Business Ethics in the Everyday Workings of Corporates - Essay Example

Business Ethics Discussion Contents Contents 1 Introduction 2 Analyzing 2 Print Articles 3 Article 1 3 Article 2 4 Theories 5 Article 1 5 Article 2 6 Recommendation 7 Article 1 7 Article 2 8 In the case of the Human resource management it is important that the managers ensure that there are specific policies developed. This will help ensure that there are certain standards that are maintained. Also there are other methods that can be adopted for motivating the employees. The management can also ensure that the working environment is comfortable. Also there can be negative inducements also. There can be that if one is not performing then there could be demotions, cut in the salary, etc. Competition with other co workers should be promoted in a healthy manner which would ensure that workers keep trying to improve their own performance in the team. Thus, they can be motivated by setting higher goals for them to achieve. They should be given more challenging projects. Acknowledgment for work done, praise, etc would serve as motivations for these professionals to improve their work. Also the system of awarding rewards to individuals for their achievement would be another way of promoting healthy competition and increasing their working capabilities (Werhane, P. and R.E. Freeman, eds. 1997). There can be interactive sessions held to ask them what they believe would help them perform better and such suggestions should be considered and implemented by the management if considered to prove fruitful. Thus it is important that there is greater policy development that will lead to lesser amount of red tapism and greater ethical echo for the motivation of the employees (Goodpaster, Kenneth E. 1991). 8 Solution 8 Article 1 8 Article 2 9 Impact on Stakeholders 10 Article 1 10 Article 2 11 Conclusion 11 References 12 Introduction The significance of business ethics is reflected in the everyday working of corporate and organizations, as they face various decisions making and execution challenges. The main focus of business ethics is to ensure that the conduction and functioning of an organization should take place in an effective manner, based on moral and ethical considerations. This is problematic at times as the best interest of the organisation may be to follow some unethical policies, and the main role of business ethics is to ensure that these problems are analyzed and a solution is established so that the establishment of a morally functional organisation can be accomplished. In the following paper there shall be discussed two print articles which discuss the issues of business ethics in the corporate houses, where the focus will be on highlighting the issues that have been bought up in the articles, and analyzing the role of the business ethics issues in the market today. This will also include the understanding of the issues from a theoretical point of view, and through the discussion, the focus will also be on establishing solutions to such problems in the corporate culture (Velasquez, Manuel. 1983). The discussion will be the basis through which an attempt will be made to comprehend and establish business ethics in a more practical manner. The first article deals with the need for transparency in the working of a company, whereas the second article that has been chosen looks into the HR management needs of the company and the need to establish equal standards for all. Analyzing 2 Print Articles In the following section of the paper the two main articles that are the focus of discussion of the paper will be detailed. Article 1 The first article that has is under discussion is the article published in The Financial Times, on the 17th of April, 2011. The article was written by Katherine Hille and it addressed the ethical issue that is being faced by most organizations today, that is, the issue of need for transparency in the global model. The article focuses on the problem that is being faced by the Chinese company, Huawei in the global market, as the Americans believe that it has links to the Chinese military, and thus the company today feels a need to establish greater transparency in its functioning. The article details how the company has opened up its board to the public from scrutiny to establish the fact that they are ethical in their working and have no political connections (Arnold, Denis G. and Norman E. Bowie. 2003). This is one of the most important issues that are being faced by the companies in the global scenario, as they have to maintain a level of transparency while ensuring that their working and functioning is not hampered by the public scrutiny. The article details how the working of the company in the American market had been affected by this, and given that the telecom industry is losing its market in the internal scenario (Capaldi, Nicholas. 2006), there is felt a need to maintain a level of business ethics and ensure that the functioning of the company is not hampered. Thus it can be seen how the establishment of a more ethical system of corporate functioning will allow the company to prosper in the international market, where the need for corporate transparency is a must (Capaldi, Nicholas. 2006). Article 2 The second article has been accessed from The Financial Times, and it was published on the 17th of April 2011. It was written by Layard R on the complex method through which the company uses the pay checks as motivators for the executives. It has been observed that the article focuses on the issue of ethics that is involved in the human relation management of any company. It is a known fact that the human resource management is one of the most significant issues that are dealt with inside an organization, and it is important that there are clear policies developed in accordance to this to ensure that there is no miscommunication and breach of ethics. It has been observed that there are many instances where there is greater amount of team work and in such cases, individual evaluation s difficult (Freeman, R.E. and William M. Evan. 1990). This is one of the main reasons why this whole set up of paying and giving bonus on basis of performance is problematic. There have been many who believe that motivation can come simply by increasing one’s salary and pay roll, but surprisingly this does not hold true. Motivation can be of various kinds. There can extra incentive given on the basis of performance. There can be added benefits such as company car or apartments, better recognition and appreciation of the work done, appraisals, to ensure that the employees know that the work is valued, promotions, and having clearer goals for the employees to pursue, training opportunities, greater responsibilities, workplace awards, compensations, etc.( Halogen Software, reference article). Also the instances of red- tapism in such cases can only increase, and it can lead to greater breach of ethics in the organizations. Theories Article 1 There are many theories that have been developed with regards to the ethics maintenance with regards to transparency. It is believed by many that the need for transparency is one of the most significant needs that a company has to fulfill in the global scenario, as a company is functioning at the global level (Goodpaster, Kenneth E. 1991), and there are a number of international laws that are involved. It is important that these laws are upheld for the proper functioning of the global market. It is important that the company is able to make disclosures while keeping in sync with the national legislations and policies, so that there is established a balance between the needs of the company as well as the role of the ethical issues. The theory of ethics is based on ensuring that the needs of the stakeholders, stoke holders is upheld, yet it is important that the legislative needs are met. Thus, there has to be ensured that a level of transparency is maintained. It has been seen that most of the countries today emphasize on the role and significance of transparency in the working of the MNCs as it has a direct effect on the national as well as the international markets (Moriarty, Jeffrey. 2005). Most of the scholars who follow and develop the ethical code for corporate believe that a semblance of transparency is important and necessary to ensure that the company is working in a manner that is in keeping with the international laws, as well as ensuring that it is able to establish itself as a clean organization. Transparency is key to the functioning of any organization in the global era, and especially in case of companies which are functioning in different economies at the same time. Article 2 The second article is related to the maintenance of ethics in the internal functioning of an organization, where the focus is on ensuring that the ethical norms are met in the conduction of the Human Relation Management. Human resource management is really important in ensuring that the working capacity of the company is maintained and for ensuring that there exists a high work atmosphere which inspires the employees to work better so as to ensure that there is greater productivity of the organization as a whole. The theories propounded by these men and others have proved that by providing the right incentives for the employees one can increase their productivity and creativity, and the vive-versa also holds true (Schmidtz, David. 1998). There is also the moral obligation to treat ones employees with respect and to assure to them their human rights. An employee’s performance is based on his or her ability and motivation. Thus if there is a sense of partiality in the payment then it leads to greater discrepancy, especially in case of HRM where there are no clear policies in place. The judgment of the individual performance is not one which can be measured by equal standards, and also it is not possible in cases of group efforts. Thus, this can be highly problematic, where in many cases the managers can take names of employees that they are close to without the fear of any repercussions, leading to greater discrepancies in the working environment. Thus it is important that there are certain ethical methods involved in the HRM of any company be it public or private. Recommendation Article 1 It can be recommended that there should be established a balance between the needs of the company and the ethical codes. It seems evident that a balance is required. But achieving that requires managers to construct a well thought out information strategy that takes account of quite a long list of economic, social and, yes, even ethical issues (Velasquez, Manuel. 1983). Successfully addressing this ethical expectation is more than a source of competitive advantage; it is key to gaining the trust of employees, current and potential customers, partners, and even competitors. By the same token, attempts to hide potentially relevant information or, even worse, disclosing false or confusing information, could be catastrophic and companies in many sectors (from banking to biomedical) have experienced the heavy costs of being caught out in these dirty games. It is important that the company is able to make full discloser of information, while ensuring that they are able to maintain their own needs and meet the demands of the market in an efficient way, so that the company can effectively meet the competition in the market. Thus it is important that there is developed systems which are well in keeping with the international laws that dictate the working of MNCs as well as ensure that the corporate policies of the company are managed and secured, so that there is a level of transparency that is maintained by the company, while also ensuring that the working of the organization is not hampered in any significant manner. Thus the maintenance of a balance is highly significant. Article 2 In the case of the Human resource management it is important that the managers ensure that there are specific policies developed. This will help ensure that there are certain standards that are maintained. Also there are other methods that can be adopted for motivating the employees. The management can also ensure that the working environment is comfortable. Also there can be negative inducements also. There can be that if one is not performing then there could be demotions, cut in the salary, etc. Competition with other co workers should be promoted in a healthy manner which would ensure that workers keep trying to improve their own performance in the team. Thus, they can be motivated by setting higher goals for them to achieve. They should be given more challenging projects. Acknowledgment for work done, praise, etc would serve as motivations for these professionals to improve their work. Also the system of awarding rewards to individuals for their achievement would be another way of promoting healthy competition and increasing their working capabilities (Werhane, P. and R.E. Freeman, eds. 1997). There can be interactive sessions held to ask them what they believe would help them perform better and such suggestions should be considered and implemented by the management if considered to prove fruitful. Thus it is important that there is greater policy development that will lead to lesser amount of red tapism and greater ethical echo for the motivation of the employees (Goodpaster, Kenneth E. 1991). Solution Article 1 Based on the discussions that have been developed in the section above, the solution that can be established is one which is based on the role of balance of the needs of the company as well as the role of the ethical considerations of the market and the corporate world. Thus, in case of the company Huawei, it can be said that its decision to allow for the board to be open to scrutiny has allowed for greater transparency in the working of the company as a whole in the international industry (Freeman, R.E. and William M. Evan. 1990). The lack of transparency was the main cause that led to the company losing out in the market, and given that the industry itself is losing scope overall in the market, it helps ensure that the need of transparency is realized to help establish itself better in the international field. In fact managers should allow the company to be able to communicate and disclose information in such a fashion that it does not hurt the company, but also helps ensure that there is creation of awareness of the working of the company, leading to better communication. The company should also print and release an annual report that reflects it annual working, which should be distributed not only to the top executive and the board members but also to the stake holders and the stock holders so that there is establishment of greater transparency in the system (Freeman, R.E. and William M. Evan. 1990). In the current complex corporate environment, failure to heed the spirit of this basic lesson—and taking comfort instead in sharing mountains of information as a means to ensure supposedly ethical behavior—leaves corporations and society exposed to lapses in responsibility and good citizenship. Article 2 The need for the establishment of ethics in human resource management is a must. A manager has to ensure that he or she is able to maintain a system of effective motivation among all the employees and ensure that they feel motivated to work, where their own personal view and job expectations are also respected. Thus a manager must be aware that only pay and conditions are not motivation enough and one requires having a sense of belonging and one is always influenced by others (Moriarty, Jeffrey. 2005). In fact a manager must be aware of the fact that there are a number of factors that affect why men want to work, which is inclusive of social factors such as the fact that the social standing of men is at times based on which post they hold in society and how much they earn (Arnold, Denis G. and Norman E. Bowie. 2003). Environment also affects the choice, where the motivation of the person is based on the cultural base which one comes from, and the rationality that one adheres to (Moriarty, Jeffrey. 2005). McClelland believed that one was motivated by different needs such as power, affiliation, association and accomplishment, and believes that a person gets a job to ensure that they can achieve a certain amount of power and accomplishment in life and society, and this motivates them to seek employment. Thus, one should be sure of the maintenance if ethics in the deciding of the salary of n employee and just HRM policies have to be established. Red tapism should be avoided, and the promotion and bonuses should be handed out in accordance to the overall performance of the employees, and in case of group efforts, the whole group must be rewarded, not just an individual. Impact on Stakeholders Article 1 The main stakeholders in the transparency are the board members of the company of Huawei as well as the stock holders and the stakeholders of the company. The market is also affected, and the retailers and distributors who are working in collaborations with the company are also affected (Goodpaster, Kenneth E. 1991). Thus, the maintenance of transparency affects all these stakeholders. Also, the fact that the company is said to have connections with the military leads to the American government as well as the Chinese government also having stakes in the maintenance of transparency in the company. Article 2 It can be observed that the overall stakeholders in this would be the managers as well as the employees who are part of the policy management (Goodpaster, Kenneth E. 1991). The overall efficiency of the company is also affected by these policy changes and the maintenance of ethics thus the company and the board members are also stakeholders in this decision. Conclusion Thus, in conclusion it can be said that the overall development of the ethical standards in the policy of a company can only lead to greater growth and development in the company in the long term. A number of people are of the belief that the development of the company is hampered by the policy development on the basis of the ethics of the company. yet it can only be established that the following of policies in keeping with the ethical beliefs helps in the long term growth of a company. Thus, it is important that the company is able to accommodate the policy of transparency in its policy development to ensure that it is able to function in a more effective manner in the international level. Thus, in case of the company Huawei, it can be said that its decision to allow for the board to be open to scrutiny has allowed for greater transparency in the working of the company as a whole in the international industry. In case of the problem of the HRM and ethics, it is important that a company is able to establish itself a system of effective HRM based on equality and no red tapism so that there is effective motivational policies in place, and the overall functioning of the HR is developed, based on ethical realizations. References Arnold, Denis G. and Norman E. Bowie. 2003, “Sweatshops and Respect for Persons,” Business Ethics Quarterly 13(2): 221-242. Capaldi, Nicholas. 2006, “What Philosophy Can and Cannot Contribute to Business Ethics,” Journal of Private Enterprise 22(2): 68-86. Freeman, R.E. and William M. Evan. 1990, “Corporate Governance: A Stakeholder Interpretation,” Journal of Behavioral Economics 19(4): 337-359. Goodpaster, Kenneth E. 1991, “Business Ethics and Stakeholder Analysis,” Business Ethics Quarterly 1(1): 53-73. Halogen software, Online , “Resources: reference article. Employee Motivation: How to Make Workplace Rewards More Productive” accessed on Tuesday 3th April 2011 at http://www.halogensoftware.com/resources/reference-library/employee-motivation.php Moriarty, Jeffrey. 2005, “On the Relevance of Political Philosophy to Business Ethics,” Business Ethics Quarterly 15(3): 453-471. Schmidtz, David. 1998, “Taking responsibility,” in David Schmidtz and Robert Goodin, Social Welfare and Individual Responsibility: For and Against, New York: Cambridge University Press. Velasquez, Manuel. 1983, “Why Corporations Are Not Morally Responsible For Anything They Do,” Business & Professional Ethics Journal 2: 1-18. Werhane, P. and R.E. Freeman, eds. 1997, Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Business Ethics, Malden, MA: Blackwell. Read More