Managerial Value, Essay Example

Introduction

Managers must demonstrate that they are capable of providing value to their employees and to their customers. This requires an examination of many different principles that influence change and progress for an organization and demonstrate the need for further investigation and evaluation of the conditions that surround the organization in order to determine where change might occur. An organization must empower its management team in order to support their growth and development in order to contribute to the organization at a high level and produce the desired results. Therefore, it is expected that organizations will provide the resources that are necessary for said growth and to support greater value and significance within an organizational framework.

Understanding Ethical Dilemmas

Managers must demonstrate a strong skillset and characteristics that will support their personal and professional growth on many levels; therefore, ethical domains are a critical aspect of this process (Alas, Gao, & Carneiro 256). To be specific, “Ethical conduct is influenced by both situational pushes and pulls and the characteristics of the individual that we will call individual differences” (Alas et.al 256); therefore, it is important to develop a strategy that will encompass the demands and expectations of an organization and which will facilitate the desired results in a timely manner to improve the manager’s value and his or her commitment to the organization as a whole (Alas et.al 256).

What Ethical Challenges do Businesses Face?

It is important to understand the dynamics and culture of an organization, a manager’s level and source of motivation, and an overall recognition of the needs of the unit as part of the ethical decision-making process (Messick & Bazerman 1). Nonetheless, managers may not always provide value at a high level and may demonstrate a lack of confidence or the wherewithal to make decisions that will positively impact their teams; therefore, it is necessary to evaluate these conditions and determine the best possible approach that will promote individual value and greater value for the team and its employees on a consistent basis (Messick & Bazerman 1).

Values and their Role in Resolving Business Issues

A manager’s value is not easily summed up into one or two words, as there are significant challenges that must be considered that will have a significant impact on the manager’s character, visibility, growth, and continuous improvement. Within the context of an organization, a manager must be able to provide significant value in order to be effective in this role, and this includes the development of new perspectives that will facilitate effective outcomes and promote change and progress on a continuous basis. Most importantly, managers provide value to their organizations when they are able to make decisions that will have a positive and lasting impact on their employees and on the firm as a whole. It is the responsibility of managers to exercise fruition and restraint in their decisions and to also recognize that they must set an example for others to follow. However, this is not always the case, as some decisions have negative consequences: “Executives today work in a moral mine field. At any moment, a seemingly innocuous decision can explode and harm not only the decision maker but also everyone in the neighborhood” (Messick & Bazerman 1).

Comprehensive Business Decision-Making

From an organizational point of view, core values must be taken seriously and the ability of an organization to embody the key principles of ethical decision-making must be in full force. This will drive and motivate other employees to embrace their own core values, while also establishing a corporate culture that will have a lasting impact on the team in different ways (Guizo, Sapienza, & Zingales 2).

Honesty in Marketing

Organizations who market products and/or services must be prepared to manage the needs of their customers and to provide capital that is of the highest possible quality. In this context, it is important to address how marketing must be honest, forthcoming, and appropriate for the products in question, using truthfulness as a guide in shaping an organization’s acumen and strength within the marketplace. This reflects a need to examine the core competencies of the organization with respect to its marketing efforts and to make adjustments as needed.

Ethics Programs

A given corporate culture may go above and beyond the means of the team itself and represent a negative perception of their work and contributions; therefore, this must be considered as part of the discussion to improve the reputation of the organization and use the talents and motivation of its employees to complete these tasks (Guizo et.al 2). Ethical principles must be addressed in a timely manner with the intent to produce effective outcomes for the organization as a whole.

Environment & Sustainability

The concept of virtue is not typically discussed in the context of an organization; however, it must be evaluated more closely in order to achieve the desired results with respect to disseminating core values and beliefs that will improve organizational growth and development. From this perspective, virtue is a challenging premise that may not fully meet organizational needs, yet it is necessary in the context of an organization in providing greater value and significance for the group and its objectives (Crossan, Mazutis, & Seijts 570). With respect to the environment, this reflects the importance of understanding how to preserve resources and to protect the environment through manufacturing practices and other tools. This will demonstrate the importance of understanding that the environment and sustainability are critical to the success of an organization’s operations and its long-term strategy.

Fudging the Numbers in Reporting   

Truthful reporting of financial statistics is an essential component of an honest organization that values its reputation at a high level. Therefore, when numbers are fabricated for any reason, it is possible that there will be significant challenges that the organization will face once this falsehood is discovered. Learning from past mistakes in other companies must be a priority in this regard in order to prevent the same errors and poor judgment from taking place.

News & Entertainment Media

An organization’s reputation may be jeopardized in the eyes of the media; therefore, it is important to protect this reputation at all costs by developing an environment in which there are significant  opportunities to address core values and truths in order to protect the best interests of the organization at a public level, thereby creating a positive reputation at the media level that will contribute to effective outcomes.

Global Ethics

The concepts associated with managerial value also demonstrate a need for further enhancement and cooperation among employees at the local, national, and global levels as appropriate. In this context, managers must be willing and able to analyze issues at a broader level and disseminate information to their employees with the intent to improve the organization and its level of alignment with core values and beliefs. An organization must be responsible for the actions that it takes and the decisions that are made, and this is filtered down to managers and employees at different levels, often expanding to global locations.

Managers who make decisions that are based upon their core beliefs and values are likely to benefit from demonstrating their value and significance to the organization. Managers must be able to recognize how they provide value to the organization and to the employees that they lead, as this is a critical factor in advancing the objectives of the organization from the top down. This also requires managers to be effective communicators of their vision and to be able to recognize how they promote value at the organizational level in order to improve outcomes and to meet expectations at a high level.

Conclusion

Managerial value is a complex concept that requires ongoing support and guidance from an organization in order to promote and to improve professional value for an organization. The embodiment of core values and beliefs are part of this process, but other factors must be addressed that include an understanding of the needs of the organization and the manager’s overall contributions to meeting objectives and in setting an example for others to follow. Decision-making must be aligned with the organization but must also reflect personal values to the extent that these will improve outcomes and influence how other employees make decisions within the team at a high level.

Works Cited

Carroll, Archie, and Ann Buchholtz. Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. Cengage Learning, 2014.

Crossan, Mary, Daina Mazutis, and Gerard Seijts. “In search of virtue: The role of virtues, values and character strengths in ethical decision making.” Journal of Business Ethics 113.4 (2013): 567-581.

Guiso, Luigi, Paola Sapienza, and Luigi Zingales. “The value of corporate culture.” Journal of Financial Economics (2014).

Messick, David M., and Max H. Bazerman. “Ethical leadership and the psychology of decision making.” Sloan Management Review 37.2 (2013).