Ethics is a set of principles and code of conduct that guides someone’s behavior or character on a moral path. Although some people may argue that morality and ethics for that matter is an objective issue, there are standardly accepted principles that are embedded in the definitive elements of ethics. Ethical considerations constitute some of the most important guidelines that firms, companies, corporations, and organizations follow. Through ethics, some companies and organizations have been able to achieve great heights of success (Lawton et al., 2013). This is because ethics integrates all the desirable work qualities that propel high performance and achievement. However, it is also through poor ethics that some companies and organizations have posted poor performance or even crumbled. Therefore, for a company or firm that wants to reap highly in both achievement and performance, ethics has to be interplayed and actively incorporated in management.
To understand the need for ethics in strategic management, it is important to reflect on what aspects constitute good ethics regarding a firm, company or organization. Ethical behavior begins with the management or stakeholders. They are the pacesetters in their respective institutions, and the other staff members will consequently adopt the ethics they espouse. Leaders who are ethical are usually morally upright, and this includes being fair, honest, humble, respectful, punctual, caring, and even hardworking. An ethically bound leader will have these qualities alongside incorporating virtues in their conduct. Therefore, it is correct to state that an ethical leader is morally upright and that they have attributes that strictly guide their conduct (Clegg & Rhodes, 2012).
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The need for ethics in strategic management cannot be gainsaid. As outlined, leaders or managers are the pacesetters for the other staff members. Therefore, a leader who is unethical cannot tell his or her staff members to be ethical. This means that when ethics is incorporated in strategic management, the effects and benefits are reaped throughout the entire firm, organization, or company. On the other hand, when managers and leaders are not ethical, the institution as a whole suffers the repercussions (Melé, 2011). One reason why there is the need for ethics is the element of responsibility. When ethics is incorporated in strategic management, every staff member is usually responsible. This results in punctuality and proficiency in duty performance. In addition, the output and productiveness of the firm or company are increased.
Ethics creates peace and harmony within the managers and staff members and ensures mutual respect among each employee or staff member. Through this mutual respect, extremely minimal cases of confrontations and misunderstandings may arise. This creates a peaceful environment for each employee to optimize their output. Also, it is through ethics that elements like bias, dishonesty, greed, and jealous are eliminated. These elements are key ‘fuels’ to misunderstandings in a firm or company which have a negative impact on performance and output (Hosmer, 2007). Indeed, such disagreements can cripple an entire company and even lead to its eventual closure.
The integration of ethics eliminates the different forms of abuse and immoral conduct. If managers and leaders in strategic management assimilate ethical stipulations, there will be very minimal cases of abuse or unethical behavior such as insults, sexual harassment, disrespect, bias, embezzlement, dishonesty, lateness, laziness, and intentional underperformance. Therefore, ethics is essential in making sure that each employee and staff member does not harass their colleague or engage in any of the outlined tendencies. Apart from creating peace and amicability between the employees, it also results in higher performance and instills an element of hard work among the employees. For these reasons, it is very crucial for ethics to be incorporated in strategic management, especially in the bid to enhance performance, output, and achievement (Gilbert, 2012).
References
Gilbert, J. (2012). Ethics for Managers: Philosophical Foundations and Business Realities. Routledge Publishers.
Clegg, S. R. & Rhodes, C. (2012). Management Ethics : Contemporary Contexts. Routledge Publishers.
Hosmer, L. R. T. (2007). The Ethics of Management. McGraw-Hill Publishers.
Lawton, A., Lasthuizen, K. & Rayner, J. (2013). Ethics and Management in the Public Sector . Routledge Publishers.
Melé, D. (2011). Management Ethics: Placing Ethics at the Core of Good Management. Palgrave Macmillan.
