Ethical Issues Faced by the 21st Century Managers - Essay Example

? Business Ethics: Ethical issues faced by the 21st Century Managers Business Ethics: Ethical issues faced by the 21st CenturyManagers The basic definition of ethics is set out as the moral principles that have been set to govern the behavior of a person. This definition is not applied in the practical nature of businesses. Business ethics are thus regarded as a complex framework which is essential for every business. Business ethics can be the moral principles set by the stakeholders of the business to govern their own behavior to benefit the business in the long run, and they can be the principles set out according to which the business works and governs its customers, investors, employees and other stakeholders. All the business rational decisions are made under these principles. Business ethics are professional ethics that examine the ethical problems that may arise in a business. The ethical principles of a business are applied to all the individuals and organizations associated (Arnold, Beauchamp, Bowie, 2012). It is important to teach students about business ethics in order to help them understand the complex ethical issues that managers of the 21st century confront. They must understand the best practices with respect to ethical management and sound public policy regarding the relationship of business to society. The purpose of setting ethical principles in a business is simply to embody fairness and objectivity. Fairness and objectivity are two principles that help businesses to flourish and grow. Ethical principles enhance the business objectivity through which rational thinking is done and it is congruent with the truth to avoid delusive decision making. On the other hand, fairness is important as it eliminates discrimination, bias, envy and all the other negative behaviors. It also ensures equality, justice and judgments made on employee’s merits allowing the best decisions to be taken in the long run (Shaw, 2010). Many see the concepts of fairness and objectivity as weak or challenging to the commercial opportunities. However, they are very strong concepts which ensure the success of the business and allow the leaders to perform assertively. Gaining competitive advantage through unfair means or gaining advantage through discrimination or bias may negatively affect the business in the long run. Objectivity allows the business to plan beyond the short term advantages with an honest focus. Thus fairness and objectivity are the foundation of the business ethical principles and allows benefits in the long run. Ethical issues have been a part of businesses ever since the business world emerged. Businesses of the 21st century face ethical issues that vary from culture to culture. Ethical perspectives are given in order to help the managers to resolve the ethical issues. One of the major ethical issues faced by the 21st century managers is discrimination in the organization. This is because, unlike the previous centuries, the businesses of the 21st century comprises of a range of diverse cultures. The society has become more diverse and thus the employees working in the businesses usually come from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. This becomes a major problem for the managers to handle them and avoid issues such as discrimination which causes trouble for the businesses. The cultural differences would impact the dynamics and performance of the organization. But the major threat that the diversity causes is discrimination. Discrimination is one of the most complex issues which are very difficult for the managers to confront. In the 21st century this issue has been observed more than ever before, simply because of the diverse workforce. The diversity of the workforce causes discrimination on the basis of race, gender, age or religion. Discrimination issues do not only cause problems within the organization but charges may be filed against the company as well. Discrimination also causes harassment where the employees harass other employees on the basis of their gender, race or religion. Harassment may include passing immoral or sexual comments to the workers of the opposite sex (Shaw, 2010). There are many ethical perspectives that are given to the managers in order to help them confront the ethical issues that arise in the organization. When there are employees in the organization from various different cultures, the managers shall ensure that there is equality for all. The employees shall be given a code of ethical practices that must be followed and on its basis the employees must be judged. The employees shall know that there is no place for discrimination and they are equal to all others despite their color or gender. It is the duty of the manager to educate the employees about the ethical practices of the organization. The manager shall guide the employees that they will be judged on the basis of their merit and work only. The managers should also avoid discriminating while hiring the employees or promoting them (Arnold, Beauchamp, Bowie, 2012). If there are cases and conflicts due harassment, it is the manager’s duty to resolve these issues by communicating and discussing with the employees. The ethical perspectives that must be applied by managers are to address the issues themselves by performing evaluations and solutions that are agreed by all. The manager must also have certain qualities which inspire the employees to listen to him, respect him and communicate with him freely. The friendly environment should be promoted by the manager so that all the employees follow that and work ethically with each other. These ethical perspectives are chosen because they ensure that the employees are friendly towards one another and the manager is performing ethically to set an example and inspire them (Mohan, 2007). Another common ethical issue faced by the 21st century managers is the privacy issue. This has been seen greatly because of the advances in technology that have taken place in this century. The technology advancement has greatly affected the business performances and outcomes positively and thus they cannot be ignored. With the increased technology comes the greater risk for privacy violation. This is because of the great number of social networking websites that are being used by 80% of the population despite their occupation and profession. Since many people have access to the internet and the social networking websites, their privacy tends to be at high risk which increases the risk of harassment and scandals (Mohan, 2007). In the 21st century businesses, there are many such cases that have arisen due to the access use of internet at workplace and even after the working hours. Employees that have competition or rivalry between them can use personal information to harass blackmail and scandalize. This creates a great ethical issue for the managers to confront. Moreover, such scandals have the tendency to be viral and they may spread across the internet circle. This affects the business reputation and position in the market. Other ethical dilemmas faced because of the advanced technology are the accounting scandals in the public companies. Accounting records and reports need to be accurate, honest and complete before they are published to the stakeholders. Ethical issues caused by dishonesty would be the lack of information disclosed or any lie that could harm the business (Arnold, Beauchamp, Bowie, 2012). The ethical perspectives that the managers need to follow to avoid these ethical issues are to have checks and balances in the privacy and freedom of the workers. The managers have the duty to control and monitor the activities of the workers along with maintaining the technological standards that the business needs to use for its legitimate purposes. Maintaining the relationships between the employees is a major ethical perspective that needs to be present in every business. Employees are an important part of the business and their ethical behaviors tend to affect the whole business output, profits and performance. Some managers of the 21st century believe in the important role of the employees and thus they go as far as monitoring all the online activities of their employees through their computers and accounts they use at work. The managers may educate their employees about this policy at the time of hiring them to control the ethical activities. The managers have this right to concern about the autonomy of each employee. Other ethical perspectives are that the managers of a public company must maintain the accounts properly and give the job to a responsible and honest employee. In a public company not many employees in the accounts department should work on the reports as it would increase the risk of fault. Managers should keep a check on the workers and the accounts so that there is less risk of fraud or lies. John Boatright in “Individual Responsibility in the American Corporate System: Does Sarbanes-Oxley Strike the Right Balance?” argues that the primary purpose of laws governing corporate responsibility is deterrence. I agree with this statement. Corporate responsibility in today’s world is the government of an organization. Laws are made to make sure that the business is performing according to its ethics and set of values. In the 21st century the government of a business means a wider scale. There are many groups that govern the businesses on ethical and legal grounds keeping all the conditions of the world in mind including labor laws, equality laws and human rights. I agree that the primary purpose of these laws is deterrence, which means ensuring that the offenders do not commit that offence again and that the punishment prevents other people to commit that offence (Blowfield, 2011). There are many ethical theories that support this statement. The utilitarian approach is a theory which refers to those ethical actions that promote good value in the society and poses limited harm to the people. This is an old theory which ensures that the outcome of situations helps the stakeholders and benefits the business. A rights ethical theory is an approach which focuses on ethical behaviors of individuals to achieve goals and targets. Justice theory also promotes equality and fairness amongst all the individuals involved in the business activities. It says that all individuals shall be treated justly and equally. Lastly, the common good approach theory promotes the general values that are found in the society. All these theories promote ethical values and ensure that the primary purpose of the ethical laws is deterrence and that the ethics are promoted in the society (Arnold, Beauchamp, Bowie, 2012). Conclusively, it is important for every business to set certain business ethical principles and follow the ethical theories in order to perform effectively and smoothly in the long run. Business ethical principles ensure good will, good reputation, higher competition and higher productivity within the business. Since the 21st century managers suffer many ethical dilemmas that were never seen in the past, they should follow the ethical principles strictly in order to maintain their business efficacy. References Arnold, D., Beauchamp, T., Bowie, N. (2012). Ethical Theory and Business. London: Pearson Education, Limited Blowfield, M. (2011). Corporate Responsibility. Oxford: Oxford University Press Mohan, T. (2007). Contemporary Issues in Business Ethics. NY: Nova Publishers Shaw, W. (2010). Business Ethics. London: Cengage Learning Read More