Managers should reward ethical behavior.

Managers should reward ethical behavior.

Waddock Sandra (2007) points out that since business decisions affect not only stakeholders but also their nature, it is reasonable to conclude that these decisions are ethical. Therefore, management decisions, actions and behaviors are also ethical. From my point of view, managers should reward ethical behavior. There are some reasons why managers should do like this.

First of all, most employers show that they hope employees and stakeholders take part in ethical behavior and facilitate an ethical culture in their organizations. A study in Baylor University shows that employers who advance ethics in work should reward employees who demonstrate it (Baylor news release, 2016). Ethical behaviors, such as employees going beyond their personal interests and always doing what is best for customers, should be positively rewarded and set an example for others.

Besides, providing incentives like rewarding ethical behavior helps to reinforce moral values. Intrinsic motivation is stronger than extrinsic motivation, so offering benefits fosters pride and initiative within the organization.

Last but not the least, employers should use annual performance evaluations and incentive programs to evaluate and reward employees who exhibit ethical behavior. Employers usually tell their employees that ethical behavior is “the right thing to do”, formulate and disseminate their policies against unethical behavior, make employees aware of possibly legal restrictions and provide ethical training and using tools in order to popularize their ethical culture. It is a matter of course for employers to bring  their ethical behavior into their ongoing performance appraisal and reward systems Assessing and rewarding employees is a company priority and companies like to link ethical behavior to performance appraisal and approval programs. Once collected, evaluation measures are often used in performance appraisals and pay settings, so they have a real impact on people’s careers. Jeffrey Pfeffer (2013) emphasize that employees also pay more attention on what is being measured, making those jobs more outstanding and concerned.

Number of words:  313

References:

1. Baylor University. 2016. Employers Who Promote Ethics Should Reward Workers Who Exhibit Them, Baylor Study Suggests,” (news release).https://www.baylor.edu/mediacommunications/news.php?action=story&story=171863
2. Ethisphere. Excerpts from the Leading Practices Report (web page). https://ethisphere.com/2016-wme-report/
3. Jeffrey Pfeffer. 2013.Measure (and Reward) Ethical Behavior. (web page). https://www.inc.com/jeffrey-pfeffer/measure-and-reward-ethical-behavior.html
4. Katarina Katja Mihelič, Bogdan Lipičnik, Metka Tekavčič. 2010. Ethical Leadership. International Journal of Management & Information Systems (Fourth Quarter).
5. Neill, Marlene S. 2016. “The Influence of Employer Branding in Internal Communication,” Research Journal of the Institute for Public Relations.
6. Waddock, Sandra. 2007. Ethical Role of the Manager. Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society. Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 786-91.