The work environment in business is regulated by certain laws and ethics that govern the way people interact and do business. While laws and ethics are closely related to workplaces and business, their statement, enforcement and purpose vary greatly. Laws are the rules created by the government, industry players or the organization itself to govern the way activities are carried out in certain contexts while ethics are ethics are beliefs and practices that an organization hold true to help them achieve their goals (Spiro, 2014). The machinery manufacturing industry is experiencing sustained growth, hence an increased need for regulations and ethical considerations. These laws have both negative and positive effects on the operations of businesses. Similarly, they determine how workers perform their duties and their representation of the organization. This paper will assess the effect of laws and ethics in the workplace and the industry as a whole. Alternative methods of dispute resolution and how they are applied is analyzed.
Effects of Laws and Ethics
Laws affect the methods of manufacturing that businesses engage in, the pricing of their commodities and industry practices. Laws on pollution are enforced to ensure that businesses do not engage in practices that adversely affect the environment and contribute to global warming. Taxation laws, on the other hand, may cause an increase in prices of commodities to cater for the extra taxation burden. Manufacturing practices are also regulated to ensure the quality of products is at the required level. Regarding workplace laws, enacted regulations ensure the safety of workers, respect for the rights of employers and workers together with the elimination of fraud. Ethics in the manufacturing industry include corporate social responsibility (Tai & Chuang, 2014), fair marketing strategies and employee welfare concerns. The workplace also requires ethics which guide the workers to work towards achieving the goals of the business. Ethical employees work with honesty and enhance the good image of the business. Ethics are related to the missions and objectives of the business, workers who stick to these ethics immensely contribute to the success of the business.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The relevance of ethics at the workplace has increased in recent years, with links between job satisfaction and performance being utilized with relation to ethics (Valentine, Fleischman, & Godkin, 2015). Organizations that place a lot of emphasis on ethics at the workplace have high levels of job satisfaction among workers and excellent levels of productivity (Valentine, Fleischman, & Godkin, 2015). Ethics are also markers of the levels of discipline in workers. High levels of discipline contribute to the success of the organization. The role of ethics and laws in avoiding and resolving disputes at the workplace is clear. However, alternative dispute resolution methods are gaining prominence in the workplace.
Alternative dispute resolution procedures present various benefits over litigation and other formal means of dispute resolution. ADR agreements are voluntary hence long lasting, less costly, quicker solutions and allow for brainstorming to come up with a variety of possible solutions (Valentine, Fleischman, & Godkin, 2015). Arbitration and mediation are the most common methods of ADR. Arbitration involves the presentation of grievances by all parties in a dispute where the parties have a chosen arbitrator to verse the issue. The arbitrator listens to complaints from all sides of a conflict. The arbitrator then presents the parties with a chance to suggest possible solutions to the problem. With all the views, the arbitrator creates a common ground where a solution is arrived at and communicated. The settlement in arbitration is always favourable to all parties. Thus, the agreement has a high chance of holding.
Mediation, on the other hand, is a problem-solving technique often applied to parties that are unwilling to talk to each other directly, for example, members of staff may have a strained relationship that is unlikely to be solved. The mediator meets the parties and independently works to soften their stand on some issues. The mediator then brings the warring parties together and lays down the plan for the mediation process. Again, like arbitration, a solution arrived at that is considered a win-win situation.
Fact-finding involves experts or experienced people hired to solve problems. The experts need to be impartial on the matter (Valentine, Fleischman, & Godkin, 2015). The expert then investigates the issue from various dimensions by considering the facts and possible causes. Mostly the expert is not tasked with the role of solving the problem, instead comes up with a report that has recommendations. Minitrials are also becoming famous in business due to the speedy nature of problem-solving. Here, parties are required to submit summarized reports of the disputes and their views on the issue. Solutions are arrived at from considering the opinions in the reports. Minitrials are appropriate for technical issues between workers.
Arbitrations are the most common means of solving disputes in workplace settings. In such an environment, the problems sometimes become severe and can easily get out of hand id not addressed on time. An arbitrator in such cases can quickly determine the cause of the problem in the workplace and work out means to not only solve the problem but also to prevent future issues. The cost of arbitration is also affordable. Unlike lawsuits which costly, mediation involves very little use of funds.
In conclusion, the effect of laws and ethics on workplaces and industries, in general, is considerable. Despite their closeness, laws are regulations which are enforced in courts while ethics are the preferred way of life in an organization or industry which are executed by concerned parties. ADR methods deviate from the official means of solving problems through lawsuits or hierarchical judgment. ADR methods apply techniques that are satisfactory to all parties. Thus, ADR methods are gaining prominence at workplaces.
References
OPM. (n.d). Alternate Dispute Resolution Handbook. Retrieved on 19 March 2018, from https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/employee-relations/employee-rights-appeals/alternative-dispute-resolution/handbook.pdf.
Spiro, J. (2014). How to write a code of ethics for business . Retrieved on 19 March 2018, from https://scholar.google.com/scholar?start=10&q=ethics+in+business&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&as_ylo=2013&as_yhi=2018.
Tai, F. M., & Chuang, S. H. (2014). Corporate social responsibility. Ibusiness, 6 (03), 117-30.
Valentine, S., Fleischman, G., & Godkin, L. (2015). Rogues in the ranks of selling organizations: Using corporate ethics to manage workplace bullying and job satisfaction. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 35(2) , 143-163.
