
Abstract
Ethics is a broad topic, and giving a clear definition for it can be quite difficult. Companies introduce flexible policies concerning ethics. However, many companies still face challenges regarding ethics on a daily basis. Thus, it is important to cover this issue since it explains the growth and development of the organization. To some extent, companies have failed due to lack of a good code of ethics. Therefore, it is paramount to note the challenges that face regarding ethics and, see how ethics affects output. It is also important to have a different perception of ethics from all the stakeholders in the corporate world.
Keywords: ethics, truth, business ethics
One of the most sensitive issues in the business world is how cooperate organizations maintain a high level of ethics in the firm. Frequently, one would observe organizations in courts struggling with their cases. These cases usually are of different types; thus, one would see two organizations against each other or a firm against the government, or a firm against its current or former employee. It has become a controversial issue among many researchers since they do not know how to clearly define the concepts of truth and ethics in an organization (Crane & Matten, 2007). The government has established different policies for all the stakeholders to define guidelines and frameworks regarding truth and ethics (Bishop, 2000). It is of paramount importance since it affects the quality and quantity concerning output in any organization. The research paper will examine different problems affecting companies in regards to ethics, analyzing all important aspects and finding a concrete solution.
Methodology
The research presupposed using various methodology to acquire the data to make the research more efficient. The research use more qualitative and quantitative analysis. However, since the paper deals with subject according to the topic, qualitative research was preferable (Kotler & Lee, 2008). The following are some of the methodologies used to conduct the research
Questionnaire
A questionnaire is simply a set of questions with the aim of answering the objective of the research concerning the given topic. Thus, the questionnaire had different types of question to make the content easy to be analyzed and efficient enough to get the right content (Audi, 2009). These are types of the questions used in the questionnaire.
Open-ended questions. These questions were opinion based. The respondent was supposed to answer without any limitations. They were flexible enough to allow any respondent to give different answers to one particular question (Kotler & Lee, 2008). The significance of open-ended questions to the study was to enhance variety in the research, helping to analyze different opinions.
Closed-ended questions. This type of questions presupposed a particular set of answers per question. The respondent was supposed to choose an accurate answer to the options provided. It helped in the research since grouping the responses made it easy to be put in a quantitative form.
Dichotomous questions. A dichotomous question allows the respondent to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to a particular question. Thus, the respondent was supposed to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to specifics questions in the questionnaire (Kotler & Lee, 2008). It helped in sampling the answers for numeric analysis. In that, ‘yes’ can be assumed to be 1 and ‘no’ to be 2 to enhance numeric analysis.
Importance questions. The last type of questions used was importance questions. These questions involve rating the respondent’s answer according to a given scale to ensure a variety of ratings. It helps in different rating opinions of respondents.
Survey
A survey is an observation and critical examination on a particular topic about a given objectives of the study. The second type of methodology used entailed quantitative research. Thus, a survey was conducted to ensure that the research established the rate of unethical practices in a firm. More to say, the survey was used to monitor the growth of unethical practice showing the trend. The survey also helped in finding which type of unethical practices was famous among the organizations finding the cause, and it showed how it affected the organization performance.
Interview
The last methodology used an interview that had been carried among the largest shareholders in different organizations. An interview is about asking a person oral questions and writing down how they respond to each question. The interview was done by the directors, employees, and executive managers of a company (May, Cheney & Roper, 2007). Additionally, the research presupposed interviewing some government associates who had been affected by the matter occationally. It helped in getting more opinions and answers from a respondent since one could have manipulated more questions from a single answer.
Sampling
The last and the most important technique used in the research was the sampling of different cases. The research involved much content; therefore, content from respondents was acquired in raw form, which meant that sampling would need a good analysis (May, Cheney, & Roper, 2007). The process of sampling included acquiring same answers and grouping them together to provide meaningful results.
Results
The following are some of the qualitative research results of the research conducted.
Extensive Pressure from the Management
Most employees claimed that the management had too much pressure on them, which affected the quality of their work. Thus, many of them were given too much workload for a short timeframe, thus decreasing their quality of work. This characteristic was exhibited in a large organization that had too many objectives and a large customer base. It affected the employees emotionally since it reduced the quality of work.
Unequal Chances
Most of the people, who participated in the research, were focused on building their career. However, the majority of them were demotivated because the process of promotion was unequal (May, Cheney, & Roper, 2007). Thus, most employees complained that the management had promoted a particular group of people without considering others. Therefore, it was hard for them to develop their career life.
Working Environment
Working environment is one of the most frequent ethical issues affecting companies internationally. Most of the companies recorded employees complaining about their working environment being unethical (Bishop, 2000). At the same time, employees said that many of them had been treated unethically, with some of them even having been scolded in public, which reduced their motivation. Some of them noted that they had been bullied by their peers without the management paying attention (May, Cheney, & Roper, 2007). The employees found these two factors to be among the most unethical behaviors affecting their output of work. Surprisingly, some of them informed that there were cases of theft in their firms, which made them feel insecure and they were afraid to leave anything in the office. In some instances, employees complained their projects had been stolen by their peers, thus making them underperform in terms of time and performance.
Peer Pressure
Employees and management in an organization said that one of the most sensitive issues affecting the firm ethically was peer pressure. Thus, management examined that employees had a certain way of influencing each other into making bad decisions (Bishop, 2000). Consequently, peer pressure reduced the performance and output of firms greatly.
Low and Unproportioned Wages
Employees complained that the management and the directors were unethical in that they paid less if compared to the workload an individual was given. Thus, they had to work overtime while their income remained the same (Bishop, 2000). This practice limited the growth of output since it demotivated employees seriously.
Get a Price Quote
Improper Training
Employees stated that management had not invested in training to ensure that workers had the capability to increase the performance of the company. The unethical practices were perceived to be the highest drawback in the growth and development of the organization (Bishop, 2000). Thus, veteran employees had less skills, while the process of orientation made it difficult for beginners to have a good framework and background on the objectives of the firm.
Financial Misconduct
One of the most sensitive issues affecting companies included financial misconduct. Thus, the management required employees to cover some of the critical factors such as tax evasion and other aspects. The employees found it very unethical since it was against their career practice and guidelines (Bishop, 2000). Some of the employees were fired from their jobs since they could not take part in some of these unethical behaviors. On the other hand, the management found that some employees had been unethical as well since they wanted to steal from the company (Audi, 2009). Frequently, one would discover employees hiding profits from the company for their personal gain. These two unethical practices were considered a drawback to the growth of the company and its development. Some of the employees are still unemployed since they have damaged their career due to the mentioned factors.
The following is a quantitative result from the research regarding percentage of answers:
Information |
Percentage |
Extensive pressure from the management |
12% |
Unequal Chances |
14% |
Working Environment |
9% |
Peer pressure |
18% |
Low and unproportioned wages |
11% |
Improper Training |
14% |
Financial Misconduct |
22% |
The following presentations show the results. The research established sampling of the closed-ended questions to give a numeric presentation of the data. The following pie chart summarizes the findings.
Discussion
The issue of ethics has been a controversial topic among many researchers and economics. Many researchers have argued that the topic of ethics is subjective and the definition might change from one organization to another (Crane & Matten, 2007). However, the simple way definition of ethics is as a set of rules in a firm that determines how the organization can be controlled. From the results, one could find different challenges the companies face in the process of management.
The issue of excessive workload given to employees is one of the unethical practices found in the research study. The issue is caused by one major factor. The management fails to employ enough staff according to it operation. Thus, the remaining workers are given more work since they have to achieve the objectives of the company. It is unethical since the company overloads a specific worker with tasks (Bishop, 2000). Frequently, one would find that some specific employee lacks even social life. It affects the quality and quantity of output, which hinders the company’s growth. Thus, this factor has contributed to many drawbacks. Researchers have argued that 43% of the companies in the world are less staffed according to the workload (Velasquez, 2002). Thus, organizations are encouraged to outsource and contract new employees when the workload is not manageable with the current number of workers. On the same note, employees should be paid according to the workload. The two variables are expected to be directly proportional. It is quite unethical to give employees more work and, at the same time, low wages. Corporates are supposed to ensure that the workload is directly proportional to the wages paid to a single worker. The wage distribution in the organization should also be in a given range. Paying two employees for doing the same work uneven wages is unethical. Some factors, such as skills and the level of education, are to be considered; however, it is paramount that they still fall under a given range.
Unequal chances are one of the unethical behaviors affecting firms. In fact, this research shows that it is one of the main issue affecting employee’s motivation, thus reducing the output and growth of the company. It is ethical for the employees to be given equal chances regardless of their background. Thus, employees are supported to have equal opportunities when it comes to motivation, promotions, and bonuses (Bishop, 2000). The best technique to do this is to ensure that they are rated according to their output. Therefore, the most hardworking employee has the first chance. One of the other ways of doing this is to increase awareness concerning ethical employee promotion.
With working environment being a broad topic, it has hard for researchers to define the ethical point of presentation. Ethical working environment presupposes giving the employees a conducive workplace, where they can improve their efficiency. Such actions as scolding employees and being rude to them are unethical according to the corporate ethical standards. Thus, employees deserve good treatment and they must be respected just like any other person. At the same time, they need sufficient equipment and a conducive environment to work (Velasquez, 2002). It is unethical for a company to expose workers to a dangerous working environment and deny them good equipment. However, some organizations have given employees a conducive working environment by ensuring they have an opinion on how to customize their space and safety. These companies have recorded increase in quality and quantity regarding output.
It is unethical for companies not to train their employees either. Thus, workers are supposed to be frequently trained to ensure motivation and increase in the company’s output. It is also unethical to train some workers in the particular department and leave others without it. Favoring other employees as compared to others is very unethical, according to corporate standards. However, companies are allowed to train departments differently according to the expertise needed (Audi, 2009). As for peer pressure, employees are supposed to have high principles and maintain the values of the company. It is unethical to be pressured by fellow employees to go against the job ethics and policies. Some organizations have solved the problem by ensuring good leadership. Thus, each department is controlled by a particular professional to monitor peer pressure. On the other hand, some organizations have introduced counseling to help employees not to be easily pressured by their colleagues.
Unethical practices regarding financial misconduct are one of the most sensitive and leading unethical practices concerning accounting. Organizations want to receive profits; therefore, they often entice their employees to participate in unethical practices such as tampering with financial documents. It is unethical for companies to encourage employees to engage in such practices (May, Cheney, & Roper, 2007). Thus, firms should ensure that employees always maintain a high sense of integrity. At the same time, employees should not steal from each other or the company. Stealing from a company is unethical, and in some countries, it is considered as a criminal offense. Some companies have strict and well-structured policies that outline the ethics of the company to ensure they maintain a high level of standards.
Conclusion
Ethics is a subjective topic. Many people have different opinions about the issue, and it is hard to get a clear definition. However, from the research, it is obvious that they are clear guidelines that show unethical behavior in a company. The government has implemented ethic standards to protect all stakeholders in various industries. Organizations improve the code of ethics on a daily basis, introducing harsh measures to those who do not follow. However, some of the unethical practices are covered by the management and even governments due to corruption. Additionally, workers lack adequate training and awareness regarding corporate ethics. Some of the ethics introduced by the corporates are illegal. It is a shame that in the 21st century, with globalization and advancement of various technologies, some companies still engage in unethical practices.