Personal Ethics, Social and Environment Sustainability and Cultural Awareness in an Organization - Essay Example

Assessment: Business and Society [Name] [Professor Name] [Course] [Date] Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Introduction 3 Reflections on Personal Ethics 3 Social and environmental sustainability in professions 5 Cultural understanding and professional development in a globalised world 8 References 11 Introduction This reflective essay explores personal ethics, social and environment sustainability and cultural awareness in an organization. The first reflective piece examines what ethics would mean to an individual. The second reflects on how social and environmental sustainability would apply in journalism, while the third reflective piece reflects on how cultural understanding might help an individual as a professional in a globalised world. Reflections on Personal Ethics Ethics comprises a set of principles of right or wrong. Stephen (2004) conceives that ethics is indeed a moral philosophy involving defending concepts of right or wrong conducts. Moral theorists have divided ethics in four key areas of study, including meta-ethics, normative ethics, applied ethics and descriptive ethics. On reflection, the concept of ethics and morality is universal and acceptable in every sphere or human and organizational interrelations. I believe that ethics has always been confused with behaviours that conform to religious legal or social conventions. Such behaviours are consistent with what is moral and what not (Margaret 2009) is. In my view therefore, ethics does not set out rules. Rather, they can be applied to determine moral values. In my view, ethics should apply to all forms of business conducts concerning the conducts of the individuals within the organizations, as well as the organization to its stakeholders (Edward 2005). Therefore, two major forms of ethics can be identified. These include personal and professional ethics. Personal ethics embody the ethics that an individual identifies with, in reference to the situations in life or people. On the other hand, professional ethics comprise a set of ethics that an individual has to adhere to with regard to their business operations and interactions in professional life. Indeed, the trade-offs between organizations and individuals are greatly recognised by evolutionary theorists (Jeffrey 2013).With regard to personal reflection, personal ethics forms the basis of my focus (Mackey 2013). In my view, this definition is based on the conception that morality of ethics consists of principles that inform the use of what is right or wrong. In any case, I argue that it does not indicate the standards that should be used to measure what is right or wrong. Therefore, I regard these views to be merely a distortion of what ethics has to offer from a rational perspective. In this case, the most fundamental need for ethics is based on the idea that individuals do not always know automatically what will benefit or harm their lives. I therefore consider that ethics is about making or failure to make choices. On personal reflection, I have been subjected to ethical dilemmas in a number of scenarios. For instance, I have often waited for my friend to pick me up after work at an adjacent eatery. Lately, I witnessed three of my co-workers load cartons of electronics into a waiting van and drive off. The three are from my department and have been close to me. The company has written memos complaining of untraceable thefts. I had seen the three workers load the boxes three times within a span of one week and I suspect they may be stealing. My personal ethics were challenged. Consequently, I had to weigh between reporting them and losing their trust. However, I had to make a choice. I reported them to the human resource manager. The consequence is that I was rewarded for my ethical standards while a closed-circuit camera was installed. The three were sacked. In another scenario, two of my friends, Jack and Maggie, have been coming to work late. Since we work in the same department, as my seniors, I had promised to cover up for them. The two started coming to work very late while looking tired. I suddenly realised that they have been working our company’s competitor. I still chose to keep my word even as the supervisor became suspicious. Realising the ethical dilemmas, I chose to withdraw my promise by telling Jack and Maggie that I would be forced to inform the supervisor if they failed to report to work within the next one week. The two failed and I had to keep my word. I informed the supervisor. The consequence is that the two were demoted while I was rewarded with a pay hike and a rank. I became their immediate supervisor. Conclusion To conclude, the concept of morality of ethics consists of principles that inform the use of what is right or wrong. The most fundamental need for ethics is based on the idea that individuals do not always know automatically what will benefit or harm their lives. In which case, personal ethics is about an individual making or failure to make choices. Social and environmental sustainability in professions The set of values in journalism consist of standards, principles and ethics of good practice applicable in day-to-day issues confronting journalists. Typically, the profession has its “canons of journalism” or “codes of ethics”, mostly of which comprise fairness and public accountability, accuracy, truthfulness and impartiality that are applicable to the acquisition of rightful information and its subsequent distribution to the readers (Friedman1970; Knut 2013). Accordingly, the concept of social and environmental sustainability applies in journalism. The Career values that are either ‘extremely important’ or ‘important’ for this profession include: Contribution - perform work that improves the life of others; Management - Responsibility to build relationships, seek information, make decisions and influence people; Diversity – Work in environment where cultural differences are highly valued; Public contact – have regular contact with members of the society; Creative Stimulation – work with imaginative and creative people; Environmentalism – support the protection and improvement of environment; Ethics – work in an environment in which ethical principles are discussed and acted upon. With regard to environmentalism, focus has been on reducing environmental pollution. For instance, journalism profession seeks to reduce industrial pollution through paper manufacturing as well as reducing the supply chain by encouraging online readership of newspapers. The number of vehicles supplying newspapers to distant locations has significantly reduced, in the end reducing air pollution (Adi 2012). With regard to the responsibility to build relationships, seek information, make decisions and influence people, journalism has promoted progressive human rights policies. For instance, the field of journalism has made amends to integrate the concepts of social and environmental sustainability in gathering and reporting news integral to promoting human rights. Journalism has also advocated for fundamental rights such as freedom of speech and expression. Most stories published are also socially sustainable since the company’s publishing policy provides that consideration should be given to human rights. The company also encourages the use of eco-friendly products hence replacing the need for non-green product. Further, the company’s management has been proactive in encouraging automation across all departments. This has substantially reduced paperwork and disposal of paper records through burning, which has implications on the environment. The company has also made long-term commitments to environmental principles such as promoting the concept in its flagship products. For instance, the company has encouraged bulk of the stories to be publishable online. Additionally, journalists report on stories that cover sustainable issues, such as hurricanes and tornados, forest fires and food security. In journalism, the principles of sustainability are integrated across decision-making processes. For instance, at my new agency, efforts have been made to integrate workers and stakeholders in all processes of decision-making by encouraging their views and opinions to be heard through regular departmental meetings and annual general meetings (Charles 2012). With regard to public contact, the news agency has made efforts to promote regular contact with members of the society. It has often promoted its image through public relations and advertisements. It has also promoted the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by giving scholarships to needy students. Additionally, only ethical stories that promote human values are published. The company has also taken to blogging and social media to promote discussion of topics that promote environmental and social sustainability. Therefore, it is in my opinion right to argue that the concept of social and environmental sustainability is substantially applicable in the journalism profession. Conclusion The concept social and environmental sustainability refers to an enterprise that has minimal implications on the society, local community or the local and global environment. In journalism, its focus has been on reducing the supply chain by encouraging online readership of newspapers, promoting human rights, building human relations and promoting ethics. Indeed, journalism is a socially and environmentally sustainable profession since it has progressive human rights policies and environmental policies. Cultural understanding and professional development in a globalised world In Lester’s (2007) view, being professional has a connotation of an individual making commitment towards a course or code. This in my view suggests that a professional is an individual who possess knowledge of something as well a commitment to a certain set of values or particular code, both of which are acceptable features of professions. I observe that a profession may be regarded as a reasonably distinct occupation that is characterized by a set of criteria, whether derived from cultural or social constructs. Basing on this assumption, I argue that cultural understanding can foster professionalism in a globalised world. Indeed, due to globalisation of business, multicultural emphasis at the workplace and increase in diversity at the workplace, cultural understanding is quickly becoming a key business tool across almost every industry (Australian Multicultural Foundation 2010; Faulconbridge & Muziom 2005). In my professional line of work, understanding cultures has enhanced productivity, communication and unity at workplace. On personal reflection, the modern-day workplace is rapidly changing. At my workplace for instance, within the last five years, the company shifted from the monochromatic setup to one that is characterised by team members from multicultural backgrounds. This has come with a bundle of difficulties due to cultural diversity (Childsafety 2010). For instance, with the new multicultural set up differences have been evident in various areas including communication styles, approach to tasks along with a plethora of other multi-cultural difference (Kluver 2006). A major concern on the cultural differences has however been on how cultural understanding might help a professional in a globalised world. These cultural differences manifest in range of ways, including attitude, communication, decision-making styles and approaches to completion of tasks (MCCSA 2005). Based on these remarks, I observe that since culture strongly impacts human attitudes, thought, beliefs and behaviours, its implications on the manner in which I should relate with the co-workers. Because of this, cultural understanding determines how people deal with from different cultures. I reflect that cultural sensitivity is essential for workers to function cohesively in teamwork, and to be courteous to each other despite the cultural differences. Cultural understanding is also in professions where workers have to deal with or regularly get into contact with external business clients who may be from diverse backgrounds. On reflection, I have faced some major problems dealing with Muslim clients. Concerning stereotyping, inviting some Muslim customers to attend a company exhibition and symposium downturn was greatly tasking, particularly since they had the perception that they are generally viewed as terrorists. For the few Muslim clients who came, they expressed their disregard for being out of place. For instance, they demanded that seat allocation should be separate with men on one side and women on the other. Further, they refused to take the drinks, which had some alcohol content and elements of pork, and instead requested for halal food. The outcome is that our company was criticised for being inconsiderate and religiously discriminative. I was reprimanded for poor organization skills. Therefore, cultural understanding is in my view one of easiest way that can help a professional to understand his multicultural co-workers, where things may have gone wrong due to varied interpretation of tasks, as well as how best to capitalise on the cultural differences. For instance, by setting up cross-cultural awareness training, it can help multicultural teams within an organization to identify the areas that need attention. Conclusion Understanding cultural understanding can foster professionalism in a globalised world where cultural differences manifest in range of ways, including attitude, communication, decision-making styles and approaches to completion of tasks. This is since it promotes cohesion, courtesy, respect and unity. 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