Driving Systematic Ethical Change. Business & Marketing Term Paper

Driving Systemic Ethical Change
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Driving Systemic Ethical Change
How would you summarize what you have read? Do you see benefits to implementation of these elements? Why or why not?
Every organization desires an ethical organizational environment. However, few understand how they can develop such an environment. Johnson, however, appears to have an answer for organizations with a keen interest in developing ethical organizational environments. First of all, he starts by discussing the components of ethical culture. There are two categories of these components namely formal and informal. Examples of the formal components of culture include “core values, mission statements, code of ethics, structure, boards of directors, rewards and evaluation systems, reporting and communication systems, and ethics officers.” Johnson goes ahead to explain that these are officially determined by the organization. They will, therefore, be in writing and for some like the mission statements, they will be on display in almost all departments. These components are developed with the idea of helping enhance the efforts and commitments of employees towards ethical organizational development. The informal components of culture, on the other hand, are not officially determined by the organization at hand. These, however, are part of the organization and also help to influence ethical behavior in an organizational setup. Examples of informal components include “language, norms, rituals, and stories.” Even though some leaders refuse to pay attention to the informal components, Johnson insists that these too could help influence organizational environments.
However, the components of ethical culture have to be aided by the cultural change efforts for lasting ethical change to be attained. Johnson is, however, keen to point out that culture “functions as an interrelated system.” This means that one cannot work on a single component and expect lasting change. At this point, Johnson introduces ethical drivers which he indicates play a crucial role in helping promote “systematic ethical change.” These ethical drivers include ethical diagnosis, engaged leadership, targeted socialization processes, ethical training, and continuous ethical improvement. With ethical diagnosis, an organization has to be willing to conduct investigations aimed at establishing its current ethical condition. Secondly, the leadership has to be willing to be a part of the process of promoting ethical behavior within the organization. So, they have to be engaged in the process. With the targeted socialization process, organizations simply try and ensure that all employees are part of their larger goal by ensuring that everyone learns and understands their roles. Eth...