In recent years a competitive global environment, the inability of some organizations to maintain a competitive advantage and other pressurizing factors have forced many organizations and their leaders to pursue unethical practices in a bid to remain successful. Can organizations survive within this very complex/competitive era without resorting to unethical practices, and how? This paper provides readers with an understanding of the necessity of the role of ethics in contemporary organizations. It addresses the importance of leadership in establishing and maintaining ethical principles in the organization and culminates with a set of recommendations to which leaders can ascribe in order to ensure that organizations remain ethical.

What is ethics?

Ethics is defined as the ability to distinguish between right and wrong and to act accordingly. According to Rand, a 20th century Russian/American novelist, it is a code of values which guide our choices and actions and determine the purpose and course of our lives.” It revolves around others and hence…may be understood quite easily when analyzed from the perspective of Matthew 7:12 “do to others what you would have them do to you.”

Old Problem, New People: Judas selling Jesus for 30 Pieces of Silver

In contemporary organizations we see many leaders and followers whose behaviors bear marked resemblance to that of Judas (Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, John 13, 18, Acts 1:18). There are Organizations that are deliberately violating the ethical standards that are necessary for the successful functioning of any society. Hoyk and Hersey postulates that within one year Enron, Adelphia, Tyco International, as well as the conviction of the CEO of WorldCom by federal court represents only a small segment of organizations, and people implicated in unethical practices in organizations. An examination of the recent election in Zimbabwe highlights the height of unethical practices that exist even at the helm of organizations governing a country; which has led world government according to Lauren decrying it as an outright charade… The urge to succeed at any cost, greed, and selfishness are just a few of the causes of unethical practices; these practices condemn the poor to be even more impoverished, while the rich becomes better off. It should be noted that unethical practices undermine not only the trust of the stakeholders but also the general populace and create an unhealthy organization and a society that is not subject to rules and regulations; the end result anarchy and gargantuan proportions of mistrust in society, which ultimately will shorten the organization life span.

The Call to Act: Inspire to take action

The creation of an ethical organizational culture resides with leaders and followers; leadership by nature demands that leaders be the front runners in establishing an ethical organizational culture. We recognize the mammoth task leaders face in a fast paced society with rocket-like changes even as they fight to maintain a competitive advantage. However as the demise of many organizations becomes a reality due to unethical practices, the onus resides with contemporary leaders to create and sustain ethical organizational cultures even as they compete to survive, because it is the ethical/social stance to take. The issue of ethics is a solemn issue in leadership; its nonexistence can create a vacuum in the organization, fostering a climatic condition in which any action is acceptable. It is important for leaders to create an ethical environment, in doing this; decision making will rely on ethical standards which in the end gives ethical outcome. For such an environment to be created ethics has to be the foundation of the organization’s vision, composition and mission. With such a proposition, leaders are forced to cosset themselves in a discourse of collective ethical codes. Such code enables the leaders to act with morals and to foster an organization that relish itself in the laws of right.

The role of an ethical leader is to foster an organization that enables all stakeholders to act responsibly, to be conscientious of their environment and those around them. Johnson postulates that, leaders have a duty to achieve ethical standard through the use of organizational aspirations that must be effective, efficient and excellent. Therefore, the burden is on leaders to captain the ship, take charge and be in charge. The premise is that ethical leadership and ethical principles begins at the top of the organization then spreads throughout. Leaders should not assume that employees intuitively know and will comply with ethical principles set out by the organization. It becomes the leader’s responsibility to ensure that ethical practices are modeled as well as communicated orally…training employees on ethical issues should be mandatory. Leaders can foster an ethical environment by employing what I refer to as critical factors:

Critical Factor One: Vision

A clear and concise vision that incorporates ethical principle set the foundation for all stakeholders to realize exactly what the organization stands for…

Critical Factor Two: Open Communication

A channel of communication in which leaders and followers feel at ease in discussing or examining behaviors or issues that may “in question.” This promotes trust and confidence in the organizational efforts.

Critical Factor Three: Ethical Team

Creating a team that looks out for unethical action: This team is responsible for identifying and addressing ethical problems confronting the organization. They craft an environment in which difficult ethical issues can be discussed and corrective measures put in place. This should allow stakeholders to have trust/confidence in promoting the organizational values.

Conclusion

In light of recent unearthing of unethical practices in many organizations, contemporary organizations are now faced with a serious problem. We are now faced with the challenge of how to combat the epidemic of unethical behavior in our organizations. The role of ethics in the 21st Century is integral in that, all organizations need a firm foundation to stand on, and a base that is rooted in an ethical framework, which when tested can survive. It becomes the responsibility of leadership to consider ethics as part of their organization dynamics. It is this move that will enable the organization to set itself apart from the predecessors that sunk through the times of unethical confronts. The price we pay for poor ethics has eroded the very fabric of our society as well as our organizational culture, producing mistrust and chaos. It becomes imperative that leaders promote an organizational culture that values/fosters ethics. Commitment to ethics is the definitive factor that will create a successful lasting organization.

References:

Ciulla, J. B. (2004), Ethics the Heart of Leadership 2nd Edition, Praeger Publishers. West Port, CT.

Johnson, K. W. The Role of Leadership in Organizational Integrity, and Five Modes of Ethical Leadership, Retrieved 18 July 2008, read more here

Sergeant First Class Camuy Guama Heremuru is an Active Duty Army Sergeant stationed in Providence, Rhode Island. He is currently assigned to the 1st Brigade Military Intelligence unit. He is a second year Doctoral student at Regent University; his area of specialty is Strategic Leadership.

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Tags: ethics, business, rules, role, competitive

This article will define positioning for the business owners and how to use PR to boost their market position.

Positioning has come to mean the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization. It is the ‘relative competitive comparison’ their product occupies in a given market as perceived by the target market. It is about what is already in the mind of the target market. You must be in touch with reality, the reality of what is already in the prospects mind. It is very difficult to create something that does not already exist in their minds. Your goal is not to create something new and different. Your goal is to redirect what is already in their minds and retie those connections. Because people are constantly screening advertising information, we have to use positioning to get to our target market. By making our message super-simple we can overcome these filters.

As the business owner you to select the information that has the best chance of getting through to your target market. In advertising and business perception is reality. Getting your super-simple message through may seem like good luck. It is merely the result of great communication to the right audience. One of the easiest ways to get into someone’s mind is to be first. You also have to combine that with NOT giving the customer a reason to switch. Letting your target market know what you are doing is a great way to be first in their minds.

School children are taught that Christopher Columbus found America. However, America is named after Amerigo Vespucci. Why? Because Vespucci spent a lot of time writing about the new world, his discoveries and theories. When he wrote Mundus Novus, it was translated in over 35 languages. Europeans credit Vespucci for discovering America and named it after him. Vespucci understood publicity and PR of his day. Columbus did not communicate a lot about what he found or did not find. No one really knew or understood what he was looking for. Vespucci came to America 5 years after Columbus and communicated, thus making himself first in the minds or Europeans.

Avis is a great example of a similar type story of using the combination of a super-simple message and PR. They used some creative thinking in an unusual way.

Dr. Letitia S. Wright, D.C. is the host of the Wright Place TV Show, now in it’s 10th year on the cable television. You can read the rest of this article at this web and learn more about PR

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Tags: media relations, media, pr, public relations, role

It is important for an organization to have one or more spokespeople who are experienced and can stay calm when communicating during a crisis. Crisis communication is how people know what is going on and it is very important when it comes to public relations. This is why it is important to have an adequate number of spokespeople for your organization because sometimes it isn’t sufficient enough to have just one person doing the talking. It looks better on the public relations side of things if you have more than one who are both on the same page and can effectively speak to the media and people on a face-to-face basis.

There are several things that must be done in crisis communication. It isn’t just a matter of looking at the situation and coming up with a response within five minutes. To give a proper response, it is important to evaluate the situation and follow a certain set of rules to make sure the public gets the adequate information. These steps are:

- Developing and delivering at least three key points about the situation. These messages must be relayed in such a way that everyone can understand what is being said. Sometimes these messages do not have to be anything extensive, depending on the situation. Such an example is when a company is going through a lawsuit. Most companies do not allow commenting on pending litigation, so the spokesperson may simply say, “no comment.”

- Make sure that all employees are up-to-date on what is going on. This creates consistency and allows for adequate response for various situations that may arise during a crisis. Many times this interaction should take place face-to-face instead of in a memo.

- Make sure you identify who can be trusted with information and who cannot be. These can be considered your unofficial spokespersons if they must be asked questions. These are the people who will adhere to what you tell them to say. In crisis communication, it is important to stay sensitive to various pieces of information that could cause an even bigger issue.

- A rumor-control system should be put in place. This means that the system must be up and running, allowing others to ask questions and get immediate answers before they begin communicating their speculations with others. What starts out as a question soon becomes fact when it is passed from person-to-person. This can cause a situation to become much more difficult. Rumors result in new issues that must be given attention. This can take attention away from the issue at hand.

Just make sure that those on the inside know exactly what is going on because they are just as important as those on the outside wanting to know what the crisis is, how it is going to impact them, and how to rectify the situation. It is even fair to develop key messages for employees, but to have key messages that are used for those on the outside as well. It is important to implement a system and a strategy that will not cause any type of mass panic, depending on the situation. Sometimes those situations are limited to a company and other times they can influence an entire population.

Just be sure to not jump the gun. Instead, develop strategies that will relay the message effectively. Both inside and outside communication go hand-in-hand in order for things to run smoothly. This shows that crisis communication in public relations is very important when ensuring the safety of people, their affairs, and of those directly involved with the situation.

Polaris PR is a Toronto public relations company having extensive experience in all areas of public relations in a variety of industry sectors. Core competencies include media relations, corporate communications, issues management, special event planning and execution, spokesperson training and more.

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Everything from “publicity’s the thing!,” “the care and feeding of reputations and “sales support is primary” to“gain and hold public acceptance,” and “issue management’s the thing.” among many, many others.

But for business, non-profit and association managers, the big, bang theory of public relations trumps them all when it alters individual perception leading to changed behaviors
among their key outside audiences, thus helping them achieve their managerial objectives.

As a manager, you can do exactly the same by doing something positive about the behaviors of those important external audiences of yours that MOST affect your operation.

In particular when you persuade those key outside folks to your way of thinking, then help move them to take actions that allow your department, division or subsidiary to succeed.

If there’s a secret behind such “big bang” performance, it probably goes this way: people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors
about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving- to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the
organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished.

A grab-bag of results can occur. The payoff can make your day: fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; customers starting to make repeat purchases; membership
applications on the rise; community leaders beginning to seek you out; welcome bounces in show room visits; prospects starting to do business with you; higher employee retention
rates, capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way, and even politicians and legislators starting to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association
communities.

But you’ll need more then zippy special events, slick brochures and punchy press releases if you really want to get the PR you paid for.

At the same time, as you no doubt realize, a key plank in your PR platform requires that your most important outside audiences really perceive your operations, products or services in a positive light. This is so vital that your PR people must buy into the effort from the get-go. Be especially careful that they accept the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors
that can help or hurt your unit.

How you will gather and monitor opinion by questioning members of your most important outside audiences will be of interest to everyone on the team. So take the time to review the PR blueprint in detail with your staff. Discuss questions that will be asked: How much do you know about our organization? How much do you know about our services or products and employees? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

Professional survey people can always gather opinion data for the perception monitoring phases of your program, IF the budget is available. But always remember that your PR people are also in the perception and behavior business andcan pursue the same objective: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

We must say a few words about your all-important public relations goal. It must speak to the problems that cropped up during your key audience perception monitoring. Probably,
it will require correcting that gross inaccuracy, straightening out that dangerous misconception, or doing something aboutthat damaging rumor.

Because any goal must have a strategy to show you how to get where you want to go, you get to pick from just three strategic choices available to handle a perception or opinion challenge:
create perception where there may be none, change the perception, or reinforce it. By the way, the wrong strategy pick will taste like onion gravy on your sea scallops, so be certain the new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. For example, you don’t want to select “change” when the facts dictate a “reinforce” strategy. To persuade an audience to your way of thinking, you need words that are compelling, persuasive and believable, as well as clear and factual. In other words, the right, corrective phrases. This must be done if you are to correct a perception by shifting opinion towards your point of view, leading to the desired behaviors.

And to carry your words to the attention of your target audiences, you need communications tactics likely to reach them. First sit down again with your communications specialists and read your message for impact and persuasiveness. Then select from dozens of available tactics such as speeches, facility tours, emails, brochures, consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters,
personal meetings and many others. But again, be certain that the tactics you use are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

Because the credibility of any message can be called into question because of its delivery method, think about introducing it to smaller gatherings rather than using higher-profile communications such as news releases or talk-show appearances.

At the first mention of progress reports, think of it as your reminder that the PR team should return to the field for a second perception monitoring session with members of your external
audience. Asking many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session, you’ll now be alert for signs that your communications tactics have worked and that the negative
perception is being altered in your direction.

When things seem to be dragging, and you decide to move things along a little faster, do so by accelerating your PR program with a wider selection of communications
tactics AND increased frequencies.

The public relations big bang theory has at its core, the behaviors of those important outside audiences of yours that most affect your operation. Namely, the creation of external stakeholder behavior change leading directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

And the fastest way to accomplish that is to persuade those key outside folks to your way of thinking, thus moving them to take actions that allow your business, non-profit or
association to succeed.

end

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box
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A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.
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Robert A. Kelly © 2005.

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communi- cations, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations. Visit this site

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Tags: pr, role, company, relation