
Commentaries | Nov 09,2024
Jan 7 , 2022
By Halima Abate (MD)
Numerous factors exert intense pressure on a competitive environment to embrace social responsibility, restructuring the views on employment and how jobs are undertaken within the organisation. The pressure leads to an increase in recognition for social responsibility and a focus on the importance of the public good, contributing to society's harmony, stability, and strength with a focus on “doing good.” The impact of organisational decisions on society skews the attention towards the need for ethics within businesses. To secure smooth internal interactions, minimise internal and external frictions, and assist ethical challenges, organisational ethics has become a crucial tool and a subject of research.
An organisation's ethical culture is the synergy of explicit and implicit values that underlie and are expressed by the interactions and actions of the employees. With this, they formalise respectful, transparent, fair, and equal treatment of all employees and prevent wrongdoing, favouritism, and abuse of power. A well-defined ethical culture is characterised by proper feedback and guidance mechanisms, helping employees reflect on personal potential and allowing for optimal work life balance.
Ethics are increasingly crucial in organisational contexts for several reasons. There are more significant consequences on society as businesses have become increasingly multinational, and as organisations have consequently grown in scale and scope. These same factors result in greater competition with other organisations and wider communication networks.
Work has also become a more integral part of people’s lives. Employees define themselves in terms of traits and characteristics, but an important part of the way they see themselves is related to the way they interact with others and, more importantly, to the groups they belong to in the organisations. Thus, when belongingness is salient, individuals define themselves according to the attributes of the group and working in an organisation then becomes a part of individuals’ self-concept. Individuals are motivated for the self-concept to be positive. The moral component of behaviours in organisations is particularly important as companies are increasingly sensitive to ethical and unethical issues and, consequently, more sensitive to ethical and unethical conduct.
Designing and managing an organisational environment that is supportive of ethical conduct is nowadays obligatory. Different interventions have been suggested to improve ethicality in organisations, which can generically be classified into two groups: focused on the unethical employee itself in reducing unethical behavior, and on acting on the organisation’s overall climate.
We can think of reducing unethical behavior through the provision of ethical role models, monitor employees, and rewarding ethical behaviour. Besides, to improve the ethical climate, organisations should focus on the improvement of communication, provision of training on ethics, and empowering employees. The latter, especially, will help the company attract more employees, retain workers and improve initiative taking.
Promoting ethical behaviour while dealing with and reducing unethical behavior, from both leaders and employees, is one of the biggest challenges of organisations nowadays.
However, resolving ethical problems must be done across the organisational structure and culture and due diligence must be carried out to measure how well it is going and how much it is contributing to the social good. It could be practical within certain constrains of time to pursue multiple solutions at once. Examining the organisational hierarchy whether it has chain of command that impinges ethicality from growing is also necessary.
Can employees voice their concerns without destroying their career? Is there an environment that cultivates professional, ethical values, or are there formally established dissent channels and frameworks to express concerns or any perceived misconduct?
Implementation of organisational ethics through the establishment of shared values and norms, respect and integrity and responsible professional actions, are crucial to the success of organisations.
PUBLISHED ON
Jan 07,2022 [ VOL
22 , NO
1132]
Commentaries | Nov 09,2024
Viewpoints | May 21,2022
Fortune News | Jun 13,2025
Viewpoints | Jul 18,2020
Radar | Nov 21,2018
Viewpoints | Oct 16,2020
Fortune News | Dec 07,2019
Fortune News | Jan 01,2023
Commentaries | Sep 04,2021
Commentaries | Jun 04,2022
My Opinion | 131716 Views | Aug 14,2021
My Opinion | 128086 Views | Aug 21,2021
My Opinion | 126045 Views | Sep 10,2021
My Opinion | 123665 Views | Aug 07,2021
Dec 22 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitiv...
Aug 18 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Although predictable Yonas Zerihun's job in the ride-hailing service is not immune to...
Jul 28 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW
Unhabitual, perhaps too many, Samuel Gebreyohannes, 38, used to occasionally enjoy a couple of beers at breakfast. However, he recently swit...
Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transporting commodities, and f...
Jul 5 , 2025
Six years ago, Ethiopia was the darling of international liberal commentators. A year...
Jun 28 , 2025
Meseret Damtie, the assertive auditor general, has never been shy about naming names...
Jun 21 , 2025
A well-worn adage says, “Budget is not destiny, but it is direction.” Examining t...
Jun 14 , 2025
Yet again, the Horn of Africa is bracing for trouble. A region already frayed by wars...
Jul 6 , 2025 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER
The federal legislature gave Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) what he wanted: a 1.9 tr...
Jul 6 , 2025 . By YITBAREK GETACHEW
In a city rising skyward at breakneck speed, a reckoning has arrived. Authorities in...
Jul 6 , 2025 . By NAHOM AYELE
A landmark directive from the Ministry of Finance signals a paradigm shift in the cou...
Jul 6 , 2025 . By NAHOM AYELE
Awash Bank has announced plans to establish a dedicated investment banking subsidiary...