Managing for Organizational Integrity

LYNN SHARP PAINE, “MANAGING FOR ORGANIZATIONAL INTEGRITY”. REVIEWED BY CHRISTOPHER ODOYO, # 10-1015.

The inseparability of the conduct of human resource and the consequent impact on the organization’s image must be appreciated by management as a key component in ethical matters. Manifestation of an ethical flaw in an employee is usually a reflection of the corporate ethical culture. Managers must inculcate ethical values since this is a critical pillar in success of any firm. Prevention through early detection of ethical non-conformances seems to be the preferred antidote in stemming the tide of ethical misdemeanors and is hence better than curative solutions. The assertion that individual ethical choices can be shaped by organizational factors by citing practical modern examples is a feeble attempt to extricate crooked employees from total culpability. Sense of responsibility must reside in the individual so that the accruing benefits may exalt the company. The critical dimension for a firm is how it invests in molding the individual to become a virtuous player as opposed to the one worm that spoils the meat. In a global set up where legality assumes diverse faces, legal compliance does not necessarily imply ethical uprightness. However, threat of drastic retribution seems to produce ethical compliance provided the regulations and the enforcers are perceived to be legitimate and unbiased.

In as much as ethics exists in varying degrees in individuals, its capacity to increase in those less endowed is highly probable given the right nurturing and structuring environment. Proper enabling mechanisms must be put in place to ensure the system models the time tested input-process-output scenario with the necessary controls to guarantee effectiveness. Companies which enjoy sound ethical health have ensured ethical components form an integral part of the key performance indicators and goals of all employees which must be apprised regularly. The naked fact seen in such...