When we talk about ethical behaviors, we mean the core values and cultures of a company that keep it apart from its competitors. It is important for staffers to focus on accomplishing key company goals and developing good working relationships in the office, but it is equally important to ensure ethical conduct among employees. Ethical conduct ensures that your business maintains a reputation for sound professional principles and values that are directly in line with the company mission (Belcher, 2018). There are a few different ways that you can promote ethical conduct in your organization that would be perused in this article.
Make a clear expectation of what is okay and what is not okay. All organizations have both spoken and unspoken rules and guidelines about how to act within their environments. This includes everything from attire, attitudes expressed, and behavior towards colleagues, customers, and the public. For anyone who has worked at several organizations, even within the same sector such as corporations or universities, they can likely describe how the culture of these organizations differ and sometimes differ radically.
Many of the cultural norms and expectations of an organization are never expressed in writing but are inferred once you closely observe the environment of the organization for some duration. Some organizations highlight ethical values and decision making more than others. Many may pay lip service to following ethical guidelines but then don’t practice what they preach. Some are more utilitarian than others. Others are more hospitable and gracious than others. A Clear expectation for behavior among all members of an organization is the first step towards a more ethical organizational culture (Plante, 2015).
Modeling desired traits (most especially by the key authorities of the firm). Research conducted by well-known Stanford psychologist, Al Bandura, among others have made clear that people tend to model the behavior of others (especially well thought of and desirable others) and that leaders within any organization act as models for those below them in the organizational chart. Thus, any organizational leaders must be mindful that they are being watched very closely and that others in the organization will likely follow their lead when it comes to ethical behavior and attitudes.
Bandura defines the specific stages of observational learning to include attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. Thus, for observational modeling to occur, one need to observe or attend to the model, remember the model’s behavior, reproduce the model’s behavior, and be motivated to do it again and again.
Thus, organizational leaders must practice what they preach and be sure that they model for others the desired behaviors that they wish to nurture within their organizations. If the highest standards of ethics are desired within an organization then high profiles leaders in that organization much demonstrate these standards and be beyond reproach in this regard. Their actions often will speak louder than their words when it comes to helping to create a more ethical environment within their organizations (Plante, 2015).
Train employees. You can’t expect your staff to act ethically in accordance with your company’s code of ethics if they don’t know what that code is or why it’s important. Hold regular workshops on ethics and how to solve problems ethically. Use examples and role playing to give everyone a chance to choose between tough decisions and explain why one is more ethical than another. The more training and resources you provide, and the greater emphasis you place on being ethical and acting accordingly, the more your staff understands exactly what you expect in the office (Belcher, 2018).
Reward ethical behavior. Far too often, companies simply expect ethical behavior; however, if you want to promote this as a prominent behavior among staff, then you need to show and prove, so to speak. Provide rewards for solid ethical behavior; for example, if you have an employee that goes above and beyond to put her personal interests aside to always do what is best for her clients, that is considered ethical behavior and she should be rewarded and held up as an example for others to strive to do the same. The more you reward employees for sound ethical decisions, the more likely the masses will follow suit. Plante also opines that unethical behavior should not be rewarded. When staff sees management recognizing and rewarding ethical actions, whether they increased profits in the process or customer relationships, and ignoring or playing down accomplishments gained unethically, they’ll get the message that ethical behavior is important to the company (Belcher, 2018).
Don’t bring your family to the workplace. It is unacceptable to talk about your family to your colleagues. Everybody has a family and it will be ridiculous for you to discuss about your family woes in the office. Do not bring your family visiting your workplace unless they are invited (Chindinma, 2018).
Provide corrective feedback. Another basic and important principles borrowed from introductory psychology is the notion of immediate corrective feedback. Unless organizations offer timely and thoughtful corrective feedback regarding behavior they will unlikely create a culture of ethics. Reinforcement for behavior that is desired and corrective feedback for behavior that is not desired is critical to help create and sustain a culture of ethical behavior and consideration. This corrective feedback needs to be conducted in the spirit of collaboration and education rather than in terms of punishment or chastisement. Collaboration and education allow for more openness and less defensiveness when feedback is provided. Immediate feedback is critical to maximize a fuller understating of the problem behavior as well (Plante, 2018).
Consider how employees are treated. Think honestly about the current operating methods in your company. If management is talking about the importance of ethics at work but doesn’t treat its own employees fairly, you’re just giving ethics lip service. A trusting relationship between management and employees helps to encourage ethical behavior all around. Consider how the company makes decisions to hire, train, promote and pay employees. If these important actions aren’t done objectively and fairly, take steps to correct the situation (Belcher, 2018).
References
Belcher, M (2018). Ways to Promote Ethical Conduct. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/ways-promote-ethical-conduct-24132.html
Chindinma, P (2018). How to Improve Ethics in the Workplace. Retrieved from https://www.strategicbusinessteam.com/entrepreneurial-skills-development/how-to-improve-ethics-in-the-workplace/
Plante, T (2015). Six Ways to Create a Culture of Ethics in Any Organization. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/do-the-right-thing/201507/six-ways-create-culture-ethics-in-any-organization
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