Organizational Values and Mission Statements - Research Paper Example

Organizational Values and Mission ments Organizational Values and Mission ments Introduction Background The imperative ethical issue that the paper will explore is transparency as it defines an organization’s values and mission. Transparency at its core encompasses three main metaphors that are coined to provide a succinctly clear meaning. Consequently, transparency is a public value that is recognized by the society to counter the menace of corruption. In addition, it is synonymous with the process of making decisions by non-governmental and governmental organizations. Finally, transparency public tool relates to good governance in policies, nations, programs, and organizations. In this context, the first metaphor subtly intertwines transparency with the issue of accountability. As evidenced in the second metaphor, transparency seems to encourage openness and enhances the essence of privacy and secrecy. Further, the policy makers are brought on board for creation of efficiency, transparency, accountability, and effectiveness (Ball, 2009). Over the recent past, new laws, guidelines, and administrative rules have allowed the public to gain access to the government information. The situation has increased accountability of civil servants, businesses, enhanced responsibility for the politician’s actions, and made decisions to be more open. The guidelines involve those of FOIA of 1966, SGA of 1976, and the PRA recorded in 1978. The acts mentioned give freedom to the press and the citizens to access the information from the government, meetings, and to the materials handled by the presidents. Similarly, the WPA of 1989 gives hinders termination of contracts for civil servants and employees who seem to report illegal activities within the federal or local governments. Further, other developed laws enhance accountability and transparency of organizations and governments. Assuredly, candidates that are more political and various organizational leaders are calling for accountability and transparency globally. Other laws are also in the development process to ensure openness is instilled to the organizations that serve the public (Valentine et al., 2013). Relevance of the career Management in any organization aims at achieving high organizational productivity. Therefore, there must be organizational screening to establish methodologies and improve productivity and organizational performance levels. For the high performances to be achieved in organizations, managers need tools to guide them through to boost effectiveness and efficiency in their organizations. To attain efficiency and effectiveness, accountability and transparency are core aspects for organizations. Additionally, motivation and satisfaction of employees is key to any organizational activities and performance, thus, organizations should at all times ensure maximum job satisfaction and employee motivation. Arguably, achieving the situation needs all stakeholders to have trust towards the management and its procedures. Further, for organizations to be in a position to display their essence to both internal and external shareholders, they need to develop core values and refocus their mission statements. Moreover, productive organizations always work collaboratively towards a common goal and objectives intertwined with high degree of transparency and accountability. To achieve these situations, organizations need to develop shared cultures and common values. Finally, the purpose of the management is to ensure smooth running of activities in their organizations. Therefore, organizational values and mission statements help them focus their control over the organization. Thus, there is a dire need for organization to have foci on the dimension of transparency and accountability (Vandijck et al., 2007). Reasons why the topic is of interest Through the study of organizational values and missions, ethical officers carry out organizations’ ethical analysis to reveal their real critical view. For the purposes of detailing critical views, organizations strive to acquire excellent public images. Thus it is essential for organizations to remain focused towards the ethical values maintained by the organizations. To avoid tainting and tarnishing of organizational names and public images, it is mandatory for all organization to have quality standards. Essentially, for the organizations to discern the vices of unaccountability and non-transparent acts they must be focused to a common mission statement. Despite the bid to maximize profits, organizations scramble for a good public image, thus it is of interest to find out specific public images for specific organizations of interest. The topic helps the ethical officers to be cognizant of how organizations relate with their stakeholders and the methodologies used in offering services and products. In addition, the topic helps to find out how the mission statements create trust and inspiration to boost the organizational performances. Organizations yearn to furnish their public images to ensure a higher degree of stakeholder identification, yet some officers within the organizations might be engaging in unethical deeds. Hence, it is vital to determine such retarding acts among various organizations and help to furnish their images. It is therefore essential to realize the role of organizational values and missions towards achieving optimal stakeholder involvement via refocusing the stakeholders towards transparency and accountability (Vizeu & Matitz, 2012). Statement Problem The Ethical Issue Lack of transparency, openness, and accountability in organizations can cause failure or organizations. Unethical managers and employees should note that their organizations must thrive in accountable and activities that they bear responsibility. In an attempt to create organizational interests meant for survival in the competitive environment, organizations must realize and align themselves towards effective ethical values and excellent mission statements. In this context, there will be creation of emotional commitment among the employees (Antonaras et al., 2011). Arguably, in such enabling environment, organizations are able to achieve high standards of performance. Further, to achieve high performance standards, employee must fit in the contextual operation of the organization, this means that they must show ethical values when delivery services. Achieving this can be through creation of tailored and congruent organizational values that stress on openness and accountability. Consequently, it is of supreme importance for organizations to ensure development of good values and mission statements that will achieve their vision statements. Indeed, there is a need for the elicitation of emotional commitment among employees for maximal involvement. Notably, in cases there is high rates of accountability and transparency, there are constant clients flowing for the organization’s services and products (Birtch and Chiang, 2013). Organizational Values, Missions, and Decision Making Unethical behaviors lead to disagreements, hence interfering with the process of resource allocation. In the presence of unethical standards such as declined transparency, there is reduced efficiency, effectiveness, and biased decisions. Additionally, constrained mission statements undermine the corporate culture through prejudiced decisions from the management. Further, when the top management explicates compromised behaviors, there is always divisions among top, middle-level, and line managers hindering decision making processes. Consequently, poor work climate demoralizes employees resulting in stress and inactive involvement in decision making. Moreover, there is indicative disintegration of role modeling that result in “don’t care behavior,” which results in poor decision-making (Deshpande et al., 2010). Resulting from these uncouth behaviors of non-transparency and unaccountability are diminished relationships with customers, consumers, stakeholders, and tarnished public images. Supporting Research Principles to Evaluate Solutions The ethical theories such as De George theory of ethics suggest that coherence need to the mastermind of prosperity of organizations (Bowie, 2014).Decisions made within the realm of the management must be long-term and hence compromising them with unethical issues is a gross failure. To maximum outputs, shareholders need to trust the organizations they are dealing with. Flexibility is a key phenomenon to align unaccountable employees towards the ethical panels to determine the responsibility of the activities carried out. All solutions made in an organization need to follow laid down procedures, and all managers or relative employees engaged in non-transparent acts should remain discerned and held responsible. Further, solutions must not undermine the organizational doctrine or culture. The solutions must be easily articulated and implemented to ensure that all staff bears responsibility to every little activity that carry out. Above all, they should be liable committed to achieve the organization’s mission (Challagalla, et al., 2014). Relationship of the Problem with Other Case Studies When there are unethical behaviors in an organization, trust declines fostering negative emotional commitments. Hence, there is an increased tendency of discouraged internalization of the values set forth and employees are not willing to be committed towards corrupt mangers. Essentially, decisions made are always at stake since the stakeholders will vanish from supporting the organization both financially and martially. Standardized procedures are ignored because of unaccountable employees especially the top managers. There exists a state of compromise between the principles and their application, for instance, the managers set the rules that they themselves fail to adhere. Thus, there is a compromised milieu of learning or working leading to reduced efficiency and effectiveness (Valentine et al., 2013). Plan of Action In the presence of high performance goals, unethical intentions are diverted. For instance implementation of employee monitoring technologies ensures compliance with job ethics. It is fundamental to trigger rational self-interest in light of self-concept theory. Contextually, the employees undergo training, attend seminars, and messages put strategically to keep reminding them of the notch ethical values. It is imperative to pronounce the standards and ensure there is classification of such standards. Ensuring that employees know unethical content ensures that the employees differentiate between what is ethical from that that is unethical. Hence, classification of non-transparency and unaccountable deeds as unethical will boost a decline in activities that contain such vices. Carrying out external evaluations has shown an increased degree of accountability and transparency. In cases of financial departments, external audit firm play a role in ensuring that the accountants are ever accountable for the cash utilized, how and when utilization took place. Such methodologies will always ensure that the respective departments are transparent and accountable in their dealings (Welsh and Ordonez, 2011). Strategies to Reduce Future Risks Social learning brings about interaction that reduces vices in organizations. Learning through seminars, trainings, workshops and other relevant platforms ensure testimonies and guidelines to the principal roles of transparency and accountability. Exemplary institutions boost ethical behavior, such organizations are integrated into the trainings to give advice on how they ensure a high degree of ethical standards relating to openness and responsiveness. Personal responsiveness is fundamental to improved ethics. It contributes to organizational common objectives thus improved performances. Problem-based approaches help unearth uncouth behaviors within organizations. In addition, it remains imperative in establishing mentorship, volunteering, and training sessions for employees. Such platforms bring about increased responsiveness since employees can learn the repercussions attached to the unethical set of deeds that they usually engage in. Candidly, ensuring a good code of conduct, rules, and regulations saves an organization a good deal of transparency and accountability (Birtch and chiang, 2013). Measuring Ethical values Successful organizations have minimal negative effects on the environment. There is high social return that is related to the activities of organizations whose employees are accountable and transparent. There is transparency in documentation of the work done necessitating the aspects of corporate social responsibility and hence boosting communities’ livelihoods (Antonaras et al., 2011). Enhancing more livelihoods brings a good public image to the organizations showing their levels of required ethics. It is ethical to give back to the communities that support the development of organizations through being good custodians of such institutions. Things considered unethical Misusing organizational resources entails the negative degrees of loading resources for use. Employees may divert resources to benefit themselves without the knowledge of the company, this is unethical and it brings losses to the respective firms. Self-serving deceit defines unfavorable deception that is beneficial to an individual. For instance, self-serving deceit defines a situation where an employee uses the name of a company to individual gains. While favors for personal gain involves giving out in order to receive or gain it is ethically wrong(Perryer and Scott-Ladd, 2013) Sources of unethical behavior People often indulge in unethical behaviors due to personal interest. Lack of integrity is a major hindrance to ethical standards and requires fast moves to secure the boundaries of ethical values. Defective reasoning usually accounts for negative behaviors and leads to irresponsibility and unaccountability in employees. Further, negative attitudes and personality issues always lead to unethical behaviors where employees always tend to subjugate the procedures laid down by organizations (Effelsberg and Solga, 2013). Conclusion Based on inculcation of good ethical values and moral standards, employees tend to have increased commitments to their daily duties. Values such as transparency and accountability when ensured in firms, organizations and companies, there is increased shareholder involvement, and a furnished public image. Hence increased efficiency and effectiveness in the activities carried out by organizations. The situation then allows room for achievement of the goals and objectives together with their respective missions and visions. 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