Ethical responsibility is a vital segment of the identity of an organization. It is defined as the ability to recognize, interpret, and act upon various values and principles according to the standards set in a given context. In many organizations, managers have the responsibility to make decisions in a manner that demonstrates a concern for them and further advance employees’ welfare. This paper seeks to analyze the ethical responsibility of a former manager in retaining employees in an organization. It will further discuss the strategies used by the manager to retain employees.
As indicated by Abtahi et al (2017), employees can work effectively and create a better work environment when they are praised as well as rewarded for their hard work towards their job. This can only happen when their employer or the manager treats them respectfully, provide them a conducive working environment, and pay them fairly. The manager of Nestle (my former company) was loyal to employees and handled plant closings or layoffs or events of this nature with great sensitivity and care. The managers treated workers with respect and the company ensured that managers do not mistreat subordinates or abuse their powers.
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Apart from treating employees with respect, the managers created an environment that encouraged his employees to air their ethical issues without fear of being fired. Examples of ethical behaviors started at the top management with managers not denying their responsibilities of setting a moral example for their subordinates. Ethical training as well as formal ethical codes succeeded because the behavior and ethical actions of the top management aligned with what they taught. Therefore, managers are significant individuals in determining the outcomes of organizational goals because they establish employee behavior examples such as appraisal, promotion, and strategies. As managers look to employees to execute their responsibilities with motivation and consistency, employees also expect the same from their managers. If the management does not perform proper leadership and guidance as expected, it is likely for the work environment to turn from a positive to a negative workplace. In many cases, employees look to managers to eliminate negative workplace behaviors and solve their problems before the moral of the organization is destroyed.
On the other hand, managers should ensure that the workplace environment is not polluted with negative attitudes and problems that can destroy the productivity of work or even make the organization to lose valuable employees that are significant to the success of the organization. Managers ought to be knowledgeable and have a significant comprehension of the ways their ethical foundation can have an impact on the workers they manage daily. Once workers realize that the management does not care about how the organization operates, the company can be in danger of losing potential customers because of the poor quality of production that workers are putting out.
There are various lessons about ethical responsibility that can be learned from the manager of Nestle. One of the lessons that can be learned from the manager is his ability to capture the feelings of his employees. The manager created a sense of self-worth to the employees by valuing, praising, and recognizing their contributions to the success of the company. The manager also allowed his employers to contribute to the ethical as well as organizational culture. The frequent appreciation of the manager made employees improve their productivity. Top management needs to capture the feelings of employees for any good thing they have done. This makes them feel valued in the organization.
Failure to motivate employees may result in a negative sense of self-worth towards an organization and they may start to feel like their manager is not giving them incentives or rewards for their contributions and hard work. According to Rabl et al. (2020), as employees' morale decreases, their production level, and work performance also decreases. They may also start to feel unappreciated and start to care less about their duties in the organization. This kind of behavior causes workers to care less about quality and efficiency in their production capability. More so, this can heighten the costs associated with turnover of employees, reduce job satisfaction, and further increase the supervision of employees.
Another lesson learned from the manager is his flexible scheduling. The development of a flexible schedule in the organization improved the productivity and job satisfaction of employees. Flexible scheduling is a kind of schedule that employees have control over. The use of a flexible schedule has a positive impact on the retention rates of employees. When an employee is forced to follow a schedule that deviates the conventional schedule, a decrease in production can be evident. A schedule that deviates the traditional schedule reduces the time of these employees to spend with their family as well as play family activities. The schedule can also increase family-work conflict level and minimize marital happiness level, marital satisfaction level, and family satisfaction.
Besides, the manager also encouraged employees to participate in family-based programs such as elderly care, child care policies, and work-life programs. Family-based programs are significant in assisting workers to alleviate burdens that employees encounter at the workplace. For instance, the health and wellness program that the manager encouraged employees to participate in reduced employers’ need for paid care benefits because employers participated in proactive programs that cared for their health. Children's care programs at a monthly discount or the workplace assist workers to reduce absenteeism that eventually raises productivity levels of employees.
As a manager, it is an ethical responsibility to facilitate training for employees. The former manager put a training and development process in place to train workers. Training is important in an organization because it develops a unit or a team that works together to achieve a common goal which eventually generates profits for the business. Training moves the organization in the right direction for its short and sustainable goals. Trained workers minimize risks of substantial mishaps within the organization and conditions employees to give their best in any given task. Managers that facilitate employee training invest in the overall morale of employees which develops a sense of loyalty between the worker and the manager. Training also challenges workers with new practices and information which raises retention rates and decreases rates of turnover. Training also encourages a capable workforce and provides a pool of employees that an organization can select from when it needs to hire.
Additionally, giving incentives is also an ethical responsibility of a manager. Incentives are rewards given to an employee for increased productivity. The former manager used various types of incentives such as money, work hours, and certain benefits to elicit his employees. Compensation is the main incentive that is provided to employees to encourage them stay or hire new employees. As stated by Rabl et al (2020), incentives in money forms play a vital part in the reduction of turnover rates. Some individuals can change jobs because they feel they can make more money rather than staying in the same position. Compensation is a common incentive that is used by managers. Compensation is something that is given as an equivalent for services rendered. The most valuable incentives that encourage employees to stay in their current job are salary increases. However, they are the most difficult type of incentives to provide. In many cases, an employee can leave his or her company job if he or she feels s that the company is not compensating him or her appropriately.
More so, it is the responsibility of the manager to ensure that employees’ packages of compensation address the education and work experiences or are within national considerations to remain competitive in the job market. As much as compensation is a significant issue, it is the only issue that is plagued by an organization when considering the productivity and retention of employees. Another incentive that was used by my former manager is benefits. The manager gave both short term and sustainable benefits to employees. The long term benefits offered include paid time off, dental insurance, and life insurance. By providing these benefits, employees increased their work production and reduced turnover was noted. It is an ethical responsibility of the manager to recognize and reward his workers accordingly. Recognition is a way that managers reveal trust and loyalty. The manager should consistently link employees with organizational goals and further reward their behaviors. Appreciating individuals for their skills and talents show that the manager cares.
Therefore, the manager has an ethical responsibility to make sure that employees do not feel bribed when giving out incentives. Instead, they ought to utilize incentives to let workers notice their significance in the organization by letting them understand the company notices as well as appreciate their performance. To retain employees, the manager ought to examine the compensation program periodically to ensure that the company remains competitive. As a manager or an employee, it is important to maintain high ethical responsibility in an organization to be productive and happier at the workplace. Therefore, managers have the ethical responsibility to facilitate great training for their employees throughout employment and offer great incentives to maintain high employee retention and productivity.
References
Abtahi, Y., Gotze, P., Steffensen, L., Hauge, K. H., & Barwell, R. (2017). Teaching climate change in mathematics classrooms: An ethical responsibility'. Philosophy of Mathematics Education Eournal, 32, 1-18.
Rabl, T., del Carmen Triana, M., Byun, S. Y., & Bosch, L. (2020). Diversity management efforts as an ethical responsibility: How employees’ perceptions of an organizational integration and learning approach to diversity affect employee behavior. Journal of Business Ethics , 161 (3), 531-550.
