Introduction
With increased business scandals and employees` awareness of their rights, there has been a major focus on ensuring a good working environment. Formerly, most businesses were only concerned about productivity and profitability at large. Nonetheless, this fundamental has changed over time due to the ever changing workforce that is more concerned about good working environments. As such, most organizations have been forced to rethink and design a good working environment through the application of ethics. It is on this background that this paper seeks to discuss what an ethical climate is. Further, this paper seeks to discuss the role that the industrial/organizational psychologist plays in creating and sustaining an ethical climate.
Numerous studies have been conducted in relation to ethical and work climate in general. As such, different authors have come up with different meanings of what an ethical climate is. For instance, , asserts that an ethical climate refers to the manner in which organizations handle issues in relation to equity, trust, communication, accountability, responsibility, regulation, and the general welfare of various stakeholders. Nonetheless, ethical climate can be generally defined as the agreed upon perception of how ethical issues should be handled and what is ethically correct.
Role Played by an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist in Creating and Sustaining an Ethical Climate
Industrial psychologists play various roles in ensuring a satisfied and productive workforce at large. In relation to the creation and sustainability of an ethical climate, an industrial psychologist is mandated with the role of collecting information from all employees on whether they are satisfied with the working conditions of the organization. It is from the information collected that an industrial psychologist can advise the management on the best practises.
Conclusion
Ethical climate can be generally defined as the agreed upon perception of how ethical issues should be handled and what is ethically correct. On the other hand, an industrial psychologist is mandated with the role of collecting data from employees on whether they are satisfied or not with the general working conditions of an organization.
References
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Shrader-Frechette, K. S. (2009). Ethics of Scientific Research (Revised ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.
