Management: Ethical Issues and Good Practices

As much as the managerial and administrative department of an organization is the most lucrative and important peak of an individuals career in an organization, there are also negative aspects that are associated with the department that many people in an organization crave for. The managers and administrators of a company are faced by varying challenges because the decisions they decide to make usually impact a wide range of second and third parties. This may include the individuals working for the organization, the society where the company is situated, the community that hosts the company and finally the whole environment that is either directly or indirectly influenced by the decisions that are made by the managers and administrators. These authority figures more or less encounter changes, the uncertainties that come withy decision-making and ambiguity. To top it all off the managers and administrators usually have to come to terms with the different ethical issues that are bound to occur in every society and they have to put these ethical issues into consideration while making decisions concerning the company. Due to these varying ethical issues, it has become necessary for the managers to develop ways in which their decisions can be effective while considering the ethical issues that affect the company both internally and externally. The essay that follows intends to show that indeed managers and administrators need to alter their thinking, organization, administration and their relation to the employees and the immediate environment so that their decisions might go in line with the ethical considerations of the community where they are situated (Ghosal, 2005).

Most of the problems encountered by managers are however generated right from the business schools that these managers attended. In as much as the managers are required to come up with new ways of thinking, the process must be initiated in the business schools where the management skills are acquired. There has to be a change in the way the whole system teaches and incorporates the management skills in the managers so that there can be a whole change in the administrative and managerial systems of the companies in consideration to the ethical values and considerations of a particular community (Reynolds, and Trehan, 2003)

The issue of management and how they can change their thinking is one of the critical aspects that are being faced by the management schools currently. The fact that managers at times find it difficult to address the ethical issues that affect the company both externally and internally can be attributed to the teachings that these managers received in the management schools. The management schools have thus the responsibility to alter the teachings that they incorporate in the students about management so that the issue of ethical dramas affecting businesses that the managers find it difficult to address can be rectified so that decision making concerning the ethical issues can be sorted out in a better way. According to Davis, Schoorman and Donaldson (1997, pp20-47)The management practices that are being practiced by managers are the ones which they received from the management schools and are now the same practices that are being seen as unconstructive in the current ethical issues. Most of the undesirable management practices that are practiced now can be traced back to the management schools that these managers attended way back for a period of around 30 years. Some of the bad teachings that are taught in management schools is such as the fact that managers cannot be trusted. With this kind of teachings that affect the ethics of business and a community, it becomes difficult for the managers to exercise authority over the employees who were taught at school that managerial activities can seldom be trusted. From this, it can clearly be seen that the problem lies in the management schools and the teachings that the students receive rather than the ethical practices of the managers. Managers therefore need to change their thinking and the way they handle their workers in an ethical way that relates to the positive teachings they received in management schools. The negative teachings are best left alone because they do not contribute to the positive growth of the relationship that exists between the manager, other individuals and the society as a whole (Cunliffe, 2004).

Managers do need to change their modes of thinking from those that they were taught in management schools. Most of the teachings in management schools leave out the ethical teachings that must be taught so that managers can have ideas of how they can make decisions that consider ethical issues such as age, gender and the ethical practices of a certain community that differ from one community to another. As much as managers portray a certain deficiency in dealing with ethical issues, it cannot all be blamed on them. Eccles and Nohria (1992) in their writing, the management schools should be the ones which the blame must be imposed on because they fail to teach the managers various techniques which they can use when making decisions that affect the company when addressing the issues that are likely to bring up the ethical topic in a company. The fact that there are social differences in any setting must be emphasized in management schools so that the managers might know how to deal with the differences in the societies. In as much as managers must change their modes of thinking In addressing the various ethical issues facing companies, the management schools should be ones to take the responsibility of creating the awareness of social differences in the schools (Bailey and Ford, 1996).

Managers will change their thinking in the coming years only if the managing schools realize that it is important for them to teach the managers on techniques that they can use to deal with ethical dilemmas. The management education that the managers receive should not only be based on teaching them how to manage an organization but it should also incorporate education concerning how they can become effective critical thinkers and also people who practice moral justice while making organizational decisions that is most likely going to affect second and third parties. It is therefore essential for the managers to change their modes of thinking and decision making so that they can have ethical considerations when they are making decisions in the company. Employees working together in a company can only achieve the set objectives if the objectives that were decided upon by the management body has ethical considerations (Camerer and Thaler, 1995)

Ethical practices form the background behind which managers can change their thinking and how they can relate to the employees. This becomes an important topic considering that many companies today are faced with ethical issues since the working environments consist of people from all lifestyles. Ethical issues must be considered in such settings and this involves the change in managerial thinking and conceptualization of management responsibilities.

References

Bailey, J., & Ford, C., 1996. Management as science versus management as practice in postgraduate business education. Business Strategy Review, 7(4), pp.7–12

Camerer, C., & Thaler, R. H., 1995. Ultimatums, dictators and manners. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 9(2), pp.209–219

Cunliffe, A., 2004. On becoming a critically reflexive practioneer. Journal of Management Education, 28(407)

Davis, J. H., Schoorman, F. D., & Donaldson, L., 1997. Toward a stewardship theory of management. Academy of Management Review, 22, pp. 20–47.

Eccles, R. G., & Nohria, N., 1992. Beyond the hype: Rediscovering the essence of management. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Ghosal, S., 2005. Bad Management Theories Are Destroying Good Management Practices”, Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4(1), pp. 75–91

Reynolds, M. and Trehan, K., 2003, “Learning from Difference?” Management Learning, 34(2), pp. 163–180

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