Business Ethics and Success of Leadership - Essay Example

Business Ethics and Success of Leadership ID Lecturer Business ethics is significant from the leadership standpoint. However leading is very intrinsic to an individual’s own being. Setting up successful teams is a prerogative of any organization and in the business world of present times; it is very much a need rather than a desire. The businesses have changed so as to create more room for teams than individual working ethos. This has given space to more facilitation within the working environments of teams since they bring combined efforts and usage of more brains than a singular person. The factors that stand important in the wake of successful teams include a commitment towards common goals and a simplistic and solitary objective which must be kept in mind at all times. These factors underline the basis of the teams performing a singular whole than disjointed units within the framework of the organization or the group that they are working under. A leader would guarantee that the team members remain on their toes and are up and ready in order to outperform each other so that the end result is one which will make the team stand out as a whole. The objectives of the team are more quintessential than the individual members and this is one aspect that the leader brings with him whilst formulating a high performance team. People selection and recruitment stands as a very essential step of the formulation of teams since right kind of people must be geared up to the task and it is a must to check the kind of motivation that these team members have at the very moment and whether or not the same would remain like that within the future. Thus these factors are deemed as very important whilst getting the people under an umbrella which would actually see that the teams would get the right kind of members within their hold and this is important since it will decide how the team would actually perform within the future and in the long run. A leader will also make sure that the business ethics are followed to the core and that there are no shortcomings in the wake of any such implementation basis. Leadership comes with a responsibility. Business ethics and its conformance is the very responsibility that one could speak of here. A newly set-up team needs to have top leadership which is not only accepted by everyone but also respected in the truest sense of the word. This would mean that the leadership would have its due say in the scheme of problems, worries and tensions that arise in a team every now and then and which is a general exercise in any team that is formed in an organization all round the globe. Thus the support basis of a newly constituted team would ask for a leader who would instill the right kind of attitude and confidence within the remaining team members. Then there is the need for encouragement for each other’s tasks and undertakings, not only within the team members but also the same coming in from outside the team composition. (Newman, 2000) This means that the support is based on sound premise and there is evidence to the notion that a team could only work in the best manner possible if there is encouragement from all round and people are appreciative of its existence in the first place. Business ethics stems from the fact that the team is ready to follow the directives as laid down in the leadership agenda and thus follow it entirely. It is a fact that the key elements of ethical leadership within an organization are to be accountable for all the actions, and ask the people to be ethical for their respective undertakings. This is an important consideration for understanding the most basic disciplines that come under the ethical domains. Also the presence and eventual adherence to a set ethical code within an organization works to the advantage of the employees, the top management and the stakeholders who are concerned with the undertakings and dealings which are going on, in a consistent capacity. As far as ethical leadership is concerned, it is indeed the responsibility of the top management or the supreme leader within the organization. This person could either be the CEO or the Chairman and he must manifest his ideologies and teachings through practice. He must follow the code before he asks others to follow suit. There must not be any shortcomings in the proper conformance of the ethical standards and procedures. The top leadership is answerable to the middle and lower tiers, though not in a direct capacity but indeed in the form of anonymous surveys carried out for the sake of finding out responses from the employees about the ways and dealings of the top management and indeed the leadership present at the helm of affairs. The issues related with having or the absence of a proper ethical leadership within an organization are immense since these document the need for having a check and balance mechanism in place. The leadership should get their house in order first before they can ask the middle and lower management regimes to adhere to the ethical standards and practices. This is important as it paves the way for their conformance with the ethical norms and procedures. Geert Hofstede has pinpointed his ideology on the cultural differences that exist at individuals working within the different domains of a business and he has raised pretty interesting concerns in relation with the same. The issue of business ethics coming to the foreground is an important one here, which has been highlighted within such concepts raised by Hofstede. He has literally dispelled the impression that is present in the wake of the individuals acting like each other and working towards a common goal – where the organization wants to reach at a particular point in time within the future. Rather he has looked at it from a different perspective. What he has stated is that it is difficult to come to terms with the cultural differences that the employees bring with them and hence it gets frustrating at times to get the work done in a cohesive manner. (Author Unknown, 2008) One should believe that what Geert Hofstede preaches through his cultural dimensions is quite accurate since little effort is paid to the fact that diverse set of employees actually bring about successful results for the organization. In essence, the organizations are also not in agreement with this logic at all, which at the end of the day is quite appalling. However on the part of Geert Hofstede, one should believe that the cultural managers and leaders present within the organizations under the auspices of international business know about these problems and they are pretty much in knowledge of the happenings on the global front as far as the shortcomings of the employees from different cultural backgrounds is concerned. The ethical domains however are most significant whilst taking care of the cultural comprehensions, which then again manifest the basis of unity within an organization and also the manner in which things are done in a corrective and ethically sound fashion. The cultural dimensions bring out the valuable statements from the employees who seem to do their best yet fall short on the organization’s expectations due to cultural hindrances. Business leaders and managers have skepticism in their minds when they assign task jobs and delegate work to the culturally foreign individuals since they believe these workers would not be able to deliver beyond expectations let alone on them. This brings in an issue of tension and worry within the organization and thus the employees start feeling agitated. There is a very straight forward way of finding out the problems that come in line with the cultural differences which arise in business fraternities. The actual leadership patterns related with ethical behaviors are somewhat altered due to the cultural dimensions as raised by Geert Hofstede. In fact what Hofstede has mentioned is in line with the norms of the business leaders and managers in the times much like today. Only if they could control their whims and try to solve the egoistic issues alongside their personalities, they would be best served by the employees and workers who hail from different cultural backdrops and regional settings. Ethical and cultural dimensions need to be judged from an angle which does not hinder work ethics from personality aspects. It might be possible that the most under-rated individual at the workplace is indeed the most efficient when it comes to getting the job done. It is up to the business leaders and managers to judge talent and help these employees serve in the best interest of the organization. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions state the exact problems related with diversity within business ranks. If these are solved within an organizational setting, then there are all the more chances that the most effective and efficient tasks could be achieved within the organization. Leadership qualities are not inborn or inherent, they have to be developed with the passage of time and one needs to comprehend the fact that it requires strenuous exercise and a certain set of power that is needed by the man of courage, determination and dedication. Leadership qualities require that the leader gets the best out of the group members no matter how hard and trying the circumstances are. The odds might be tough at times but it is the leader’s tact and sheer discipline that can turn the tides in the favor of the group rather than the other side. However the role of a team leader cannot be denied its due place in the related context of things nonetheless. Similarly interpersonal skills like motivating the team members, following ethical guidelines, adhering to rules and procedures are just the right tonic for building a bridge between the various team members. Thus it is also pertinent that the top management inculcates the subject of working in team rather than being loner in different projects so that the end result is a clear manifestation of the people with their respective whole hearted efforts and dedication levels exceeding what was expected of them in the first place. Teams create a sense of bonding between the employees and the top management thus the latter needs to understand its due role here and advise them as to how they should work as teams and bring about the best result possible. For this to happen, the firm must make sure the reservations of the teams be met beforehand and they are shown encouragement and given support whenever need be or at times when the need is not that much. The idea is to be proactive and taking the lead than being reactive, after a problem has occurred and the solution is being found. One must realize that a group is better than an individual working in his own capacity. This group can bring forward much better results as compared to the individuals working alone. It is indeed the commitment level of the group that makes the notion of team dynamics such an easy and viable option in the whole ball game of working for the attainment of results in an effective and efficient manner. An organization can go through a number of events within its life time. This means that the role of a leader is pertinent to the overall basis of the organization as he finds a way out of every difficult circumstance that hits it. He has to mold the organization in such a way that it responds towards his actions, decisions and policies. The different leadership theories ask for an attacking as well as a defensive approach. This means that leadership needs to decide when it must be on the attack and when it needs to drop down its anchor. (Heathfield, 2008) This will eventually be the decisive step in the wake of achieving long term success from the organizational standpoint and one that would bring in rich dividends too. The different scenarios can include downsizing where the leadership must communicate to the employees the factual truth and nothing else. A natural calamity would ask for the leadership to help and facilitate the emergency and contingency mechanisms which must have been already set up within the domains of the organization. A merger would ask for the leadership to spell out the terms and conditions that will do the rounds of the very organization in the coming times. Falling sales would ask for the leadership to motivate the employees as well as fire such individuals who are not performing well. There needs to be an attacking mechanism in such a situation nonetheless. Hard decisions need to be made as well as actions must always speak louder than words. Ethically speaking, leadership has a pretty scientific angle that needs to be studied in depth so as to attain the finer points related with it. This would mean that the combined strengths of the past leaders can be worked upon and investigated in such a way so as to find out the actual recipe for success and more so within the domains of the organization under discussion. Microsoft is an example of such leadership, Bill Gates being in the lead role nonetheless. He is a role model for the whole organization through his sheer hard work and an impeccable vision matching none other. He has always maintained ethically correct values within Microsoft and hence the reason that the company is a giant within the related business regimes. Indeed leadership is an art and doing it the ethically correct way is an even more important attribute that an organization could have since only selected individuals possess the knack of knowing this very art and not everyone can do it with utmost precision and a sense of command and authority. (Ciulla, 1998) One’s “art of leadership” can be studied by researching and studying about the past leaders as well as finding out what traits of leadership they possessed within their folds. Then one can also improve this art by sticking to one’s own morals and principles and thus there is a strong sense of attachment with the very same so that the end result is one of a good and respected leader by all and sundry. Also having formalization amongst people and commanding respect is another characteristic of improving one’s leadership abilities. But in all essence, leadership can be enhanced by following the manner by which yesteryear leaders excelled in their art and following on their footsteps till the level where a new leader does not copy an old one. This is because if a new leader starts imitating the old one, then he is not a leader anymore. He becomes just a follower and nothing else. Doing it morally right is thus the sole responsibility of a honest leadership at the top. The leaders must show what they are made up of and not what they can falter, on certain occasions. References Author Unknown. (2008). Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions. MindTools, Found Online at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm Ciulla, J. (1998). Ethics: The Heart of Leadership. Praeger Publishers Heathfield, S. (2008). Leadership Values and Ethics. About.com, Found Online at: http://humanresources.about.com/od/leadership/a/leader_values.htm Newman, L. (2000). Ethical Leadership or Leadership in Ethics? 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