Ethics During Change
Ethics During Change
Trisha Goodhue
June 26, 2013
Jennifer Post
University of Phoenix
Introduction Organizational change is when companies are undergoing or have undergone a transformation to some degree. While implementing change into a business environment, many issues arise that test ethics and morals alike. In today’s world, organizations must introduce change in their business in order to advance and compete with the fast moving business world around that surrounds us. Companies must carefully introduce changes while at the same time considering the ethic implications of the changes introduced (Ramanathan, 2008). The list of changes that can be made within a company is endless and continually being added to. Examples of changes that companies can introduce include; the introduction of new technologies, conduction of mergers and acquisitions, a company downsizing as a result of redundancy, restructuring of operations, introducing a new production line, outsourcing of business services to an outside provider, introduction of new programs such as training reward schemes or performance evaluation (Sonenshein, 2009). This paper discusses the various types of changes and the ethical challenges it poses for the organization. Ethical Issues While Implementing Changes Introducing change into the organization is done with hopes that it will improve the companies’ business processes. However, any type of change has its consequences for both the organization and the employees. (Hassin, 2010). Every employee with react to the change differently, some for the better, and others for the worse. The changes that pose the ethical issues for the organization include some of the following. Introduction of New Technologies, when a company brings an advanced new technology system in order to be more productive or efficient. The goal in mind is to do more with less. Some examples of ethical implications from the changes that
Trisha Goodhue
June 26, 2013
Jennifer Post
University of Phoenix
Introduction Organizational change is when companies are undergoing or have undergone a transformation to some degree. While implementing change into a business environment, many issues arise that test ethics and morals alike. In today’s world, organizations must introduce change in their business in order to advance and compete with the fast moving business world around that surrounds us. Companies must carefully introduce changes while at the same time considering the ethic implications of the changes introduced (Ramanathan, 2008). The list of changes that can be made within a company is endless and continually being added to. Examples of changes that companies can introduce include; the introduction of new technologies, conduction of mergers and acquisitions, a company downsizing as a result of redundancy, restructuring of operations, introducing a new production line, outsourcing of business services to an outside provider, introduction of new programs such as training reward schemes or performance evaluation (Sonenshein, 2009). This paper discusses the various types of changes and the ethical challenges it poses for the organization. Ethical Issues While Implementing Changes Introducing change into the organization is done with hopes that it will improve the companies’ business processes. However, any type of change has its consequences for both the organization and the employees. (Hassin, 2010). Every employee with react to the change differently, some for the better, and others for the worse. The changes that pose the ethical issues for the organization include some of the following. Introduction of New Technologies, when a company brings an advanced new technology system in order to be more productive or efficient. The goal in mind is to do more with less. Some examples of ethical implications from the changes that
References: Butts, J. (2007). Ethics in Organizations and Leadership. New York: Jones and Bartlelt Publishers. Hassin, A. (2010). Effective Diagnosis in Oorganization Change Management. Journal of Business Systems, Governance and Ethics, 5(2), 23-29. Retrieved from http://www.jbsge.vu.edu.au/issues/vol05no2/Hassin.pdf J. Bashir & S. Afzal. (2009). Ethics Based Model for Change Management. South Asian International Conference on Management (pp. 2-20). Academy for Global Business Advancement (AGBA) and COMSATS. Ramanathan, T. (2008). The role of organizational change. Copenhagen: Boca Raton publishers. Sonenshein, S. (2009, Jan-Feb). Emergence of Ethical Issues During Strategic Change Implementation. Organization Science, 20(1), 223-239. Retrieved from http://sonenshein.rice.edu/uploadedFiles/Publications/Sonenshein_emergence%20of%20ethical%20issues%20during%20strategic%20change%20Org%20Science.pdf •