Ethical practices in workplace

By

Ahmad Ali Foroghe Abare(Reader,Islamic Azad University,Esfahan branch)

 Armin Mahmoudi(Research scholar in - Department of Studies in Education University of Mysore, Manasagangothri,

armin_md23@yahoo.com

Abstract:

Unethical practices are followed by both employees and the employer at all levels of organization. It is mainly because of differences in interests, obligations and other concerns. But the level of unethical behaviour could be checked or kept under control through some written guidelines and moral responsibility. The employer should empathize with the employees and understand their personal commitments and their capacity to work for long hours and assign the work accordingly. The employer should rather lay emphasis on the completion of job within the deadline rather than the timings the employee stays in the office. Likewise the employee should also be morally correct on his part. He should bind himself for the company’s development and strive for its success without practicing any unethical behaviours.

Communicate your vision- the employer or the company should communicate its vision to the employees and persist on them to take the company on the path of success. While on the other hand the employees should co operate to the employer in realizing his vision.

Creating and sustaining an ethical workplace culture- the employer should create an amicable atmosphere for the employees to work without any fear or inhibitions. The job insecurity feelings or any other type of hesitations may hinder their performance.

Values drive behaviour- the behaviour of both employer and employee are driven by the values they cultivate like: 1.Wisdom and Knowledge 2.Self Control 3.Justice and Fair Guidance 4.Transcendence 5.Love and Kindness 6.Courage and Integrity.

  Introduction:

Ethics are basically moral principles. An ethical person is a person who lives by a personal code of moral behavior. A person who refuses to steal or lie, for example, is doing so because of his ethics. Ethics are also generally a sense of what's right and wrong. Ethical practices in the workplace are an extremely broad subject. In some countries, they're compulsory questions in government workplaces.

In the private sector, they've been becoming more common as more advanced work practices kick in through the various workplace HR upgrades and new training courses. In the workplace, ethics are also behavioral principles, a standard relating to how one conducts oneself and how one deals with situations.

The introduction of ethical practices and guidelines about ethical behavior in the workplace has also been a useful training tool. Staffs are given grounding in basic principles like honesty, responsibility, and other important ethical issues like reporting problems and impartiality when dealing with people. Ethical principles also underlie the principles of equal employment opportunity and anti-discrimination laws, so the training is good orientation.

Employers have to trust their employees to act properly. Honesty is extremely important in all places of business. Reliability and responsibility are fundamental requirements for all employers.

Realistic ethics:

Everybody knows about the various ethical issues in the workplace. People steal. They falsify figures. They don't report mistakes or problems because they think they'll get in trouble, so the mistakes and problems become disastrous for the employer.

In many cases there are also very sensitive circumstances. The employer may have just fired someone for costing the company a fortune in fraud, walking over to a competitor with company secrets, or putting their hands in the turn over for years.

People are fired every day, everywhere on Earth, for doing things which are really unethical. All employers, at some time, have problems with things like this, and they take ethics in the workplace very seriously. The correct responses to the practical ethical questions above are pretty obvious.

In many countries, ethical practices are covered by labor laws, and are part of employment contract. The employees are literally, legally obliged to comply with the ethical practices standards, which will be in accordance with local labor laws.

The employees’ responsibilities will be set out in guidelines which they are expected to know almost by heart in government jobs in particular. The ethical practices are written into their statement of duties. Job depends on these responsibilities.

The employees’ obligations to the employer:

The employees’ obligations are 100%, and unconditional. They are obliged to conduct themselves according to all ethical practices, both at the level of natural expectations of the employer, and any guidelines imposed by the employer. In many cases there are other legal obligations, too. Ethics aren't unreasonable. Honesty makes sense in any business. Reliability is an obvious reason to hire anyone. Responsibility is something some people can handle well, and others don't seem able to handle at all.

• Wisdom and knowledge: The capacity to take information and convert it to something useful. Wisdom comes from capitalizing on one's experience to interpret information in a knowledgeable manner to produce wise decisions. A prerequisite to doing the right thing when facing an ethical dilemma is knowing what to do, knowing the difference between right and wrong.
• Self control: The ability to avoid unethical temptations. The capacity to take the ethical path requires a commitment to the value of acting with temperance. Ethical people say "no" to individual gain if it is inconsistent with institutional benefit and goodwill.
• Justice and fair guidance: The fair treatment of people. Justice is served when individuals perceive that they receive a fair return for the energy and effort expended. For example, a leader's commitment to justice is tested continually with the allocation of organizational resources. Are certain individuals and groups given special treatment without regard to objective criteria by which to judge fairness? Ethical leaders value and embrace fair advice and guidance.
• Transcendence: The recognition that there is something beyond oneself more permanent and powerful than the individual. Without this value, one may tend toward self-absorption. Leaders who are motivated predominately by self-interest and the exercise of personal power have restricted effectiveness and authenticity.
• Love and kindness: The expression through words and deeds of love and kindness. Researchers have documented that there appear to be different types of "love." In an organizational context, love refers to an intense positive reaction to another co-worker, group and/or situation. An organization "with heart" allows for the expression of love, compassion and kindness among and between people, the goodwill which can be drawn upon when one faces ethical challenges.
• Courage and integrity: The courage to act ethically and with integrity. These values involve discerning right from wrong and acting accordingly. They impel one to consistently do what is right without concern for personal consequences, even when it is not easy.

In practice, these six categories of virtuous values are intertwined. For example, the capacity to administer resources fairly and offer fair guidance to stakeholders along the way is supported by courage and integrity. Difficult decisions surrounding the allocation of limited resources leave some individuals and groups with less than they would prefer. The redeeming grace is the perception that such decisions are made with fairness and integrity. Unpopular decisions are easier to accept when they are perceived to be derived fairly and with integrity.

Putting virtuous values into practice:

At least five practices help leaders steer their organizations toward ethical conduct.

1.      Any gap between knowledge about what to do and actual actions needs to be closed. If one knows what the right thing to do, one should just do it. Unfortunately, too often "white collar" criminals will tell us that they knew what was right, yet they failed to do it. John Maxwell, in his recent book ‘There's No Such Thing as Business Ethics,’ explains various reasons for ethical transgressions, including that people just rationalize their choices with relativism. While the reasons for the transgressor's actions are varied and complex, the simple truth is that they failed to "do the right thing" in spite of their knowledge. They did not act with wisdom.

2.      Managerial leaders must be very deliberate about who joins their organization. Many organizational leaders believe that selecting people for their values is as important as selecting for skill sets. Jim Collins, in his compelling book ‘Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don't,’ underscores how long-term success depends on putting the right people in place. Larry Bossidy, as CEO of Allied Signal, made people selection a top priority and considered it a key task of top management. Selecting people who share your virtuous values is critical to building an ethical culture and long-term business success.

3.      New personnel need to be socialized into the organization so as to advance virtuous values. As a way of promoting and influencing ethical behavior, it is very powerful for new employees to hear managerial leaders espouse core virtuous values and to see those values affirmed through the actions of others in the organization.

4.      Accountability and follow-up are critical in putting virtuous values into practice. Systems and procedures can remind people of commitments and help connect words or promises with deeds. In organizations with behavioral integrity, words and deeds count. When virtuous values are driving behavior, the alignment of words and deeds serves to advance the creation of an ethical work culture.

5.      Finally, managerial leaders can positively impact the practice of ethical behavior by fairly allocating organizational resources and linking them appropriately. All managerial leaders have five key resources to manage: people, money, capital assets, information, and time. Allocation of these resources and the process managers use to accomplish such distribution can create perceptions of equity and fairness, or inequity and unfairness. Managerial leaders who value justice and fairness are more likely to deal the cards fairly -- thereby modeling ethical behavior -- than are those who do not.

Conclusion:

Unethical practices are followed by both employees and the employer at all levels of organization. It is mainly because of differences in interests, obligations and other concerns. But the level of unethical behaviour could be checked or kept under control through some written guidelines and moral responsibility.

 The employer should empathize with the employees and understand their personal commitment and their capacity to work for long hours and assigned the work accordingly. The employer should rather lay emphasis on the completion of job with in the deadline rather than the timings the employee stays in the office. Likewise the employee should also be morally correct on his part. He should bind himself for the company’s development and strive for its success without practicing any unethical behavior

References

1.      Martin Seligman, Authentic Happiness (New York: Free Press, 2002).

2.      John Maxwell, There’s No Such Thing as Business Ethics (Boston: Warner Books, Inc., 2003).

3.      James Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t (New York: Free Press, 2001).

4.      Jeffrey Pfeffer, “Business and the Spirit: Management Practices That Sustain Values,”

5.      Handbook of Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Performance, eds. R. A. Giacolone and C. L. Jurkiewicz (New York: M. E. Sharpe Press, 2003):29-45;

6.      David Ulrich and Norman Smallwood, Why the Bottom Line Isn’t! How to Build Value Through People and Organization (New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2003).

7. www.writercorner.com
8. www.wikipedia.com