Business Ethics
Article review
In contemporary business practice, completion among organizations is getting very keen especially as several of the communist countries have now adopted the open market system, where price mechanism determines the supply and demands of goods. Furthermore, the expectations and demands from organizations to continue to give back to the community where they operate in terms of social responsibilities and customers satisfaction are very high. Hence, it is expected that quality of service and products are not sacrifice despite these much demands and expectations.Thus, different types of quality were identified, representing stakeholders in contemporary business. These include: social quality, quality of stakeholders’ relations, quality of company management and quality of products. These typologies of quality represent the different audience the writer identified in his article: society or community, shareholders, customers and management. And each of these identified audiences are expected to have a corresponding quality as mentioned above.
The question raised by the author is how organization amidst such tasking and demanding competition and expectations continue in their quest to maintain the high quality for their services and goods. To answer the question, Sciarelli (2002, p. 1147) says organizations should learn how to build on the quality of the long -term relationships with the different identified stakeholders. In this case building trust among partners, customers, management, workers and the society at large is very germane. Such lasting relationship should operate ethical standard that is grounded in “moral values; such as fairness, justice, sincerity and mutual cooperation” (Ibid).
Importance of the article to me and organizations
Organizations should not sacrifice quality because in any way for them to meet other obligations required of them like social responsibilities. Quality in the products or services rendered so always be maintained. Competitions level among companies in contemporary time is very keen, many dubious organizations may have formed ways of cutting corners in order to avoid cost of production and selling at high prices. This should be discouraged. According to Armitage (1999) managers of organization should embrace the continuous process where there organizations put up measures and prepares workers to effectively operate in a changing environment.
The article taught me that ethical consideration is very germane to bring out the quality required even as a leader. It shows that there should be social quality, which goes on to reflect how a leader of a group or organization should conduct themselves.
The level of ethical and morally disciplined a leader is will reflect how followers would cooperate with leader in maximizing the objectives of the organization or in politics, the country’s policies and targets. Followers take different opinion stand, regarding to how they relate and cooperate with the leader in the attainment of the organization set objectives. For some, they give full participation; others tend to be supportive by giving consent and accepting to act in ensuring their little support help the organization in meeting these objectives. The non-motivated follower is likely to put up an attitude that tend to be alienated from the tasks set by the leader in meeting the organization’s objectives. In addition, a morally bankrupt leader who does not follow expected laid down ethical standard will not effectively carry his followers along.
Kellerman offers a typology that shows how to determine and appreciate each follower. This typology explains how followers can range from someone “feeling and doing absolutely nothing” to “being passionately committed and deeply involved (Kellerman, 2007).
References
Armitage, Jack L. (1992). “Strategic management for Public Accounting (The CPA Manager).” The CPA Journal, 1992. Retrieved from http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/old/12543369.htm ( 10 May, 2006).
Kellerman, Barbara. (2007). “What Every Leader Needs to Know About Followers”. Harvard Business Review, December 2007, pp. 84-91
Sciarelli, Sergio. (2002). “Business Quality and Business Ethics”. Total Quality Management, 13 (8).
