Workplace as a Learning Environment - Assignment Example

Part A Recent corporate scandals which have affected the society and stakeholders have increased the relevance and importance of corporate governance. The importance of this magnifies in case of government organizations as the primary role of the government organizations is to ensure that they look after the society and its stakeholders and profits should not be the sole intention for carrying out their operations. This has led towards the development of code of ethics and norms which have to be followed so that the larger aspect is considered. This paper thereby looks towards evaluating the workplace environment which includes both the social and physical aspect so that the importance of corporate governance can be seen in the work environment. This also looks towards describing the work place environment where I work and looks towards providing instances in the manner the organization looks towards delivering on the stated objectives. I am presently working in a government organization which looks towards working for the betterment of the society by developing an environment which looks towards adhering to the concept of corporate governance. The organization as a result has given a lot of relevance to corporate governance and has looked towards developing an environment within the organization which looks towards adhering to it. The organization has ensured that a code of conduct is developed and people associated with the organization are expected to work on the stated grounds. This has made organization give relevance and importance to corporate governance which will thereby ensure that all aspect associated with customers, employees, suppliers, government bodies, society and others associated with the business is looked at. This will ensure that the business remains ethical and the organization is able to provide the required dues to the people concerned. The importance of business ethics further increases in case of the government sector as the main component here is services. The government organization has looked towards looking into different aspect like accountability, communication, proper services and diversity in their perspective of doing things so that the business is able to act in an ethical manner (Silva, 2004, p.1). The work culture as a result has been developed in such a manner that it will help to fulfill most of the business requirements and will help to develop an culture where the organization is able to look towards the well being of all. The fact that a workplace has people from different background, philosophies, culture and personalities it increases the difficulty level associated with working together. This will require proper cooperation, teamwork and creativity to be able to come together and work for a common purpose. The difference in personality will make people take different approaches while interacting with managers, employees, clients and others players working within the organization. The ability of the organization to understand the different underlying factors through which personality has an effect on the working culture will throw light on the manner the workers perform and will help to improve the understanding regarding the manner different people behave in the organization (John, 2010). This has made the organization develop special strategies and process through which people work together and also adhere to the philosophy of corporate governance. The development of different code of conduct and ensuring that all people look towards working on the principles which has been prescribed in it ensures that overall effectiveness is gained and the process of working in the organization improves. The work culture present in the organization highlights the use of Utilitarianism theory. Utilitarianism theory is one which has developed from normative ethics and looks towards ensuring that business decisions and steps that are taken should be such that they look towards ensuring that a larger section of the society gains. The theory looks towards developing a fundamental through which decisions are taken keeping in mind the larger segment of the society (Cannarella & Piccioni, 2005). The ethical theory looks towards ensuring that the business decision or any decision what so ever looks towards acting fairly and looks towards working for the betterment of a larger section of the society. This model has ensured that the organization looks towards working in a manner where the different aspect through which the business will be able to work for the larger section of the society is looked at. The theory of utilitarianism thereby looks towards ensuring that business decisions have an impact on the larger section of the society and looks towards improving the conditions of the larger section of the society (Fritzsche, 2005). The fact that the theory aims at a very large group which thereby requires that decisions which are taken are considered as universal truth and the decisions looks towards transforming and ensuring that the society benefits In addition to it the organization has also given value to both the social and physical aspect as having people from diverse culture and background has affected the entire process of thinking. This has instead led towards the development and strengthening of the entire mechanism and has helped to develop a process through which the organization is able to ensure that all people come together and work as a unit. This has helped to ensure that the organization has been able to adopt a stance where corporate governance is given much relevance. The organization and my role in the organization is to look towards working and making others work on the principle of corporate governance. This has helped to transform the manner in which decisions are taken and have also resulted in the use of different theories and techniques which looks towards having agents so that better corporate governance can be achieved. The entire process has been developed in such a manner that the government organization has been able to justify their role and look towards the larger section of the society. This will thereby have a positive impact and will help the organization over a longer period of time as the brand image of the organization will further improve and ensure better opportunities of development in the future. Part B The manner in which organizations have developed different code and philosophies which look towards addressing the concept of corporate governance requires being fully operational so that maximum value can be generated out of it. This has made organization give relevance and importance to corporate governance which will thereby ensure that all aspect associated with customers, employees, suppliers, government bodies, society and others associated with the business is looked at. The organization looked towards ensuring that the principles of corporate governance were adhered and I was given the role of ensuring that the organization works on the predetermined objectives. This aspect was a great learning phase for me and highlighted the different areas which have to be worked on so that the organization is able to adhere to corporate governance. This paper looks into the different learning and role which I was entrusted in the organization and the manner it will help to transform my entire learning sphere. This will thereby help me in the future to deal with corporate governance in the better way and ensure that the business looks towards the well being of a large number of people. My role in the organization was to ensure that the employees and others worked according to the code of concept and take steps which will help to adhere to corporate governance. Any steps or actions which could lead towards affecting the brand name of the organization with respect to corporate governance had to be dealt strictly and need to be informed to higher authorities. In addition to it steps will also help to be developed through which the process of decision making improves and the organization looks towards adhering to the concept of corporate governance. The most important learning for me was that organizations have to look towards working on the concept of utilitarianism which looks towards working for a large number of people and taking decisions which will benefit many. The philosophy looks towards ensuring that the decisions taken are based on moral rationality and will look towards following a standard of rationality through which business decisions or other decisions will be guided. This philosophy looks at ensuring that the decisions which are taken looks towards bringing the required change through which decisions which are taken are assumed to be morally correct (Eunson, 2005). The fact that morality demonstrates rational behavior and is different for each individual so judging an instance based on it will result in creating differences. This will also give rise to situations which might look as ethical in some instances but unethical from the perspective of some. This theory thereby also propagates that decisions taken should be such that they are considered correct on moral grounds (Fisher & Lovell, 2006). This will ensure that moral rationality is adhered to and the decisions which are taken are ethically correct. This will also get reflected in the manner the organization looks towards acting fairly and will generate the required response through which the decisions which are taken are assumed to be morally correct. This is a great learning for me as it has made me realize that when decisions have to be taken in the future it has to be such that it looks towards the development and well being of most within the society. The working in the organization helped me understand the fact that ethics are an important issue for all business irrespective of the sector and people they cater. The magnitude of its importance increases as organization have to look towards ensuring that they are able to achieve there stated goals at the same time ensure that they remain ethical. There have been many instances and organizations which have taken a different stance and looked towards acting in a manner which has affected the level of decision making and has made organizations act in a biased manner (Birkman & Peattie, 2008). The similar case is witnessed in case of government bodies that look towards exploring the conditions in a manner which helps them to gain the required advantage and ensure that the economy grows. This thereby requires that the different decisions which are taken should not be only guided by profit motive but should also look towards ensuring that it adheres to the ethical requirements. I also realized the importance of having bodies which look towards supervising the entire proceding as it will facilitate the process of decisions making and will ensure that decisions which are incorrect are not taken. One such method could be through the use of agents which look towards acting on behalf of the stakeholders and are paid a certain compensation for his role in the organization. This theory requires that business especially those working in the government sector look towards moving away from the perspective of profit and look towards customer satisfaction and acting in the fair interest of the society (Nicholson, 2008, p. 1). This will make organization take decision which will ensure that they remain fair and take decisions looking at the larger picture. This will have the hospitality sector to ensure that the organization is able to provide the required service that they have promised to deliver. This will ensure that the business is able to take decisions which are morally correct and monitoring an activity will reduce the chances of acting in an incorrect manner. This will also help to ensure that the stakeholders are able to build the required confidence and the entire process will be guided by the principle of looking for the well being of all. Another theory which can be looked in this direction so that business remains ethical is the stakeholder theory. This theory looks towards stating that organizations have to look towards the well being of the people and the society and ensure that they act in the most ethical manner (Hill & Jones, 2002, p. 201). This will require that organizations performing in the ethical sector act in a fair way by not only looking towards providing services to the customers but also ensure that the society and other associated with the business is looked after. This will help the government organization to look into the interest of the stakeholder and will ensure that the business is able to develop its brand name which looks towards delivering on the high standards which has been prescribed. This goes in line with the stakeholder theory as it looks towards ensuring that the organization looks towards the larger section of the society and looks towards providing the customers and the society with the required ethical work One of the most important aspects that the organization working in the government sector has to deal with is that they need to have the required flexibility through which the different strategic options are chosen so that the environmental changes are adapted (Aharoni, 2006, p. 26). This will help to ensure that the organization is able to act fairly and work according to the local responsiveness at the same time create the required knowledge through which better services can be provided and acted in a fair manner so that they remain ethical. This will also ensure that the organization is able to provide the required services through which the business will be able to provide the required directives through which correct services are provided (Kotler, Bowen & Makens, 2010, p. 83). This will also help to plan different options and will provide the opportunity through which the business will be able to take decisions which are fair and correct and look towards adhering to the concept of corporate governance. This thereby makes it imperative that organizations working in the government sector looks towards being ethical and acting in a manner where they are able to provide quality services to its customers and others associated with the organization. This will require that the business delivers the required performance based on the standards which have been prescribed and looks towards acting in a manner where they remain ethical. This will ensure that the business looks towards working in a domain where they are able to deliver quality performance on the required standards. This has made organization give relevance and importance to corporate governance which will thereby ensure that all aspect associated with customers, employees, suppliers, government bodies, society and others associated with the business is looked at. This will ensure that the business remains ethical and the organization is able to provide the required dues to the people concerned. Even different theories and directives in the same direction provides the same and highlights the manner in which the business has been able to undergo the required changes so that they remain fair and act in a manner which will ensure that customer satisfaction gets enhanced. This will help the business to gain effectiveness and will ensure that the overall process of decision making facilitates in long term development. Since, this aspect is associated with being ethical and requires that the decisions taken by the person results in improving the overall efficiency and provides the required standards. This also requires that the person taking the decision abides by the ethical standards that is required from a professional or personal body and abides by the requirements of law. This will help to ensure that the decisions taken are in the best interest of the society and reflects a mechanism through which the overall productivity and growth of the business becomes possible The learning thereby has been great and has highlighted the different areas and mechanism through which it can be achieved. Further, working in a practical environment and using those taught in reality the manner in which difficult situation arises as the manner in which decisions have to be taken so that effectiveness in the process is gained. This will prove beneficial in the future as it will provide the required guidance through which the overall process will gain effectiveness and will help to ensure that I am able to use better techniques and strategies through which better decisions and adherence to corporate governance becomes possible. The overall learning and my role has thereby brought about the required changes which will help to ensure that in the future I am able to develop better strategies through which the concept of corporate governance is looked at and will help the business to improve the overall effectiveness. References Aharoni, Y. (2006). The organisation of global service of MNC. International Studies of Management & Organisation, 26 Birkman, J., & Peattie, K. (2008). Consumer ethics research: Reframing the debate about consumption for good. Journal of Business Ethics and Organizational Studies, 13(1), 22-31. Cannarella, C., & Piccioni, V. (2005). Public organizations and local rural development: An empirical analysis, Journal of Business Ethics and Organizational Studies, 10 (2), 16-23. Eunson, B. (2005). Communicating in the 21st century. Melbourne: Wiley. Fritzsche, D. (2005). Business ethics: A global and managerial perspective. New York: McGraw Hill. Fisher, C., & Lovell, A. (2006). Business ethics and values: Individual, corporate and international perspectives (2nd ed.). Harlow UK: Prentice Hall. Hill, C. & Jones, T. (2002). Stakeholder Agency Theory. Journal of Management Studies, 24 (2), 191-205 John, P. (2010). The 'Big Five' factor taxonomy: Dimensions of personality in the natural language and in questionnaires. In L. A. Pervin (ed.), Handbook of Personality Psychology: 66-100. New York: Guilford Kotler, P, Bowen, J & Makens, J (2010). Marketing for hospitality and tourism, 5th edition, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River NJ, USA. Nicholson, M. (2008). Applying Agency Theory and the concept of corporate governance. Retrieved on Mar 12, 2013 from http://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1706098.html Silva, M. (2004). Corporate Governance in a turbulent world. Retrieved on Mar 12, 2013 from http://www.allbusiness.com/business-planning/business-structures-incorporation/866368-1.html Read More