Ethical And Social Context Of Management

Ethical and Social context of Management Individual ethics in Org. o Ethics: an individual’s personal beliefs regarding what is right and wrong or good or bad. o Three implications: • In the context of individual people have ethic and org do not. • Ethical behavior varies from one person to another. • Conforms to generally accept social norms. The Formation of Individual ethics

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Situational factors

Values and morals

Experiences

Peer influences

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Individual ethics

Managerial ethics o Standards of behavior that guide individual managers in their work. o Areas of concerns for managers • How an org. treats its employees • How employees treat the org. • How the org. treats other economic agents Managing ethical behavior o Begins with top management which establishes the organization’s culture and defines what will and will not be acceptable behavior. o Includes training on how to handle different ethical dilemmas. o Developing a code of ethics. • Written statement of the values and ethical standards that will guide the firm’s actions. Social responsibility and org.

o The set of obligations (to behave responsibility) that an organization has to protect and enhance that social context in which it functions. o In the awareness that business activities have an impact on society and the consideration of that impact by firms in decision making. Areas of social responsibility o Stakeholders: customers, employees, and investors. o The natural environment: environmentally sensitive product, and public safety. o The general social welfare: charitable contributions, and support for social issues such as child labor and human rights. Arguments for and against SR Organizational approaches to SR o Social obstruction: an approach to social responsibility in which firms do as little as possible to solve social or environmental problems (higher price charge). o Social obligation: a social responsibility stance in which an organization does everything that is required of it legally but nothing more. (install pollution control equipment but inferior quality) o Social response: a social responsibility stance in which an organization meets its basic legal and ethical obligation in selected cases. (donation, school, college, university) o Social contribution: a social responsibility stance in which an organization views itself as a citizen in a society and proactively seeks opportunities to contribute to that society. (medical center, scholarship etc) The Govt. and SR

Managing social responsibility o Formal organizational decision • Legal compliance • Ethical compliance • Philanthropic giving o Informal organizational decision • Organizational Leadership and culture • Whistle blowing • Social audit