioral guidelines in the workplace often place a high amount of importance on dedication. Although possessing the necessary skills is essential, a strong work ethic and positive attitude toward the job can carry you a long way. Plus, dedication is often viewed in the business world as "contagious,” meaning employees who give a strong effort can often inspire their co-workers to do the same.
Human Resources
Ethical human resource policies are vital to creating and maintaining an ethical company culture. Employees who are treated with basic decency are more likely to be content with their jobs. When employees feel exploited, they are prone to overt unethical behavior such as theft, as well as more subtle offenses such as using company resources for personal gain. When employees are fairly compensated for their work, they are likely to give more to the company and less inclined to take advantage of opportunities to cut corners or exploit situations for personal gain.
Using Human resource management tools to promote ethics and fair treatment:
1. Selection tools: HR must ensure that the leadership selection and development processes include an ethics component. After all, leaders at all levels of the organization need to both model ethical behavior and communicate ethical standards to employees, suggests research conducted by Ethics Resource Center . Selection procedures can filter out people who, despite making their numbers, are known for cutting ethical corners. And leadership development should include not only ethics theory but real-life examples, perhaps from mentors, on how managers have handled ethical dilemmas in the past.
2. Training tools: You can't expect your staff to act ethically in accordance with your company's code of ethics if they don't know what that code is or why it's important. Hold regular sessions on ethics and how to approach ethical dilemmas among staff. The more training and resources you provide, and the greater emphasis you place on being ethical and acting accordingly, the more your staff understands exactly what you expect in the office.
3. Performance appraisal tools: unfair appraisal send the signal that the employer may condone unethical behavior at a minimum:
· The employee’s standards should be clear.
· Employees should understand the basis on which they are going to be appraisal.
· The supervisor should perform the appraisal objectively and fairly.
· The employer should include ethics goals in appraisals of its leaders, particularly its senior leaders.
4. Reward and disciplinary system: Far too often, companies simply expect ethical behavior; however, if you want to promote this as a prominent behavior among staff, then you need to show and prove, so to speak. Provide rewards for solid ethical behavior; for example, if you have an employee that goes above and beyond to put her personal interests aside to always do what is best for her clients, that is considered ethical behavior and she should be rewarded and held up as an example for others to strive to do the same. The more you reward employees for sound ethical decisions, the more likely the masses will follow suit.
Employ fair disciplinary practices:
Discipline means to encourage employees to adhere to rules and regulations. Discipline is necessary when an employee violates one of the rules .However, the process must be well-thought out and fair.
The manager builds a fair discipline process on three pillars:
1. Rules and regulations,
2. A system of progressive penalties,
3. An appeal process.
1. Rules and regulations:
A set of clear disciplinary rules and regulations is first pillar. The rules should be address issue such as theft, destruction of company property, drinking on the job and in subordination. Examples of rules include:
§ Poor performance is not acceptable. Each employees is expected to perform his or her work properly and efficiently and to meet established standards of quality.
§ Alcohol and drugs do not mix with work. The use of other during working hours and reporting for work under the influence of either are both strictly prohibited.
2. Penalties:
A system of progressive penalties is the second pillar for effective discipline .the severity of penalty usually depends on the offense and the number of items it has occurred. For example, most companies issue warnings for the employees’ unexcused lateness.
3. Appeal process:
Third, an appeals process should be part of the disciplinary process. The aim here is to ensure that supervisors meet discipline fairly.
Employee relations:
The activities of establishing and maintaining the positive employee –employer relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity, motivation, morale ,and discipline ,as well as maintaining a positive .productive and cohesive work environment.
Improving and assessing employee relation though better communication:
1. Encourage direct managers to have regular 1:1 meetings with each team member. These meetings should be two-way conversations – they should help managers get insight on what each individual is looking for in their career, and in turn provide the employee with a clearer picture of how their career path fits into the business trajectory.
2. Set clear expectations on company perks and benefits. This is something that must happen as soon as a person interviews with a company and must also be demonstrated from senior leaders on down. Should changes need to happen to a company’s perks, they should be communicated out with details including the reason behind the change.
3. Have a ‘no surprises’ approach to your company’s work environment. Remind managers that anyone who interviews should have a clear picture of what the work environment is like before they accept the job. If you have someone who thrives in a highly collaborative work environment, but your company takes a different approach, it should be made clear what the work environment is like early on. However, change is inevitable. If direct managers are looking to mix things up in an effort to promote a better work environment, it’s always best to communicate early about the change that is coming and why it is happening.
4. Learn more about what motivates employees. A good manager will not be afraid to ask for constructive feedback. Be hungry to learn what some of the best reasons are to work at your company from the eyes of the employees and stay in sync with any downsides employees may be feeling. Direct managers are on the front lines; they should be asking questions often and be reading up on their employees’ company reviews on sites like to get a better handle on what’s working and what’s not.
Having stronger, more trusting boss and employee relationships is the key to having a strong employment brand. The key as a leader is to continuously focus on your interactions with employees. By providing a positive, teaching and nurturing work environment, employees will feel that their career is positively impacted and they will remain at your company.
5.Employee Relations and Communication
Nothing will diminish your well-crafted human capital plans faster than poor employee relations and communications. Development of a strong employee relations program assists management in developing, maintaining and improving employee relationships and overall productivity. Continual and clear communication provides direct signals to your employees on ways to achieve your business strategies.
An employee relations and communication program, tied to a well-planned training and development program, will improve productivity and enhance the strength of your human capital, reduce frustration and grievances in the workplace, and reduce expensive employee turnover.
Nothing will diminish your well-crafted human capital plans faster than poor employee relations and communications. Development of a strong employee relations program assists management in developing, maintaining and improving employee relationships and overall productivity. Continual and clear communication provides direct signals to your employees on ways to achieve your business strategies.
An employee relations and communication program, tied to a well-planned training and development program, will improve productivity and enhance the strength of your human capital, reduce frustration and grievances in the workplace, and reduce expensive employee turnover.
This is the absolute best way to connect and also to reduce potential conflict at work. Deal with issues when they arise and be open, honest and forthcoming when you communicate. Have the courage to have the conversations you need to have in a kind and respectful way, and encourage others to do the same.
Don’t make people guess at your undisclosed expectations. Communicate with clarity and don’t expect something from someone that you haven’t specifically asked for. Make it clear: What do you expect to have happen? By when? What will the result look like? Make your requests are as clear and specific as possible.
7. Set an example.
Model the behaviors that you expect from others. For example, if you want to have people be open with you, then be open with them. If you want people to be nice, then be nice first. If you want to model having an “open door” policy, then invite people in to your office regularly and create a welcoming atmosphere.
8. Reinforce desired behaviors.
What gets recognized gets repeated, so recognize and reward team members who work well with others? When you catch someone doing something right, tell them. Better yet, go out of your way to find people doing things well! Acknowledge what you see that you appreciate, and more will come.
Conclusion:
According to International Business Ethics Institute, understanding business ethics can be problematic in the sense that, this field is vast, often encompassing many concerns such as corporate governance, social responsibility, reputation management, accurate accounting and audits, fair labor practices and environmental stewardship to name a few. Moreover, it generally addresses the entire scope of responsibilities and obligations that a company has to each of its stakeholders like clients, employees, shareholders, suppliers and the community. To simply define business ethics, it is a form of applied ethics where it inculcates a sense within a company’s employees on how to conduct business responsibly. Business ethics seems easy to understand but when you get to the real one, you could find yourself in a confusing situation. Since the term ethics can pose many definitions in a broad context and it can be difficult to find a common understanding of the term, hence, most companies refer the concept of the term ethics as integrity, business practices or responsible business conduct. After you have known the basic definition of business ethics, you would now begin to know the business ethics of a chosen company.
References:
Human Resource Management ,Gary Dessler ,14th edition.
http://www.cornerstone-ct.com/
www.scibd.com.
www.slideshare.com
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