Ethical People Practice Essay
Question:
- Provide a robust argument for ethical people practice that is supported by academic theory and details both the business and human benefits of people at work feeling included, valued and fairly treated.
An ethical person is defined by honesty, integrity, respect, and good moral standards. The ethical practice involves the application of ethical values in organizational behaviour. In the workplace, modeling ethical practice involves the consistent application of values and principles in decision making (Calder, 2015). Establishing an ethical culture cultivates strong teamwork and high productivity. Also, ethical practice supports employee growth, morale, commitment, and meaning in the organisation. In the workplace, ethics programs assist in managing the values associated with diversity management, quality management, and strategic planning. Besides, ethical practice promotes a positive public image. Aligning ethical values to corporate social responsibility portrays a positive image to the public. This consistent application of ethical practice helps build and establish a socially responsible and successful business. To benefit from ethical practice, understanding the application of deontology, virtues, rights, and utilitarianism ethical theories is mandatory (Swanton, 2016). In the context of this discussion, virtue ethical theory will be analyzed and how useful it is in guiding professionals towards ethical practice. The virtue ethical theory judges people by their traits rather than by their actions that deviate from their normal behaviour. Virtue ethics account for an individual’s reputation, morals, and motivation when reviewing an irregular or unusual behavior that is not ethically correct (Swanton, 2016). In the workplace, virtue ethics requires that ethical decisions be trustworthy, honest, and fair-minded. Thus, virtue ethics is an excellent theory of decision making. This is because virtue ethics takes an individual of integrity and courage to place public interest beyond self-interest. For example, in the workplace, a manager is compelled by virtue ethics to consider employees’ views in decision making. This aspect of making employees feel valued and fairly treated in the decision making process boosts both individual and organizational performance.
References
- Calder, G. (2015). Competence, ethical practice and professional ethics teaching. Ethics and Social Welfare, 9(3), 297-311. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/17496535.2015.1031263
- Swanton, C. (2016). A virtue ethical theory of role ethics. The Journal of Value Inquiry, 50(4), 687-702.