Ethical Organizations?

Working InternationallyJanuary 16th 2014

Jan Lok

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Spider_web_Luc_Viatour.jpg

Four elements

1. Context2. Importance of diversity

(major concept in Business Ethics as well as Cross Cultural Business)

3. Responsible organizing (based on dissertation of Maarten Verkerk)

4. Role of a Code of Conduct (how to get the organization to a higher ethical level)

http://seseht.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/jenga.jpg

ContextSome basic questions

1.What does it mean when an organization is

responsible?

2.Who is responsible within an organization?

3.How do you organize responsibility?

4.How to combine your convictions with those of others

– a matter of hermeneutics and diversity

5.How do you develop an organization towards a higher

ethical level (if that’s possible)?

Diversity

Personal conceptReflective conceptBusiness concept

http://www.cheynestraining.com/resources/images/diversity.jpg

Personal check up

What if…•Your colleague is gay and communicates it•Your have to recruit 5% employees from ethnic minorities and just Moroccon guys show up•You have to collaborate with someone in a wheelchair who is depending on you•Your boss has been to prison for fraud•You have to work with gypsies who are just in it for the money

Diversity

item• Gender• Race• Belief• Conviction• Health• Age• Sexuality

level• Person• Organization• Society• System

attitude

• Humility • Listening skills

• Empathy• Cultural awareness

Some statements…

1. The way you deal with people from other

churches predict how you deal with diversity in

business

2. Your worldview is decisive in dealing with

diversity

3. In the long run, discussions about diversity

always end up talking about hermeneutics

4. Within Post Modernism diversity is the ultimate

value

Responsible Organizations

http://www.swickph.com/images/uploads/shutterstock_65729302.jpg

A philosophical option…See reader (@www.che.nl/jtermeurope2014): • Responsible Behaviour in Industrial

Organisation by Maarten J. Verkerk(a quite complicated text)

elements

1. conditions by management

2. multidimensional character of org's

3. role of an employee

4. ethics of responsibility

Conditions

• conditions for responsibility– freedom

– information

– Competence

• role of manager -> leader -> coach

http://socialdesigner.com/stored_images/0001/0927/02_thumb_500_500.jpg

Norms in organizing…

multidimensional character of org's

Organization is 'a whole'

Dimensions:

a. physical (e.g. the chemicals being

transformed),

http://sumokina.com/tag/exercises

b. biological (the reduction of waste materials that

polluted the environment of the plant,

ergonomic aspects of equipment),

http://www.bg-21.com/en/section/environment

c. psychic (the

identification

of the

operators with

their work and

group, their

motivation and

satisfaction),

d. power and influence (authority of

operators, the mini-company process, improvement

teams), http://guerrillanews.wordpress.com/2011/01/

e. lingual (sharing of information, communication patterns),

f. social (cooperation of operators within a group, informal contacts between management and employees),

http://voicesage.blogspot.com/2008/11/future-of-messaging-social-dimension.html

g. economic (reduction of cost prices, competition in the

market),

http://www.jongerenraadtholen.nl/geld-verdienen/dagobert-duck/

h. juridical (safety and environmental laws),

http://www.google.nl/imgres?q=juridical+dimension&um=1&hl=nl&safe=active&sa=N&biw=1280&bih=879&tbm=isch&tbnid=uQ0KgAq6Bte-4M:&imgrefurl=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Juridical_text_AO27986_mp3h8896.jpg&docid=9W2VBgVSsOHU2M&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Juridical_text_AO27986_mp3h8896.jpg&w=2336&h=2331&ei=W1-pT5KbCPCN4gSRqtGxCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=881&vpy=144&dur=4895&hovh=224&hovw=225&tx=107&ty=147&sig=113717214215940873255&page=1&tbnh=154&tbnw=151&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0,i:79

i. moral (care for individual employees, quality of labour),

http://bilgrimage.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html

j. trust (between management and employees).

http://newdirectionsconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/trust.jpg

role of dimensions

• each dimension has its own norms

• each dimension is unique

– each dimension cannot be reduced to

another one

• aspect of a whole

• frame for moral behavior???

ethics of responsibility 1

• blind spots: – ethical aspects of design of organisations– the influence of typical organisational

phenomena such as trust and power on responsible behaviour is not recognised

• so, inherent normativity of organisations should be starting point – anchoring of business ethics in organisational

theory. – implies a normative reinterpretation of

organisational theory

ethics of responsibility 2

• An ethics of responsibility starts with the deepest motive or ethos of a human actor– religious ethical motivation– enlightened humanism of Christian belief

• Stress the importance of– values– norm principles– norms

ethics of responsibility 3

Three lines of thought are integrated:

1. a fundamental line summarised by the key words

dignity and vocation.

2. an organisational line summarised by the words

trust and power.

3. a philosophical line summarised by the words

multidimensional normativity and the normative

development of organisational structures

The Code of Conduct 1• Basic question: how do you establish

integrity as keystone of your organization?

1.Cultural approach2.Structural approach3.Integrated approach

CoC

• Effectiveness is depending on– Role models – Shared beliefs– Teamspirit– Implementation– Fit with overall

culture– Part of policies

http://www.transfieldservices.com/content/Image/Corporate%20Governance/code_of_conduct_pyramid.jpg

A small comparison

Holland

• Team approach

(culture)

• Shared beliefs /

convictions

• Employees

• Enforcing by talks

USA

• Individual

accountability

• Company’s convictions

are leading

• Leader

• Enforcing by rules