Introduction: Evidence suggests that peoples’ actions are often governed by self-interest. “The self-interest motive is singularly powerful, according to many of the most influential theories of human behavior and laypersons alike (Miller, 1999, p. 1)”. Consequently an effective and responsible manager uses rewards and punishment as a means to improve efficiency of employees and productivity of the company. Whether self-interest alone is responsible for human motivation is a debatable issue and a manager must take this factor into account. Factors other than rewards and punishment also affect motivation. This paper will take a look at some of the theoretical concepts in ethics as related to this topic.
Ethical conduct in the workplace
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Sudden bonuses, spot rewards, appreciation letters, etc provide an impetus for increasing employee productivity. However positive reinforcements are also required. So there should be recognition and appreciation of efforts made by the people. It improves workplace culture and adds to employee satisfaction hence productivity increases. But balance needs to be maintained as too many rewards reduce its importance and effect. Punishments may force employees to follow ethical rules but may also act as a deterrent in the long run. Negative reinforcement forces an employee to follow rules to avoid a difficult situation. A manager also needs to be sure about what constitutes a reward for a person as what one person considers a reward may be thought of as a punishment by another person. According to the father of behaviorism, B.F. Skinner, human beings’ behavior was affected by the rewards and punishments received throughout life. Rewards lead to repetition of a particular behavior whereas punishment leads to removal of unwanted behavior. Value-Centered ethics: An ethical manager must implement positive reinforcements by being very specific about what is desirable behavior in his/her employees and also understand what factors impact employee motivation. “Managerial action should be guided by professionalism and strong ethical value (Kerns, 2004, p. 176)”. …show more content…
dedicated employees who do not mind putting in extra effort for additional work when required. The most important factor affecting work culture is the relationship with the immediate boss. No doubt rewards and incentives are important but a responsible manager realizes that many other factors also account for employee motivation such as job satisfaction, work environment including safety features, career support and opportunities for career growth, faith in company management and senior leadership, equitable pay package, peer relationship, suitability of the job as per the person’s skills and experience, etc. A responsible manager has to look beyond self-interest as a source of motivation so as to engage and retain employees while maintaining a good image of the company for all stakeholders and the business community. The manager also sets an example for the employees to follow. “Leaders’ power to influence may be particularly effective because leaders make decisions about the rewards and punishments that are imposed on employees, and followers learn vicariously by observing what happens to others(Trevino & Brown, 2004, pp. 72).” “Consequences inform observers about the benefits of modeled ethical behavior as well as about the negative effects of modeled inappropriate behavior (Trevino & Brown, 2004, pp.
In a business or a workplace, it is essential for the organization, which consists of the employers, the managers, and their employees, to work towards reward programs within the human resources in order to create a healthy and cordial work environment and most importantly, to efficiently achieve business’ goals. In Carol Patton’s (2013) article, Rewarding Best Behaviors, she explains the importance of several companies that are beginning to recognize their employees, not just for the end-results, but for reflecting good behaviors towards the business’ values, such as demonstrating creativity on certain projects, problem solving towards certain issues, and also collaborating with fellow co-workers. Patton stresses that these reward programs could help suffice the overall being of a company as long as the rewarded behaviors correlate with the corporate strategy. Patton expresses that some things human resources must comprehend include “how its company creates success, what drives its business strategy and what behaviors are needed from employees to achieve that success” (Patton, 2013 para. 15). Moreover, the employee would be reflected as a role model for others and perhaps influence them to demonstrate comparable behaviors.
Ethics or rather morals entail mechanisms that defend, systematize as well as recommend conceptions of right or wrong. Many organizations develop ethical codes to ensure employees and employers understand the difference in doing good or bad. In that respect, ethics are an essential aspect of successfully running of any organization or government. Ethics ensure employee’s productivity levels are up to the required standards. It also assists them to know their rights and responsibilities. Additionally, employers, as well as any persons in management, are guided by them to ensure they provide transparent leadership. Ethics also defines how customers should be handled. Ethical codes govern the relationship between customers and an
Establishing and implementing a strategic approach to improving organizational ethics is based on establishing, communicating, and monitoring ethical values and legal requirements that characterize the firm's history, culture, and operating environment” (p. 129). Ethics programs ensure satisfactory relationships with all stakeholders by aligning with all of their demands and needs, and determine conduct with customers and relationships with regulators, shareholders, suppliers, and employees (Ferrell, 2004). Values are a core set of beliefs and principles, one or many. A number of factors contribute to the development of values. These include membership in a community or culture, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.
Ethical behavior is behavior that a person considers appropriate. A person’s moral principles are shaped from birth, and developed over time throughout the person’s life. There are many factors that can influence what a person believes is right, or what is wrong. Some factors are a person’s family, religious beliefs, culture, and experiences. In business, it is of great importance for an employee to understand how to act ethically to prevent a company from being sued, and receiving criticism from the public while bringing in profits for the company.
Every person has a motivating factor that makes them go to work. Some people go to work for the paycheck or the benefits, others go to work for the social aspect or experience, these are incentives. Incentives are the most common motivating factor for people to complete tasks. This is also called, work motivation. Work motivation is defined as “A force that drives people to behave in a way that energizes, directs, and sustains their work behavior” (Steers, R. M., Mowday, R. T., & Shapiro, D. L., 2004). In contrast to the benefits of incentives, incentives are commonly counterproductive because they undermine the intrinsic motivation of an individual, this is the overjustification effect.
I discovered how sticking to one’s morals should be the topmost priority for everyone involved in business, whether personal or professional. Regardless of what the consequences may be, the intensity of the problem, and the complexities it may bring, sacrificing one’s integrity should never be an option, as integrity goes hand-in-hand with the morals of an individual (Duggan & Woodhouse, 2011). They further go on to say that having individuals take part in building a code of ethics that supports employee integrity, they will act ethically. Also, I believe that companies should place more emphasis on the moral behavior of their employees, and clear-cut policies should be set regarding such ethical situations. Furthermore, I realized how serving justice while making decisions really helps in the long run, and that opting to go for the ideal rather than they deserved is not always the best option, and could hurt a company in more than one
Evaluate how the values of the CEO are likely to influence ethical behavior within the organization. In communicating and promoting the 10 core values to employees their knowledge and acceptance of it can influence their work behavior and attitude. Tony encourages personal and profession growth. Arrangement for informal/formal training on organization values and advance of one’s career will drive employees to work hard and seek opportunities to develop new skills that extract positive behavior.
Ethics in business is a highly important concept, as it can affect a company’s profits, salaries paid to employees and CEOs, and public opinion, among many other aspects of a business. Ethics can be enforced by company policies and guidelines, set a precedent when a company is faced with an important decision, and are also evolving thanks to new technology and situations that arise due to technology usage. Businesses have a duty to maintain their ethical responsibilities and also to help their employees enforce these responsibilities in and out of the workplace. However, ethics and the foundation for them are not always black and white. There are many different ethical theories, however Utilitarianism, Kant’s Deontological ethics, and Virtue ethics are three of the most well known theories in existence. Each theory is distinct in that it has a different quality used to determine ethicality and allows for a person to choose which system of ethics works best with both the situation and his or her personal ethical preferences.
Keeping in mind, as a leader, that he/she is a role model. Individuals will acquire ideas about the how the organization operates, the culture of the organization, and about what is considered as ethical behavior, from the leader. This paper presents a comparative analysis of three articles: Kottle and Pelletier (2013), Groves and LaRocca (2011), and Cheng and Wang (2015). These three articles concentrated on the ethical behavior of a leader. An analysis of these articles establishes a theme and general perception of the ethical behavior of a leader. The importance of understanding ethics, incentives that operate as an example and forming strategies for businesses are discussed because of their importance regarding development of good leadership. These key aspects suggest personal ethics positively affect leadership and when made a priority for leaders will produce ethical and effective leadership. An examination of the research questions will be followed by a review of the samples, results and conclusions
Managers are the ones that should be setting the example.... ... middle of paper ... ... Ethical Resource Center, (2007, February).
Self-interest refers to one’s benefits and advantages. People only want what they want or needs and claimed about others. The psychological egoism describes the human nature and states how we actually act in reality. Based on egoism, every act of human is selfish. With so much debates, it is natural to hear people suggesting that human actions are inspired by merely personal wills, while there are also critics attributing all actions to self-interest. This essay will argue that self-interest is not the only component of human behaviours, but also moral considerations and actions. This will be asserted by manifesting how people’s performance are related to psychological elements other than self-interest, and proving that self-interest is not
One of the most important theories of HRM (Human Resource Management is that of ‘Motivation’. The purpose of this theory is to explain the role of an organisation in order to encourage its people to put in the best of their efforts and abilities in a way that will help further in achieving better outcomes for the business and organisation’s goals(Armstrong, 2001). There are various techniques that can be adopted to motivate people for instance, rewards, punishments, actions to satisfy needs, psychological processes etc. This world is developing at a rapid pace and due to this development and quick changes; new ways of working and managing organisations have emerged. These
Motivation is an important function in organizations to motivate their employees for their ability to perform well, improving their skills, increasing productivity, job satisfaction and employee extension. Employees also are not a machines that we could just program their task in their brain and they will do it automatically, they require motivation to actually do their job properly. And so, after discussing the process models of the Maslow’s “Hierarchy of needs”, Douglas McGregor theory X and Y, and also the Herzberg’s “two factor motivation hygiene theory.” understanding the ways of motivating people, the human nature, and the substance of nature. I believe that the true motivation can only come from within and also managers can actually motivate all of their employees.
Ethical behaviour is what all career people should aim to have. Not just the ethical attribute but exceptional behaviour with this regard.this is because in order to build a career, one must be governed by the rules of ethics to safeguard oneself and others. Ethics are essential in the workplace because a tough ethical code provides a non-threatening environment with high employee morale. The corporate social responsibility is important to everyone,therefore it should not be neglected by the employees and the organization. Ethics purely center on personal conduct. It involves personal choices that can make or break a person in the workplace or business. The major importance of having good conduct is to maintain a high level of respect not just for people but for the proffession. Most people who begin their working career have aspirations of excelling at their jobs and reaching the pinnacle of their profession while maintaining a sense of values; however employees often become blind with ambition and put aside their sense of ethics in order to obtain financial security and recognition for their efforts. There are many things that one can gain from having good behavioural ethics in the workplace. It will develop a discipline which will propel the work practices to a higher level and will help set a high standard. It will promote teamwork among the workersand will also buil...
Motivation is really important tool in a learning environment. Also motivation effects student learning and their behavior as well. It directs behavior towards particular targets. Also it effect the decision which students takes. In motivation mainly we have two types which is intrinsically and extrinsically being motivated. For example: when a student is intrinsically motivated they just do it for themselves not because of the reward that they will get back. It’s just because they have their own interest and they enjoy doing that. On the other side, when a student is extrinsically motivated they just do it for the reward that they will get. That’s why in learning process it’s important that each student should