The Concept of Ethics in Business - Assignment Example

Reflection of personal feelings The concept of ethics is indispensible in business given that it is concerned with distinguishing between something that is good from bad. It helps business create mutual understanding with its publics which is a recipe for success in business. Character is very significant in that it helps us understand the behaviour of those around us. In order to optimise the effectiveness of the organisation, leadership plays a very important role where some individuals seek to positively influence the others in an organisation towards the attainment of its goals. We all want good service. Quality service delivery is the basic tenet of customer service which is meant to satisfy the needs of the customer who is always seen as king in business. Part ii) Professional mission statement ‘To become a leader in the market through good service delivery and ethical conduct’ Part iii) In making decisions in a given organisation, there are various considerations that come into play. Decision making involves a course of action that is taken towards the attainment of certain goals in a given organisation (Amos et al 2008). There are different concepts which affect the organisation’s decision making process and these are: ethics, leadership, service and character. 1. Basically, the term ethics is primarily concerned with distinguishing between what is good and bad. Special attention is focused on issues of morality and professional conduct in an organisation where honesty and integrity are regarded as the guiding principles (Rossouw 2004). The value system shared in an organisation defines its ethics and it should not be compromised for financial purposes as this will discredit the organisation. 2. Leadership is defined as the ability in an individual person to influence the efforts of the other members of the organisation to follow a particular course of action that is concerned with attainment of set goals. Amos et al (2008) concur that leadership is concerned with inspiring, motivating, envisioning, promoting learning as well as team building so that the objectives of an organisation are achieved. 3. A service is an offering which is intangible and can be exchanged for monetary value or equivalent. For instance, a taxi ride or banking facilities are all examples of services which are intangible. Good services to the customers are advantageous in that they positively contribute to the organisation as a whole through increased profitability from more sales since the customers are satisfied. 4. Character can be described as an attribute in a particular person that helps distinguish that person from the other. People as well as other products are not homogenous and they have different features that make them different from the others. In an organisation, the management must try to establish the character of the employees so as to be better positioned when it comes to decision making. Part iv: Ethical issues facing organisations Organisations are often confronted by different ethical problems in their day to day operations and this part attempts to outline and analyse how sexual harassment as well as prejudicial employment practices can affect the operations of the organisation as a whole. a) Sexual harassment in the workplace is loosely defined as ill-treatment of the opposite sex by the other members of the organisation (Amos et Al 2008). Sexual harassment is in different forms and it affects the operations of the organisations in different ways since there are likely to be conflicts and misunderstandings if it goes unchecked. It is something that is widely viewed as counterproductive since it creates animosity among the group of people that is sexually harassed. Conflict in the workplace leads to disgruntlement by the other employees and this can result in staff turnover which negatively impacts on the viability of the organisation. In most cases, women are the victims of sexual harassment at the work place. In a patriarchal society, men want to be dominant over their female counterparts and they seek to assert their authority over them. However, the new social dispensation obtaining on the ground during the contemporary period posits to the effect that both men and women are equal at the workplace hence it is unethical to look down upon a particular sex as inferior. Sexual harassment includes fondling without consent from the other part especially at the work place. In some cases, males occupying senior positions in the organisation may tend to abuse their power through harassing innocent women for their own pleasure. This is unethical since it degrades the morality of women and they will be regarded as sex objects. On the other hand, the male counterparts with senior positions can also solicit for sexual favours from women on the pretext that they will get promotion. Abusing women on the false promise of getting promotion is tantamount to abuse since they are not prepared for this in most cases. Women are people with dignity as well and they deserve to be respected. Sexually suggestive advances to the opposite sex are unethical in the workplace since these are likely to cause disgruntlement in the affected people which affects their productive potential. Sexual harassment is also in the form of stereotyping where the other roles are just relegated to the other sex which may be seen as inferior. For instance, tasks such as cleaning or preparing tea should not be relegated to females simply because they are women and justice must prevail on the basis of qualifications. People with the same qualifications should be treated as equal and sexual harassment in the workplace should be treated with the contempt it deserves since it causes hatred amongst members of the employees which is counterproductive. b) Prejudicial employment practices occur when the employer uses issues such as race, gender, religion, belief, creed or age to discriminate against other employees (Amos et al 2008). As already noted, the term ethics is primarily concerned with distinguishing between something that is good and bad. Special attention should be given to issues of morality and professional conduct in an organisation where honesty and integrity are supposed to be the guidelines upon which employment practices should be moulded. There are many ethical issues that are sensitive in today’s business environment since they affect the organisations and communities in which they operate. For instance, the issue of religion raises various ethical considerations both at workplace and the environment in which business is operating in given that it can play a significant role in shaping the behaviour of business especially in a globalised economy like the contemporary period. Employment practices should not clash with these values since the chances of creating conflicts would be very high. In the workplace setup, there is often a clash of interests with regards to religion. Those with a dominant culture in the work place would tend to look down upon their counterparts as inferior which is unethical in the practice of employment since this causes more harm than good to the organisation. Ethically, the cultural values of all the workers should be respected regardless of religion or creed. As a result of globalization, incidents sometimes arise in business where people are no longer certain whether some actions should be considered right or wrong (Hiti 1999). When people look at the same thing and some would regard it as morally right while others would regard it as morally wrong which is one typical example of an ethical dilemma in business. The aspect of homosexuality is one that has caused serious confusion in workplaces as well as the societies in which business operate. Whilst there are mixed feelings towards this contentious subject where some view is as normal while others condemn it, the best employment practice should clearly spell it in the policy of the organisation. Sexual orientation should not be used as a tool to discriminate other co-workers. Part v PISCO decision model According to Edward (1985), the PISCO model is comprised of steps that seek to identify a problem, input to the cause of the problem, solution, choice as well as operational goal of the choice made. Problem Shelby is facing two major ethical dilemmas in making decisions in response to instructions given by Ben Garrison, a senior loan officer with First National Federal Bank, the second-largest financial institution in Wyoming. Shelby is confused in deciding if it is ethical to let Whitton pay for their trip to his ranch on business purposes which should be done by the bank. She is also confused if it is right to solicit for donations from the customers for the annual picnic fundraiser which is meant to raise money for charity. Shelby is not willing to either go on a trip sponsored by a potential customer or call the customers for donations. She is caught in between and has to make a balance between something that is seen as good or bad according to the institution’s policies. Input Ben appears in Shelby’s office with a loan application for Doug Whitton from North Western part of the state. He is a rancher and he wishes to take Ben and Shelby for evaluation of property as collateral as dictated by the First National Federal as a requisite in the loan application. However, Ben said it was Whitton who was supposed to foot the bill to meet travel expenses but this is supposed to be done by the bank so that they are not obligated to pay anything to the customer should the deal fail to materialise. Ben insists that it will cut costs on their behalf and Shelby is confused about it. Ben also told Shelby that the First National Federal’s annual fundraiser picnic was just around the corner so Shelby was supposed to phone all the customers soliciting for donations for the draw of which the proceedings will benefit the charity organisations. Selby is also confused because under normal circumstances, customers should not be forced to make donations of which Ben retorted that the money was meant for charity. Solution In this case, the three solutions Selby can take include the following: she should report the matter to superiors, she must do what she feel is right or she can just ignore calling the customers for donations. A SWOT analysis will be used to analyse each solution. “A SWOT analysis is a useful instrument for helping managers to identify internal strengths and weaknesses of a business and external opportunities and threats facing it,” (Strydom 2004. p 31). Basically, SWOT stands for strengths (S), weaknesses (W) while on the other hand the external environmental factors are regarded as either opportunities (O) or threats (T). This analysis is very important to the managers as it allows them to focus on key strategic issues based on the notion that an effective strategy fully utilises the strengths and opportunities of a business and strives to minimise the weaknesses and threats. The table below analyses the choice made by Shelby in making decisions. Table 1, SWOT Analysis Solution Strength Weakness Opportunity Threats Report the case to superiors There are likely chances that the issue can be corrected and a clear position given. She can be victimised at work. It can help formulate strong policies for the institution. The bank can be discredited if there is no transparency. She should ignore calling the customers. She has not committed any crime therefore innocent. She may be challenged by Ben. The bank will not suffer any harm. Likely to be no threat from any direction. Do the right thing. She has peace of mind and is not guilty of anything. This may show disregard of authority. This does not compromise the integrity of the bank. If she does the wrong thing, business may suffer losses. Choice Doing the right thing and remaining neutral is the best choice. She does not create unnecessary stress for herself and the bank will not suffer if no such action as dictated by Ben is taken. Operation There is need to define the proper way of operation as the first step towards implementing an operational goal for the organisation where there is mutual agreement among all members. The second step should include the formulation of the code of conduct that can be followed in the day to day operation of the organisation. Implementing the goal is the third step which is followed by monitoring to check if it is being properly followed. Summary The concept of ethics is mainly concerned with distinguishing between something that is good from bad. However, there is often controversy in making a distinction between something bad from wrong as businesses are often tempted to go against their moral and ethical values for financial gain. In the given study, it can be noted that Shelby is in an ethical dilemma to make a decision where the boss is insisting on something that is against the spirit of fairness and good conduct. By virtue of taking a neutral position, Shelby will be preventing a lot of negative things to happen to the organisation such as causing distrust among the customers. References Amos et al (2008). Human Resource Management. 3rd Edition. CT. JUTA. deBono, Edward (1985). Six thinking hats. New York; Little, Brown and Company Hiti S. (1999). “Fundamentalism and family values inside corporations.” Visions of ethical business. Financial times, Prentice Hall in association with Price Water House Coopers. Rossouw D. (2004). Business Ethics: 3rd Edition. Oxford. Cape Town. Oxford University Press. Strydom J. (2004). Introduction to Marketing. 3rd Edition. CT. JUTA. Read More