Values And Ethics Reconciliation

Values and Ethics Reconciliation

Values and ethics in the business world can conflict with personal values and ethics. As businesses create policies and procedures they affect the people that work for them. Business values are in place to ensure success for the company first and the employees second. People come to a company with a set of values and ethics and as the company changes policies it can cause conflict. A person has to feel that the business they work for is a match with their personal values. Constant emotional conflict will hurt productivity, leads to greater employee turnover and can create financial problems for the company.

Companies are paying close attention to the values practiced by its managers. The managers are expected to act ethically and not participate in activities that put the company at risk (Lee, Fabish, McGaw).

Reasons for practicing ethics

Both the individual and company benefit from practicing values and ethics.

Business success

"Professional consultants, companies and organizations that compete internationally will undermine their long-term profitability, professional development and client business if they fail to properly address and practice global ethics" (Fung, 1998). A business sets it ethics based on the culture it which it operates. The success or failure of the business can hinge how well the business fits in to the established culture.

Personal growth and well-being

In life, personal growth and well-being come from adherence to values and ethics. A person's ethics are developed early and continue to evolve at they move through life. In order to support a company people need to feel the company they work for supports them and the things they believe in. As a person grows and ages, the values they carry with them evolve. The company they work is an important part of these evolving values. If the place they spend most of their day is not in sync with their life, well-being is hard to achieve.

Identifying Personal vs. Corporate vs. Cultural differences

Learn the corporate culture

Learning the culture of a company begins with the interview process. The prospective employee must make sure that the company is going to be a good match for them. During the application and interview process the person needs to investigate the company's public relations information, evaluate public information regarding the company and look at the company's web site. During the interview note the mode of dress, the formality of the environment, length of the work day, stress level of the existing employees, and rate of turnover. The person should also ask for a tour of the facility to help evaluate the inner workings of the place they will work. These will give the potential employee clues as to the culture of the company. (Knox, Butzel)

Learn the ethics/values of the community

The values and ethics of the community the business is operating in are just as important as the company's own values and ethics. In some aspects of corporate life the community a company is operating in will drive the business values. A company that has a global presence can not have the same set of ethics and values in each country where they conduct business. The employees they hire will have differing value systems and, to be successful, the company will need to address each area differently. The basic goal of the company and the policies that are implemented can be the same but things like life work balance, health benefits, customer interaction and such will be addressed differently. (Knox, Butzel). As an employee moves between locations the ethics and values of the community need to be taken into consideration by the employee.

A changing world

People have to be open to change. The world's values have changed over the years. This is now a much more global thinking world. It is now easy for anyone to surf the internet and get information or chat with someone completely around the world from them. To that end, people need to accept change and adjust their values accordingly. That is not to say that you give up on your values and ethics completely, but to adopt a more "go with the flow" attitude. Personal values will continue so shape the world but as technology changes, so must values.

Reconciling differences

Acknowledge differences

The first step in reconciling conflict is realizing that difference exist