Greed, violence and ethics in organizations

Introduction

Organization of different kinds and sizes want to be productive and profitable. There are many factors that influence the productivity of these organizations. In this document, I would like to discuss three of the most important factors i.e. greed, violence and ethics that could decide the direction in which an organization may move. These factors are primarily related to the human personality which are exposed when they come in contact with each other. But, we may not say that human personal characteristics are fully responsible when it comes to the effects of these factors. The overall society and the organizational culture in may play a decisive role in deciding who these factors play a role in the personal and professional lives of individuals. In the following discussion, I have provided a detailed account of what role is played by greed, violence and ethical standards in organizations and how can they be managed for best results.

Greed and organizational culture

According to Goldman (2009), without tearing down the walls of greed in an organization, the organization would never progress and succeed. Greed is an intense desire for a material thing or power to satisfy personal ego. Greed may be present at different levels in an organizations. The leaders of an organization may be greedy. They may be after their personal gains of wealth and power and forget what the organizational goal and vision is. This could the organization in chaos. Leaders have to set an example of selflessness. Leaders should not look for more and more power but try to devolve power to the lower levels.

Manager and employees may also involve in organizational politics and look to gain personal interests instead of properly managing organizational processes and the tasks that have been allocated to them. This could lead the organization in total disarray. Managers need to promote interpersonal respect and teamwork to timely and efficiently complete their assigned tasks. Teamwork could be a great factor in decreasing the existence of greed in an organization (Adler, 1997).

Violence in organizations

According to American Psychological Association, violence is an extreme form of aggression (Violence, 2017). This is a kind of aggression that may exist on an emotional level or physical level intending to hurt emotionally or physically. In an organization, violence may be caused by ignoring problems that exist on daily level and may pile up to form worse state like physical or emotional violence.

Violence may be shown by either of the leaders, managers or the employees. Violence is an extreme condition that is not easy to control. What organization need to do is to have clear standards and regulations related to violence in the organization and give proper punishments to the people who show this behavior. It is the responsibility of the organizational leadership and management to save all the stakeholders from being exposed to such a behavior.

Ethical standards in organizations

Ethical standards and their application is what defines the quality of an organizational culture. If an organization is based on strong ethical standards and these standards are followed in letter and spirit, there is now doubt that such an organization would evolve in a positive direction. There are many steps that can be taken in an organization to ensure organizational ethics are followed. Firstly, the leaders in the organization need to become role models and let others to follow them when it comes to following ethical standards. Secondly, leaders may not hesitate to communicate to the employees their expectations related to ethical standards. Thirdly, organizations need to offer ethical trainings to the employees. The employees should not always be suspected of cheating the system. They may not be actually aware of what the ethical standards are and how can these standards be followed. Finally, rewarding system must be in place to recognize good performance, especially compliance of the ethical standards.

Why ethics matter?

There are two aspects of following some kind of harmony in an organization. The first aspect is rules and regulations that are punishable by law. These principles are mostly followed because non-compliance to them may result in legal penalties. The most important aspect, in my opinion is following ethics. Ethics are different because they are not bound by any punishable law. You may have a choice to follow ethical standards. This makes them tricky. Human beings may not feel to oblige personal or corporate ethics. Ethics may be demanded by social responsibility and integrity (Jeurissen, 2007), but it may still be treated as an option. Therefore, organizations need to focus on educating not trying to enforce ethical standards so that they can achieve the highest level of excellence, integrity and best customer perception.

Conclusion

I would like to conclude my discussion here by stressing on the importance of involving research and development tools in organizations to properly assess the personalities of the workers and their response to the working environment. This research could lead organizations towards developing working environments and corporate cultures that flourishes cooperation, respect, innovation, diversity and creativity, characteristics that are desired by most organizations. To limit the negative consequences of greed, violence and unethical behavior by workers, we must first try to understand these behaviors. Once these behaviors are identified and their causes have been understood, we may plan better to decrease their negative consequences and increase productivity.

References

Adler, P. S. (1997). Work organization: From taylorism to teamwork. Perspectives on Work,         1(1), 61-65.

Goldman, A. (2009). Destructive leaders and dysfunctional organizations: A therapeutic   approach. Cambridge University Press.

Jeurissen, R. (Ed.). (2007). Ethics & business. Uitgeverij Van Gorcum.

Nguyen, S. (2011). Creating an Ethical Organizational Culture. Workplace Psychology.     Retrieved 11 October 2017, from https://workplacepsychology.net/2011/02/14/creating-  an-ethical-organizational-culture/

Violence. (2017). http://www.apa.org. Retrieved 11 October 2017, from     http://www.apa.org/topics/violence/