Ethics As A Component Of Organizational Culture Essay Examples

Introduction

Ethical rules are principles that organizations require their employees to follow so that they can promote values such as trust, fairness, kindness, and good behavior. There are no set rules that all organizations must follow, on the contrary, each organization has its set of rules. Since ethical rules are always vaguely defined, at times it can become very difficult to follow them; moreover, the majority of them are open to interpretations. Some of the common ethical rules include treating customers with respect, handling their information with care, controlling unruly behavior such as drunkenness among others (Dion,1996).

Ethical rules

First, Standard Chartered Bank emphasizes speaking up because through it the culture of strong ethics, integrity, openness and transparency is encouraged. Since any misconduct undermines the bank’s ambition to be the world’s best bank, and can damage its financial performance, reputation and trust of everyone, it encourages all its employees to always speak up in case something is not right. For instance, if there is someone breaking the law, committing a crime, breaking regulatory requirements, or doing anything that can damage its reputation among others, the employees are expected to speak up. According to Martin (2000) it is upon the company to ensure that whoever speaks up is not victimized, and the information that they give is treated as confidential.
Secondly, all employees are not allowed to accept gifts, entertainments, and personal favors that could damage the reputation of the company. This is because doing this might influence their business decision in favor of a particular individual or a company. Moreover, no employee is required to receive any preferential treatment that can make them appear as if they have received any kick back. Cooper, (2009) explains that, if an employee receives anything that is meant to compromise their position, the organization might be forced to return the favor by bending some of its rules. Even though some organizations ensure that these codes of conducts are part and parcel of the rules, very few employees take them seriously since they do not match their expectations. It is a common belief that an individual must grow rich while working, through receiving kickbacks and other benefits. However, Standard Chartered Bank strictly prohibits kickbacks and secret commissions from suppliers, and any breach of this rule will immediately lead to termination.
Next, it is also important for employees to differentiate between dealing with outsiders as an employee and as an individual. They must separate their personal roles with the roles that they play as employees of organizations. Bart (2011) posit that when communicating outside the organization, it is important that they know their capacity, whether as an individual or on behalf of the organization. They further reiterate that employees should not make use of the company’s stationery, equipment and machineries for personal matters. When outside talking publicly on matters not concerning the organization, they must not presume that they speak for the organization unless they are sure that the views they are expressing are those of the company. But if it is not the desire of the company to air such views they should refrain from doing that as that might interfere with the company’s culture and destroy its reputation especially if the company is being painted in bad picture.
Finally, the company strives to ensure that privacy and confidentiality are maintained. This is important, especially when they are dealing with the customer private information. For instance, when tracing tee customers information they should collect, retain or use only the information that is important to them. In is important that they obtain any relevant information directly from the person that is involved. A reliable source should also be applied to supplement the information. The physical security of this information should also be protected, and it should be retained only as long as it is required by the organization or as long as necessary. While the information is in their custody, they should limit any access by third parties to information since the client may hear about that and it will not augur well with the Bank especially as a respected financial institution in the world. If the employee must disclose the information, they should first obtain the consent of the client or else this will be a breach of the confidentiality policy. Although most organizations find it hard to follow this rule it is very important because of customer details should not be shared (Dion,1996).

Conclusion

Different companies have different ethical rules that they want their employees to follow. Failure to do that might lead to serious penalties such as getting a termination. Although they are important, it is crucial that all employees should know about them, and the importance of following them before they are can be punished if they break them. Some of these ethical rules include speaking up, avoiding gifts, portraying the company well outside and observing privacy and confidentiality policy.

References

Bart, C. (2011). Ethics: The key to organizational Culture/L'éthique professionnelle : La clé de la culture organisationnelle. The Canadian Manager, 36 (3), 4-6
Cooper,T. (2009) Responsble Administrator. An Approach to Ethic For Administrative Rules.
Dion, M. (1996). Organizational culture as matrix of corporate ethics. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 4(4), 329-351.
Martin, H. (2000). A bank’s Code Of Ethics. Analysing Standard Chartered Bank. Journal Of Marketing. 6(7) pp 45-56. Oxford University Press