Ethics refers to morals behavior and principles upon which any human action can be applied. It has an impact on the decision made by the management to the service the consumer receives. In recent years moral ethics have been used by various organizations as the key to success. Ethically minded businesses may use to portray a positive image of the brand, which creates value and generates new employment opportunities, thus attracting more consumers. Researchers believe that good ethical practices lead to employees’ responsibility, which leads to excellent service delivery. Many organizations have recognizable mechanisms that identify and report unethical malpractices by the employees; this helps the management in decision making and enforcing a company’s policies. However, ethical decision-making is the main issue that the administration can respond to on any business level. How the management handles the problem determines whether it will be solved appropriately following the policies set by the business.
In any organization, ethics consists of issues regarding the code of conduct and corporate governance. A system of ethics is required by any business set up for the right policies put in place to be enforced. For a code of ethics to be considered adequate, an organization’s communication channels and cultural practices must be reviewed. The relationship between the employer and employee has to be collaborative for the code to be openly discussed and revised frequently in case problems arise. According to Dr. Warren, the management should ensure that a proper communication channel exists in an organization for decisions to be communicated appropriately to the employees. The research also argues that organizations should use a reward policy whereby the employees who uphold the code of ethics are rewarded for their excellent behavior. It would motivate the rest of the workforce to enforce the law.
An ethical work climate plays a crucial role in employees’ morale or unethical practices; the workforce involved within organizations usually develops a different system to that governing them. Although the systems resemble each other, the perception that the employees describe the work climate to be differs to that used by the management to describe the employees’ understanding of the different situations involved. According to Bart and John (1988), the decision-making process involved in case an employee is engaged in unethical malpractices varies among people. An individual’s moral behavior is a factor that is considered when determining the moral atmosphere; this represents the employees’ general behavior and therefore requires the management to emphasize the workforces’ moral education.
Organizational forces have a significant impact on ethical decision making in organizations, and the effects are described by researchers to be macro and micro. Macro issues involve organization leadership and cultural practices that govern it while micro aspects rely on social psychology and cognition for analysis. Research shows that ethical decision making in an organization can be compiled into four factors: recognition, judgment, intent, and behavior (Thomas & Lori, 1998). Studies show that moral awareness is based on the fact that an individual should first recognize the ethical aspects involved before making any decision regarding an issue.
According to Thomas and Lori, the management’s desire to be seen as moral by the employees plays a huge role in the workforce’s overall behavior. The desire to achieve ethical behavior can be described as either desired or anticipated. Desired behavior is the intention of individuals to be moral, and this desire can be a result of philosophy, religion, socialization, and impression. The expected behavior is a result of the employees’ surround group and is based on the planned behavior. Moral behavior is involved mostly in situations requiring moral decision making, the response that an employee gives due to an unethical practice is on certain characteristics. This includes; the degree of the consequences and complicity of the issue, moral certainty and the extent of pressure to behave unethically. Research argues that the management ethical practices have an impact on the employees’ behavior and moral judgment.
Corporate social responsibility is an essential factor to consider since business operations going on a large scale are subject to market forces that generate public opinion. As a result, companies following good ethical practices tend to attract large numbers of consumers and people in society. Corporate social responsibility has been an emerging issue in business, and it acknowledges how profit is made and how much is earned by a business. Companies’ ethical approach in social responsibility is to reduce the instances of negative publicity and increase profit on investments made. According to Dr. Warren, CSR assumes that organizations that do not act according to the industry, ethical practices should be held morally and legally responsible for their actions. Accountability plays a significant role in the relationship between a company’s board and the stakeholders. For an organization’s operations to run smoothly, there needs to be a mutual agreement between the society and organization.
Times are changing, and standards of ethical practices change over time; this is because developments in technology enable a safer working environment and reducing ethical implications. Researchers also argue that for various groups of people, ethical decisions are based on religious beliefs. However, studies show that religion cannot be used to develop a code of ethics when the rule of law is at play. Businesses have the responsibility of donating and sponsoring arts, sports, and the community’s cultural activities. They should also be involved in maintaining the health and wellbeing of society. Businesses should create and promote educational programs in the community through scholarships, internships, and training at the local schools (Dr. Warren). CSR leads to building better infrastructure and facilitating the development of the city while enhancing the corporate image. This creates an excellent reputation for the stakeholders and government, leading to a reduction in the operational costs.
Institutions in recent years have had an increase in attention, mainly formal organizations, due to behaviors that are considered to be unethical. According to Susanne and Betha (2006), the abuse of Abu Ghraib prisoners shows how institutions failed leadership among the management can lead to a violation of human rights without regard to ethics. Researchers argue that few individuals are, however, described to be deviant, and this is due to the organizational practices. Power relationships and structure are some of the significant factors enabling deviance in organizations. Although studies show the importance of formal organizations, some researchers consider the organization the main reason for deviant behavior and decision making actions among various employees. The role played by leaders usually extends to failure to do certain things, which includes; monitoring, preventing, and also punishing the individuals involved.
In conclusion, a business should have a principle by which people decide what is morally acceptable. Ethical decision making plays a role in resolving conflicts among different groups and individuals and should ensure that the moral beliefs of a community are upheld and values observed. Through ethical inquiry, the study shows that people can learn how to value each other’s decisions and better ways of resolving conflicts. The approaches involved in decision making should evaluate and provide mechanisms on how an ethical decision will have a positive impact on everyone. All organizations should educate their employees on industry ethical practices required by the law; a proper communication channel should be created to ensure that information reaches all. Ethical decision making is dependent on the opinion and beliefs of an individual. How the ideas are applied is dependent on other factors, but an individual should use what he/she considers the best choice.
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