How Personal Can Ethics Get - Essay Example

How Personal Can Ethics Get? Ethics have been a controversial since the beginning. Morals and Ethics have been used interchangeably even though they don’t mean the same. Morals are the Customs and Traditions accepted by an individual. On the other hand, Ethics define critical reflections on these morals under the light of right and wrong. However, ethical dilemmas do not necessarily imply a choice between a right and a wrong. On the contrary, ethical dilemmas are related to a comparison between two wrongs and one’s justification for the choice (Harry). Personal differences and preferences can impart a negative impact on organizational ethics, especially if it is up on the hierarchical level. Favoritism and Partiality has forever been known for violation of equal rights – a policy that most organizations carry on their sleeves. If an executive practices partiality in his/her choices of human resource, it not only affects the morale of the competitor individual but also diminishes the overall efficiency of the organization knowing a suitable candidate was rejected for a project against an incapable one. Additionally, this will also demoralize other employees of the organization, knowing that the system for their career growth is corrupt by personal biases. If this partiality is backed by personal gains (monetary or otherwise) on behalf of the executive, it further deteriorates the organizational relationships – the employees tend to be uninterested in company decisions, disloyal towards the organization and low- performed. Turnover rate can also be expected to be higher than normal for such an organization. Also, it can be expected that such an organization will dissolve rapidly into non-existence. Business operations therefore strictly require the setting aside of personal differences and working in collaboration for common organizational goals. Ethics play a vital role in organizations and organizational commitments on behalf of employees. Ethics, if practiced properly, can guarantee organizational prosperity. This is because ethical environment ensures safeguard of employee rights, allowing them to concentrate on their jobs and prove to be productive members of the organization. The employees will be less pressurized to compromise their own ethics and values, making them comfortable and satisfied in their jobs. It will promote equality among all employees, controlling misconduct and sycophancy naturally. An employee will possess greater willingness to report misconduct, if any, knowing the organization will take appropriate actions against it. The employees will feel valued by the organization for their actual worth (Rhoden). Organizational procedures and policies reflect the ethical system of that organization. In most organizations, the code of conduct and policies are well-written pieces of deep-rooted ethics. However, in reality, these tend to be practiced solely on the surface. Same is the situation with the organization in the case study – Wisson possesses elegant and well-written organizational policies, which Valarie (the marketing manager of Wisson) later discovers are not adequately practiced. As vital as the clause for bribes and personal payments was being violated by Valarie’s boss, Waters. Such practices pose serious threats to organizational and personal ethics, creating a conflict between the two. As person-job fit is emphasized in most management guidelines, the importance of person-organization fit is now being increasingly recognized. If a person’s personal ethics and values are not in peace with the organization’s ethics, serious issues can arise in the form of ethical dilemmas, greatly hampering one’s capability to perform. In the case under investigation, Valarie was undergoing the same ethical dilemmas posed by improper person-organization fit. She was a staunch believer of equal opportunities for all and widespread competition being healthy for bringing out the best. Her organization, Wisson, was a fragrance company, testing samples from several fragrance houses and choosing those they would endorse with their own name. Valarie believed that samples from all fragrance houses were worthwhile and should be given chance to compete with others. However, after sometime, she realized that most of her organization’s picks were products of two specific perfumers. The sample for selection decreased from 300-500 to around a 100. However, she later found out that her boss was consuming bribe for approving scents from these two perfumers only. The real dilemmas started with this realization. On one hand, the organization was being deprived of the diversity of samples, creating monotony in their product lines. On the other, her boss was consuming unjust personal payments from the two perfumers, clearly violating one of the organizational policies. This, along with long vacations and absences from office, deteriorated the image of Waters in the eyes of Valarie. Waters clearly lacked leadership skills and was taking high salaries from Wisson for no good reason. Valarie wanted to report Waters misconduct, but this would negatively impact others in addition to herself. If Waters was sacked, this would leave her team members in a highly vulnerable state, possibly taking them towards doom if they were unable to sustain the department on their own. Even though the team had adapted to survival with Waters absence from work, this knowledge about Waters unethical activity would nevertheless be a shock for them. On the other hand, Valarie was on a special working visa, which safeguarded her right to stay in United States only till she had a job. Switching to another job was not easy for her because of the nature of her immigration. She had just been enrolled at University of Chicago for her Masters, and she did not want to quit it. Wisson had promised to provide for her tuition fees if she secured good grades. However, if she did not report the misconduct, it would be a burden on her conscience forever, also possibly causing the organization’s downfall. With these personal priorities in mind, the decision was not simply between right and wrong. The ethical dilemmas stemmed from the negative impacts that originated from her choices. Valarie would be more peaceful and decisive if she had prioritized her ethics and values beforehand, and had a clear idea of those issues she would not compromise over. It is clear she was not ready to compromise on her education, which was impossible if she reported her boss’ misconduct. Also, negatively impacting her team members was definitely on her “don’ts” list. With the number of personal and public issues that would arise, it was wise for her to keep silent, at least for the while. However, she should confide in her team members about the occurrence before she considered it right to divulge the information. The team members also had a right to know about the ill-conduct of Waters, so they were more prepared to take over after his removal as a Wisson executive. Her mentioned course of action seems more centered on herself rather than ethics in general practice. It would be preferable if this problem was also tackled through team-work. After taking her team into confidence, she should have proceeded with organizational procedures for reporting the misconduct. At the back end, her team members would be working actively, conscious that they have to sustain through a major change if Valarie’s complaint was successful. Such combined efforts would not only have reaped positive results, but also safeguarded Valarie’s personal priorities. Nowadays, however, Ethics Programs are also being conducted for these reasons. It focuses on employee’s realization of ethical dilemmas in the workplace and educates them how to work through such dilemmas before making decisions (Joseph). It would also be appropriate for Valarie to opt for such a program to help her reach her justifiable decision. However, it is nevertheless evident that such a situation should be solved through team work rather than Valarie’s individual decision making. References Harry, S. (2006). Business: Dealing with Moral Dilemmas in the Workplace. E-Academy.com. Retrieved from http://www.ecademy.com/node.php?id=67714 Rhoden, N. (2008). Ethics in the Workplace. Managerwise.com. Retrieved from http://www.managerwise.com/article.phtml?id=655 Joseph, J. (2000). Ethics in the Workplace. Asae – the Center for Association Leadership. Retrieved from http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/articledetail.cfm?ItemNumber=13073 Read More