Every day I make decisions as part of my regular life. From the article by Eddy S. Ng & Ronald J. Burke, I understand that I make three types of decisions every day. They may be based on personal values, collective issues, or leadership reasons. As a business student aiming to make ethical decisions, I can make leadership decisions. If I never compromise my ethics, many things can be controlled. My ethical decisions will help sustain society, while unethical decisions may benefit organizations by generating extra profits. The main question that arises here is how can I know the way of ethics. Can I learn business ethics from any of my courses, or is it a natural thing? Here, two groups of people give two types of arguments: one supports that it can be taught in college, while another group is against it (Ritter, B.A., 2006). After going through the article, I think it can be adopted by blending both perspectives. After receiving training, at least I can understand what is ethical and what is unethical. Gender discrimination is a world-burning issue that I can change easily by changing some of my views. I can fully understand this after learning about sustainable business. Moreover, if we take this to heart, at least more than one manager will emerge who can make a change for the organization shortly by making ethical decisions. Always making ethical decisions is a challenge for me as well.
When I read the book 'Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership: Casting Light or Shadow' by Johnson, I found that it will also be a challenge for me. In that book, ethics is defined as 'judgments about whether human behavior is right or wrong,' and leadership is defined as 'the exercise of influence in a group context' (Johnson, C.E., 2017). When I take charge of any organization, my decisions will be a blend of these concepts. I know it will be challenging, but someone has to take the first step. Organizations may not support my decisions, but if I can provide them with a clear understanding of sustainable business, resistance may be minimized.
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After that, I can move forward with bigger issues. In the 21st century, we are demolishing everything to fulfill our demands. It's time to raise some voices. It is a rough road ahead, but if I make ethical decisions by exerting pressure from the bottom ladder in my leadership, I think it will have a significant effect on the organization.
Now it's time to discuss how to adopt this. We know that leaders are important keys in the choice of social policies and programs adopted and executed by organizations (Ng, E.S. and Burke, R.J., 2010). I think it is not an inborn characteristic. Everyone is a leader of his own. I need to first understand moral awareness and the difference between good and bad. At least after reading Barbara A. Ritter, I can say that if this is included in the curriculum, there might be a significant change in society. As an example, I am learning from this course. When I make decisions for the company shortly, I will think twice if that conflicts with my ethics. I must blow the whistle if any unethical activity occurs. It may cost me my promotion or the company profit, but I will not compromise. So leadership can be practiced in the curriculum to foster ethical decisions in organizations.
Now, let's discuss ethics. I think it can also be taught in the curriculum. So when I make any decisions, at least I can understand the impact of that decision on society. Sometimes decisions can be biased because of pressure from higher-ups. If the CEO asks me to do anything, I might not consider whether it is ethical or not. If I have the practice to say no to unethical things, I can blow the whistle, which can prevent the world from unethical practices. This will have an impact on organizations. I firmly believe that if anyone knows anything unethical, they will think twice before engaging in it. This second thought will change society. So my ethical decisions will have an impact on organizations.
I believe business ethics can be taught and practiced in our everyday lives. If it is possible, then there must be an impact on the organization. After completing the last two weeks, we all know that sustainable business is profitable for the organization. So why should I make unethical decisions for short-term profits? From last week, I am now aware of most of the unethical issues of the 21st century. Now I have to think about how to prevent them with my leadership and ethical capabilities. As per Sachs, in today's world, the poor are struggling to find food, safe water, health care, and shelter, so they need mere survival (Sachs, J.D., 2015). To make a few profits and make CEOs happy, I cannot make unethical decisions that will affect those people.
I make decisions every day, and I agree sometimes they may be unethical. I have to say I was unaware of various issues. They may cause problems for society as well. In today's situation, scenarios are changing. I am trying to avoid plastics, reading about gender discrimination, trying to save natural energy, etc. I think it will also make a difference in organizations where I may play a role as a manager. Transformational leadership is more effective now for sustainable business (Ng, E.S. and Burke, R.J., 2010). So it can be easily said that our decisions will affect the organization, whether ethically or unethically. At least from now on, I will not compromise on my ethics. I practiced this leadership from my curriculum as well as ethics.
In conclusion, I want to say that every day we are making decisions to move forward with time. I or anyone else may not always be thinking of ethics. This affects society and also the organization. So why make unethical decisions or be in a dilemma about ethics? Ethical behavior must be practiced regularly so that it becomes a natural human trait. One more thing I have to say is that I must blow the whistle if any unethical practices are going on. My decisions count in the organization. They may be small, but someday they may cause more significant changes. The world is being destroyed every day, so if we do not make a sustainable plan, then shortly, there will be nothing left to discuss. Organizations like IKEA, Walmart, Nestle, Walt Disney & Nike are talking about sustainable business. So I think my decisions will foster ethical decision-making in organizations.
References:
- Ng, E.S. and Burke, R.J., 2010. Predictors of business students’ attitudes toward sustainable business practices. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(4), pp.603-615.
- Ritter, B.A., 2006. Can business ethics be trained? A study of the ethical decision-making process in business students. Journal of Business Ethics, 68(2), pp.153-164.
- Johnson, C.E., 2017. Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership: Casting light or shadow. Sage Publications.
- Sachs, Jeffrey D. (2015) The Age of Sustainable Development. (e-book), New York: Columbia University Press. Chapters 1-14.
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