Ethical Philosophy Among Organizational Managers

Ethical Philosophy among Organizational Managers
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Ethical Philosophy among Organizational Managers
The individual and organizational ethical standards often determine the actions taken when an ethical conflict arises. Often, issues such as environmental conflicts pose a test on the ethical integrity of leaders. Likewise, organizations are often tested as leaders grapple with addressing the issue that challenges their ethical philosophy. Despite the seeming cost of upholding ethical values, the cost of ignoring ethical values is much higher. Unfortunately, some leaders are not keen to observe the long-term disguised effect of not observing the ethical philosophy and policies.
Management and Ethical Behavior
Managers base their ethical decisions on experience, education, beliefs, and social norms. Their actions are engendered towards developing the most effective solution to an issue based on their ethical philosophy. Among the common ethical philosophies used to solve issues that have ethical implications include utilitarianism, rights, and justice (Premeaux, 2009). Managers chose any of the approaches to address organizational conflicts that may have ethical implications.
Often, managers engage in situations where there is a conflict between the ethics of a decision and the overall solution to the case. Many managers base their ethical justice on rights and rules. They want to remain safe as they address the problem and ensure that other factors such as litigations do not ensue. As such, managers attempt to align their ethical values to the legal expectations and the rule of law. This way, the managers are sure that they will avoid any adverse result of litigations.
Despite the effort by managers to align their ethical philosophy with the rights of individuals and the rule of law, the plan does not always work. At times, ethical philosophy demands doing more than just what the law demands. In such cases, the true call of the managers towards upholding their ethical standards is put to the test. Only a few managers go the extra mile to meet the costly demands of ethical expectations. Most managers stop at the point where they meet the legal expectations. Arguably, ethical demands are at times too expensive and might hurt an entity economically.
The strong affinity towards observing the economic impact of a decision is explained using the utilitarian approach to ethical philosophy. The utilitarian orientation allows the managers to observe a solution to a problem that will benefit the most people (Fritzsche & Becker, 1984). Furthermore, this approach will ensure that the organizational head retains a positive relationship with the involved people.
The main challenge with the utilitarian approach is that it does not guarantee that everyone involved is favored. On the ...