Role of Business Ethics in Modern Organizations - Essay Example

Role of business ethics in modern organizations – Reflective essay Name of the Student: Name of the Instructor: Name of the course: Code of the course: Submission date: Role of business ethics in modern organizations – Reflective essay Introduction It is imperative to be cognizant of the fact that the concept of business ethics has gained elevated prominence in the recent decades. Additionally, the importance of ethics in the business world has surpassed national borders to become a global phenomenon. This is founded on the new issues and trends which have been evident in modern organizations which have the capacity of creating an imperative burden not only to the organizations but also to the end consumers. This has led some scholars and practitioners to infer that in the contemporary business set-up, the necessity of proper ethical behavior among diverse organizations has evolved into becoming integral in order to avoid lawsuits (Salehi et. al., 2012, p. 1). Against this backdrop, this reflective paper will explore the aspect of business ethics in modern organizations. Selected area The selected area is business ethics in modern organizations. In regard to what I learnt about the role of business ethics in modern organizations, I have come to understand that the ethical standards which are embedded in a given institution plays a central role in influencing the practices of the members of this organization. This mostly related to the ethical or unethical standards which are reflected in the leadership organ of an organization. In a situation where the leader engages in unethical practices like corruption or dishonesty, this is bound to influence the practices of other organizational members who are below this leader. Subsequently, the followers of this leader are bound to engage in similar practices which are detrimental to the business in terms of reputation and performance. This is even in some acts which are unethical but not entirely illegal or unlawful. This is based on the fact that by leaders making unethical behaviors to appear legitimate, this has the potential of influencing other members of the organization to engage in similar practices (Anderson & Carpets, n.d., p. 4). Additionally, Brown (2007, p. 149) revealed that this trend damages the reputation of the organization, constrain its capacity to attract and retail top talents, weaken its morale as well as diverting the time and energy of the top management towards damage control rather than business development. Additionally, I have learnt that business ethics which are instituted in a given organization poses extensive influence on the decision making process at the organizational level, mostly in modern globalized business environment. This is founded on the fact that ethical decision making is highly complex in a globalized business (Week 7, n.d., p. 2). In this case, if a business has ethics based on respect for human rights and anti-child labor practices, this will influence the decision-making process of this organization, for instance, not employing children in its workforce despite the arguments supporting this practice. In regard to the knowledge, ideas or issues that I will take with me, firstly, I have learnt the importance of the leaders’ character in influencing ethical performance at the organizational level. This is founded on the fact that the character of the leader in an organization plays a vital role in influencing other people to behave in a certain way, ethically or otherwise. This fact has been fortified by diverse scholars in management who have emphasized the role of a robust character and principles in effective leadership both to self as well as others (Brown, 2007, p. 140). In this case, I have come to understand that the character of the overall or departmental leaders in a given institution plays a critical role in cultivating the establishment and growth of ethical values and behaviors in the organization. In a situation where the leader adheres to strong ethical values, he/she is bound to influence other individuals and collectives in the organization to follow suit. This leads to the question about the development of corporate culture in the organization. Corporate culture can be perceived to include policies and leadership on ethics as well as opportunity for unethical behavior (Fires, n.d., p. 9). Linked to the core role of the leader in molding the growth of ethics at the organizational level as expounded above, I have also learnt that this fundamental role undertaken by the leader greatly contributes to the development and growth of a positive corporate culture founded on ethics. This is supported by the suggestion by Brown (2007, p. 146) that there is need for ethics to be integrated into the culture of the organization. In this case, leaders possess the capacity and the ability to mold and change this culture. Links to learning In regard to the major insight that I gained about my own learning experience in this course, I have come to understand the importance of active student role in the learning process rather than being a passive receiver. This is critical in realizing positive outcomes in the learning process in terms of personal understanding. This fact is supported by Haggis (2010, p. 209) who determined that it is imperative for the student to assume an active role in the learning process. This is whereby there is an expectation for the student to be a self-directed learner who engages in direct initiation and direction of his/her efforts geared towards constructing personal understanding. This insight supports the enormous attention that active learning has received in the past several years (Prince, 2004, p. 1). Nonetheless, it is worth noting that i also gained a major insight in my learning experience in this course regarding the centrality of relational quality. This is whereby apart from being an autonomous learner, interactions with other students was core in influencing my learning process and giving me insightful ideas. This fact is also supported by Haggis (2010, p. 213). In regard to what I learnt about how I prefer to learn, I came to the realization that more often than not, I might misconceive my strengths in certain fields of my leaning process. For instance, I can wrongly perceive that I am strong in a certain realm of academics, and on the contrary be proved wrong by the results after that unit. According to Drucker (1999, p. 3), the only sure way of understanding one’s strengths is through feedback analysis which entails writing down the expectations of what will happen after initiating a major process making a key decision, for instance, choosing a certain academic unit. I intend to use this approach in the subsequent learning processes. Regarding the assistance of these insights while continuing my success in the Master of Commerce degree, the insight on the importance of relational quality will be particularly core. This is whereby cooperation has the ability of improving learning outcomes when juxtaposed with individual learning. In regard to why this is importance, I perceive it as being central in influencing my advances not only in the academic life but also in the professional life in subsequent years. For instance, the aspect of having the right ethics while managing myself in terms of the inherent values is not only key in influencing my individual decision in the learning processes but will also spill over to the professional life after school. Additionally, the cognition of the imperative role of group work while desisting from certain symptoms attributed to group thinking, for instance, stereotyping or unquestioned belief among others (Week 5, n.d, p. 8) is important in the development of autonomous ethical thinking in my professional life. This is divorced from certain negative implications of group thinking for instance, legitimizing an unethical behavior based on group sentiments. In relation to what this means for an employer gaining the above knowledge, it insinuates that it is imperative for an employer to institute robust ethical practices in the business set-up through ethical leadership. With these ethical practices trickling down from the employer to the employees, this will ensure that the employees possess an ethical mind of working and serving purposes which surpass self-interest to improve the welfare of the larger organization (Gardner, 2008, p. 3). Additionally, the employers will be in a position of choosing the most ideal communication styles to disseminate the ethical principles among the employees. This is founded on the importance of the employer using the communication skill which he/she is most skilled and comfortable with (Gentile, 2010, p. 2). This is fundamental in the absorption of the ethical principles from the employer to the employees and eventually to the larger organizational set-up. Lastly, in regard to the question on how I can continue to develop in the future, the centrality of assuming strong ethical standards is not only important on the current times but also in the future development in the corporate world. Additionally, the realization that ethics in team outcomes are not only important in academic groups will also influence my ethical standards as a leader in future endeavors. This is founded on the revelation by diverse scholars, for instance, Tannenbaum et al., (1996) that team leadership is an integral characteristic of effective team performance. Conclusion The above analysis has revealed the increased prominence of the concept of business ethics in the recent decades. Additionally, it has explored the selected area of business ethics in terms of what I learnt about the role of business ethics in modern organizations as well as the knowledge, ideas or issues that I will take with me. In this case, the importance of ethics as embedded in a given institution in influencing the practices of the members of this organization has been revealed as well as the important role of a leader in influencing the ethical standards in an organization. This review has also revealed that cooperation is not only imperative in academics but also in the business circles and this is not only imperative in assisting me to continue my success in the Masters of Commerce degree but also influencing my future development. Lastly, this analysis has explored why it is important for an employer to gain the above knowledge. References Anderson, R., & Carpets, I., n.d., ‘ CAW-11: Ethical Leadership and Authentic Leadership’. Brown, ME., 2007, ‘Misconceptions of Ethical Leadership: How to Avoid Potential Pitfalls’, Organizational Dynamics, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 140–155 Drucker, PF., 1999, ‘Managing Oneself’, Harvard Business Review, pp. 1-12. Fires, P., n.d, ‘Week 4 CAW’. Gardner, H., 2008, Five minds for the future, Harvard Business Press, Boston, Massachusetts. Gentile, MC., 2010, ‘Giving voice to values: Brief introduction’, Giving Voice to Values, Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts. Haggis, T., 2002, ‘Exploring the 'Black Box' of Process: A comparison of theoretical notions of the 'adult learner' with accounts of postgraduate learning experience’, Studies in Higher Education, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 207-220. Prince, M., 2004, ‘Does Active Learning Work? A Review of the Research’, Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 93, No. 3, pp. 223-231. Salehi, M., et. al., 2012, ‘Business Ethics’, International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 1-5. Tannenbaum, S. I., Salas, E., & Cannon-Bowers, J. A., 1996, ‘Promoting team effectiveness’, in M. A. West (Ed.), Handbook of work group psychology, John Wiley, Chichester, pp. 503-529. Week 5, n.d, ‘The Challenger disaster: Group Decision Making’. Week 7, n.d., ‘ Hitting the Wall: Nike and International Labor Practices Organizations and People in a Global World’. Read More

In regard to the knowledge, ideas or issues that I will take with me, firstly, I have learnt the importance of the leaders’ character in influencing ethical performance at the organizational level. This is founded on the fact that the character of the leader in an organization plays a vital role in influencing other people to behave in a certain way, ethically or otherwise. This fact has been fortified by diverse scholars in management who have emphasized the role of a robust character and principles in effective leadership both to self as well as others (Brown, 2007, p. 140). In this case, I have come to understand that the character of the overall or departmental leaders in a given institution plays a critical role in cultivating the establishment and growth of ethical values and behaviors in the organization.

In a situation where the leader adheres to strong ethical values, he/she is bound to influence other individuals and collectives in the organization to follow suit. This leads to the question about the development of corporate culture in the organization. Corporate culture can be perceived to include policies and leadership on ethics as well as opportunity for unethical behavior (Fires, n.d., p. 9). Linked to the core role of the leader in molding the growth of ethics at the organizational level as expounded above, I have also learnt that this fundamental role undertaken by the leader greatly contributes to the development and growth of a positive corporate culture founded on ethics.

This is supported by the suggestion by Brown (2007, p. 146) that there is need for ethics to be integrated into the culture of the organization. In this case, leaders possess the capacity and the ability to mold and change this culture. Links to learning In regard to the major insight that I gained about my own learning experience in this course, I have come to understand the importance of active student role in the learning process rather than being a passive receiver. This is critical in realizing positive outcomes in the learning process in terms of personal understanding.

This fact is supported by Haggis (2010, p. 209) who determined that it is imperative for the student to assume an active role in the learning process. This is whereby there is an expectation for the student to be a self-directed learner who engages in direct initiation and direction of his/her efforts geared towards constructing personal understanding. This insight supports the enormous attention that active learning has received in the past several years (Prince, 2004, p. 1). Nonetheless, it is worth noting that i also gained a major insight in my learning experience in this course regarding the centrality of relational quality.

This is whereby apart from being an autonomous learner, interactions with other students was core in influencing my learning process and giving me insightful ideas. This fact is also supported by Haggis (2010, p. 213). In regard to what I learnt about how I prefer to learn, I came to the realization that more often than not, I might misconceive my strengths in certain fields of my leaning process. For instance, I can wrongly perceive that I am strong in a certain realm of academics, and on the contrary be proved wrong by the results after that unit.

According to Drucker (1999, p. 3), the only sure way of understanding one’s strengths is through feedback analysis which entails writing down the expectations of what will happen after initiating a major process making a key decision, for instance, choosing a certain academic unit. I intend to use this approach in the subsequent learning processes. Regarding the assistance of these insights while continuing my success in the Master of Commerce degree, the insight on the importance of relational quality will be particularly core.

This is whereby cooperation has the ability of improving learning outcomes when juxtaposed with individual learning. In regard to why this is importance, I perceive it as being central in influencing my advances not only in the academic life but also in the professional life in subsequent years.

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