Unethical issues are the acts performed or words altered against an organization’s set rules and regulations. Most of these issues end up violating the rights of others or making them uncomfortable. Every organization is guided by some set rules in order to ensure things are done or said in the right way (Gilliland & Skarlicki, 2007). Severally, some employees or employers violate the requirements of the organization. This essay provides a discussion on one of the common unethical practices that I have experienced in the workplace and how I can best handle it as an employer.
In my workplace, there are common tendencies of harassing and discrimination by supervisors suffered by employees. Severally, the victims of this discrimination presented several examples of such cases to me. These are some of the unethical practices, as these acts end up disrupting the normal activities of the victims. People who are discriminated against and harassed within an organization cannot perform their best, as they feel that their rights are ignored.
They live and work in fear due to the inner feeling of being inferior among their colleagues (Gilliland & Skarlicki, 2007). Mostly, these employees are harassed when they do not deliver their results on time. Among the employees that have not completed their assignment, some are harassed, while others receive more time to go and complete their work. When it comes to opportunities for employees, the person responsible for determining who will get the chance is found applying discrimination measures. There are those employees who always get such chances, while others have never gotten a chance to enjoy such opportunities.
However, as an employer, I have some options through which I can handle and discourage such unethical practices within an organization. To begin with, I can come up with an ethical framework within the organization in collaboration with the main stakeholders. This will involve all the employees, government agents, and, most probably, the board of directors. The ethical framework should consist of a code of conduct, as well as a code of ethics.
All the acceptable and unacceptable practices in the organization should be explained fully. The organization’s values and principles should be elaborated carefully so that every employee would be able to understand them. Secondly, I may decide to take another option while actively checking the implementation of the code of conduct and ethical behaviors. This will work well with a request for regular reporting of any action against set regulations (Gilliland & Skarlicki, 2007).
Alternatively, as an employer, I may opt to prevent and make strict follow-ups of any unethical practice done. This would be possible due to providing a grievance procedure to be followed when dealing effectively with such disputes.
According to the seriousness of the issue, it would be better if the first option were followed. Through involving the employees and other key stakeholders, a better solution would be provided. During such periods, every employee will have a chance to understand what is or what is not acceptable within the organization. Due to the efforts of the board of directors and the management team, clearly written posters of code of conduct and code of ethics will be provided to all employees (Gilliland & Skarlicki, 2007).
The employees will also be provided with equal punishment for unacceptable behavior within the organization. A meeting that addresses such issues will be the opportunity for the victims to air other unethical issues that may occur among the employees. The employees will also have a chance to ask any questions or clarification concerning the issues of unethical and ethical practices.
Reference
Gilliland, S., & Skarlicki, D. (2007). Managing social and ethical issues in organizations. New York: IAP.