Personaland Organizational Ethics - Essay Example

? Personal and Organizational Ethics Moral philosophy is the term that at times is used to refer to ethics, thus clearly indicating that ethics is another branch of philosophy and it is the study of the specific moral choices to be made by a person and of the general nature of morals. It is as well as the rules or standards that govern a member of a profession or the conduct of a person. In succinct terms, ethics is the scientific or philosophical treatment of morality (Jones, 2009). Every mind works in its specific and different way and same applies to how everybody views values, this is because values are a reflection of a person’s sense of right or wrong or what ought to be. Accomplishment, ambition, confidence, determination and patience are among the values that stand out most in me. I say that accomplishment is a value I possess simply because I have an insatiable urge to complete whatever I start in regards to all aspects. I am not a quitter but on the contrary prefer to think of myself as a winner. I am ambitious because this is what drives me to achieving my goals and objectives. Ambition sees me through all situations especially when under a lot of pressure; it is among my greatest assets. When the aura around you spells confidence it pulls you up a notch higher to getting thing done since you believe in yourself and your abilities. Nobody likes having a low self esteem, so this is where confidence bails you out. Everyone with the intention of getting things done should have determination this is because it helps you to push on even when things are difficult, thus you don’t despair. They say patience is a virtue and I can be patient for a long duration of time and while being patient I take my time to reflect on different matters that concern my attention. Values last a lifetime. Albeit with time they might undergo some transition, they tend to be fairly stable Personal ethics points towards making a person better in regards to his character and every other aspect (Lozano, 2002). I personally have a code of ethics that I relate to and which govern me. First of all, I advocate for being honest as an ethic and it tops my list because once you don’t have anything to hide and no skeletons in the closet you have a clear conscience that lets you run your daily activities to your level best, and also because of the unspoken rule that the more honest you are, the more trustworthy you become. Secondly, I don’t change who I am to please others, this is because I can’t take away my happiness at the cost of pleasing others, people should be able to appreciate me and my personality since basically that is who I am. Same way, that, I won’t try to change others to please myself. Thirdly, I tell the truth. The value of truth is immeasurable, because a world without truth would be unbearable. It would be filled with lies that would cause nothing but harm. Fourthly, be harmonious, nothing beats the filling of getting along with everyone without any qualms whatsoever. It is pure goodness. Any relationship is gauged on the grounds of trust since trust is the building block of relationships; hence trust is a very important when dealing with people, and it’s your actions that make them trust you or don’t trust you. Respect is another personal ethic that I uplift since we would all like people to respect ourselves as individuals and our space. Treat others as you would like to be treated. I have integrity. The impression you make on people matters a lot, so the better of a person you are, the better an image you present. Responsibility is another ethic that I possess since it’s something that has been instilled in me since childhood. People can only rely on you if you are responsible. Every act of kindness of kindness has a significant impact in someone’s life, so it doesn’t cost much to be courteous. Lastly, it is important to give credit where it is due, if we don’t people for their ideas or works, it is as well as stealing and it is basically and without a doubt cheating them of their work. My vision is to be the most preferred and most trusted resource for the products and services my organization distributes. My mission though is to actualize myself that will lead to transcendence. Ethics is a critical aspect in organizations. Individuals in a professional capacity have no choice but to take on an additional burden of ethical responsibility (Sims, 2003). At a professional level, associations have codes of ethics that outline the required behavior within the context of professional practice. Some of this organizational ethics in brief include, confidentiality, impartiality, full disclosure, avoiding potential or apparent conflict of interest, fidelity to professional responsibilities and due diligence. Organizational culture is interdependent with organizational ethics and it’s akin to both business ethics and organizational behavior on the macro and micro levels (Sims, 2003). Values are considered the embodiment of what an organization stands for, and due to this it is the basis for the behavior of its members. As an employee of some organization some time back, I noticed some steps it followed to foster corporate ethics. First on the list were the actions of the strategic leadership and the way they deal with ethical issues. Organizational values are determined by the pattern of the top leaders’ behavior. A second step was to make explicit ethics policies. Ethical codes are a more appropriate and common way. The next step was to increase aware of how to enforce these ethical codes. Another step was to increase the salience of ethics is to expand the information system to focus on areas where ethics come in to play. Having the knowledge of the on goings in the organization is essential to understanding the ethical principles which govern behavior. When unethical behavior is unnoticed or unpunished, the members will be under the impression that the organizations leadership condones it. This organization possessed the four key elements that are necessary to quantify its ethics, and this included in brief: the written code of ethics and standards, ethics training to employees, executives and managers, ability to provide advice on ethical situations and systems for confidential reporting. From my perspective, all these had immense outcomes that were of benefit to the organization. These outcomes included: greatly reduced unethical behavior or illegal behavior, ability to meet the external stakeholder’s expectations, awareness of ethical or legal issues, there was increased willingness to seek ethical advice, employee commitment to the organization was increased, use of values in judgment processes, increased willingness to report wrong doing and willingness to take bad news to management. This was a proud improvement and the boards of directors were really pleased. The climate for working was conducive, since it enabled me to alternate between school and work which means it was flexible to my advantage. The organization offered its employees incentives which motivated us to bring out our level best, thus increasing the profits and increasing its reputation. The organization understood that we the employees were their biggest assets and in return they took our views into consideration. Their mission was basically to uphold high standards of service provision that no other company or organization would rival. I must say they were achieving their mission since the profits and clients they raked in were immense. Their vision was to leave a lasting principle that would be remembered for decades. I personally thought this was brilliant a mission as well as the vision. The organization played a big part in upholding its social responsibility. It provided services to the community at large and participated in attending community meetings. It funded a charitable organization that was located in Kenya that helped orphaned children to get education as well as the basic needs of life that could not be provided to them. It offered scholarships to exemplary students to the university they preferred as long as they got admission. They were philanthropic enough to start an organization to recruit gang members and make honest people out of them. This greatly reduced the crime rate in the town because they thought the kids the importance of ethics, and I must say they do a good job at that. In the event of uphold all these responsibilities, the organization posed as a role model, motivator, and an aspiration to the young generation. They are like a stronghold to the youth. It advocates for a cleaner environment especially with the depletion of the ozone and the global warming effect. In regards to the organizations strength I would say that their biggest strength is their ability to cater for their clients at a personal level since they treat every client with equality no matter the background. The relationship created between them and the client is what makes them prosper since they have a good reputation and hence they recommend them to their friends and relatives. They are client friendly. Good maintenance of employees also does the trick. In contrast to their strength, their weakness is not being a family oriented organization since it does not understand when their employees have a family emergency. They expect their employees to be around the clock 24/7. I am proud to be associated with them as a former employee because their moral philosophies are very high. They advocate for honesty in the work place, truth when conversing with the clients and no devious activities in the work place. A good example is this one time when a client came to complain about how he didn’t like the services of one of the people who was serving him. On being summoned and questioned whether the allegations are true, the employee denied saying that he had no idea who the client was and had never come into contact with. What he didn’t remember was that, surveillance cameras were in place and had caught him. He got fired on the spot. What he didn’t understand was that, it was not such a big deal, but when he lied and wasn’t honest, he cost himself his job. The organization upheld ethical principles such as beneficence which guides the ethical theory to do what is good, because, they had a reputation to keep. It relates to the principle of utility, which states that we should attempt to generate the largest ratio of good over evil possible in the world. This principle mainly stipulates that ethical theories should achieve good in immense amounts simply because people benefit from the most good. Respect for autonomy is another ethical principle that was being implemented and it states that people should be allowed to reign over themselves and have the ability to make decisions that have an impact in their lives. They allowed the clients to make decisions that they want in regards to their opinions and did not try to change their mind so that they can make some profit. The organization was very just when they made decision concerning work cases. They listened to both parties, made internal investigation before they came up with a ruling and in most ways they were fair. If I was at any one time given the honor of being the leader of the organization I would make minimal but effective changes. First of all I would listen to the employees from the low managerial level also known as the first line through their representatives since they do most of the ground work and are never appreciated. I would listen to their suggestions and get back to them on the appropriate matter. I would give incentives to act as a motivation to the employees who will without a doubt improve productivity and hence organization’s profit slowly increases. Be a family related organization. Family comes first, so whenever there is a crisis at home my organization would oblige to give them time out. In conclusion I would confidently say that all this knowledge and ability to make effective decisions would not be possible if it wasn’t for the background knowledge of ethics hence personal and organizational ethics is important in human relation with one another. Reference Daft, J. M. (2010). Organization theory and design. london: Cengage Learning EMEA. Jones, G. R. (2009). Organizational Theory, Design, and Change. philadelphia: Prentice Hall. Larimer, L. V. (2004). Ethical Virtuosity. london: Human Resource Development. Lozano, J. M. (2002). Ethics and Organizations: Understanding Business Ethics as a Learning Process. new york: Springer, . Sims, R. R. (2003). Ethics and corporate social responsibility: why giants fall. westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. Read More