Organizational Ethics Issue Resolution - Coursework Example

Introduction Organizational ethics include processes which concentrate in addressing ethical issues related to management, business, educational, professional and relationships in any organization. Most organizations have not been able to consider the importance of addressing ethical issues until very recently. Many organizations have put a lot of effort in strategic plans, brand strategy, and even growth strategy ignoring the most important aspect to address which is the ethical issue. Ethical behavior in an organization should be taken very seriously as there has been an increase in both organizational misbehavior and activities which are of criminal tendencies. This has called for many organizations to invest in hiring consultants who offer ethical consultancy to an organization in the quest of alleviating moral decay in an organization. These consultancy firms employ ethics strategy to ensure that all ethical issues in an organization are addressed. (Mike, 2006) Below is a sample of what the ethics strategy involves. It ensures that all organizations are legal, ethical and that they use the regulatory plan as their guiding principle. It offers a guideline which ensures that an organizational character is enhanced. It does this by taking an organization’s employees through a training program. The ethical strategy should be able to monitor organizational activities to ensure that violation of legal and ethical behavior of an organization is reduced. One of the most important Ethical issues witnessed in many organizations is sexual harassment. Many employees both men and women are exposed to derogatory attitudes from their colleagues and employers which involve, comments and gestures which have asexual connotation but are not directed to anyone specifically. (KLM Inc., 2007) At times, sexual harassment may go as far as forceful physical contact which may include kissing. Pressurizing employees in an organization to accept dates and propositions can also be termed as sexual harassment. According to a research carried out recently, many employers force their employees to agree to have sex with them in exchange for favors and promotions. This is sexual coercion and it is universally recognized to be sexual harassment. However, the ethical issue that arises here is whether all forms of physical contact is going to be perceived as sexual harassment. Congratulatory hugs can at times be mistaken to have sexual connotations. There are people who argue that derogatory behavior directed to no one in particular is not sexual harassment. For instance, if a joke is being made about the female anatomy, then it should not pass as sexual harassment. In addition, a victim should express his concerns if she/he is not comfortable by a form physical contact. Initially, it was thought that it is only the women who experience sexual harassment in workplaces. Today, debate and discussions on the matter has made more legislation to be passed and the term has been redefined to involve men too. (KLM Inc., 2007) It has been established that sexual harassment at places of work or an organization interferes with the productivity or performance of an employee. This is because the environment one is exposed to is both offensive and intimidating for any productivity to be achieved. Therefore, leaders in most organizations have worked tirelessly to come up with solutions to this ethical problem for employees to have a comfortable environment for working. Many organizations have an established ‘ethics program’ that incorporates training that is hoped will develop ethical character of all the employees in the organizations. The employees are taught how to avoid sexual harassment, and respond to any forms of sexual harassments. This training also creates awareness on the forms of punishment that one would face if caught with the offence. (Mike, 2006) Any ethical program should contain statement of values. An organization should be clear on the values it employs to ensure that it is properly guided by them. For instance, in some pubs, physical contact between the bar maids and customers is a daily occurrence. The organization does not consider this as sexual harassment. Therefore, the barmaids should clearly be informed of how far the physical contact can go. However in some organizations such as banks, most physical contacts between employees and customers may be interpreted to be sexual harassment. Therefore, employees undergoing ethical program training should be informed of their rights and to know when their personal space has been infringed. The training makes it clear for the employees to fathom what is expected of them. (KLM Inc., 2007). Six Ethical Decision making steps There are six steps that each and every organization should learn before making an ethical decision in order to make the right decision that it will use as a guideline in its daily operations. Although the steps may be a bit tedious, in the long run an organization will have learnt the proper techniques that will help it become a good decision maker in all aspects of its operations. By an organization employing models used to make decisions, it is assured of maintaining proper ethics in its working environment. (Josephon Institute, 2005). The first of the six ethical decision making steps includes defining the problem that an organization is undergoing. This is a very important step that any organization should utilize. It is important for an organization to know why it has to make a decision concerning sexual harassment in its working environment and the consequences of the decision it is going to make. Employees’ complaints should be understood by an organization and it should be able to analyze their expectations. For instance, when bar maids start complaining about feeling uncomfortable from the physical contact they have with their customers, the problem should be clearly defined. It could be that the customers handle them roughly or that they are being touched indecently. The second step is to identify alternative or other solutions to alleviate the problem. Decision makers should not really depend on hearsay and take it as a fact. It should be established that the source of complaint is reliable and genuine before coming up with other alternative measures that would solve the problem. (Josephon Institute, 2005). For instance, the bar maids should revise their dress code to look less provocative or a notice should be put up to warn customers of indecently touching the maids. The third step involves the evaluation of the alternatives that have been identified. Decision makers within an organization should try to talk to other people about the decisions it intends to make to be sure that is doing what is right. The alternatives should be evaluated by looking at the negative and positive consequences of each one of them. The decision maker should be guided by facts rather than beliefs. (Josephon Institute, 2005). The decision maker in the pub or bar should be able to determine whether dressing decently is going to minimize sexual harassment that the bar maids encounter. He should determine whether this is factual or just a belief guided by his principles. Stakeholders should also be informed of the problem before any decision is reached at. The fourth step involves making a decision. It is important to do this with the consequences of the decisions in mind. A wrong decision could make an organization lose its reputation and worse still crumble down. A decision maker should be able to give clear justifications for proposing a particular solution. Therefore a bar manager should be able to come up with decisions that would not affect customers’ attendance in his bar. At the same time, the decision reached at should be able to completely alleviate the sexual harassment faced by the bar’s employees. The fifth step involves implementing the decision. Any decisions made by an organization will only count if they are implemented. The decisions made are meant to change the disturbing situation in any organization. Therefore, the best alternative solution that the bar manager will reach at, has to be implemented to alleviate the bar maids from being sexually harassed. (Josephon Institute, 2005). The final step involves evaluation of the decision. A decision maker should be able to find out whether the alternative solution has been able to solve the problem. The decision made could either solve the existing problem, elevate it by making it worse or it could not affect the problem in any way. In the case of creation of other problems, these too should be analyzed. (Josephon Institute, 2005). For example, the bar manager deciding on putting up a notice which would prohibit customers from touching the bar maids indecently, would send mixed signals. First, the issue would be made worse as customers would become curious to know the penalties of committing the offence. Secondly, the notice would be ignored all together and the problem would not be solved. Thirdly, customers would shun the bar and this could send the bar out of business. Fourthly, customers would take heed of the notice and stop sexually harassing the bar maids. This could then act as a solution to the problem. Sexual harassment ethical issue should be addressed by any organization by adapting it to ethic filters. The decisions made should be consistent with organizations’ procedures and policies. They should also be accepted legally. It is important for the decision to conform to the values that have been adopted by a particular organization. The decision maker should also ensure that the decision he makes satisfies his/her definition of fair, good or right. . (KLM Inc., 2007) Conclusion Ethical decisions made should be based on an organization’s values and principles. Some of the values include: Integrity which means being truthful and honest at all times. There is also empathy which is the ability to understand the needs of other people. Most bars and pubs emphasize on courage which means doing the right thing even under difficult situations. Objections to the set ethics should be addressed by an effective leadership system in the bars. This will play a role in monitoring the enforcement of the decision and making sure that it is implemented. It should also ensure that the ethical standards set by the organization are taken seriously. Improper behavior like sexual harassment should have consequences and this should be openly communicated to both employees and the bar customers. Ethical decisions can greatly affect the bars’ stakeholders and hence they should be done the right way. Stakeholders should be able to have a say in the decision making process to make them feel needed. It has been proven that a good business can only be developed by employing good ethics. (KLM Inc., 2007) References Josephon Institute (2005): Ethical decision model. Retrieved from: http://www.josephsoninstitute.org. Accessed on 23/11/2007 KLM Inc. (2007): Strategy for an Ethical Organization. Retrieved from: www.ethics.org/resources. Accessed on 23/11/2007 Mike, S. (2006): Ethical decision making. Cambridge University press. UK. Read More