Business Ethics in Group Work: A Self-Reflective Analysis

Introduction

"Groups tend to bring out the moral best and worst in us." — C. E. Johnson, 2016

Because most significant projects require a group effort, self-directed groups are becoming increasingly commonplace in companies of all sizes and types today (Johnson, 2016). These groups are being tasked with a wide range of responsibilities, including making decisions that are important for achieving organizational goals (Johnson, 2016). As the epigraph above emphasizes, despite their importance, not all groups succeed in achieving their goals, and others fail to reach their full potential due to unethical activities or suboptimal moral choices (Johnson, 2016).

These issues came to the fore during one recent experience involving a seven-person group that failed to achieve its goals due to various immoral behaviors on the part of group members, including the author. This paper evaluates my performance as a morally responsible group member, including the types of behaviors that were demonstrated and which still need to be developed. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of specific steps that could be taken to improve these behaviors.

The Group Situation

The group situation of interest was one in which I served as second-in-command of a seven-person group tasked with developing a Police Benevolent Association (PBA) union website. The PBA recognizes the value of information technologies to its membership, and based on my experience in this area, the group leader requested my participation and leadership. This sounded like an exciting and valuable project, so I accepted the invitation. Because organizational resources — including physical space, time, and money — were being used for this project, all group members had a moral responsibility to accomplish the group's goal and to do so in an ethical fashion (Johnson, 2016).

Participation Failures and Moral Climate

The group leader initially scheduled meetings once every three weeks to ensure that group activities did not detract from professional responsibilities. However, other group members either failed to attend these meetings or were unwilling or unable to actively participate in meaningful ways when they did attend. Unfortunately, this type of outcome is not uncommon in many groups. As Johnson points out, "Many attempts to create a cooperative climate falter because participants fail to do their fair share of the work" (2016, p. 206). Moreover, there was an inordinate amount of attention given to where the group would eat after the meeting rather than a focus on the problems at hand. Consequently, there was a moral failure on the part of the group's leadership, including the author, to maintain a cooperative climate and keep the group focused on achieving its overarching goal.

The group did benefit from the active participation of three members who were enthusiastic about the project and who hit the ground running. These members provided great ideas and gathered relevant content, so the initial process was not a total loss. Notwithstanding these contributions, each group member had been assigned the task of developing example ideas and content for web pages to be included on the new site. Some members eventually stopped showing up altogether for meetings, and nothing substantive was provided by these individuals — or, as a result, by the group as a whole.

References

Johnson, C. E. (2016). Organizational ethics: A practical approach (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.