Q6.What are the four major keys involved in promotion of ethical behaviour in the workplace?
Answer : The four major keys involved in promotion of ethical behaviour in the workplace include:
1) Confess:
When employees commit a mistake and fail to raise the issue to management so that the issue can be resolved then the situation becomes worse.
Most of the times, problems increase rapidly and get larger. The situation becomes even worse when employees start blaming each other as to who was the culprit. When the employees commit mistake, the best way to resolve it is to inform their manager and take the blame. This blame game may result in complete disaster and hurt workplace morale. In most of the cases, blaming each other results in workplace enmity and work in an organisation comes to a halt.
Employees who confess their mistakes are more consistent and trustworthy, and they also have the ability to perform damage control. Managers know that if the employees willingly come forward to confess their own mistake they will be less likely to cover something up. It also proves that they have better things in their mind for the organisation to develop. The warning to this point would be to not to allow the employee repeat the same mistake.
2) Follow the book:
Another common mistake that employees do is attempting to resolve a problem by bending the rules. This results in creation of a new list of problems. Performing some acts such as backdating the documents or signing the documents for their managers might resolve the issue at that point.
But, later those fraud activities will result in some serious problems once the culprit has been found out. Hence, it is better to confess to a problem and possibly be seen as not competent enough for committing such a mistake which is a worse case situation, than covering up a problem with no ethical values, without considering the outcome. Employees even though have good intentions sometimes become too absorbed in the thought of getting something done.
3) Good communication and information:
In todays business scenario, it is evident that success of a business depends on good communication. Communication plays a crucial role in an ethical workplace because the way an employee communicates can either create or destroy the positive framework of a workplace. Some acts such as gossiping, which seem undamaging, may result in distrust and unfaithfulness through rivalry in the workplace. Open and consistent communication helps to keep employees and managers informed about the recent events. It also prevents problems and also helps in decision making in the company that are above board. Lack of communication or hiding motivations results in dilemmas around workplace ethics.
4) Consider the Problem Trio
Greed, lust, or anger can be considered as the three major problems that are the root cause for failure in workplace ethics. The best example for greed is an employee who steals or performs illegal business dealings. Greedy decisions are the outcome of a wish to get more than they deserve from their position in the company. Lust is generally seen in improper relationships that are not accepted by any organisation. For example, a manager/assistant relationship can create a direct and negative impact on working environment and also serve to erode the organisations chain of command depending on wrong fraternisation. Anger is mostly seen in employees who have the feeling that the organisation owes them something because of poor working environment, bad
salary, or other disturbances. In this case, employees more often become greedy or choose a self- destructive form of action against the organisation.
Workplace behavioural ethics are applicable to any job, any industry, or any organisational environment. Employees who have high morale, strong character, and solid communication are the signs of an ethical workplace. It is very important to present yourself in an ethical manner to ensure a moral workplace.
