What is the role of ethics in management?

Most of us would agree that it is ethics in practice that makes sense; just having it carefully drafted and redrafted in books may not serve the purpose. Of course all of us want businesses to be fair, clean and beneficial to the society. For that to happen, organizations need to abide by ethics or rule of law, engage themselves in fair practices and competition; all of which will benefit the consumer, the society and organization.

Primarily it is the individual, the consumer, the employee or the human social unit of the society who benefits from ethics.

In addition ethics is important because of the following:

1. Satisfying Basic Human Needs: Being fair, honest and ethical is one the basic human needs. Every employee desires to be such himself and to work for an organization that is fair and ethical in its practices.
2. Creating Credibility: An organization that is believed to be driven by moral values is respected in the society even by those who may have no information about the working and the businesses or an organization. Infosys, for example is perceived as an organization for good corporate governance and social responsibility initiatives. This perception is held far and wide even by those who do not even know what business the organization is into.
3. Uniting People and Leadership: An organization driven by values is revered by its employees also. They are the common thread that brings the employees and the decision makers on a common platform. This goes a long way in aligning behaviors within the organization towards achievement of one common goal or mission.
4. Improving Decision Making: A man’s destiny is the sum total of all the decisions that he/she takes in course of his life. The same holds true for organizations. Decisions are driven by values. For example an organization that does not value competition will be fierce in its operations aiming to wipe out its competitors and establish a monopoly in the market.
5. Long Term Gains: Organizations guided by ethics and values are profitable in the long run, though in the short run they may seem to lose money. Tata group, one of the largest business conglomerates in India was seen on the verge of decline at the beginning of 1990’s, which soon turned out to be otherwise. The same company’s Tata NANO car was predicted as a failure, and failed to do well but the same is picking up fast now.
6. Securing the Society: Often ethics succeeds law in safeguarding the society. The law machinery is often found acting as a mute spectator, unable to save the society and the environment. Technology, for example is growing at such a fast pace that the by the time law comes up with a regulation we have a newer technology with new threats replacing the older one. Lawyers and public interest litigations may not help a great deal but ethics can.

Ethics tries to create a sense of right and wrong in the organizations and often when the law fails, it is the ethics that may stop organizations from harming the society or environment.

Related Articles

View All Articles

Last updated: January 10, 2022

On this page

There are ethics roles and responsibilities for:

• Employees
• Supervisors
• Senior Leaders
• Corporate Ethics Program
• Corporate Ethics Governance Council
• Corporate Ethics Lead

Employees

Employees are the backbone of the BC Public Service because they deliver government programs and services to the citizens of BC. When it comes to ethics in the workplace, employees are expected to demonstrate the highest standards of conduct that maintain public trust and confidence. This means employees:

• Must remain impartial in the conduct of their duties
• Disclose and resolve conflicts of interest in which they find themselves in
• Maintain appropriate workplace behaviour
• Avoid engaging in discriminatory conduct or comment
• Check with their supervisor or manager when they are uncertain about the expectations under the Standards of Conduct

Supervisors

Supervisors are one of the first to welcome employees into the workplace and they support their team’s development, well-being and performance. When it comes to ethics in the workplace, supervisors have an opportunity to set their employees up for success. This means supervisors:

• Set the tone by modelling ethical behaviour and high standards of honesty and integrity
• Provide comprehensive orientation to new employees related to the Standards of Conduct
• Advise staff on standards of conduct issues, including in regard to assessing and addressing possible conflicts of interest
• Respond to reports of bullying, breaches of the Standards of Conduct, and wrongdoing, or refer them to the next level of excluded manager not involved in the matter
• Contribute to a work environment that is free of discrimination

Senior Leaders

BC Public Service leaders play an important part of an ethical workplace. When it comes to ethics in the workplace, leaders have an opportunity to inspire others not only to do the right thing but also to consider the kind of people they want to be. This means senior leaders:

• Set the tone by modelling ethical behaviour and promoting an ethical culture in the BC Public Service
• Ask “what is the right thing to do” when they make decisions
• Discuss organizational ethics and values with employees
• Define success not just by results but also by the way they are obtained
• Set an example of how to do things the right way in terms of ethics

Corporate Ethics Program

Within the BC Public Service Agency, the mandate of the Corporate Ethics Program is to further enhance and strengthen ethics management in the BC Public Service and increase transparency and accountability across government. Work to achieve the program’s mandate falls into four responsibility areas:

• Governance
• Centre of excellence
• Evaluation and reporting
• Awareness, education and outreach

Corporate Ethics Governance Council

The Deputy Ministers representing three central agencies (BC Public Service Agency, Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Citizens’ Services) comprise the Corporate Ethics Governance Council.

The Council has an overarching mandate for ethics and compliance management in the BC Public Service. It is responsible for the coordination, management, and oversight of the integrated ethics management framework to ensure that government is meeting its core HR policy objective that “all public service employees will exhibit the highest standards of conduct."

Corporate Ethics Lead

The corporate ethics lead was appointed by the Deputy Ministers’ Council to ensure a consistent and coordinated approach to ethics management across the public service. The corporate ethics lead for the BC Public Service is the Deputy Minister, BC Public Service Agency.

What is the role of ethics in management essay?

What is the role of ethical?