Building an Ethic-Based Workplace Culture

Question 1

Ethics is one of the most significant aspects of an organization since the code of ethics governs the operation of the employees in the pursuit of their and organizational objectives. The ethical standards of a company have the potential to influence its reputation and productivity (Terris, 2005). Terris (2005) has also pointed out that the issue of observing ethics in an organization assists an employee to conform to the legal requirements. Furthermore, adherence to the ethical standards ensures that the employees can complete a given task with honesty and integrity.

A significant ethical organizational culture can also be used as an instrument to motivate the subordinate staff to produce quality work. In such a situation, employee retention can be considered. From the organization’s perspective, this issue is likely to increase the financial benefits for the company. Higher levels of productivity increase customer loyalty. The cost of acquiring a new client is relatively higher as compared to the cost of retaining a loyal customer. Therefore, organizations should focus on ensuring an ethic-based workplace environment where respect, trust and responsibility are observed. Terris (2005) has acknowledged that respect is linked to circumstances when the employees treat each other with dignity and fairness. The idea of appreciating the diversity of the workforce by the top management is also considered as respect. On the other hand, trust at the workplace facilitates working in a team and establishment of candid communication. Finally, ethics implies taking responsibility for a given action without the fear of retribution. Moreover, adherence to these ethical standards can be enhanced by rewarding the workers who exhibit integrity and diligence in their endeavors.

 

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Question 2

The aspect of training the employees and involving their skills and knowledge during the establishment process is a critical activity that every organization should consider. Lockheed Martin has acknowledged that it places a high-level of responsibility on an individual employee by ensuring that they know the guidelines and on follow the rules thoroughly (Terris, 2005). The company also emphasizes the significance of trust-building when the employees work as a team in the process of setting the standards. When they are trained according to the same rules, they become more knowledgeable about the level of expectations that they are required to meet. Moreover, an important training initiative on the ethical standards of the organization makes the employees focus on the issue of personal responsibility in their operations. They are informed that they are expected to deal with their colleagues fairly. Hence, collaboration is enhanced. Mihelic, Lipicnik, and Tekavcic (2010) discussed that in such a situation, the organization becomes more secure because the staff members are taught how to deal with each other, customers, and leaders. Such an approach can also reduce procrastinations and increase the productivity of every employee.

The notable aspects that Lockheed Martin emphasizes are behavioral competencies and decision-making since these factors can make the training more worthwhile. To make the meeting more interesting, the organization embraced the idea of distributing some booklets to the employees that have different case studies. These scenarios are not the same, but each aims at passing different messages. The employees are divided into small groups and then requested to provide their thoughts and ideas on a particular case study. According to Lockheed, this strategy is significant in ensuring participation of every employee in the discussion process. Additionally, such a strategy of empowers the employees on becoming remarkable decision-makers when faced with ethical dilemmas that require critical thinking to find a proper solution.

After the discussion process, each group is expected to produce a volunteer who presents their findings to the rest of the workers in attendance. The idea is to assist the personnel to envision the ethical situations as dilemmas where people have conflicting points of view and interpretations (Terris, 2005). This strategy is also effective in ensuring that the most critical and challenging dilemmas are tackled extensively.

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Question 3

Lockheed Martin measures the success of the employees in respect of ethics by observing their commitment to integrity. An employee who is committed to the ethical standards at the workplace tends to respect others. Lockheed Martin employees are also evaluated on the basis of achievement of ethical success by observing the commitment to core values of the organization. These values play a significant role for an engineering company in fulfillment of the company’s expectations. A corporation is productive as soon as its ethical standards are satisfactory to the management specialists, employees, and clients.

Evaluation of the business conduct is also critical when looking at the level of success of a corporation in ethical issues. Mihelic, Lipicnik and Tekavcic (2010) have pointed out that the contemporary understanding of corporate ethics falls under the rubric of business conduct. Whenever the organization has a bad reputation in the society implies that the company has breached the ethical standards at some point of its operations. Society, in this case, has been perceived as the customers who are one of the stakeholders playing a crucial role in the determination of business conduct. The actions of the top executive members are also critical in ensuring that organizational values are followed. Otherwise, the failure of the senior management to comply with the ethical standards means that their reputation is bound to fail.

The success of ethical standards adherence can also be evaluated on how the workers are treated with the equity and justice. For instance, such aspects as how the company handles the issue of continuous absenteeism can be assessed. In case a given corporation takes no action in a situation where the rate of absenteeism is high, the issue can be regarded as not successful. Absenteeism should be addressed as one of the ethical issues that are derived from the employees’ personal values.

Question 4

One of the things that Lockheed Martin has put in place to ensure the success of the ethics is the integration of ethics into all aspects of the organization communication. This strategy is implemented to leverage the existing company’s resources in order to show that employees are an integral part of the company. Secondly, the organization has emphasized on training the employees to be knowledgeable about the company’s procedures and allocated enough resources for this purpose. For instance, during the meeting, there is the element of distribution of booklets that contain vital information regarding behavioral ethics and business plans (Gnazzo, 2011).

The strategy of inclusion of the workers in the process of establishing the code of ethics is also an important method for making the program work. Gnazzo (2011) has pointed out that incorporation of the employees’ views and perceptions in the process of ethical policies formulation is critical in their subsequent followship. This aspect is based on that they will be in a position to agree on the punitive measures unanimously. In such a situation, it is easy to apply justice and integrity can also be achieved. The employees will also struggle to ensure they do not violate any of the established policies because it can affect the operation of the whole program.

Finally, Lockheed emphasizes the aspect of trust-building and teamwork. It is not easy to conform to the set ethical standards when the workers do not trust each other. Trust can be achieved by working in solidarity and maximizing on responsibility. When one individual violates the established ethics, it may not be fair with respect to others. Therefore, trust is a critical aspect that should be observed to ensure an effective implementation of the ethical program.