The Role of The Manager in an Organizations Ethical Policies and Practices - Coursework Example

Business (The Role of The Manager in an Organization’s Ethical Policies and Practices) Client inserts his/her name Client inserts tutor’s name Subject of Study Date Introduction Policy can be defined as a framework for making and evaluating management decisions in organizations. Therefore, an organization’s ethical policies cover all frameworks that are set by an organization so as to ensure an ethical culture is maintained within the organization. An ethical culture means that all human resources in the organization, starting from the manager to the other workers of the organization, are all able to embrace an ethical conduct. On the other hand, ethical practice do not stress so much on what is admirable and ineffectual in an organization, but focuses on doing what is right. These practices are concerned with values that respect others’ needs within an organization. Therefore, ethical practices aim at cultivation values that shape an organization’s employee behavior towards fellow employees, customers, suppliers, competition and all an organization’s stakeholders. The manager and an organization’s ethical policies and practice According to Pablo and Ricardo, (2011, p69), ethical policies and practice are essential management tools in any organization. It has been shown that ethical policies ensure strategic development of the organization’s objectives and priorities. As the two authors argue, an organization’s ethics policy creates part of the normative framework for the expression of the acceptable means by which the various duties of management may be pursued. Therefore, for any manager to ensure the cultivation and maintenance of an ethical culture, he or she should be an outstanding example to other employees within the organization. The manager should also establish a solid foundation for an organization’s ethical policies, its proper implementation, communication, assessments and monitoring, training and commitment. Managers’ commitment to an organization’s ethical policies and practices For any manager to ensure ethical conduct in other workers, he or she should set an exemplary model for them. According to Mullins, (2010, p 121-123), a manager should illustrate obedience to the set ethical policies by eliciting the proposed ethical behaviors, so as to prompt the other workers to follow suit. According to Mullins, an organization’s employees are expected to embrace ethical conduct after seeing the manager’s adherence to the endorsed ethical behavior. Therefore, through setting a moral example, a manger encourages ethical conduct in the staff, volunteers and other people who deliver the organization’s activities. For any manager to be well versed with the ethical policies, one should commit him or herself to constant training. As Mullins explains, every organization should employ expertise on ethical policies to train their managers on matters concerning ethical policies. Through thins training, the managers carry out all the roles pertaining ethical policies and practice as expected of then and even in a better way that they could have done with no training. Developing of ethical policies and practice The manager of any organization is the head of the committee that comes up with a code of ethics that are written down as the organization’s ethical policy. As Huczynski and Buchanan, (2004, p156-161) argue, the manger should ensure that the policy is founded on the organization’s core values, mandate and ethical principles. The policy should also be developed in consultation with those affected by it. The manager should also ensure that the ethical policies and practice are realistically achievable. The two authors also point out that organization’s manger should ensure that the ethical policies are written in clear language. They should also be coherent with other organization’s policies and easily available to all employees. Through this, the employees will easily understand the policies and hence this will ascertain that they all adhere to the set code of conducts without experiencing any difficult. Implementation of ethical policies and practice According to Mullins, (2007 p186-189), an organization manger is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring proper implementation of the ethical policies and practice. After the policies have been developed, the manger should come up with a body that will spearhead the proper implementation of the ethical policies. According to Mullins, an effective ethics policy is a necessary overhead cost in the management of any organization. Therefore, failure of implementation is disastrous to the organization in terms of monetary and reputation loss. Mullins, (2010, p133-135) explains that, cost of failure of implementation may be higher now than they were in the past. It has been shown that blames for ethical default are now personal, permanent and often exposes the organization to the public negatively. Therefore, any manager should lay all the efforts in ensuring that the ethical policies are properly implemented to prevent any unethical conduct from the employees. Through this way, an organization will have a solid reputation in its operational area and the surrounding regions hence, retaining and attracting many more customers. Assessment and monitoring of the ethical policies and practice After their proper implementation, ethical policies and practices should be constantly monitored and assessed. As Abdul, et al, (2010, p145-147) explains, an organization’s manger should ensure that the ethical policies are assessed top determine their effectiveness in the organization. In any case, if the policies do not meet the set goals and objectives, it is advisable that they are reviewed for changes. Through this, an organization will realize its ethical policy goals and objectives. The authors also point out that organizations’ managers have a task of ensuring that the ethical policies are monitored to determine the level of compliance by the staff. Constant monitoring ensures that all the employees adhere to the set code of ethics. It is advisable that the manager should reward the employees who show exemplary ethical behavior in their organizations. By doing this, they will motivate other workers to embrace ethical behaviors so as to get the rewards. On the other hand, managers should ensure that any employee who does not comply with the set code of ethics has faced stern disciplinary actions so as to set as an example to others. Through this, an organization will ensure that all employees adhere to the set ethical policies and practices. As Paul and others argue, this will ensure that the policies achieve their goals and objectives and hence reduce the cost incurred through ethical defaults. This also enhances the ethical image of the organization in the society. Enforcement of the ethical policies and practice According to Howard, (2009, p1-4), the enforcement of ethical policies and practice is the responsibility of an organization’s manager. An organization’s ethical policies should be constantly reviewed to determine how effective they are. Due to the changing ethical needs ion the society, an organization should ensure that their ethical policies are updated now and then, to ensure that the policies meet the ethical demands of the modern society. As Howard explains, in case of any changes that are to be made to the existing ethical policies in an organization, the manager should liaise with all the stakeholders in implementing the changes. The employees should also be involved so as to ensure that their views are considered before doping any amendments to the ethical policies that directly affects them. When employees are involved, they feel as part of the ethical policies, and this motivates them to be loyal to the policies’ set code of ethics. Training of the employees on issues of ethical policies and practice The manager should also ensure that the employees receive training on ethical policies of the organization. As Robin explains in his article in the Risk Management Magazine dated 8th July 2009, managers should formulate programs aimed at ensuring training of the employees either directly or indirectly, on matters pertaining ethical policies and practice. Direct training programs range from planning for training sessions aimed at promoting ethics in the work place. The employees should be enrolled in management training programs so as to promote their management skills in ethical issues in the organization. According to Robin, organizations’ managers can also enhance the indirect training of their employers through involving them in decision making on ethical issues, whenever these issues arise. Through this, the employees will acquire the knowledge required to deal with ethical issues. The employees can also be part of the team that reveals the organization’s code of ethics; to ensure that they gain more knowledge on issues pertaining ethical policies and practice. As Robin explains, an organization’s manager can also allow various workers teams to develop their own code of ethics as long as these codes align with the organization’s code of ethics. Through developing their own code of ethics, they indirectly gain the skills and expertise required to developing ethical policies. Therefore, managers should ensure that their ethical policies are easily understood by their employees to enhance easy and efficient training. Conclusion The paper has extensively reviewed the role of the manager in an organization’s ethical policies and practices. It has been shown that it is of paramount importance that the manager should commit him or herself to constant training on issues of ethical policies, so as to execute his or her ethical roles effectively. For a manager to cultivate and maintain an ethical culture in an organization, he or she should ensure effective development, implementation, enforcement, assessment and monitoring of ethical policies and practice. The most significant factor is in ensuring an ethical culture in an organization, is the constant training of the employees in issues pertaining ethical policies and practice. Through training, employees understand the importance of ethical policies and practices in an organization, hence comply with the policies so as to maximize the production of the organization. References Dr. Md. Abdul Jalil, Ferdous Azam and Muhammad Khalilur R. (2010). Implementation Mechanism of Ethics in Business Organization. Vol 3(4), 145-152. Howard Whitton, (2009). Developing ‘Ethical Competence’: Values based Reasoning about Policy and Practice. Mullins, L. J. (2010). Management and Organization Behavior, 9th Ed. Harlow: Pearson Education. Mullins, L.J. (2007) Management and Organizational Behavior, 8th Edition, Harlow: Pearson Education. Huczynski, A. and Buchanan, D. (2004) Organizational Behavior, 5th Ed. Harlow: Pearson – Chapter 18 digitized format. Pablo Ruiz, P. and Ricardo Martinez, (2011). Human resource management and ethical behavior: Exploring the role of training in the Spanish banking industry. Vol 1(2), 69-88. Robin Zablow, J. Creating and Sustaining an Ethical Workplace. Risk Management Magazine, 8th July, 2009. Read More