Posted on : 25-01-2010 | By : admin
The ethical problems of the organization are the problems of the staff, whereas many members of staff will, rightly or wrongly, see the root of the ethical problems in senior management. If “top down” codes are resented, they will be ignored when possible and, otherwise, treated like an unwelcome legal rule. That is they will be avoided if possible and interpreted narrowly if necessary. Even if they are accepted they may not address the real ethical problems encountered by administrators. Rules developed by management - or even consultant philosophers brought in to draw up the code -will often fail to address such problems or will do so in ways, and from perspectives, to which the bulk of bureaucrats cannot relate.
If a person behaves ethically and internalize the relevant values, they have to get the staff that will live by them to take an active part in their creation. Do not just give them the rules but ask them to look at the ways in which their practice is ethically vulnerable, to discuss such vulnerabilities and to reflect on the kinds of rules they should adopt for themselves. For example, we should not merely have a general rule that police should not accept special treatment because of their position. They should involve police in discussing the temptations and dilemmas of their job. This is where the ethical circles suggested above could play a key role. Staff could raise ethical problems in the context and at the level at which they arise.
They would not only contribute to the development of a critical morality by individuals; they would provide valuable inputs into codes of ethics that are more likely to be supported and acted upon by the staff. Management should stimulate encourage and guide the process. But like so many other areas of successful modem management, ethical standard setting is not a matter of rigid control but of establishing structures and incentives to improve the quality of the organizations output -in this case the ethical quality.
Criticisms of management imposed codes and support for bottom up codes was a much repeated theme in the submissions and advice received. It was generally accepted that successful codes of ethics are not so much imposed from above but self imposed and to this end management must provide an organizational context “in which values can be discussed meaningfully, and which encourages members of the organization to develop skills in recognizing and thinking about ethics issues”. It could thereby be built into the “culture” of the institution. Again, emphasized that improving ethics was as often a matter of counseling and training as the imposition of sanctions.
At times ethics appears to be pushed as a panacea for all companies woes to the extent that other remedies, especially legal and organizational ones, are ignored. Laws in conflict with the mores and practices of those on whom they are imposed will prove largely unworkable as those it covers seek to avoid or even evade their impact. Thus for many, ethical standard setting and legal regulation must be mutually supportive.
Likewise, police forces may have strong disciplinary rules, the senior police may wish to encourage the highest ethical standards, but the organization of specialist squads required to handle intractable problems over the long term may breed corruption of the worst kind.
http://sites.google.com/site/cliptheschoolbeginning/ http://sites.google.com/site/arturvictoriasite/Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/politics-articles/ethical-circles-1774239.html
