Continuous improvement

In one of his videos, Patrick Dixon speaks about the role effective communicat? on and passion may play for the development and implementation of major ethical initiatives in organizations. True, as managers we tend to create an atmosphere of ethical complicatedness which does not always fit w? th values and standards to which simple employees adhere. Moreover, as managers we fail to connect employees’ passions with the need to promote better profitability and shareholder value as well as better ethics at workplace.

The essence of ethical conduct is not limited to profitability and maximizing shareholder value. On the contrary, these are the direct products of us being able to connect employees’ values to the values of the organization. Whenever we try to resolve an organizat? onal conflict or an ethical issue at workplace, we are to look deeper into what would help employees better understand their ethical roles and connect them to the strategic goals and organizational objectives.

The language we use in daily communication and the set of ethical standards we choose in our daily interactions with employees should be simple enough to make employees interested in and passionate about what they do for their organizat? on; and whenever they face

a new organizational task, they should be confident that whay they do is a part of their personal strategic plan, where organizational objectives are well balanced with their personal and family values.

If I could be a manager for one week, I would certainly change the way managers and employees communicate and discuss daily ethical issues. From a management perspective, whether managers are able to explain the importance of ethical values at workplace depends on the ways they choose for communicating these ideals to their subordinates. As employees, we are not always given a chance to express our opinions or to share our side of an ethical story. Moreover, as employees we are not always able to connect our personal values and passions to the standards which managers try to deliver and explain to us.

As a manager, I would seek to develop a new set of communication techniques, to ensure that employees realize their organizational value and can readily adjust their personal standards of ethical conduct to those within an organization.

References Keller, R. (2009). Continuous improvement – times are tough but not as unusual as you might think. Industry Week. Retrieved April 9, 2009 from http://www. industryweek. com/articles/continuous_improvement_– _times_are_tough_but_not_as_unusual_as_you_might_think_18687. aspx Trevino, L. K. & Nelson, K. A. (2004). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. John Wiley and Sons.