Relational Analysis: Ethics in Management (Assignment Questons and Answers)

Article 1: Corporate Ethics and Trust in Intra-Corporate Relationships.

Step 1:

Identify the question:

What is the exact connection between corporate ethics and trust in the intra-corporate relationship?

Step 2:

Choose Samples or Sample for Analysis: The sampling for the research project was a single longitudinal case study. The case "describes the development and the demise of corporate ethics and trust in an intra-corporate relationship, and an employee's perception of this ethical behavior" (326). The actual names and organization were replaced for anonymity.

Step 3:

Determine the type of relationship to be examine:

The work examines how ethics are applicable to lose in the organization including: stockholder loss, creditors loss, employees loss, families loss and community loss.

Step 4:

Reduce the text to categories and code for words or patterns: The text will be reduced into terms to describe what elements are and are not part of trust in intra-corporate ethics.

- business ethics
- trust
- behavior
- perception
- management

Step 5:

Explore the relationship between concepts.

a. employee perception - this refers to the way in which an employee inside the company views the overall behavior of the organization's management and culture.

b. manager perception - this refers to the way in which the organization/organization's managers view situations and respond to it.
c. outsider perception - this refers to the way in which an outsider may view the behaviors presented by the organization.

Step 6:

Code the relationships:

The relationship between the way in which employees and employers view situations in an ethical capacity is such that variance can manifest that in turn can diminish trust within the organization.

Step 7:

Perform Statistical Analysis: Conduct statistical analysis based on the data you've coded. "Ethics is predicated upon an interchange of views about the individual belief systems among citizens of any culture" (p. 321). Variation in the perceptual views of the parties involved in a trust relationship can alter the way in which a situation is interpreted.

Step 8:

Map the representation:

- employee perception of ethics violation
- distrust of management
- manager perception of ethics violation
- distrust of staff
- outsider perception of ethics violation
- distrust of the organization

Article 2: The Relationship of Knowledge Management and Ethics Management to Perceived Wise Leadership: An Empirical Investigation

Step 1:

Identify the question:

How does ethics relate to inside an outside perception of what constitutes a wise leader?

Step 2:

Choose Samples or Sample for Analysis: The participants for the student were selected from a closed population of international MBA graduates who took a self administered survey. Overall 710 individuals took part in the study and provided data for analysis.

Step 3:

Determine the type of relationship to be examine: This works examines how ethics is or is not tied into commonly held beliefs about what attributes are present in a wise leader.

Step 4:

Reduce the text to categories and code for words or patterns:

The text will be reduced into terms to describe what elements are part of the wise leader paradigm:

- business ethics
- trust
- behavior
-perception
- management

Step 5:

Explore the relationship between concepts.

a. wise leadership model - this refers to the way in which someone who would be classified as a wise or strong leader would behave in the workplace.

b. staff perception - this refers to the way in which the staff inside an organization view the contexts of wise leadership.

c. manager perception - this refers to the way in which actual managers perceive how wise leadership should look in practice.

Step 6:

Code the relationships:

There is a higher perceived amount of wise leaders than there is an actual presence of the essential elements related to wise leadership that could be due to group think, personal alignment of influences or charismatic dynamics.

Step 7:

Perform Statistical Analysis: Conduct statistical analysis based on the data you've coded. "Essential elements, drawn from the knowledge management and ethics management domains, were identified as necessary in viewing a leader as wise" (p. 1). Respondents drew from experiences in their respective organization and with their respective leaders.

Step 8:

Map the representation:

- leadership behavior
- increase profit and returns to shareholders -leadership wisdom
- is not necessary to increase profit and returns to shareholders
- leadership ethics
- it is necessary for a leader to be categorized as being wise and contributing to the triple bottom line.

Article 3: Value Creation, Management Competencies, and Global Corporate Citizenship: An Ordonomic Approach to Business Ethics in the Age of Globalization

Step 1:

Identify the question:

What is the relationship between antagonistic social cooperation and the future of ethical business practices?

Step 2:

Choose Samples or Sample for Analysis:

The sampling for research was a blend of content analysis and case study. The authors relied heavily on previously published research data and framed that data within a three tiered conceptual framework.

Step 3:

Determine the type of relationship to be examine:

This work examines the relationships of business in society, what business ethics should be taught to advance society and the role of corporations in solving urgent global problems.

Step 4:

Reduce the text to categories and code for words or patterns: The text will be reduced into terms to describe what elements are part of the new paradigm of corporate responsibility:

- business role in society
-ethics that are taught in business school
- social responsibility and the triple bottom line
- corporations in a global environment
- global corporate citizenship

Step 5:

Explore the relationship between concepts.

a. global corporate citizenship -this refers to the way in which an organization behaves impacts the world around them.
b. antagonistic social cooperation - this refers to the way in which competition can drive organizations and individuals away from ethical behavior.
c. business schools - this refers to the way in which business schools prepare future business leaders for the ethical demands of a global society.

Step 6:

Code the relationships:

The relationship between ethics and global corporate citizenship is important for the well being of humanity and not simply just for the generation of profit in a conventional capacity. This means attention to how actions influence the social and environmental spheres as well as the conventional "bottom line."

Step 7:

Perform Statistical Analysis:

Conduct statistical analysis based on the data you've coded. "Companies can help solve global problems through global corporate citizenship if they participate as political and moral actors in rule setting processes and rule finding discourse aimed at laying the foundation for value creation on a global scale" (p. 265). The results indicate that ethical behavior by organizations helps advance humanity and not retard it. The practices of the 20th Century in terms of business and environmental action are not sustainable and therefore ill equipped for the 21st Century. Change management is required.

Step 8:

Map the representation:

- global corporate citizenship
- solving global problems (social/environmental/political)
- ethical behavior
- leads to global corporate citizenship
- antagonistic social cooperation
- leads to unethical behavior (but sometimes short term bottom line profit)

Discussion of Concepts

While each of the research studies took slightly different approaches to generating and interpreting data for their specific spectrum of management ethics, there were a number of reoccurring phenomena that is important for the study of business ethics. Among these concepts that were found in all the research studies included: business ethics as a tool for cooperation, business ethics as a contributor to morale and business ethics as a contributor to the overall well being of humanity. On one of the variation based levels, Pie, Beckmann and Hielscher highlighted that traditional business relationships focused on profit typically do not have ethical foundations. The went on to describe how competition and pressure only fuels this element. They demonstrated that while in the short term this may generate profit, in the long term it can damage the overall vitality of humanity and the market in general based on consumer confidence.

In terms of business ethics as a tool for cooperation, each of the sources demonstrated to varying extents that cooperation among key stakeholders in the business process is beneficial to humanity and to the vitality of the market. This spectrum is influenced by how situations are perceived. Currently, as a result of a number of well publicized corporate scandals, there is a consumer and investor perception of big business as being corrupt. Rather than fostering cooperation, this fosters an "us" and "them" mentality that either leads to disconnect between the business world and the outside world or tentative alliances based on making capital but not rooted in trust. This hurts the entire way in which the global market runs. In contrast, if the perception of corporate behavior was positive to outsiders, this would foster cooperation and a healthier market based relationship between two necessary parties in the equation.

Also building from the perceptual sphere of ethics, the way in which different stakeholders view behavior can damage morale. Even in those instances when the general public may be unaware about certain corporate behavior, if employees are present in an organization and they are viewing managerial behavior as being unethical or contradictory to their respective organizational aims, it is likely that they will approach their job differently. Morale has been linked to employee performance and in turn, employee performance is directly tied into the bottom line of the organization (Acona et al.). A staff with high morale, therefore, would be better performing than one with lower morale. This means that managers have to model the kind of behavior that builds trust and relationships rather than behavior that does not facilitate these things. Svensson and Wood found that corporate ethics is the cornerstone of intra-corporate relationships. When managers are unethical, therefore, there is a higher likelihood that there staff will see these actions and not perform to their optimal standards of efficiency. Lower morale also means a higher percentage of job turnover, which also leads to unnecessary expenses for the operation of the business.

The final reoccurring thematic in the works is the relationship between managerial ethics and the overall well being of humanity. As illustrated by Pies, Beckmann and Helscher, the first purpose of business in society is "value creation" (p. 265). As a result, business ethics should teach management competencies that fill a "societal mandate" (Pies, Beckmann & Helscher, 2009, p. 265). Though traditionally business training and such has been focused on the bottom line, modern organizations and demands have put an increased ethical focus on the triple bottom line that includes profit, environmental stewardship and social dimensions. Wise leadership, as outlined by Ledbetter, included elements of managing for change and forward thinking. Even leadership dimensions that have yet to embrace ethical responsibility cannot enter into the phases of wise leadership models without understanding the role of ethics in 21st Century global business.

Conclusions

A review of the selected literature suggests that there is a link between business ethics and the need of 21st century organizations, business ethics and efficacious management and business ethics and the global responsibility. These relationships hold true regardless of the perspective from which one is viewing the data. The era of "gaining wealth and forgetting all but self" is over and it does not seem poised to return in terms of the evolution of business and the evolution of human relationships/behaviors. Business ethics, as a result, is no longer simply a luxury or fad related to particular perspectives. As Pies, Beckmann and Hielscher articulated, the social mandates that need to be followed by the business community need to be directly facilitated by leaders in the business world and also education facilities that are preparing the business leaders of tomorrow.

References

Acona, D. et al. (2005). Managing for the Future. Canada: Thomson.

Ledbetter, C.M. (2005). The Relationship of Knowledge Management And Ethics Management to Perceived Wise Leadership: An Empirical Investigation. New York: Capella University Doctoral Publishing.

Pies, I., Beckmann, M. & Hielscher, S. (2010). Value creation, management competencies, and global corporate citizenship: An ordonomic approach to business ethics in the age of globalization. Journal of Business Ethics 94: 265-278.

Svensson, G. & Wood, G. (2004). Corporate ethics and trust in intra-corporate relationships: An in depth and longitudinal case description. Employee Relations, 24(3), 320.