Improve Ethical Behavior of Those

¶ … Improve Ethical Behavior of Those in a Public Office or Organization

Ethical Behavior

Improving organizational ethical behavior:

Over the years, organizational ethics has come to be acknowledged as a key ingredient for which companies are given better market valuation and respect. However, until recently, only a handful of companies regarded ethics to be valid theme for enterprise planning and strategic thinking. The apex management of majority of enterprises devoted bulk of their time developing their organizational and functional strategic plans, their growth strategies, as also their brand strategies. In this quest for profits and enhancing market share, ethics and regulatory compliance took a backseat which was the lookout of the legal department. This has changed, and organizations are painfully cautious that in the coming years, organizational ethical behavior will need serious thought, at the Board as well as the Executive level. Extensive organizational misbehavior and criminal activity such as the Enron issue has triggered the making of a formal ethics strategy a high priority for all organizations, regardless of their size or scale of operations. A lot of bigger organizations have created position for an Ethics Officer who regulate and offer the first line of defense against moral damage in corporations. ("Strategy for an Ethical Organization.," 2003)

To improve ethical behavior, every organization has to frame an 'ethics strategy' covering the following points (i) an ethics strategy must involved with ensuring that all corporate activities are ethical, legitimate, and within the confines of all regulatory guidelines. (ii) Since actions, whether they are correct or otherwise, emanate from character, an ethics strategy must give a direction to guarantee the present development of an individual and organizational character. This is normally done through the establishment of an 'ethics program' in order to train employees. (iii) Besides, an ethics strategy must provide for supervising and regulating organizational activities to lower and check ethical and legal infringements. This has come to be acknowledged as a more and more important as some latest case law has lined that board members in their individual capacity can be held liable for ethical lapses, where ethical plans and programs are not in place. In an effort to frame an ethical strategy, a good point to begin is with the regulatory needs since these in their own potential are the standard ethical standard of every organization. ("Strategy for an Ethical Organization.," 2003)

Whereas regulatory procedures have, for certain period, dealt with current issues like sexual harassment, discrimination on grounds of race and gender, HR practices, advertising, packaging and labeling, a lot of new regulatory factors have been put in place and crafted to check illegal activities. These cover (i) the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations -- FSGO of 1991 that refers minimal ethical requirements and provide for considerably lowered penalties up to 95% in criminal cases in which federal laws are infringed upon in case ethics programs are present. Minimal penalties gave a powerful impulsion for setting up of ethics program. (ii) the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 2002 that instituted reforms in accounting and needs vetting as regards the disclosure of financial reporting of documents. (iii) the expected New York Stock Exchange rules which will need every listed company to have and communicate, internally as well as externally a Code of Conduct, in the absence of which their shares will be de-listed. Besides, organizations should monitor new and revised regulations from regulatory bodies like the FDA, FTC, BATF, IRS and ERISA. After dealing with these regulatory obligations, organizations can introduce an 'ethics program' consisting of several ethical training modules designed to train and create ethical character on personalized basis across the organization. Ethics programs and training constitute an urgent foundation to guarantee an ongoing and intense response to ethical matters as they crop up for employees on the job. ("Strategy for an Ethical Organization.," 2003)

Ethics Program: Although fundamental regulatory adherence solves a lot of problems, the ethical-legal landscape has become so intricate recently that several employees do not have correct perception regarding right or wrong, legality or otherwise of a lot of issues. Spheres like antitrust, price discrimination, managerial conduct, export, intellectual property violation, whistle blowing remain outside the purview of most employees. An ethics program must have the following constituents to be regarded as effective (i) Statement of values: The building and communication of a statement of organizational values is regarded to be the needed guidance. (ii) Code of Conduct: This is an ethics policy that connects an adherence to ethical behavior across the organization, and describes the manner in which these values are to be used in situations. (iii) Executive Leadership and a System: A proposal and systems for the communication monitoring and enforcement of the Code of Conduct that covers (a) ensuring that the ethics program get the needed attention it deserves (ii) Communicating benchmarks and methods to every employee of the organization (iii) discussing ethical matters, and dilemmas for enhancing ethical decision-making. At this point, ethics training gains importance to inculcate current ethical behavior across the organization. (iv) monitoring, auditing and reporting systems that spot and check unethical or unlawful actions for creation of secured and effective systems in which employees are able to look for guidance (v) communicating that unethical behavior has a hefty price tag attached to it as fines are very heavy (vi) enforcing standards continuously and taking disciplinary proceedings accordingly. ("Strategy for an Ethical Organization.," 2003)

The growing public awareness in general and unethical behavior in organizations has gone up in recent years. This rising importance on business ethics in part can be ascribed to the persistent stress between the business world and the general public. This growing stress has sometimes resulted in clamor by the public at large for increased deterrence and stricter regulation of the business world. With that in view, corporations must get on to the act together and institutionalize ethics in organizations. Institutionalizing ethics might appear cumbersome but it has far reaching impact. It implies getting ethics formally and explicitly into daily business life. It implies getting ethics into the company policy formation at the board as also the top management levels and through a formal code ethics into every routine decision making as also the work practices and at every levels of employment. Institutionalizing ethics is a crucial responsibility before the organizations if they are to efficiently balance the rising regular instances of deliberately unethical and sometimes illegal behavior in large and sometimes highly admired companies. As a matter of fact, the institutionalization and management of ethics is a problem confronted by all types of organizations for instance educational, govt, religious, business and the like. (Sims, 2003b)

Interrelatedness of organizational culture and ethics:

Since the bygone 15 years, "culture" has come to be a normal way of contemplating about and describing an organization's internal world which is a means of differentiating a particular organization's 'personality' from another company. It is important to note that an organization's culture socializes people and ethics constitutes an integral part of the culture of organizations. Thus creating and strengthening an ethical organization implies methodically analyzing and managing every aspect of the organizations culture such that they support ethical behavior. Nevertheless, sometimes an organization's culture ingeniously communicates its members that certain actions are acceptable, although they are unethical or unlawful. Unethical organizational practices continue to be ridiculously a common feature. Different individual and organizational factors contribute importantly in discouraging or nurturing responsible behavior on the job. For instance, the culture of an organization that frequently encourages infringement of ethical standards is a source of unethical conduct. Besides, organizations that accords a great deal of importance in managerial assertiveness and corporate success at any cost, competitiveness, and profit have increased chances to stimulate unethical actions. It has to be acknowledged that, seemingly nothing is more crucial to an ethical corporate environment that the moral temperament and pretext set by the top leadership of an organization. (Sims, 2003a)

Thus failure by the top rung leaders to recognize important organizational values, to communicate those values through personal example and to underpin them through establishment of suitable organizational polices proves an absence of ethical leadership which promotes an unethical organizational culture. Overall, organizations are reducing their scale, undergoing revamping measures, merging, and reinventing themselves. In some instances, midlevel management levels are diminishing. A lot of functions are going away for good and replaced through online automation and networked infrastructures. Knowledge workers equipped with technological and people skills should manage processes and also themselves in cyberspace with speed, efficiency and preciseness. (Sims, 2003a)

Business Ethics has been regarded as a management subject, particularly in the aftermath of the launch of social responsibility campaign in the 1960s. During that period, social consciousness campaigns increased the expectations of business to make use of their huge financial and social control to tackle social problems like poverty, crime, environmental issues, equal rights, public health and educational improvement. It was the collective consciousness who asserted that since businesses were raking in profits from the exploitation of the nation's resources, businesses owed to the nation to work in order to improve the standards of societal functioning. From this broader perspective and in their planning and operations they have changed the term 'stockholder' to 'stakeholder' to cover employees, customers, suppliers and the community at large. With the growing complexity and dynamism brought about in business, organizations understood they required more guidance to guarantee that their dealings aligned with the overall good and did not pose any harm to others and with this was born business ethics. (McNamara, 2007)

Currently, ethics in the workplace is managed through the application of code of ethics, codes of conduct, contribution of ethicists and ethics committee, polices and procedures, procedures to solve ethical dilemmas, besides training in ethics. There are several benefits of managing ethics as a program. Ethics program help in (i) establishing organizational roles to manage ethics (ii) scheduling the current assessment of ethics needs (iii) set up needed operating values and behavior (iv) streamlining organizational behaviors with operating values (v) promoting awareness and sensitivity to ethical issues (vi) integrating ethical instructions into the decision making process (vii) streamlining the mechanism in order to resolve ethical dilemmas (viii) helping in the current evaluation and updates to the program (ix) building a trust within employees that attention to ethics is not just a knee-jerk reaction performed free oneself from trouble or improve public image of the organization. (McNamara, 2007)

Guidelines for managing organizational ethics: (i) Identifying that managing ethics is a continuous process: Ethics programs might appear to be more process oriented compared to majority of the management practices. Although ethics programs produce deliverables for instance code of conduct, procedures and policies, budget items, authorization forms newsletter etc., the most vital characteristic of an ethics program is the process of reflection and dialogue which generates these deliverables. (ii) the most perfect among the ethical values and aim does not carry any value unless they produce fair and just behaviors in the organization. This is the reason why practices which generate lists of ethical values or codes of conduct, should also generate policies, procedures and training which convert those values to suitable behaviors. (iii) Developing code of ethics and conduct are very important as this is the best manner to tackle ethical dilemmas and prevent their happening in the first place. (iv) Making ethical decisions collectively and making decisions public normally produces better quality designs by including diverse interests and perspectives, and raises the believability of the decision process and results by lowering suspicion of unfair bias. (McNamara, 2007) v) Integrating ethics management with other management practices for example show on what ethical values one would like to be the most prominent in the organizational culture and subsequently design policies to generate these behaviors (vi) Using cross functional teams while developing and implementing the ethics management program inculcates a sense of a belongingness and ownership within the program when they stick to its ethical value. Hence, it is important to include employees in developing and managing the program. (vii) it is important to note that attempting to operate ethically and making a few mistakes is considered better than not attempting at all. It is seen that some organizations have been popular as they operate in an extremely ethical manner for instance, Johnson and Johnson, Aveda, Ben and Jerrys, HP. (McNamara, 2007)

Need for a Compliance Officer to ensure organizational ethics:

It is advocated that one of the best methods to ensure organizational ethics is to have a Compliance Officer vested with sufficient authority and staff to undertake compliance program's functions. The program must cover an Ethics Code, an internal hotline that the employees are able to use to report compliance concerns, and education and training for everybody. Besides, the program must be audited on a regular basis to guarantee its feasibility. The Compliance Officer is pivotal to a properly managed program. He must be a part of the senior management and report to the BOD of the organization. The Officer's identity must be publicized across the organization and all the employees must be urged to take any matters related to fraud, waste, and abuse straightaway to the Compliance Officer. (Lovitky; Ahern, 1999)

However in case of bigger organizations, a compliance office staff might be needed. The initiation in case of any properly managed compliance program is an extensive ethics code in written form. This document must communicate very distinctly as well as precisely the ethical values to be adhered to by all employees. Moreover, the code should be practical to foster ethical behavior in the workplace on a regular basis. The Code of Ethics must highlight the importance of adhering to various regulations and reports. The Code of Ethics must also specify that any employee who infringes the same will be penalized. Each and every employee must be needed to sign a statement mentioning the fact that they have evaluated and understood the provisions of the written ethics code. And also a signed statement must be kept in the personal file of the employee concerned. (Lovitky; Ahern, 1999)

Principles for Managing Ethics in public service:

i) Clarity for ethical standards for public service: It is important that employees in public service are aware of the fundamental principles and standards which they are supposed to their work and where the limits of acceptable behavior lie. A brief, properly publicized statement containing the core ethical standards and principles which guide public service for instance in the form of code of conduct can execute this by building a shared appreciation across government and inside the broader community. (ii) Ethical standards must be present in the legal framework: As the legal framework constitutes the basis of conveying the minimum needed standards and behavior principles for every public employee, laws and regulations could mention the basis values for public service and must give the perspective for guidance, investigation, disciplinary action and prosecution. ("Principles of Managing Ethics in Workplaces," n. d.) iii) Availability of ethical guidance to public servants: It is important that professional socialization plays a part in the development of the needed judgment and skills facilitating public servants to make use of ethical principles in fixed situations. Besides, training facilities in awareness of ethics can develop the much needed proficiency for ethical analysis and moral reasoning. Rendering impartial advice is able to create an atmosphere in which public servants are eager to challenge and resolve ethical tensions and problems. Besides, guidance and internal consultation systems should be available to assist public servants apply basic ethical standards in the workplace. (iv) Public servants must be aware of their rights and responsibilities when reporting regarding wrongdoing: These must cover distinct rules and procedures for officials to adhere and a valid sequence of responsibility. Besides they also are required to be aware as regards what protection will be presented to them in situations of exposing wrongdoing. ("Principles of Managing Ethics in Workplaces," n. d.) v) Transparency in decision making process: This is important as the public has every right to be aware regarding the manner in which public institutions wield power and resources that is given to them. Besides, transparency must be further enhanced by procedures like disclosure norms and understanding the responsibility and independent media. (vi) Managers must prove and promote ethical conduct. An organizational environment in which a high standard of conduct are urged by giving rightful incentives for ethical behavior like adequate working conditions and efficient performance evaluation, has a direct impact in the routine practice of public service values and ethical standards. In this sphere, managers are expected to play an important part through delivery of consistent leadership acting as role models as regards ethics and conduct in their professional relationship with that of political leaders and other public servants and citizens. ("Principles of Managing Ethics in Workplaces," n. d.) vii) Management policies, procedures and practices must foster ethical conduct. It must help demonstrate the commitment of an organization to ethical standards. It is not enough for governments to have structures which are based only on rules or compliance. Compliance systems in isolation can unintentionally urge some of the public servants to operate on the brink of misconduct, debating that in case they are not violating the law they are acting in an ethical manner. (viii) Public service conditions and human resources management must promote ethical conduct. Public service employment conditions like career prospects, career advancement, sufficient remuneration and human resource management policies must create an environment that is conducive to ethical behavior. Application of basic principles like merit, regularly in the routine process of recruitment and promotion assist in operationalizing integrity in the public service. ("Principles of Managing Ethics in Workplaces," n. d.)