Review the discussion of ethics and job design. Are those real issues facing managers in modern organizations? Why?

ETHICAL ISSUES IN JOB DESIGN

Self-managing workgroups raise some ethical questions for two reasons: 

(1) People with a low need for affiliation might have little desire for group-based work, and 

(2) Some people might not want high involvement in their work roles, preferring high involvement in nonwork roles instead. 

Those reasons imply at least two ethical questions. Should involvement in such groups be voluntary for those already employed by a company? Should job applicants be fully informed about the company’s use of groups and teams and the likelihood of a team assignment if they are hired?

Multinational and transnational organizations face ethical issues that derive from the cultures in which they operate. As Chapter 7 described, people around the world differ in the needs they consider central to their personalities and lives. People in many countries do not readily accept decentralizing decision authority. They perceive decision making as the proper role of managers, not nonmanagers. This orientation is especially true of Mexico, many South American countries, India, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Swedish and Austrian employees, however, expect high involvement in decision making.60 Should managers honor the host national culture, or should they adhere to their home organization’s emphasis on self-managing workgroups?