Manageing_Business_Ethics

MANAGING BUSINESS ETHICS Managers have to deal with several ethical and moral issues such as harassment, theft and equality. Along with the management role, managers have to make sure they maintain a good amount of moral and ethical values. Managers have to show fairness to all employees. Harassment is one of the biggest ethical and moral problems managers are faced with today. Also, it does not matter what level of management is under consideration: top, middle, or lower; managers in all areas, and in all functions, face situations where ethical considerations play a big part in the work place. The subject of ethics in management is an important subject. The amount of ethics in the work place focuses its attention on affirmative action, discrimination, whistle blowing, comparable worth, and sexual harassment. (Carroll, A. 2002) Harassment is seen as an unwanted gesture, whether it be written, verbal, or physical. More often than not harassment has the basis of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, or disability. The core of harassment shows aggression or hatred towards a person. Everyone in the company can be subject to harassment if they are affected by the behavior. Managers have social and ethical responsibilities in the company. Managers have to make sure that all employees are being treated fairly with respect and dignity. Managers also have to achieve the company’s success along with the social responsibilities. The employer and the manager can also be held accountable for harassment of an employee by other employees. If the employer knew about the harassment and failed to take immediate and appropriate action, the employer would be held responsible for the out comings. The employer must treat all complaints in a serious manner, investigate them thoroughly, and record all findings. “Many people ask why ethics is such a vital component of management practice. It has been said that it makes good business sense for managers to be ethical. Without being ethical, companies cannot be competitive at either the national or international levels. While ethical management practices may not necessarily be linked to specific indicators of financial profitability, there is no inevitable conflict between ethical practices and a firm's emphasis on making a profit; our system of competition presumes underlying values of truthfulness and fair dealing.” (Haynes, 2001) One day at my workplace a employee noticed that another employee was wearing a tee shirt that in fact discriminated against gay and lesbian genders the offended employee took the issue to his supervisor and the supervisor took the complaint in consideration and informed the employee who was wearing the inappropriate attire and told him not to wear the tee shirt anymore do to the fact it was offending other employees. The employee agreed and the tee shirt was never to be seen of again. If the supervisor failed to confront the harassing employee about the tee shirt then the supervisor would be at fault to the same degree if not more than the employee who was wearing the shirt to begin with. The manager could have been faced with legal action and the loss of his job. The employee then could have filed a grievance with the union and then all levels of management would have been involved. If the manager reacted that way he would have showed his lack of morality and ethics. However, the problem was solved at the lower level and no report was needed due to the fact that the supervisor acted the way a supervisor should have; by putting his employees welfare first. . With every public issue you will find a moral issue. Managers are placed in hard situations all the time. Practicing good ethics and morals will help define a good supervisor. Being able to keep the company’s reputation and protect the employees reputation is not easy. Making sure that supervisors are self aware will help them be aware of their employees needs. Most social and moral issues can be resolved at the lowest supervisors’ level if supervisors are aware how ethics and social responsibilities work. Some companies delegate ethics management and responsibilities widely, finding that a strong statement of values and a strong ethical culture can bind the ethics management effort together. (Trevino & Nelson, 2007) References: HAYNES, T. (2001). Business Ethics. In Social Responsibility and Organizational Ethics. Retrieved June 28, 2009, from Answers.com database: http://www.answers.com/topic/social-responsibility-and-organizational-ethics Copyright 1996-2008 Strategic HR Services. All rights reserved. http://www.strategichr.com Managing Business Ethics. Straight Talk About How To Do It Right, Fourth Edition Chapter 10: Managing Ethics and Legal Compliance ISBN: 9780471755258 Author: Linda Klebe Treviño, Katherine A. Nelson copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons