Part B - Management Skill Builder: Building High Ethical Standards

Ethics encompasses the rules and principles we use to define right and wrong conduct. Many organizations have formally written ethical codes to guide managers and employees in their decisions and actions. But individuals need to establish their own personal ethical standards. If managers are to successfully lead others, they need to be seen as trustworthy and ethical.

MyLab Management Personal Inventory Assessment: Ethical Leadership Assessment

Organizations need ethical leadership from all employees, but especially from managers. In this PIA, youll see how much thought and effort goes into your being ethical in your workplace behavior.

Skill Basics

There are two sets of skills in this section to consider:

What You Can Do:

• Know your values.
• Think before you act.
• Consider all consequences.
• Apply the publicity test.
• Seek opinions from others.

What Your Organization Can Do:

• Create a formal ethics code.
• Set an ethical culture.
• Ensure managers are role models.
• Offer ethics workshops.
• Appoint an ethics advisor.
• Protect employees who report unethical practices.

Practicing the Skill

Were taking a little different approach with this chapters skill practice. Form into teams of four or five people. Using a copy of your colleges code of conduct, answer the following questions:

• How many of the team members were aware of the code?
• How many had read it?
• Evaluate the codes provisions and policies.
• Are you uncomfortable with any of the codes provisions? Why?
• How effective do you think they have been in shaping student and faculty behavior?
• If they havent been effective, what could be done to improve them?

Tip: Think about companies that are recognized as great companies to work for. What makes them stand out? Consider companies like Google as part of the discussion. Google offers employees everything from free food to dry cleaning services.