Business ethics have some of the most confusing rules of any ethical discussion, in my book. It is in business where a lot of the times the entire company reflects what the owner's main goals are. At the beginning of the chapter, it opened with a comment that talked about how there isn't a recipe for success. It is the whole organization/company lasting and growing that makes have certain amounts of "good" (p.173). Although this point made sense, I thought it was kind of surprising that a lasting business is one that is "good." Not all businesses are ethical just because they last. In fact, many that are unethical are the ones that last. However, when a business is promoting their definition is good, it is ethical in their eyes, or at least should be.
I thought the discussion of manners was vital to business ethics because of the fact that having manners and being polite isn't always appropriate. If someone is straying away from the good of the company, it is essential that actions are taken in order to stop it and prevent more negativity from happening. I also thought that "people like me" section was really applicable to my work environment now. I work at an HR company that is contracted on to companies who don't have an HR. So, we work on several positions. One of my employers literally said that they just wanted the person that they hired to be funny like them. I had to stop and wonder if that was for the "good" of the company or just the "good" of the owner.
The people we have been sending over aren't as qualified as other candidates, so I wonder if that is ethical or unethical. In some sense, I think it is a subtle form of discrimination. I think that this is something that happens often in the workplace, and it is something that should be stopped. But, if a business is planning on going in one "unified" direction personality-wise, then it is completely necessary for them to choose whether or not someones personality is more important than their qualifications. Without this unified goal, many companies would probably go out of business. It is with a companies identity that people relate, and this is what makes people so loyal to certain companies over others.
Ann, I deal with the same issues everyday in the restaurant game. It seems as if we just can not find a good hire to save our lives. Having three managers is part of the problem. The reason I say this is because we all have different styles. Quite frankly I feel that I am the only qualified person to do the job. I don't say this to be boastful but our other two managers just have picked the worst of the barrel the past few hires.
ReplyDeleteI also felt that the manners discussion was not only informative but a lesson to everyone who is set in a particular way. I know I just never think like that while working. In my everyday life I feel I am even more distant from being aware of simple life lessons such as manners in different cultures. I think Kathryn put it best in her reply saying, "I absolutely agree with you that business and the professional world is one of the hardest spheres to maneuver in terms of communication ethics." This is something that takes a considerable amount of time and energy with mistakes which will help us all grow.
Discrimination is all over in the work place. People do it all the time and we don't see it as you stated. To understand this we have to look back at the intercultural communications. People are not hardwired the same, some folks are just better off working from home or being demoted to humble them down a touch. The boss you speak of in your case should be fired or demoted. There is no room for a weak link in a frail chain.