Missions, values and ethics

(Originally published on the OUBS Blog)

How do organisational and personal values as well as ethics affect the management. You need to ensure compliance with the mission, values and ethics of your organisation.

We learn the values of our family, community and society we live in (normative system) Our values are split up by the SOGI (Society, Organisation, Group, Individual) acronym. Different sets of values may apply at each of the SOGI levels which is the result of conflict (Society Organisation; Group Individual; Individual Organisation;…).

An organisation builds a hierarchy which goes from:

1\. Why? – Mission and Values – Why do we exist?

2\. What? – Aims or Goals – What are we trying to do?

3\. (What/How)? – Objectives – How will we do it?

4\. How? — Targets

Mission and values are often put into so called missions statements (credo).

Creating this can help because:

\- process is valuable in itself to identify the fundamental reasons why an organisation exists.

\- Assist in communications between org. and stakeholders

\- Helps decision making

\- Provides a yardstick against which the org. can be evaluated.

It should address:

\- Why does the org. exist?

\- What are its aims?

\- Who is it for?

\- Where does it operate – internationally/nationally/locally?

\- How should it pursue its aims?

There is always a difference between group and individual ethics and managers have to balance the need to get work done or control costs with the need to meet professional standards. It is helpful first of all to identify the role you are playing when seeking to manage disputes and you should pay attention to draw the line between private and public matters.

Miller (1999) suggested the following for managing ethics issues:

\- Establish a written ethics policy

\- Set an example

\- Instruct by means of case studies

\- Reward ethical performance

\- Encourage social responsibility

There might be problems with competing pressures but some things just need to be done right.

Thomas and Ely (1996) looked at managing diversity where several perspectives are most common:

\- Discrimination and fairness: Very bureaucratic in structure; staff gets diversified but work does not; “we are all the same�?; problem: important differences between people cannot count.

\- Access and legitimacy: acceptance and celebration of differences; motivated by market share and commercial advantage.

\- Learning and effectiveness: capture benefits of both the other approaches; all in the same team with their differences, not despite them.

Managers also need to pay attention to whistle blowing – workers exposing wrong-doing in their organisation. It can be good and bad.

As a manager, you have to make an assessment of the things you can change, the things you cannot change and, as an old saying goes, ‘pray for the wisdom to know the difference’.

There is no substitute for listening to people, trying to clarify issues and working out agreed standard of behaviour. To do this effectively Lawton (1998) suggests you need to understand:

\- context: what is legal? What are the values of society? What is expected?

\- The formal organisation: rules of behaviour? Accountability? Responsibility? Core values?

\- The informal organisation: subgroup values? Where is the power? Different management practices? Cultures and traditions?

He emphasises the need for the ability to assess the way in which power is exercised in an organisation. Baddeley and James (1990) suggest two dimensions from self-oriented to acting-with-integrity and from politically-unaware to politically-aware.

\- inept: politically ignorant and lacking integrity

\- innocent: politically ignorant but full of integrity

\- clever: politically astute but self-serving

\- wise: politically astute and full of integrity

What is important is that manoeuvring and negotiating through the differences of opinions, power and personality in organisations are legitimate components of management. What matters is the motive and integrity behind them.