Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Managers in organizations face ethical issues every day of their working lives. There is seldom a decision they face that does not have an ethical dimension or facet to it. In addition to facing ethical aspects in their decision making, they confront ethical issues as they carry out their leadership responsibilities. Whether they be engaged in planning, organizing, motivating, communicating, or some other management role, they face the fact that matters of right and wrong, fairness and unfairness, and justice or lack of justice creep into their decisions, actions or behaviors. Furthermore, it does not matter what level of management is under consideration – top, middle, or lower; managers at all levels, and in all functions, face situations wherein ethical considerations play a major role. The topic of ethics in management is a crucial one with which managers today must be informed. Therefore, it is the purpose of this article to survey some of the special topics about management ethics that may help the academic and practitioner alike to be more knowledgeable about this vital topic. In this quest to provide insights into the topic of management ethics, or ethics in management, we shall first provide an overview of the topic, and then discuss a number of important themes such as: why managers should be ethical, ethical issues managers face, models of management morality, ethical ... log in or subscribe to read full text