ETHICAL STANDARDS OF MANAGEMENT

Ethics are moral principles that guide a person’s behaviour. These morals are shaped by social norms, cultural practices, and religious influences. Ethical decision making is the process of assessing the moral implications of a course of action. All decisions have an ethical or moral dimension for a simple reason—they affect others. Managers and leaders need to be aware of their own ethical and moral beliefs so they can draw on them when they face difficult decisions.

Ethical decisions can involve several determinations. The field of ethics, also known as moral philosophy, shows that there are various ways of systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. For example, from a consequentialist standpoint, morally right action produces a good outcome or consequence. A utilitarian perspective takes the position that the proper course of action maximizes overall happiness.




WHAT ARE MANAGERIAL ETHICS? HOW CAN WE DEFINE ETHICS IN MANAGEMENT?

Ethical management is the practice of being honest and virtuous in a role as a manager. Management training will help you with this and there are several responsibilities and obligations of an ethical manager, including setting a good example, holding everyone to the same standard, and making expectations clear. To do this, there are four main principles of ethical management you need to keep in mind at all times.

 

CODES OF CONDUCT

Organizations adopt codes of conduct to guide employees’ actions and decisions.

As part of comprehensive compliance and ethics programs, many companies formulate policies pertaining to the ethical conduct of employees. These policies can be simple exhortations in broad, highly generalized language, or they can be more detailed directives containing specific behavioural requirements. Ethical codes are adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between right and wrong and applying that understanding to their decisions and actions. They are generally meant to identify the company’s expectations of workers and to offer guidance on handling some of the more common ethical problems that might arise in the course of doing business.

There are three types of ethical codes: codes of business ethics, codes of conduct for employees, and codes of professional practice.


Code of Business Ethics:

A code of business ethics often focuses on social issues. It may set out general principles about an organization’s beliefs on matters such as mission, quality, privacy, and the environment. It may delineate procedures that should be used to determine whether a violation of the code of ethics has occurred and, if so, what remedies should be pursued. The effectiveness of such codes of ethics depends on the extent to which management supports and enforces them.


Code of Conduct for Employees:

A code of conduct for employees sets out the procedures to be used in specific ethical situations, such as conflicts of interest or the acceptance of gifts. It may include specific lists of dos and don’ts, or it may provide questions to ask to help determine the proper course of action. Codes of conduct typically delineate the proper procedures for determining whether a violation has occurred and for reporting suspected violations.


Code of Practice:

A code of practice is adopted to regulate a particular profession. It may be styled as a code of professional responsibility that covers common scenarios and decisions and provides a guide to what behaviour is considered ethical, correct, or right in certain circumstances.



SOME ETHICAL STANDARDS


Non-maleficence

The principle of non-maleficence – do not harm – asserts that a health care professional should act in such a way that he or she does not harm, even if her or his patient or client requests this.  


Justice 

 It is equally possible to conceive of the principle of justice (sometimes ‘social justice’) as having grounds in the fundamental value of human autonomy. Because as humans we all have (or should have) autonomy, we all have (or should have) equal moral worth. Thus, proposals for the unequal treatment of people again require the burden of proof. Justice, on the contrary, demands equal opportunities. 


Proportionality 

 As a principle, proportionality is certainly normative. It demands that in weighing and balancing individual freedom against wider social goods, considerations will be made proportionately.


Respect for each employee 

While it’s difficult at times, it is important to make sure you treat each of your employees or team members respectfully. Everyone you work with will have different religious and cultural beliefs and should be treated fairly. That’s why Equality and Diversity-Training are so important.

 

Mutual respect 

Your role as a manager involves making sure that your employees all treat each other respectfully as well. While they don’t all have to agree with each other, they should show proper respect for each other’s ideas and opinions. A team that doesn’t get along on a personal level will not work well together and will be less productive no matter what you try to do to boost team morale.

 

Procedural fairness 

You may not have control of the procedures your company expects you to follow but you do have control over the procedures you can implement within your team. It is important to make sure the procedures you implement are fair to all of your employees – neither favouring nor neglecting one employee or another.

 


Decision-making transparency 

t’s incredibly important for you to make sure your employees understand why you make the decisions you do. If they realise you aren’t making arbitrary choices based on personal beliefs, they’ll be more likely to accept your decisions and work together as a team.


REFERENCES:

https://www.accountingverse.com/managerial-accounting/introduction/code-of-ethics.html

https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/accounting-principles-11th/9781118130032/41_appendix-i.html

https://www.counseling.org/docs/ethics/practitioners_guide.pdf




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