Ethical Issues in Management
Debbra Shelton
University of Phoenix
Paul Kramer
April 21, 2010
Ethics is an integral part of the organization??™s overall culture. Designing an ethical organization means systematically analyzing all aspects of the organization ethical culture and aligning them so they support ethical behavior and discourage unethical behavior.
Organizational culture is created and maintained through formal and informal organizational systems. Formally through the structure of the organization, selection systems, orientation and training programs, rules and policies, performance management, and decision making process. Informally, organization??™s culture is through daily behavior, heroes, ritual, stories, and language.
Once employees are hired into an organization they go through an orientation process and given a handbook or a book with the company??™s code of ethics. The handbook spells out the company??™s value statements, mission statements, policies, code of ethics, and benefits. The mission statement is closely aligned with other dimensions of the organization??™s culture.
As an employee of Renasant Bank, I had an unfortunate experience and had to be off work many days. I was very grateful on how my organization handled my situation with family and personal issues. Renasant Bank, as an organization demonstrated the effectiveness of its core values which are loyalty, honesty, fairness, respect, integrity, privacy, and service.
Several years ago, I lost my husband and home in a house fire. Of course, during time of a tragedy or bereavement, employers usually give employees excuse absentees with time off. These days are normaly called personal days or bereavement days and are usually three days off with pay. However, during this period, I had to take more days off than what the company allows to make funeral arrangements, find housing for me and my four children, and handle other necessary business related to the incident.
Because of my manager??™s moral concerns for me and the situation I was in, he allowed me the company??™s given days plus two days with pay. When I returned to work, I was allowed to work six hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays instead of eight hours (at that time if an employee worked six hours, he or she still got paid for eight hours). I took the rest of the day off to continue handling the necessary tasks to get situated in housing. I basically worked in that manner for approximately one month or until my situation was stable.
Employees are employed within an organization to effectively and efficiently complete the required tasks necessary to produce a product or service. If an employee is off work too many days then there are grounds for dismissal. However, in my case, management displayed its ethical and moral responsibility to me as an employee of the company.
The ethical issue here is allowing an employee time off work because of unfortunate circumstances. This ethical issue is in alignment with the morals of the company and the morals of the manager. The ethical issue is also in alignment with the core values of the organization. It is not a common practice to allow an hourly wage employee to be off work with pay. But because of the situation management allowed an exception to the rule.
I??™m sure much consideration was thought through before my manager made the decision. He may have considered my social behavior and work ethics. My manager knew I was not the type of employee who would take off work just because I did not feel like working.
The relationship between social issues and ethically responsible management practices of family and personal issues is that my manager behaved in a manner that was consistent with the culture of the organization. Socially, my manager fitted in with the problem at hand and was willing to do what he thought would please me and at the same time displayed his personal moral concerns along with the company??™s core values.
The legalities that governed this decision were to stay in compliance with the policies of the organization and at the same time institute the company??™s ethical policies. However, there is a law, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to protect a qualified employee??™s job when a family member is ill and need attention. In my case, there is no law to protect my employment with the company. It is the values and ethical concern of my employer that allowed me the extra time off with compensation.
The morals of my manager as a person and a representative for the organization that values loyalty, integrity, honesty, fairness, respect, privacy, and service among other values, basically possess the same values.
The visible behavior of my manager was showing concern for me and the situation that I was in with respect. I would say, he was ???doing the right thing.??? However, being a moral person is not in itself enough to be perceived as an ethical leader. Being a moral person tells employees how the leader is likely to behave, but it does not tell the employees how the leaders expect them to behave.
In conclusion, the organization that I am employed with values its employees and supports management decisions to assist valuable employees when the need arises. Renasant Bank lives up to the expected standards of its employees and the community where it is located. Renasant Bank demonstrates its core values of loyalty, fairness, and integrity among other values to its employees. The manager at Renasant Bank represents ethical leadership.
Reference
Trevifio, Linda K., Nelson, Katherine A., Author, Managing Business Ethics, Straight Talk About How To Do It Right, Fourth Ed., Chapter 8 & 9, Copyright 2007, John Wiley and Sons.
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