Survey Of Business Ethics example essay topic

MANAGERIAL ETHICS Introduction The word ethics is derived from the Greek work ethos, which refers to the character and sentiment of the community, and standards of behavior. Ethical means conforming to the standards of a given profession or group. Any group can set its own ethical standards and then live by them or not. Ethical standards, whether they are established by an individual, a corporation, a profession, or a nation, help to guide a person's decisions and actions.

The commonly accepted definition of ethics is rules or standards that govern behavior. Managerial decision making is the type of behavior that managers are paid to do. They must make choices among alternatives and these may vary in terms of their perceived ethicality. The argument might be that ethics and morality ought to be kept as an exclusive part of religious and educational organizations.

When morality intrudes on the business organization, it has a potential of diverting from the organization's main objective, to make money, and as a result lead to deprive stockholders returns. But there is an increased realization that managers needs to be more responsible, not just to their stockholders but also to their other stakeholders - consumers, employees, suppliers, the government, and local communities. There is a need for ethics to be a part of management. We see business leaders taking bribes, being dishonest, biased toward age, gender, race, and ethnicity, and committing sexual harassment.

There is a lack of moral integrity among business leaders and professionals. Many unethical acts also overlap with the law. One of those unethical act by American executives is bribery. Bribery is used to turn power to the advantage of the person offering. Before the passage of the For eig Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, it was estimated that approximately 400 American companies paid millions of dollars in bribes for business favors.

This act makes it illegal for companies to exchanging money or material goods for something in return. It is also affects ordinary citizens, because it raises the cost of goods sold. Despite the regulations against bribery, many parts of the business world consider it to be a normal practice. Exxon the well known oil corporation engaged in a bribe when the corporation paid $59 million to Italian politicians to further achieve business goals in Italy. Honesty, is anyone truly honest any more Honesty is being truthful, regardless, but to some it can vary with the individual and the situation. It can have a great impact on business, customers, and staff.

It is an important part of the product and service. Honesty can set good leaders apart from others. President Clinton can be used as an example. He was dishonest with America when telling us about the Lewinsky fiasco; lying under oath. What does this do to his character How is he now perceived by others. His dishonesty could lead people to believe he as not been honest with other statements.

A survey by U.S. News and World Report on honesty, reported that eighty eight percent of secretaries have told lies on behalf of their supervisors. In another survey of 2000, nearly one quarter watched bosses fake expense reports, one fifth seen information destroyed, and one third seen doctored time sheets. These people said they would not reveal their supervisor, to a higher authority, after all they have a part in determining their success in the company. No, not everyone is honest, but in the long run, honesty is the best policy. Dishonesty can come back to haunt you. Managers with honest reputations can reap the benefits with staff, and customers.

Whether a president or a supervisor, honesty is best, and you can face yourself each morning knowing you did what was right. A nationwide survey of business ethics was conducted in 1997. It included 218 public administrators. Seventy percent of them believed that their organization was highly ethical, and sixty one percent said that ethics was a part of their day-to-day decision making.

Public administration has more ethics resources than any other industry; fifty two percent of them had ethics training. Yet they had the highest incidents of ethical problems. Fifty two percent knew of ethical violations. Fewer than thirty one said they feel comfortable reporting misconduct.

One third said the organization may sometime breach the laws. Some of the most common incidents were sexual harassment, lying on reports and lying to supervisors, and discrimination. In the United States, there are laws protecting against discrimination. The U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects citizens from employment discrimination regarding gender, age, race, nationality, and religion, and disabilities.

Despite this, women are segregated in the workplace from top management positions. This invisible barrier is called the Glass Ceiling and is created by organization prejudices. Women are better educated and hold more jobs then ever before, but fail to reach leading positions in major corporations. Women represent more than 40% of the workforce, but hold less than 5% of the top jobs in corporations.

And when they rise to the top, it is nearly certain that they will earn less than a man. When women have achieved high managerial positions, they are usually restricted to a less vital part of the company, like administration and human resource. With the increase of qualification and work performance by women, it may have been expected that more women move up more quickly. One reason may be gender stereotypes. That females can not generate as much competence in the managing role as men and that women should not be exercising power over men. Some feel women can not handle family responsibility and the long, hard hours of work in high management.

Well, men have families too, and with many child care facilities, it makes it possible for men and women to handle building a career and raising a family. Managers already at the top are likely to have gender based stereotypes, especially older managers who went to business school when there were few female students. Perhaps at the times change, so will the percentage of women in top positions. Sexual harassment which is directed by a staff member by another, has become increasing in the news. This behavior is not only unethical but illegal. There are two types of sexual harassment: quid pro quo and hostile environment.

Quid pro quo is when there is a request for sexual behaviors, with a promise of rewards or threat of punishment if they adhere to them or they do not. Hostile environment refers to the creation of an unpleasant and unwelcome atmosphere related to sex and interferes with job performance. Most harassment is directed at women by men; almost 90%. About 10% involve the harassment of men. The harassers of women tend to be older married men, and those of men are younger single women. The number of sexual harassment cases has gone up; as more women were entering the workplace, so were the number of cases.

Many do not confront their harassers, for fear of the reprocotions. In many cases its her word against his. President Clinton can also be used as an example in this case a well. Paula Jones had accused Mr. Clinton of sexual harassment when he was governor of Arkansas. He was the leader of a state, in a powerful position, what could Miss Jones do She finally spoke up years later to press charges, but it was her word against the presidents.

The management profession is a people business. How they relate to people is very important. An effective manager must have the ability to understand people's needs and to see their point of view. Management must uphold moral values, keep a good attitude, keep learning, keep changing, keep refining and defining, and keep communicating. Many managers take what ever course of action will best achieve their goals, regardless of the effects on organizational members, on the future of the company, or the society where they live. Also in managerial behavior, there seems to be a strong desire for power, wealth and the need to display material well being.

This can be considered a factor of the ethical problems.

Bibliography

1. Stephen J. Carrol, and Martin J. Gannon, Ethical Dimension of Management, Sage Publications, 1997.
2. Is There Anyone Who Believes in Honesty, Denver Business Journal, volume 50, October 16, 1997, page 37.
3. Integrity and Ethics in Public Administration, Public Management, volume 80, October 1998, page 3.
4. Women in Management: It's Still Lonely at the Top, Women's International Network, volume 24, September 1998, page 78.
5. Constructing an Ethic for Business Practice, Business & Society, September 1998, page 27.