The challenge of ethical behavior in organizations

The Challenge of Ethical Behavior in Organizations of the The paper addresses to the challenge of ethical behavior in organizations. It elucidates some reasons why unethical behavior happens in organizations, throws light on the significance of organizational culture in creating an ethical environment within, and tenders suggestions for producing and sustaining an ethically-oriented culture. The paper takes into consideration varying situations in an organization and why ethical culture of the organization should not be compromised in testing times.
2. Some organizations operating in certain industries have motivated agendas to behave unethically. Their main concern is aggrandizement of wealth and the means employed to secure the goal are of no consequence to them. They encourage their senior staff to adopt unethical procedures and soon it becomes the policy of the organization and standard culture of the industry. Ethical diameters are linked to the behavior of the top management and the middle level management and the employees follow the guidelines as per the directions of the masters. To contain the unethical behavior of the employees the management needs to go to the root cause of the problem. A fair system of compensation that will benefit all the employees must be in place as otherwise some employees may pursue their own objectives rejecting the company’s interest altogether. They may use the system to benefit to themselves. The management should always remember that the employees can build an organization as well as they can break it. If the goodwill of the company is lost, in the present highly competitive business environment, it is difficult to recoup it. When the ethical base is strong, the employees will be responsive to the directions of the management.
3. Organizational culture implies dual responsibilities. On the one side are the employees of the organization and on the other side it reflects on those who deal with the organization. Such a culture relates of the entire gamut of activities of the organization. When it is sound the consequential benefits are the enhanced image, public good will and the increased ability to attract talents to be part of the organization. For the employees to be basically sound and industrious basic conditions need to be created first and that is possible by adopting the best ethical practices.
4. Ronald R. Sims tenders two important suggestions for creating and maintaining ethical- oriented culture. That the top managers need to set the standards as it makes the big difference and the lower-level employees follow suit while addressing ethical dilemmas. Water always flows from higher to lower levels and not vice versa.
“ Some of the factors that may be emphasized in different ethical climates of organizations are: Personal self-interest, Company profit, Operating efficiency, Individual friendships, Team interests, Social responsibility, Personal morality, Rules and standard procedures, Laws and professional codes. (Sims, 1992, p. 510) The suggestions are realistic and implementation-worthy. The author has made efforts to cover all the important areas that have bearing on the ethical aspect of organizations.
5. “ The effective management of ethical issues requires that organizations ensure that their managers and employees know how to deal with ethical issues in their everyday work lives. Therefore, organizational members must first understand some of the underlying reasons for the occurrence of unethical practices”. (p. 506) Explanations in this passage addresses to the root cause of the ethical/unethical issues and the possible solutions. As such, I consider this passage is the essence of this paper.
Reference List
The Challenge of Ethical Behavior in Organizations
Author: Ronald R. Sims Source: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 11, No. 7 (Jul., 1992),
pp. 505-513Published by: SpringerStable URL:
http://www. jstor. org/stable/25072301. Accessed on January 17, 2014