Ethics in Development and Training: A Case Study of Brighten Inc. In an increasingly complex and dynamic environment, organizations must have a competent pool of human resources. They must have individuals with unparalleled skills, knowledge, expertise and capabilities to handle sophisticated tasks. This is particularly true for key positions in the organization such as top and middle level management. With competent leadership and management, an organization is better placed to achieve its strategic vision as well as goals and objectives (Saks & Haccoun, 2010). Nonetheless, having the right pool of leaders and managers is often not an easy undertaking for organizations. Organizations must continuously invest in developing the leadership and management potential of promising and high-performing individuals within the organization (Lawson, 2008). This explains why most organizations have comprehensive internal training and development programs for their employees. Nevertheless, for training and development initiatives to achieve the intended outcomes, integrity must be maintained (Werner & Desimone, 2012). In some cases, enrollees may want to take shortcuts, a phenomenon that may have disastrous consequences on individuals and the organization. Accordingly, the leader of the training and development program must ensure every enrollee goes through all the required training.

Brighten Inc., an organization with more than 30,000 employees and locations across North America and Europe, has been at the forefront in terms of talent development. Nonetheless, the integrity of the organization's training and development program is usually under threat as some employees often request to be fast-tracked through some of the training so as to graduate earlier than usual, and take advantage of the opportunities that come with the training such as promotion. The training usually takes two years, with focus specifically on topics such as management skills, people development, engagement, as well as leadership strategies and influence.

Given the criticality of the topics handled...

Bypassing some of the training may particularly present a liability to colleagues. Some of the key areas explored during leadership and management training include team building, conflict management, communication, and delegation. Employees are equipped with these skills so that they can apply them in the execution of their day-to-day responsibilities, which often improves the effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity of individuals and teams within the organization (Kozlowski & Salas, 2010). Thus, bypassing some employees through some of the training means that some may be less knowledgeable in leadership and management than others, which may be disadvantageous to those that went through the entire training. Consider a knowledge area like team building, for instance. Today's increasingly complex tasks require individuals to work in teams to ensure quicker and more effective task execution (Saks & Haccoun, 2010). When some colleagues do not have comprehensive understanding of teamwork and their role in making the team a success, they may slow the work of the team, which may create interpersonal conflicts.
Failure to complete training may have negative consequences at not only the team level, but also the company at large. Through the training, employees are prepared for handling complex management and leadership tasks, particularly with regard to advancing the vision and mission of the organization (Kozlowski & Salas, 2010). These tasks generally revolve around strategic planning, implementation, and evaluation, which involve processes such as strategy formulation, resource mobilization and allocation, stakeholder engagement, as well as opportunity and threat identification. As an international company, Brighten requires leaders and managers that can quickly…