| Ethics and Power Essay

This area would concern acquisition of skills and knowledge on effective management of various ethical values within the organization. As a manager, I would acquire skills on management of values and beliefs of employees as well as other practices that the society may deem moral and ethical. I would also ensure that organizational practices are in line with cultural values and beliefs of the society. This would facilitate harmonious coexistence between the company and members of the society. Furthermore, strict adherence to ethical and legal requirements shall also assist the company in reducing conflicts and cutting down unnecessary expenses, for example, compliance with taxation laws and provision of safety measures to workers would help in reducing lawsuits and accidents at the workplace.

Ethics and power are not ordinarily thought of as skills that necessarily need to be improved. However, many people within organizational structures lack adequate training in this specified area. With power comes authority, which is typically in the hands of managers and supervisors (Enlightened Manager, 2010). Yet, just because this power is present, does not mean it has to be used or even used in a negative manner. Power simply relates to the power to act. According to The Enlightened Manager, power should be utilized in the workplace to create positive relationships. Although a supervisor or manager may have this power, it is important to understand that it has to be respected (Enlightened Manager, 2010).

Furthermore, ethics is always an issue in the workplace. In order to prevent ethical situations from arising, there are several steps that can be taken to ensure that everyone is working in an ethical manner. As a result, the work environment must be conducive to making employees willing to report any misconduct (Joseph, 2000). Employees need to feel very comfortable in the work environment that they will approach the employer of an ethical situation (Joseph, 2000). When employers are much more approachable in the work environment, ethical dilemmas and situations can be handled properly.

Research also suggests that employers have to act as good models of ethical behavior (Joseph, 2000). When employers are more likely to be honest and ethical in their behavior, employees who observe this will also be more likely to act in a similar manner (Joseph, 2000). It is important to define the work environment as an ethical place. This displays the valuable role that employers have in ensuring that the workplace is an ethical place of business. It may also benefit the work organization to implement an ethics program where all employees receive training and guidelines as to what to do when they encounter an ethical situation (Joseph, 2000). Due to the number of corruption cases from employers embezzling money to employees stealing from the company, it is absolutely critical that these ethical guidelines become incorporated into the work culture. This will be advantageous in the long-term as more employees will act in an ethical manner.

Additionally, Business Week’s Kirk O. Hanson writes that ethical situations are nearly impossible to avoid just because of the sheer nature of the business world. In particular, college graduates who enter into the workforce for the first time may be susceptible to ethical situations (Hanson, 2010). Hanson states that all employees, new and old, should not succumb to any pressure if they are asked to lie or cover up a mistake. Instead, the work environment should be conducive to allowing these employees to have an appropriate outlet within the organization (Hanson, 2010). If these outlets are not provided, this can wreak havoc in the work environment and make employees feel uncomfortable, which undoubtedly will curtail the amount of productivity that will occur (Hanson, 2010). This is exactly why it is extremely necessary that all employees do not feel the burden or encounter dilemmas in which they feel they cannot go to any particular person within the organization.

From these three sources, ethics and power can be devised into an appropriate plan that will improve the work setting. First, the company should always include an ethics program or department into the structure. Due to the nature of business, sometimes things can become ambiguous and do not necessarily have an immediately clear answer (Joseph, 2000). With an ethics program in place, this can ensure that ethical dilemmas and situations encountered by employees can be dealt with in a proper manner. In this ethics program, all employees including supervisors and managers should enter this program on an annual basis, if not more times throughout the year (Joseph, 2000). It should provide clear instructions as to the proper channels to pursue when an ethical dilemma does arise. Secondly, the leaders within the organization should always act as role models (Joseph, 2000). They should always act in an honest and professional manner, which will indirectly establish the tone that this particular organization will not deal with any manner unethically. Thirdly, outlets should be clearly established whether this is coming to a particular leader or supervisor (Hanson, 2010). The outlets should be available in a non-threatening capacity to allow every employee to come in and help solve their problem (Hanson, 2010). As a result, with this plan, ethical dilemmas can be properly dealt with in a professional and ethical manner. Although they cannot always be avoided, they can definitely be handled in an appropriate way that is ethical for everyone involved.