Introduction
Faced with the overwhelming influence of globalization where companies need to excel and keep their customers, many companies are committed to being more competitive by demonstrating a better image and corporate reputation. Furthermore, this has led them to define / redefine their value proposition. Before achieving this, it is convenient to pay attention to an aspect that is often forgotten: ethics. Do we really know the value of ethics in the organization? Does it really apply? What is necessary to do so that it exists in our company?
Abstract
Given the overwhelming influence of globalization where companies need to excel and keep their customers, many companies opt to become more competitive showing a better corporate image and reputation. Moreover, this has led them to define / redefine their value proposition. Before you do should pay attention to one aspect often overlooked: ethics. Do you really know the value of ethics in the organization? Does it really apply? What is necessary for the existence in our company?
Development
Before talking about ethics, it is necessary to know its meaning. Ethics comes from the Latin ethicusy from the Greek ηθικοξ (Pena, 2008, p. 19) and is defined as “the part of philosophy that studies the fundamentals of the morality of human acts, that is, those by virtue of which these can be considered good or bad ”(Chamarro, 2007, p. 13).
Ethics in the company is constituted by the ethical standards and principles that are used to address the series of moral or ethical problems within the business context. To speak of organizational ethics is to emphasize the analysis of the company's actions. It covers the series of procedures, standards, codes of conduct, organizational philosophy, information management, quality of the product or service that is offered.
Ethics in the company seeks to deliver to its collaborators the most important aspects of a new company culture, ratify their commitment, orient them towards values such as: integrity, leadership, honesty, among others. All this is proclaimed to companies, it is announced as a success, an award. However, they forget the thinking of their collaborators.
Today it is possible to witness how companies regardless of their type, size or sector are participants in dishonest acts that are exposed in the media. It would be moralistic to talk about something and practice another, it would be incongruous to instill in the training the code of conduct and when the collaborator is installed they witness acts of corruption, speculation or sabotage carried out by their colleagues or bosses. This can produce resentment and confusion in the collaborator. Simple examples of these inconsistencies are when, for example, the General Manager refuses to answer phone calls, excusing himself to his employee with the typical “tell him I'm not here”.Another example may be to motivate the employee by promising him a certain bonus and when he finishes the task entrusted and requests the payment of what was promised, his boss gives him thousands of excuses for not keeping his word. There are other bigger ones such as exploiting the worker at work, making him forget his family and personal life, seeing them only as machines when we forget that they are human beings.
Therefore, we can say that if in families the toughest judge of parents are children, in companies it is about customers, both internal and external. The reality of a company is within what the people who work for it and those with whom it has some kind of relationship of products or services think.
There may also be dishonest cases between collaborators-suppliers, collaborators-clients, collaborator-collaborator. And when these cases are aired outside, the general society tends to generalize, we do not speak of "so and so" or "perenganito" but about the company in which they work, they speak in a general way about the system, not about the person.
It is necessary to assess what honest work pays us, from personal satisfaction, which allows us to meet our basic needs for food, shelter and clothing. The development of a company depends on ethics taken to practice and the direction it wants to go, it must be present in all areas, in operational positions, middle management and senior management.
conclusion
If you want to reinforce this culture in the organization, it must be demonstrated from the example of each employee, since their behavior will affect the reputation of the company. Responsibility is shared, it is everyone's task and it must be lived inside and outside of it.
The existence of ethics in organizations contributes to building a better society. For this to be positive, it must effectively impact our actions every day, modifying relationships with our colleagues, bosses, suppliers, clients and society in general.
Bibliographic references
- Chamarro, A. (2007). Ethics of the psychologist. Barcelona, Spain: Editorial UOC.Penas, S. (2008). Approach to the values and lifestyles of young people aged 13 and 14 in the province of Coruña. Spain: Santiago de Compostela University.
