Essay- Ethical decision making in an organisation
Introduction
The essay provides the details regarding ethical decisions making in the organization and helps in understanding the various factors that influence ethical decisions. The essay will also explain the details regarding ethical decision making and the influence of corporate culture and work environment on the same. It will help in understanding the different types of ethical decisions and also explain how they are not totally related to the personal values and morals of the employees but the overall organizational culture. It also helps in understanding the corporate governance of the organization and the influence it has on the ethics of the company.
Main body
Ethical decision making encourages trust in the organization along with fairness and working with moral values and maintaining the proper culture in the organization Syakur et al., (2020). While keeping these aspects in the centre of working the organization ensures that the company does not make any unethical choices and finds ethical alternatives for the same.
Ethical decision making is very important in the organization as due to this the organizational culture and the corporate governance of the company are well maintained. If the organization is unsuccessful in its decision making and uses unethical practices then the employees of the company tend to disrespect the organization and the attrition rates in the company also increase. Different models help in analysing the ethical decision making cases of the company and help in improving the same Bressanelli et al., (2018). These models can also help in increasing the use of business ethics in the company and ensure that the organization follows the ethical alternative for all the decisions they make. The 7 step model of ethical decision making helps the organization to analyse the ethics of the company in 7 steps and resolve the problem that arises in the organization due to its business ethics. The first step of this model is the analysis of the problem which is stating the issue. The next step is to check the facts of the problem which means having a closer look at the issue. The 3rd step is to identify the internal and external problems of the issue and the 4th step is 2 create a list of possible options that can be used to resolve the issue. The 5th step is to conduct a trial run for the list of possible options that were created and the 6 step is to choose the right option that is well suited for the organization. The final step of this model is to review the first 6 steps and analyse if there is an addition that is to be made.
The intensity of the issue is an important element to understand the issue in a better way and find the right solutions to carry out the ethical decision-making process Lami & Mecca, (2020). The intensity of the issue is dependent on the impact it has on the organization or the employees and how it will influence the company and its work culture. If all these factors are higher then the decision making of the organization needs to be done carefully and with a proper analysis of the possible ways on the chances of these to succeed. The ethical issue intensity is also the awareness of the employees regarding the certain issue and if they identify it as an ethical one or not. It is the responsibility of the organization to analyse this and work towards developing the ethical decision-making process in a way that the issue is addressed and has not impacted the other functions of the organization.
The individual factors that influence the business’s ethical decision making are the character of an individual which is the moral perspective of the person that is determined by analysing his behaviour and actions. Another individual factor that influences the decision making of the company is the psychological influences of the individual these are the aspects of conformity and commitment. Conformity is the factor in the individual’s very wish to be seen as one of the groups this is the desire to not be left out of the group Castelli & Sarvary, (2021). Commitment is connected to conformity as it is the commitment that an individual has towards the goals of the group of which he is a part.
The organizational factors in business ethics are one of the most influential factors in the ethical decision making of the organization or that of the employees as well. The factors of the organization that can influence the employees in a way that they act contrary to their morals and ethics for the benefit of their performance and the performance of the organization. The organizational factors that influence business ethical decision making include the culture of the organization the immediate workgroup or the team that the employees working in and finally opportunity.
Opportunity in an organization plays an important role in ethical decision making in the business Hodgkinson & Sadler-Smith, (2018). It is a factor that can increase or decrease the ethical or analytical practices in the organization and affect the decision making of the company as well. As the opportunity has the potential to change certain aspects to limit the individuals are more inclined towards fulfilling the opportunity than maintaining the ethics and moral values. Most organizations provide rewards to their employees for that performance in order to achieve these rewards the employees can use unethical practices which can be an opportunity. In order to avoid unethical practices, the organization promotes ethical behaviour in a way that rewards the people who are using ethical practices and encourages them to work in the same direction. Similarly, the organization also reprimands the employees if they use unethical practices. In order to ensure that the organization functions ethically and makes ethical decisions then it is important that they remove the opportunity of making unethical decisions.
The normative considerations are the factors that are termed as right or wrong as the norm of the organization Possin et al., (2021). These other aspects are dependent on the organizational rules and norms and the basic moral values of the employees. In a society as well the decision making of the individual is influenced by the normative considerations of the society. These are the facts that are the norms set by the are the people which the individual follows knowingly or unknowingly. The normative considerations play an important role in the ethical decision making of the business as the regular norms and rules of the organizations are always considered while making decisions. Hence it is important that the organization understands the values of the organization in a better way and also create norms or rules of the organization search that day support ethical decision making.
The normative considerations of the organization influence the decision making of the company as well as the stakeholders of the business ethics of the company. The stakeholders include the employees of the organization the shareholders of the company as well as the customers of the company. If the organization carries out any unethical practices or makes unethical decisions then the stakeholders are affected by the breach of business ethics of the organization. The stakeholders of the organization also have their social responsibility and these are the individuals that help in fulfilling the social responsibility of the organization as well Brin & Nehme, (2019). To fulfil social responsibility it is important for the organization to analyse business ethics and work on the development of the same. If the work environment is unethical or there are certain practices that the organization carries out which disturb norms the society then the social responsibility of the company is said to be denied by the organisation.
Conclusion
To conclude it can be said that the essay provided details regarding the various aspects of ethical decision making and how the different factors influence the same in an organization. It also provided a model that explains the factors influencing ethical decision making along with elaborating the role of opportunity in the organization’s ethical decision making and how the stakeholders of the organization are affected by the same. The ethical issue intensity is also discussed in the essay and its influence on the decision making of the organization is explained in detail. Overall the essay provided details regarding the different types of internal and external factors of the business are takes that affect ethical business making.
References
Bressanelli, G., Adrodegari, F., Perona, M., & Saccani, N. (2018). Exploring how usage-focused business models enable circular economy through digital technologies. Sustainability, 10(3), 639
Brin, P. V., & Nehme, M. N. (2019). Corporate social responsibility: analysis of theories and models
Castelli, F. R., & Sarvary, M. A. (2021). Why students do not turn on their video cameras during online classes and an equitable and inclusive plan to encourage them to do so. Ecology and Evolution, 11(8), 3565-3576
Hodgkinson, G. P., & Sadler-Smith, E. (2018). The dynamics of intuition and analysis in managerial and organizational decision making. Academy of Management Perspectives, 32(4), 473-492
Lami, I. M., & Mecca, B. (2020). Assessing social sustainability for achieving sustainable architecture. Sustainability, 13(1), 142
Possin, K. L., Tsoy, E., & Windon, C. C. (2021). Perils of race-based norms in cognitive testing: The case of former NFL players. JAMA neurology, 78(4), 377-378
Syakur, A., Susilo, T. A. B., Wike, W., & Ahmadi, R. (2020). Sustainability of Communication, Organizational Culture, Cooperation, Trust and Leadership Style for Lecturer Commitments in Higher Education. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal (BIRCI-Journal), 3(2), 1325-1335.
