Ethics in leadership and management

Requirement

Using examples from secondary research (i.e. information that has been published) prepare a report for the attention of new members of ‘London’s Business Growth Hub’ to highlight significant elements of business ethics (theory, concepts) and indicate how entrepreneurs might respond to recent development in accepted knowledge.
In the context of your business ethics, describe and discuss how business organisations are structured, managed and governed. You should recognise internal and external influences.
In the context of your allocated seminar topic, outline and discuss key principles of the leadership and management of employees.
Evidence of information literacy skills at H4 level. 5 marks Acknowledgement of research material and citations 5 marks
Produce work of a professional standard (communication skills)

Solution

Introduction

Business ethics is concerned with properly studying the policies and practices of business that relate to the potentially controversial issues like bribery, corporate governance, insider trading, discrimination, CSR and fiduciary responsibilities. Ethics related to the decision making regarding the right and wrong of business conduct. For e.g. when a person takes a bribe from the parties in business and earns money from an illegal source, this practice is regarded as unethical in a business context. If a company is investing money in the good cause of the society and fulfilling its social responsibility, then this is regarded as an ethical business conduct.

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Theories 

There are some theories related to business ethics that helps in the decision making when any dilemma about ethical or unethical behaviour occurs in the minds of business people. These theories define some critical viewpoints from which one seeks guidance while making any decisions. Different points are emphasised in each theory which guides different decision-making style or different rule related to the decision. It tells how an individual can predict the outcome and how one can follow his/her duty to reach an ethically correct decision. The people should realise that everyone cannot make decisions in the same way because each has his mind set and perception. Also, the same information and same kind of rules cannot be employed in every situation. In short, a particular set of standards cannot be used in every situation, and one cannot adhere to what is written. Suppose it is written in the rule book that ‘one cannot take a bribe in the office', this does not mean that one can take bribe outside the office premises, but different people will understand this rule in a different way. So, one general rule should be made that ‘acceptance and grant of the bribe are unacceptable'. There must be some understanding of a common set of goals that are required to be taken by the decision makers to become successful.

Principles

There are some principles of business ethics that should be known to all (Edward Freeman, Rusconi, Signori & Strudler, 2012):

  1. Beneficence- It guides that an individual should take the decision that is right and good. When a person does ‘good’, it makes an ethical perspective and the solution to any ethical dilemma pops up automatically. It also guides the decision maker that he should generate the ratio of good to bad in largest number that is possible. If the business and its people are striving to get the greatest amount of good, the benefits will also increase from the most of the ‘good’. 

  2. Least harm- The decision maker should ensure that he is choosing that option which is causing ‘least harm’ to him and his organisation.

  3. Respect for autonomy- If the people in the organisation are left autonomous and they are able to make decisions that are applicable to their own lives, then they have control over their lives to a greater extent than other people. The reason behind this is that they have chosen a lifestyle for them which are very normal for them, and they are happy to carry it out but that lifestyle might not be suitable for real situations. So it can be ascertained that if they cannot take right decisions for their own selves, how they will behave correct in business situations. Life experiences play a very important role in understanding emotions, getting motivated for right and wrong things, etc. This principle is most applicable while hiring a new talent (George, 1994). The HR manager should always look into this aspect of the candidate before hiring him. 

  4. Justice- the actions taken by individuals in business should be ‘fair’ to all parties involved. The practice of sex discrimination in organisations is very common. This is injustice and unethical as well. 

The theories related to business ethics differ for individuals. The main emphasis of these theories is on the ethical dilemma faced by the people in organisations and guides them to reach to a conclusion that resolves the dilemma ethically as per the guidelines of ethical theory. There are four broad categories of ethical theory that includes (Ciulla, Uhl-Bien & Werhane, 2013):

  1. Deontology- it states that individuals should adhere to the obligations and duties assigned to them while taking any decision related to ethics. Since upholding of one’s duty is correct ethically so, the person must follow his obligations to the parties outside and within the business. In simple terms, keeping your promises is what that is required in this category. When people learn to follow deontology, they produce consistent results and take logical decisions based on his set duties.

  2. Utilitarianism- it means the ability of a person to guess the outcomes of an action. If an individual is utilitarian, then his ethically correct decision would mean that one which is giving the greatest benefit to maximum people. It is of two kinds- act utilitarianism where the person is concerned with the interest of most of the people and other is rule utilitarianism where the person takes all decisions based on law and fairness. But this should be used with caution because people use their experiences in predicting situations which does not guarantee accuracy. Suppose a person is running late for a meeting and he is the CEO of the company . He believes that he has to arrive at the meeting on time because it is ethically correct to do that and his business and the people will benefit from his important decisions. But he does not break any traffic rules as he doesn't want to break the law. So here a conflict arises between two ethically correct situations (Goodpaster, 1991). These things have to be looked carefully while taking decision-related to ethics.

  3. Rights- these are endorsed by a large number of population and hence they are considered to be ethically correct. If a person is deciphering the characteristics of rights in society, then it will pave a way for ethically correct decisions, otherwise not.

  4. Virtue- in this theory, a person is judged by his character and not by his actions that are uncertain in different situations and deviate from the normal behaviour of the person.  For e.g. a person is very patient and does not argue with anybody ever but one day he was shouting on the street because he saw somebody abusing an old age person. So his character of a patient person is more important than his behaviour in a particular situation. Whenever a person is seen exhibiting an irregular behaviour which is considered unethical, he is judged by his morals, motivation and reputation.

Ethics in leadership and management

Ethics play a very important role in leadership and management in an organisation. The reputation and credibility of an organisation is dependent on the ethical decisions of its leaders and managers. If a person is using his leadership skills and utilising them for appropriate business ethics, then he can make a good team culture in the organisation and can provide benchmarks for employees that can be measured. In leading and managing people, one should always be open while discussing the grey areas of business and how complex they could be in the work life of people. While taking any ethical decision for the organisation, the leader should involve others so that know how ethical decisions are taken and develop a sense of ethics while taking some decisions on their own. A leader should help others in learning about ethics. The employees should me made clear that the only way by which the organisation operates is ‘ethically’ and there is no reference manual to it. It has to be imbibed within the employees, in every strategy, every discussion and conversation. The leader should become a role model for others and should conduct him ethically in every situation so that the followers develop a trust in his conduct and behave accordingly (Rost, 1995). It is important for managers and leaders to show their stakeholders that the organisation is actively engaged in ethical issues and demonstrate the commitment that the leader and his organisation have for ethical behaviour. Nobody in the organisation, neither the CEO nor the manager or leader shall be exempted from ethical conducts in the company. The standards must be set for all and it should be ensured that they are maintained. Make people accountable for any wrong conduct; no exceptions shall be done. Managers should talk about how positive ethics look like when practised and how they should be carried out (Melé, 2007). The most important thing that leaders and mangers have to do regarding ethics is integrated it into all actions of the company, in everything that employees do, touch, speak or influence so that everything remains vigilant.

 

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Conclusion

In today's world, creating a reputation for the organisation is a must. This can be done by keeping the promises made to the stakeholders, by making correct choices and by putting ethical conduct before monetary gains. This will cause the business grow. The trust of public is developed in the organisation and doing business will become much easier. The employees will also feel good about the organisation and the sense of commitment towards work will increase. 

References:

  • Likierman, A. (1989). Ethical dilemmas for accountants: A United Kingdom perspective. J Bus Ethics, 8(8), 617-629. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf00383030

  • Takala, T., & Uusitalo, O. (1995). Retailers' professional and professio-ethical dilemmas: The case of Finnish retailing business. J Bus Ethics, 14(11), 893-907. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf00882068

  • Hanson, K. (2014). Six Unavoidable Ethical Dilemmas Every Professional Faces. Business And Society Review, 119(4), 537-552. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/basr.12045

  • CHERKASSKY, L. (2011). Does the United States Do It Better? A Comparative Analysis of Liver Allocation Protocols in the United Kingdom and the United States. Cambridge Quarterly Of Healthcare Ethics, 20(03), 418-433. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0963180111000107

  • INCOSE Code of Ethics. (2004). INSIGHT, 7(1), 45-45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/inst.20047145

  • Westerholm, P., & Weel, A. (2015). The ICOH Code of Ethics: a set of norms for professional conduct. TBV - TIJDSCHRIFT VOOR BEDRIJFS- EN VERZEKERINGSGENEESKUNDE, 23(7), 336-339. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12498-015-0141-y

  • Rost, J. (1995). Leadership: A Discussion about Ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly, 5(1), 129. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3857276

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