question of whether managers should attempt to instill ethical values and behaviors in their employees

question of whether managers should attempt to instill ethical values and behaviors in their employees

In the modern business world, a question of whether managers should attempt to instill ethical values and behaviors in their employees. Or whether business ethics is primarily a matter of personal integrity and autonomy has raised a lot of back and forth arguments and has attracted attention from many quarters. In my view, I firmly believe managers are responsible for teaching ethical values to their employees. Contrary to the view of ethical values in business should be left to an individual free effort and will.

A successful business manager should possess and practice a set of attitudes, behavior, and ethical practices. These are the values he or she would like employees to practice in their day to day work operations. The set of ethical values helps the managers to become trustworthy to their employees. When employees trust their leaders, they become more committed in their work of helping the business achieve its objective. Thus it is the responsibility of the manager to understand the ethical values of a business and communicate the same to the entire organization.

Further, when the managers are practical role models to employees on practicing business ethics set values. Several good outcomes are achieved, such as high employee retention and job satisfaction. Also, it helps in stimulating employees’ talents and skills in helping a company achieve both long-term and short-term goals. Finally, teaching ethical behaviors in a company by the manager is helpful. Helpful because everyone has their values and set of ethical behaviors, which might be different from the set of ethics required in an organization to achieve optimum performance.

Nowadays, it is common to find that most companies have a code of conduct. A code of conduct is a  set of rules about how employees are supposed to behave. The way employees are supposed to behave while performing their day to day activities in the company. A business code of conduct is a set of rules and standards which give guidance about how employees are supposed to make decisions on right and wrong while in their places of work. In the business environment, managers are the ones who help ensure that employees are following the stipulated rules and guidelines in doing their jobs. Thus code of ethics is an important management tool that helps shape behavior and interactions in a company so that employees are always acting ethically. However, unless the codes are consistently communicated to employees, then according to there would always be cases of employees breaching the guidelines.

Further, a set of codes of ethics in a company would be ineffective unless implemented in the spirit of teamwork and understanding. An organization’s code of conduct needs to be accepted by the employees. There is a need for a place where every employee has a chance to read the rules and sign them for acceptance.

The easier way to entrench the code of conduct in the employee’s behavior is by managers acting as role models. Modeling the behavior of the managers is the easiest way because the employees can envisage the code of ethics in practice. Further, employees need to see those who violate the codes get sanctioned, and those who practice the codes to the letter get rewarded. Research shows that when employees see people get punished for violating the codes and others get rewarded for following the codes, compliance with the codes increases in the company. Unsanctioned violation of the codes increases levels of anger and frustrations among good employees of a company; this, in many instances, makes a company to lose good employees. Employees would leave the company because they would see it as unethical. Thus it is of great importance that managers ensure that all employees follow the codes of a company and that they are treated fairly in the cases of violation or adherence. Fair treatment would strengthen an employee’s commitment to the company values.

Moreover, top management needs to allow employees to have open discussions on the discussions about the code of ethics; this would increase employee ownership of the code of conduct. Additionally, it would help management see the code of conduct from an employee perspective and thus be able to make any adjust and rectification if necessary.

Furthermore, managers should inculcate ethics codes in employees because it helps improve the performance of a company. Managers inculcate a good code of conduct to employees through effective communication and by being role models on the code of conduct. Managers who can influence their employees by example are referred to as transformative leaders. Transformative leaders can influence a company from the bottom up. They can impart values of dedication and productivity upon employees. Increased productivity helps companies grow and sustain a profitable track record.

Further ethical managers with transformational leadership skills would help develop and promote virtues such as courage, honesty, and fairness in a company and as a good result, create a strong dynamic ethical culture in a company. Employees would follow these values for a long continuous period. As a consequence, the codes would be embedded as a company culture. Stable, ethical change in a company is only possible through an embedded culture. Long-term development of organizations is possible when companies have entrenched cultural values. Therefore employees must lead by example in the desired values of a company to help guide the company n the attainment of the desired long term progressive culture.

Moreover, having an ethical manager in a company helps improve employee’s job satisfaction, commitment, and loyalty to a company, According to research conducted by Deloitte, and employee job satisfaction and longevity of tenure is dependent on the matching of an employee and the ethical system of a company. Further, the ethical culture of a company helps an organization attract and retain talented employees. High employee retention helps promote the performance and productivity of a company.

Further managers should spearhead the implementation of a company’s cultures in a company because employees come from different societies and communities where there are different cultural values. Thus if a company’s values were to be left to a person’s intuition, conflict of values would arise in the companies. Further, there is no standardized business value taught across the countries. Lack of standardized business ethics means some business values may be right in one country and not acceptable in another country. Therefore a business manager in a business should inculcate the chosen values of an organization upon the employees.  Individual members of a company are responsible for their actions while in a company, but it is the responsibility of business managers to communicate what is expected and demonstrate.

According to deontology theory on morality, everyone is ethical and able to make the right decision. by using imagination, and everyone has to act in a morally correct manner. But the reality is that this is not possible, especially in many countries of the world which are multi-cultured.  In most countries, people are from different races, ethnic backgrounds, and religions. Thus if we permitted business values and ethics to be developed based on each personal integrity. Everyone would come up with their own set of ethical values: based on the individual’s drive and motivations. For example, research by Shell and Herndon (2004) found that the code of ethics was ineffective in China organizations because of many facets of the cultural background of the individuals. In a free will business environment, members of the Chinese society appear to agree with their managers in public but disagree with their business leaders in their actions. Practice of business ethics in the free business environment was contrary to situations in the same culture. where there was a manager who was responsible for implanting ethical business value to employees. In a case where a manager was overseeing strict adherence to a business code of conduct employees in the same Chinese culture would follow the dictates of the codes in their words and actions.

The sole goal of a profit-making organization is to maximize profit for the shareholders. The goal of profit maximization is achievable unless company activities are carried out in a controlled and focused environment. Part of the control measure for optimizing company productivity and performance is an institution of codes of conduct, rules, and measures by which employees are required to abide. To ensure sustained compliance with an organization’s code of conduct, and ethical business manager needs to check and do follow-ups. In an organization where transformative ethical leaders are on the driving wheel of the companies codes, companies can sustain high productivity year in year out. Managers can have power over employees because of the nature of employee-employer relationships, thus for high production standards to be achieved employee autonomy needs to be regulated.

Furthermore, when the manager inculcates company ethical values, it serves as a sign that shows customers that a company values integrity.  Customers are more loyal to companies with integrity than to companies with no sign of integrity. Loyalty from customers increases repeat businesses for a company, thus a high profits for a company. Also, high customer loyalty gives organizations a competitive edge in the market place.

Also, when ethical managers embody and communicate ethical codes clearly in an organization. In the cases where some employees violate the codes, there is provision of reference when enforcing corrective measures. A widely known code prevents anything murky when dealing with employees who consistently fail to conduct and behave in a manner that is right for the company’s standards. The code of conduct should be kept simple and in a language that all employees would be able to comprehend. Managers, when writing the codes, should avoid using legal words; they should also using bullet points to make communication understandable by all employees.

Every form and size of business can benefit from having a well-stipulated code of conduct and a well-systemized method of implementation headed by an ethical manager. Codes of conduct help address problems when they arise in a business environment, further code of conduct help to unite and motivate employees of a company.

In conclusion, I hold the opinion that managers should be the ones in charge of teaching the ethical values in a company from the practical view of the organization. Regardless of doing so, there could be some negativism coming from those who hold the view of moral independence. Organizations should have a firm code of conduct and strong human resource management to help in controlling and shaping employees’ behavior. Any breach of code of conduct should be firmly sanctioned so that it would be obvious to all employees that the organization is committed to the code of ethics. Further, an organization should have a transformative that embraces and is committed to ethical corporate behaviors. Ethical behaviors in a company should be embedded to the extent they become a culture synchronized to all the organization’s activities. As a result, this would lead to an organization achieving objectives and providing good work conditions for employees. Managers should inculcate a strong ethical in the employee; this is the most important factor in retaining talents and motivating as well as maintaining a good company reputation with customers. Well inculcated business ethical values help businesses gain and Maintain competitiveness both in the short-term and in the long-term.