How to Establish an Ethical Culture - Research Paper Example

?Running Head: HOW TO ESTABLISH AN ETHICAL CULTURE Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts Ethical Culture In the current fast-paced era of progress and advancements, the organizations are growing and developing in every manner. They have adopted advanced production processes, newer technology and better procedures and methods of working. In such an environment, the business organizations need to be flexible and resilient and for this purpose, they need a sophisticated leadership. Every small or large-scale organization operating in any type of industry possesses its own culture. It has its own set standards and ethics which are managed by the leadership within the organization’s environment. This paper will discuss the ethical leadership and the culture managed in the organization’s environment. Ethical Culture A culture, in simpler words, can be defined as a set of permanent norms, beliefs and values shared by the members of any society or community. In the management context, every organization, company or firm in the industry possesses its own culture suited to the employees working within it. The concept of organizational cultures pertains to the overall behavior of people which make up the organization. It usually emerges from the vision, values, systems, norms, symbols, working languages, beliefs and habits bore by the workforce. It can also be considered as a pattern of doing things, possessing certain beliefs and standards which are taught to the people by the organization. The ethical culture in an organization refers to the people’s beliefs regarding the ethics which are mutually shared by the people in the organization and can be easily conceptualized on the continuum which is bordered by the highly ethical companies at one end and unethical companies at the other end. Establishing an Ethical Culture There are various steps to creating an ethical culture in a social structure. They include the following: Establish a code of conduct An enforceable code of conduct should be formulated and implemented by the talented managers. The code should describe the suitable acts and behaviors, and should give proactive solutions instead of reacting to any recent missteps. The publics or employees should also be incorporated for their opinions and preferences. Ongoing and Initial training The employees should be offered online courses, live workshops and the printed material regarding the creating and sustaining of an ethical culture at the workplace. Moreover, specific trainings should be provided referring to the personal integrity, proper usage of company assets, harassment, discrimination and other related factors. Regular communications In context to the management of the ethical culture in the organization, the line of communication must be established by the senior level management which can take the shape of corporate newsletters, and departmental and individual discussions. Set up an unknown reporting hotline The anonymous tool of reporting requires the end user to respond to the background questions, and also possess managerial abilities to enable the talent manager chase the incidents. The unidentified phone based and web-reporting tools should be allowed to the employees for the reason that the employees often consider that there is least security in the internal avenues. Action enforcement The proper enforcement of the code of conduct will require the employees to take it in a serious manner. It will help building up strong ethical cultures in the organizations. Employee rewards for demonstrating the culture The employees who have successfully showed the ethical culture in the organization should be rewarded. Usually, the employees prefer to be more dedicated to the organization which depicts a strong moral and ethical culture. They generally stay happier and satisfied with their jobs and are better engaged with the organization. Personal Integrity and Ethical Leadership The success of any organization depends upon the efficiency and expertise of its leadership. A leader is usually thought of as a person, who is capable of influencing the followers and assists and support them in the accomplishment of a task, goal or objective. When it comes to the consideration of leaders, they do not regard their followers as mere followers but rather take them as stakeholders who are struggling to attain mutual objective vision, purpose, and values. These followers possess their own autonomy and individuality which is required to be respected in order to maintain a community on moral standards. The ethical leaders are those who exemplify and symbolize the vision, values, and purpose of the organization and of its elements through an interpretation and translation of the ideals of ethics. They link the organizational goals with the objectives of external stakeholders and employees (Edward, 2006). In the context of an ethical culture, they concept of personal integrity pertains to the individual’s honesty, reliability and authenticity of opinion. It is essential for an ethical leader to embody and articulate the vision and values of the organization. They are the people who possess the integrity of personality, respect others, and engage in open conversation in terms of issues and values significant to others. The ethical leaders centre all their attention on the success of organization instead of focusing on their own ego. They interpret their position within the huge and complicated network of followers and stakeholders. It is one of the essential responsibilities of the ethical leaders to give special consideration to finding the best people and developing them into future leaders as they regard it to assist people in leading a better life and developing themselves. They focus upon their own as well as their followers’ personal and professional development and take care of the impact that their decisions will have on themselves as well as others. Moreover, they undertake to hold live conversations regarding moral and ethical values, and hold themselves and one another accountable for living those ethical values and standards. Besides this, ethical leaders maintain personal integrity and view their own leadership as an utterly ethical task by considering moral values and taking a charitable understanding of the values of other stakeholders. Consequence of Ethical and Unethical Leadership The concept of unethical behavior in leadership engages the actions which are not legal or are considered to be inappropriate in moral sense to the progress of the larger society. In an organization the unethical leadership can go beyond the behavior of ethical leaders. In order to achieve the organizational goals, there is a possibility that the leaders might adopt unethical and corrupt acts in the organizations. The possible outcome, rather consequences, of unethical leadership includes impeding of the organization’s viability and effective functioning. It fosters unethical conduct amongst employees, and drains their self-esteem and willpower. One of the major threats of following ethical practices to the organizations may include the harm to their business. The rivals and competitors may be able to earn unlimited profits through following unethical ways of promoting their products and organizations. However, the companies working in an ethical environment may lose their business in the face of such competitors. On the other hand, the business following unethical practices may lose its reputations and image in the sight of their customers. They may position themselves badly in the minds of consumers. Conclusion Ethics is one of the necessary elements of any social structure or business institution. It needs to be established and maintained in order to assist the ethical business and cultural practices. For this purpose, it is essential to maintain personal integrity and an ethical leadership culture. Moreover, an ethical environment needs to be established through a systematically chalked out ethical plan and a sophisticated set of codes for the purpose of building and fostering an ethical environment. References Dr. Chantal Levesque-Bristol, 2011, Ethical Leadership & Personal Integrity, Web, Retrieved on April 18, 2012, from http://www.missouristate.edu/assets/fctl/EthicalLeadershipPersonalIntegrity.pdf R. Edward Freeman, 2006, Developing Ethical Leadership, Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics, Web, Retrieved on April 18, 2012, from http://www.darden.virginia.edu/corporate-ethics/pdf/ethical_leadership.pdf Read More