Managing with integrity

Managing with integrity Introduction The scope of management extends beyond the responsibility to controlling people and processes to include moral obligations. A manager must therefore be morally conscious of applicable approaches to management at organizational levels and within the global scope. This paper reviews moral aspects of management.
How the steward manager is similar to the concept of a servant-leader
The steward manager and the concept of a servant leader have many similarities. Even though the primary role of a manager is the control of people towards achieving organizational objectives, this role extends to moral obligations. A manager’s level of morality then determines the way in which the manager operates with respect to interest of other people in the society. Steward mangers identify with high moral developments, unlike agents. Consequently, they not only disregard their personal interest, but also forego interest of their organizations to meet people’s needs. They therefore promote welfare of employees and the entire society (Martynov, 2009).
This approach to decision making mirrors the concepts of a servant leader in variety of ways that include “ motives and intentions,” “ means and methods,” and “ ends and outcomes” (SanFacon and Spears, 2008, p. 9). The servant leader for example has a self-motivated and automatic desire to serve others and this mirrors the steward-manager’s moral obligation to meet the society’s needs. The drive in a servant leader to develop potentials for rendering services is also similar to the steward-manager’s desire to meet his moral obligations to the society. Similarly, the steward manager’s disregard of organizational interest to focus on the society’s well being is similar to the servant leadership concept that organizations should benefit people instead of exploiting them. A steward manager and the concept of servant leadership also share similar objectives (SanFacon and Spears, 2008; Martynov, 2009).
How the steward manager would fare in the global business world
A steward manager would be successful in the global business world because of two factors, the ability to interact with and manage diversity through critical thinking and the moral drive to meet social expectations. While the moral manager is different from the agent manager, morality does not negate managerial skills. The steward manager is therefore able to interact with people in different cultural and ideological frameworks to achieve his or her desired objectives. The gained morality of the manager also facilitates interaction with other members of the society who will be able to identify and respond to the manager’s good social motives (Elder, 2004).
Ethics and situations
Ethics should be based on situations and people should be treated according to moral values in their societies. This is because morality differs across societies and consequences of actions may differ depending on involved parties and circumstances. In case the dominant culture is different from my culture, I would operate within the culture’s ethics. This is because such a move will benefit the majority who are members of the dominant culture to meet the utilitarian objective (Elder, 2004).
Conclusion
A steward manager is therefore similar to the concepts of a servant leader. The manager is also able to operate in a global business world with application of situation-based ethics. In dealing with different morals from mine, I would apply morals of the dominant culture to meet the people’s social needs.
References
Elder, L. (2004). Diversity: Making sense of it through critical thinking. Journal for Quality & Participation, 27(4), 9-13.
Martynov, A. (2009). Agents or stewards? Linking managerial behavior and moral development. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(2), 239-249
SanFacon, G., & Spears, L. (2010). Servant-leaders. Leadership Excellence, 27(2), 17