Ethical Dilemmas Managers Face - Research Paper Example

?Ethical Dilemmas Managers Face Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Ethical dilemmas faced by managers 4 Conclusion 8 Reference 9 Introduction Ethics has always been a subject which relates to decision making. It is a difficult topic to define in a precise way. In general Ethics can be defined as a code or a set of values and principle by following which human being lives in a society (Stroll & Popkin, 1993, p.1). However in the context of organization, ethics is the set code of proper values and principles which helps to direct the behavior of an employee or a group of employees in respect with what is right and what is wrong. Thereby it helps to take the decisions by maintaining the ethical point of view. Employees of an organization may have varied responses towards the most ethically appropriate or inappropriate action for a particular situation. In such cases managers of the organizations often face with problems to identify what is right and what is wrong. And to add to that they also sometime gets ragged between qualms and their duties towards the organizations. Even sometimes when the managers feel that something is unethical they want to take a stand on that but prevent themselves by the fear of losing their job (Lane & Daft, 2009, p.130). Ethical standards are always not codified therefore divergences and dilemmas often occurs about the correct behavior. Principally Ethical dilemmas occur in a situation which is concerned about the correct and incorrect, when moral values and principles are in conflict. The reason for existence of these dilemmas occurs because every time acknowledgement of right and wrong cannot be done evidently. The report will highlight on the areas such as the ethical dilemmas faced by manages of organizations. The report is also principally focused to highlight the approaches by which ethical behavior can be evaluated. In order to this the report will also explain the concepts of utilitarian, individualism, moral-rights, and justice approaches. And at the end of it all the report will try to put a conclusion on how these ethical dilemmas can be overpowered. The approach for dealing with conflict situation and overcome the same will be studied in this report. It will also highlight the advantages of ethical behavior for the organization. Ethical dilemmas faced by managers In the everyday operations, almost all managers of different field are faced with some principled and ethical dilemmas. Ethical dilemmas can arise due to many reasons. Efforts made by the management to achieve the organizational objectives may clash with employee’s endeavor of fulfilling their personal goals. There can be a conflict of interest where an action promoting or benefitting one group has all the likelihood to harm another group. As such, there can be a violation of honesty and integrity which may lead to conflict and one example for this could be the misuse of internet in office. There might be a clash between loyalty and truth. This happens when reality about the company does not seem approving and individuals have to choose between honesty and loyalty. (Boone, & Kurtz, 2011, p. 41-42). Ethical dilemmas are a situation that occurs when the state of affairs demands an individual or a group to choose between several options that might be right or wrong. It is a situation in which two or more options get equally strong support. For example a manger might be faced with a situation when they have to choose between reductions in salaries of local staff versus outsourcing of functions. Another typical example could be the case of the hiring manager who is face with a situation when asked to choose between a qualified female candidate and a disabled person who is equally qualified. In such situations chances of making decision that are absolutely correct is very low. Also managers have to make decisions starting from hiring of the employee till the termination and they are faced with unusual ethical dilemmas at all stages (Morally right, n.d.). Managers are entrusted with the duty of communicating with the employee and giving them information regarding the operations of the company. They are supposed to be role models and need to demonstrate the working style of the organization to its employees. In the process they are faced with many challenges that affect their decisions and many ethical challenges are involved (Trevino & Nelson, 2010, p. 148). Another area of discussion is the social issue in the organization. Now since a manger is involved in dealing with staff members, it is a part of the social life of the manager. Workers will always look upon the manger to be just and ethical. Any immoral action or behavior of the manager will create a negative impact in the minds of the staff members about the management of the company. Many of the ethical issues in which there are apparent dangers involved turn into litigation. Stakeholders exert additional pressure on the mangers to only address issue that serve their purpose. Due to the pressure exerted by stakeholders, managers make such decisions that boost the short term earnings of the company by way of increase in the value of stock of the company (Weiss, 2008, p. 2-3). Dilemmas occur because ethics are behavior which is not documented. Choosing between ethical and less ethical action differs from one situation to another. Ethical dilemma also involves disagreement between individual and organization or the organization and the society. Mangers are accountable for creating and sustaining conditions in which people feel satisfied to work. The most important step that mangers can take is that of ethical leadership. Ethical leadership of the manger means being fair and just in dealings with employees as well as customers and behaving ethically in professional as well as personal life. Managers as role model in the organization should influence the internal climate of the organization by demonstrating high degree of ethics in their behavior. There are many advantages of ethical behavior by businesses. Being ethical not only helps to increase the reputation of the business but also helps the company save billions of dollars. Businesses are stressing more and more on ethics now a days. There can be many advantages of ethical behavior by the organization. Managers often get benefitted with this kind of ethical dilemmas by the use of normative strategy. A normative strategy is based on the norms and beliefs. It has four approaches that are very much relevant and useful for the managers. The approaches are utilitarian approach, individualism approach, moral-right approach and justice approach. Utilitarian approach: - This approach states that a decision maker will probably consider the affect of all the alternative decisions and will select the best one which benefits the maximum number of peoples. Individualism approach: - The followers of individualism approach are perceived to calculate the finest long run advantages for themselves. It is also believed that the individuals guide with honesty and truthfulness. They exhibit behaviors to other which they would like towards themselves. Moral-right approach: - The moral right approach argues that all the human beings have some elementary and fundamental rights and also some liabilities which cannot be stimulated by any individual decision. Therefore, the decisions which are ethically correct maintains are based on strong moral values. Some of the rights are right of free consent, right to privacy, right to freedom of conscience, right of free speech, right to due process and right to life and safety. Justice approach: - It holds the moral decisions based on fairness, standard of equity and neutrality. And there are three type of justice which is concerned towards the mangers. They are Distributive justice, Procedural justice and Compensatory justice (Marcic & Daft, 2010, p.115-116). Understanding these approaches is only the initial stage but managers need to consider the way to execute them. Managers must develop an approach in matching the objectives of the company with the ethical conduct. If managers adopt this approach they will not face difficulty in handling moral issues. It is the duty of the managers to strike the right balance when dealing with things that are of utmost importance for the organization. One such duty of mangers is to ensure fair treatment with one and all. Globalization, technological development and changing social role of the business account for adding more responsibilities for mangers to behave ethically and contribute towards economic development of the nation. Indeed the development of the nation depends upon the role of the business. The development of the business in turn depends upon the managers. Therefore managers must fulfill their obligations towards the organization and the society by following the right code of conduct and behaving ethically. Responsibility is a reciprocal activity and same is the case with ethics Business, its stakeholders and the government hold equal responsibility for uplifting the society. Ethics should be binding on one and all. To adhere to ethical behavior an individual needs motivation. Mangers must be deeply motivated to perform and set examples for others to follow. As discussed ethical decision making involves choices hence managers need to choose between right and wrong. Conclusion An ethical dilemma faced by mangers is nothing new. Managers are always expected to choose between actions that are ethical and less ethical. As we have studied in this report that mangers always find themselves in situation where they have to make a choice between two options that get equal support. Add to it the constant pressure of the stakeholders to make things turn in favor of the company, and the mangers predicament of selecting between truthfulness and loyalty. Thus mangers are always in the tight spot between when selecting between. It is difficult to draw a line between the other concerns of the organization and ethical behavior. Many firms and businesses do not resolve the dilemmas that confront them in a proper manner. Firms generally adopt a standard for complying with laws enacted by the government, which carry some kind of punishment for non-compliance. But ethical decision making involves looking ahead of the law. Mangers need to make tough decisions and act upon what is ethical. Being ethical not just helps to improve the standards of the organization but also boosts the confidence of the customers and the employees. Reference Boone, L. E. & Kurtz, D. L. (2011). Contemporary Business. (14th ed). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Lane, P., & Daft, R. L. (2009). Management. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Marcic, D., & Daft, R. L. (2010). Understanding Management. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Morally Right. (No Date). Moral and Ethical Issues Facing Managers. Retrieved from http://morallyright.org/39/moral-and-ethical-issues-facing-managers. Stroll, A., & Popkin, R. H. (1993). Philosophy Made Simple. Oxfordshire: Taylor & Francis. Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2010). Managing Business Ethics. (5th ed). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Weiss, J. W. (2008). Business Ethics: A Stakeholder and Issues Management Approach. (5th ed). Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Read More