РефератыИностранный языкMaManagerial Ethics Essay Research Paper MANAGERIAL ETHICSIntroductionThe

Managerial Ethics Essay Research Paper MANAGERIAL ETHICSIntroductionThe

Managerial Ethics Essay, Research Paper


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 Foreign 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 trully 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 eithty 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 br

each 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.

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