A group composed of two to thousands of individuals which aims to achieve a common goal is termed as an organization. The behavior, principles, standards, philosophies, customs, language and practices of a particular organization is termed as organizational culture. Studies have identified four characteristics that comprise cultures in organizations namely: power, bureaucracy, achievement and innovation, and support (Butts, n.d.).
Organizational ethics is referred to as the ability of an organization to accurately give definition to its mission and vision. Organizational ethics involves procedures, results, and character along with culture and trust. It also involves identification of different values that may result to tension and provision of appropriate solutions to solve these tensions. Ethics in an organization also allows proper recognition of different ethical issues linked to finance, management, and even business. The principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice are usually associated with ethics among organizations or leaders (Butts, n.d.).
Ethical leadership refers to the ability of leaders in an organization to encourage subordinates to practice ethical conduct. Ethical leadership consists of both structural component and substantive character component. There are five known elements for ethical leadership structure namely communication, quality, collaboration, succession planning, and tenure. Ethical communication is defined as the ability of the leader to set a high standard of truth. Ethical quality refers to the leader’s ability to initiate quality throughout all of the processes that takes place within the organization. Ethical collaboration refers to the leader’s ability to collaborate with other individuals to be able to minimize possible risks and solve the problems of the company. Ethical Succession Planning refers to the leader’s ability to permit and empower other leaders and successors to improve and develop their skills in leadership and management. Lastly, Ethical Tenure is the term used to identify the length of time of a leader’s success in relationship (Fox, et al., n.d.).
One of the common ethical issues that nurses face is associated with privacy, communication, and importance when it comes to completing the needs of the patients. The most common ethical issue today is the “rightness” or “wrongness” of a professional’s decision when it comes to the welfare of patients (Ulrich, et al., 2010). Since I have been dealing with elderly patients at home, I usually encounter ethical issues especially when dealing with the critical care of the patients. The values that clashes during provision of critical care are preserving and saving the life of the patient and prolonging the agony and anguish experienced by the patient. It is a difficult situation especially since elderly patients are considered more risky and fragile. Thus, as a DNP-prepared nurse, it is important to practice the elements for structural leadership specifically the communication, quality, and even collaboration. To be able to provide the most beneficial patient care, it is important to have open communication with the patient and the relatives. Ethical decision making will be easier if the individuals concerned are openly stating their wants and needs. Ethical quality is also important. Having elderly patients may require more work but it is important to still maintain the quality of health care services provided to them. By doing this, ethical issues regarding providing the best possible care for the patient to preserve his life will be avoided. Lastly, it is also important to have collaboration with other professionals to discuss the best options for the patients. By using these elements, the conflict regarding the ethical issue will be resolved and dealt with,
References
Butts, J.B. (n.d.). Ethics in Organizations and Leadership. pp 119-151. Jones and Bartlett Publishers: New York, N.Y.
Fox, E., Crigger, B.J., Bottrell, M., and Bauck, P. (n.d.). Ethical Leadership: Fostering an Ethical Environment and Culture. Integrated Ethics: Improving Ethics Quality in Health Care.
Ulrich, C.M., Taylor, C., Soeken, K., O’Donnell, P., Farrar, A., Danis, M., and Grady, C. (2010). Everyday Ethics: Ethical Issues and Stress in Nursing Practice. Journal in Advanced Nursing 66(11).
