Managerial Ethics and Its Impact on the Workplace

Ethics are moral codes in an institution that governs the behavior of an individual or group of people with regards to what is right or wrong in line with the organizations requirements. These codes rotate around established values and principles which may vary from one culture to another. Managerial ethics are therefore a set of standards in an institution that stipulate the conduct of a manger operating within the workplace. They point the way to a particular course of action while defining the acceptable behaviors and choices.

Managerial ethics have various impacts on the workplace. They are assembled by companies to guide its managers. They stipulate the boundaries for managers in the organization while referencing the shared values, principles and companys policies with regard to the basic conduct of a manager. They also outline the social responsibility of a manager to his employees, the company, and the organizations stakeholders. On the other hand, managerial ethics highlight the punishment of managers who consistently ignore their roles and work against the company ethics. They can either be asked to step down, be moved to another position or get fired depending on the regulations put in place.

Managerial ethics also come in handy when there are violations of the code of conduct of managers in an organization. They encourage managers to behave in line with their managerial ethics. A perfect example of a violation of managerial ethics is Enron. Therefore, managerial ethics provide a reference when there arises a conflict of values hence ensuring that managers act in accordance with the organizational requirements. Managerial ethics also help to guide in decision making and regulates the internal and external behaviors.

Implementation of business ethics through leadership.

Establishment of a corporate ethics policy is vital to provide employees and clients with solid guidelines to what is and is not expected of them at the workplace without the need for constant oversight from the administration or management. A good policy communicates the expectations and requirements from the board of directors down while establishing measurements of determining if the ethics are being maintained and producing the required results. Developing and strengthening a companys ethics program can, therefore, be done in various ways through leadership. Some of them are:

Securing a visible commitment from senior management.

Most ethics professionals are in agreement that it is vital to enlist senior management support for an ethics program to be successful. Senior managers should give a hand in training sessions and make ethics a regular aspect in their presentations while aligning their own behavior in line with the company standards. This is vital because if employees view an ethics program as an effort to protect the reputation of the top administration, the program might be more harmful to the organization.

Engaging the board of directors.

This can be done by instituting a board ethics committee or by placing ethics on the agenda of the board as a regular item to be discussed. A special training can also be put in place to enable the directors to carry out their ethical roles with confidence.

Building ethics into the mission and vision statements of the organization.

A company can build their ethical values into their mission or vision statements. This would help senior management and the employees to understand the role of values and ethical standards as an integral part of all the companys operations and not just an add-on to be considered after making vital decisions.

Integrating ethics using formal structure and systems.

Organizational structure plays a vital role in making various organizational decisions. The organizational structure contains three components: It designates the formal reporting relationships within the organization. This shows the levels of hierarchy that the organization should have and the control for each level. It describes the grouping of organizational members into the various departments and the departments of the organization. It also identifies the systems for coordination, efficient communication, and integration of the members efforts across the organization.

The organizational structure, therefore, lays down the whole foundation of the organization while identifying how many divisions will work in the organization and who reports to whom. It identifies the coordination of systems of various divisions towards the achievement of a common objective.

Ethics can, therefore, be integrated into the existing company structure to demonstrate that it is an integral part of all the operations required for decision making. This can be done by:

Establishing liability for all forms of corporate wrong doing in the organization. This should stream down from the management in line with the company structure and system. This action would ensure integration from the high ranking administrative posts to the common employee in the organization in each department.

The move to self-regulation is another way of integrating ethics into the business structure and systems. It involves providing a written code of the companys ethics and conduct, training the management as well as the employees of their responsibilities, providing a free and open atmosphere in the company, adoption of procedures for voluntary disclosure and encouraging public accountability in the organization.

Commitment to the business ethics should also stream from the top in line with the business structure. This ensures that ethics are well integrated into the organization with no bias and all employees being held responsible for their actions. This ensures ethical considerations among individual members, to departments and to the entire organization towards the achievement of its goals.