ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE VERSUS ETHICS

Dr. Keshab Nandy

Organizational Culture - are determinant how people behave more or less ethically in organisation. When things go wrong, managers look at organizational culture as the source of problem and basis of solutions.

Organizational Culture artifacts, symbols, procedures and arrangements, rituals, religious beliefs.

To control the activity of employees to best serve defined organizational interests. This is done through a) Bureaucratic mechanism b) Cultural mechanism

Two approaches to management of Organizational Culture to improve ethics in organisations:

a) Creating a unitary corporate culture around ethical values. b) Fostering the coexistence and diversity with the organisation of underlying national and racial cultures as well as professional and occupational sub-cultures.

System of rewards, selection, appraisal, physical spaces, rituals, ceremonies are designed to create values and organizational culture.

ETHICS
Ethics refers to a system of moral principles
A sense of right and wrong. Goodness and badness of actions

And

the motives and consequences of these actions.

VIEWS OF ETHICS

Utilitarian View

Theory of Justice View

Rights View

Integrative Social Contracts

Formation of ethics

BUSINESS ETHICS
Business ethics can be defined as written and unwritten codes that govern decisions and actions within a company.
Shareholder perspective Stakeholder perspective

ORGANIZATIONAL ETHICS

Organizational ethics is the ethics of an organization and it is how an organization ethically responds to an internal or external stimulus. Organizational ethics is interdependent with the organizational culture.

Organizational ethics express the values of an organization to its employees and other entities irrespective of governmental and regulatory laws.
Basic elements of an ethical organization. Written code of ethics and standards Ethics training Availability for advice on ethical situations Systems for confidential reporting

UNDERSTANDING ETHICAL DECISION MAKING

Ethical Issue Intensity Individual Factors Organizational Factors Personal Moral Philosophy Organizational Culture Coworkers and superiors opportunity

Ethical / Unethical Decisions

ORGANIZATION culture
Organizational organization culture is the personality of the

Organizational culture refers to the general culture within organization

Levels of organization culture

Assumptions
and

Values

Artifacts and Behaviours

DIMENSIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL culture

Innovative

Service Culture

DetailOriented
Organization Culture Profile

Aggressive

Safety Culture

TeamOriented

OutcomeOriented

PeopleOriented

Stable

Characteristics OF ORGANISATIONS THAT DEVELOP HIGH ETHICAL STANDARDS

High Tolerance for Risk Low to moderate in aggressiveness Focus on means as well as outcomes

What can management do to create a more ethical culture?

Communicating ethical expectations

Being a visible role model

Providing ethical training

How managers can improve ethical behaviour in an organization?

Hire individuals with high ethical standards. Establish codes of ethics and decision rules. Lead by example. Set realistic job goals and include ethics in performance appraisals. Conduct independent social audits. Provide support for individuals facing ethical dilemmas.

Importance of ethics in organizational culture

Ethics corresponds to basic human needs. Values create credibility with the public. Law cant protect society. Ethics can.

Benefits of managing ethics in workplace. improve society sensitizes leaders and staff to how they have to act cultivate strong teamwork and employee growth promotes a strong public image.

A study : organizational culture the key to improving workplace ethics

The National Business Ethics Survey conducted by the Ethics Resource Center, found that despite rising employee awareness of formal ethics and compliance programs, standards of ethical conduct remained unchanged or even worsened. Effectiveness of programs depends on the culture of the organization. Strong ethical cultures are in part themselves a product of formal programs.

Example of the case 1

Enron and the creation of an unethical culture.

Enron Corp., which in December 2001 became the largestever US bankruptcy did not fail solely because of improper accounting practices, but also due to a culture that pushed executives into unethical behaviour.
Instead of rewarding new ideas, the company encouraged unethical corner-cutting.

There was a yes-man culture among executives.

Example of the case 2

Wipro Infotech and the Creation of an Ethical Culture.

Wipro has been awarded the Ethics is Good Business award for the year 2002. Wipro has compiled an Integrity Manual that defines the way wiproities should deal with their customers. Wipro has also introduced a helpline known as Wipro SOS. Wipro Infotech has launched its eco-friendly Greenware desktop range, manufactured with materials that are free from carcinogenic chemicals like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs).

Thank You

I may be reached at: drknandy@yahoo.com