Effective leadership plays a significant role in applying methods to ethically manage teams and groups to foster suitable working environments and results within an organization. A group comprises independent members that carry out different tasks that are not dependent on each other but are well defined (Sisson, 2013). On the other hand, a team consists of people carrying out tasks that rely on each other, making members interdependent. Leaders must apply leadership styles and have certain traits to ethically and thus successfully manage groups and teams. They must practice ethical decision making in the group and team leadership to promote social responsibility.
Methods Used to Ethically Manage Teams and Groups
Managing teams and groups ethically entails integrating ethics management with other control practices. The leaders should include the preferred ethical values as they develop the values statement in strategic planning. This management also involves encouraging members to follow a code of personal conduct (Business Faculty from Ontario Colleges & eCampusOntario Program Managers, 2018). This is a process whereby they should forego actions that are profitable at that time and instead act according to their convictions. For instance, front-runners should nurture people to use resources, such as products and office supplies, accordingly and not take advantage for personal gain while carrying out tasks. While at work, directors should ensure that team and group members focus on their responsibilities and avoid non-work related matters like personal phone calls, emails, and social media. Staff should also learn to be honest with themselves, management, customers, and co-workers so that problems can be solved as soon as they arise.
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Leaders must identify the task as a process for leaders to succeed in team and group ethical management. They may subject employees to ethical programs since they produce policies, codes, and newsletters, among other deliverables. This process involves using cross-functional teams during the development and implementation of an ethics management program since it gives staff a sense of ownership and participation. Leaders should encourage teams and groups to avoid ethical dilemmas by minimizing the chances of unethical behavior within the corporation. Workers must also value forgiveness because it helps others realize and address their shortcomings or mistakes and acquire support to proceed to operate ethically.
Ethical Decision-Making that Promotes Social Responsibility
Ethical leadership, which involves principled decision-making, influences its social responsibility activities and organization outcomes. According to Kim and Thapa (2018), corporate social responsibility includes a wide range of operating practices and strategies that a corporation develops to create relationships with multiple stakeholders and deal with the natural environment. Therefore, its social responsibility activities contribute to the organization’s social legitimacy and appeal to the respective institutional environment’s socio-cultural norm. So, leaders must make ethical decisions to maintain positivity and avoid conflict that arises from ethical dilemmas. They should use a criteria to make ethical decisions. They may use a utilitarian approach where they can adopt moral behaviors to produce the greater good for all, by making decisions that benefit society and not just the company. They may also make moral decisions that will best maintain the rights of the affected people. This process requires taking time to make decisions so that the organization can treat all parties fairly. If leaders use the justice approach, they may make ethical decisions based on equity, impartiality, and fairness. These principles help managers in making ethical decisions that will not compromise the relationships formed with society.
Effective Leadership Styles and Traits
Successful management of teams and groups relies on ethics, as well as individual leadership styles and traits. Leaders use various leadership styles such as autocratic, delegative, and participative or democratic. In authoritarian leadership, managers do not need the input of groups or teams during decision making. They deliver clear directions and expectations, stating what to do, how, and when. Delegative leaders are different because they do not give directions and allow teams and groups to make decisions. Participative or democratic administrators use people and task-oriented styles, whereby they guide and direct tasks, but also consider employees' opinions and feedback on work matters. An ethical leader should also incorporate multicultural leadership to respect the differences between cultures. This leadership framework encourages diverse cultural perspectives within a corporation.
While incorporating the above leadership styles, executives and administrators should possess certain traits or qualities to achieve success effectively. They should have a vision and share it with the teams and groups in the company. They must lead by example to gain respect and build credibility by demonstrating the right behavior. Integrity should be at its core because it allows managers to define right and wrong clearly. Effective leaders should communicate clearly, tactfully, and concisely by listening attentively and responding. Making hard decisions quickly, responsibly, and confidently also affects how the organization capitalizes on opportunities.
Conclusion
Teams' and groups' ethical management requires effective leadership, as it affects social responsibility. As leaders help members to act ethically, they must consider the effects on society. So they must incorporate justice and fairness within and without the organization. By using a leadership style such as democratic, they can propel teams and groups success since all members' opinions are considered. Regularly, these administrators must communicate effectively, demonstrate integrity, share their vision, set the right examples, and make tough decisions.
References
Business Faculty from Ontario Colleges & eCampusOntario Program Managers. (2018). Fundamentals of Business: Canadian Edition . eCampusOntario.
Kim, M. & Thapa, B. (2018). Relationship of Ethical Leadership, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Organizational Performance. Sustainability , vol 10 (447); doi:10.3390/su10020447
Sisson, J. (2013, June 14). The difference between a group and a team. The Business Journals . https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/how-to/growth-strategies/2013/06/the-difference-between-a-group-and-a.html#:~:text=A%20group%20is%20a%20collection,goals%20and%20to%20each%20other .
