EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Integrity in the Workplace explains different ethical situations and how a person of integrity should handle these situations.
As managers, we need to ensure that our companies are going beyond just what is expected of us. If we are willing to go the extra mile for our customers, our business will be set apart and our customers will refer new customers to us.
As managers, we should “take care and use resources wisely and effectively.” Good stewardship includes “keeping property, tools, and equipment in good repair.” Managing time effectively is another example of good stewardship.
“Keeping promises is a cornerstone of business integrity.” When a manager does fail to keep a promise, he or she “needs to assume the consequences rather than transferring the burden to the customer,” employee, or vendor.
To be an effective manager, we must seek counsel and advice from others. We must realize that “group decisions are better than decisions we make on our own.”
When a mistake is made, we must take full responsibility for our actions. Instead of blaming other people, bad luck, or unfortunate circumstances, we need to take credit for our failures.
As managers, we must take extra care in judging employees fairly. “We must establish clear on-the-job expectations” and job performance standards. Once it is determined an employee is not completing tasks successfully, feedback must be given to the employee to correct the issue.
“Business leaders of integrity have a responsibility to judge all situations fairly, with employees, vendors, and customers.” To do this effectively, we must first take a moment to understand the full situation and not make judgments too quickly.
To be a strong leader, we must develop the ability to hear others. “We need to establish a culture in our businesses of respecting the ideas and thoughts of others.”
When giving informational messages, we must “be clear about when, why, and with whom (we) need to communicate.” “We have responsibility to be clear with our instructions, and to accept the responsibility for clarity.”
“Teamwork is one of the most talked about and poorly executed concepts in business. Effective teamwork will occur when leaders: put team goals before individual goals, help others achieve their own goals, value and respect their colleagues, give up their need to be right all the time, and are able to defer to a team decision when necessary.”
We should “cultivate and encourage new ideas from others. Take time to review every process and product in your business. Determine what can be improved, how, and by when.”
No one likes to pay taxes, but it is necessary that we pay them. It is imperative that we are honest when filing tax returns, not help others avoid paying taxes, and not to charge personal expenses in the business to lower tax liability.
“Depending on the estimate, twelve to eighteen million people currently live in the United States illegally.” There are many views on this topic. One view is that laws must be followed and hiring illegal workers is unethical.
Sexual harassment can not be tolerated in the workplace. “No person should have to endure any type of forced attention; be offered promotions in exchange for favors; or be subjected to crude or vulgar jokes, pictures, or any other offensive communication.”
To be ethical leaders, we must place God first in our lives. “The hallmark of a true Christian in business is taking this step of spiritual maturity—this is true integrity.”
The Ten Things Managers Need to Know fromIntegrity in the Workplace
1. As managers, we need to ensure that our companies are going beyond just what is expected of us. We must be willing to go the extra mile for our customers.
2. Take care and use resources wisely and effectively.
3. “Do what we say we will do. Keeping promises is a cornerstone of business integrity.”
4. Be willing to ask advice. Don’t let your pride get in the way.
5. Accept responsibility for your mistakes and do not blame others, circumstances, or luck.
6. Be careful with making judgments. Make sure all the facts are presented.
7. “Develop the ability to listen to others.”
8. “Communicate openly and honestly” with employees.
9. Establish effective teamwork.
10. “Encourage new ideas from others.”
Full Summary of Integrity in the Workplace
What is Integrity?
“Most people would agree that a morally respectable person keeps promises, doesn’t lie, and doesn’t cheat other people—but is there more to integrity than that? Are we people of integrity if we simply operate within the bounds of the law?” There are many questions to be answered that involve integrity. Integrity in the Workplace attempts to answer these questions one at a time by evaluating circumstances that involve ethics.
Delighting Your Customers
As managers, we need to ensure that our companies are going beyond just what is expected of us. If we are willing to go the extra mile for our customers, our business will be set apart and our customers will refer new customers to us. To delight our customers, we must first understand who our customer is. We have internal and external customers. Our internal customers are other departments that depend on our process to complete their functions. Our external customers can be divided into two categories: direct and indirect customers. Consider the example of a physical therapist. A doctor refers a patient to a physical therapist. The doctor is the indirect customer for making the referral, and the patient is the direct customer by receiving the therapy. Managers should strive to please both the direct and indirect customer.
Managers “cannot begin to offer solutions for customers until we understand their needs.” We must always be listening to both verbal and nonverbal communication to understand what the customer needs. Many times we do not give the customer enough time to respond to a question, it is extremely important “to wait for the answer. Once (we’ve) heard and understood what (our) customers want, (we) can more efficiently and effectively meet their needs.
Stewardship Responsibility
As managers, we should “take care and use resources wisely and effectively.” “Management by Walking Around” is useful tool to ensure this goal is accomplished. A company must first decide what is important. A list of “three to seven key factors that have a major effect on (the) company” should be developed. “Each success factor must be measureable, controllable, and high impact.” Problems with key factors should be identified and remediated early to minimize damage. Good stewardship also includes “keeping property, tools, and equipment in good repair.” Managing time effectively is another example of good stewardship.
Doing What We Say We Will Do
“Keeping promises is a cornerstone of business integrity.” Be careful not to promise “too much.” Make sure not to get caught in the moment of negotiations and make promises the organization can not achieve. Even simply telling a customer his or her phone call will be returned today is an example of a promise that should be kept. When a manager does fail to keep a promise, he or she “needs to assume the consequences rather than transferring the burden to the customer.” “It’s unreasonable and unethical to ask a customer to absorb an additional charge for something that is not their responsibility.” It is imperative that managers keep promises to employees. “When we make promises to our employees and then fail to honor those promises, we lose their trust and undermine their morale.” When dealing with vendors, “we need to be clear about what we expect, and we must agree to the price, delivery, and payment terms offered.”
Sharing Decision-Making with Others
To be an effective manager, we must seek counsel and advice from others. We must realize that “group decisions are better than decisions we make on our own.” Groups we should consult include customers, staff, bosses, colleagues, and outside counselors. “Take time to ask customers what they want—and to listen to what they say—this keeps managers connected to their greatest source of good ideas.” “Get into the habit of asking employees questions, and don’t be defensive when they give suggestions that management doesn’t like; otherwise, the pipeline for future ideas will be closed off.” Asking a boss’s advice on difficult issues shows an employee’s appreciation and respect for them. We should consult with our colleagues, because our work affects their processes. “We need to avoid dumping our work and our problems onto other staff members.” We must be careful not to let our pride get in the way of us asking for help.
Accepting Responsibility for Actions and Results
When a mistake is made, we must take full responsibility for our actions. Instead of blaming other people, bad luck, or unfortunate circumstances, we need to take credit for our failures. To do this, we must be humble and able to admit we make mistakes. We must search for the mistake and do what is required to remediate the problem. Managers are charged with the responsibility of creating an ethical and honorable culture. We must exemplify the culture that we wish for our company to have. Managers are also responsible for effective training and following up to ensure employees are adhering to the cultural standards of the company. Managers are responsible for hiring employees that possess traits that are relevant to the corporate culture. When a manager does fail at one of these responsibilities, he or she should be willing to confess the mistake.
Judging Employees Fairly
As managers, we must take extra care in judging employees fairly. Several steps can be taken to guarantee this is done. “First, we must establish clear on-the-job expectations.” One simple way to accomplish this is through the use of a job description. Also, clear job performance standards must be established for each position. Once it is determined an employee is not completing tasks successfully, feedback must be given to the employee to correct the issue. Begin by asking the employee what happened to allow them to explain the situation. Review the consequences of the action to the employee. For example if a shipment was not sent out on time, the order was cancelled or the company was forced to pay overnight shipping. “When employees understand the reasons behind our directions, they will cooperate more willingly.” When an issue like this one occurs, managers must act quickly to resolve them. “Unless manager identify substandard work and unacceptable behavior, their staff will believe that everything is okay.” Once the issue is identified, the manager must make clear to the employee what steps must be taken to correct the problem. The employee must also be given consequences if the problem is not corrected.
Judge All Situations Fairly
“Business leaders of integrity have a responsibility to judge all situations fairly, with employees, vendors, and customers.” To do this effectively, we must first take a moment to understand the full situation and not make judgments too quickly. When dealing with vendors, we can not allow personal relationships affect our decisions. We must be clear in our communication of what we need. It is unethical of us to ask many vendors to give bids for a job when we have already decided which vendor we will use. We have to remit payment to vendors in a timely manner, and we should not become arrogant in negotiations.
“We need to judge customer issues in a balanced way by asking several key questions:
Did we do what we said we would do?
Did the customer suffer loss?
Did the customer take more time and trouble based on our error?
Can we make a reasonable accommodation, even if we are not required?
Have we made every effort to be fair?
Treating customers fairly does not require that we give in to every demand or request, but if we have to make an adjustment, it should fit the circumstances.”
“Employee disputes and issues will come up every day, requiring us to make good judgments. We may blame employees for making mistakes, but before we place blame we need to make sure we understand what happened and who was responsible. Any punishment must fit the crime with established standards that most people can adhere. We have the responsibility to hire and promote the best people.”
Listen Effectively and Seek Positive and Negative Feedback
To be a strong leader, we must develop the ability to hear others. “We need to establish a culture in our businesses of respecting the ideas and thoughts of others. When interacting with customers, develop the habit of asking questions: What do you think? Why do you say that? How can we do better? Is there any new product or service you would like us to offer? What’s working and not working? As leaders, it’s easy to believe that we are supposed to have all the answers, and that asking employees for input is a sign of weakness and indecision rather than an indicator of strong leadership.” We must get over this hurdle and listen to our staff to create a successful business. “Leaders of integrity must develop a clear sense of reality. A key way to accomplish that objective is to seek both positive and negative feedback.”
Communicate Openly and Honestly
“The purpose of communication is to achieve understanding between ourselves and others.” When giving informational messages, we must “be clear about when, why, and with whom (we) need to communicate.” “We have responsibility to be clear with our instructions, and to accept the responsibility for clarity.” It is important for us to give praise liberally to employees for a job well done. Sharing positive news with employees is a good motivator, but it is vital that we share negative news as well. “We need to furnish regular and honest feedback to our employees.” This can be done through regular performance evaluations or monthly one-on-one meetings.
Encouraging Teamwork
“Teamwork is one of the most talked about and poorly executed concepts in business. Each team member must put the team goals before his or her personal goals. “As leaders, we are responsible to clearly state and communicate organizational goals” to the team members. “Good teamwork doesn’t just happen; colleagues have to make an effort to establish it. Because needs are not always apparent, we need to be on the lookout for ways to help others achieve their goals. As a team member, we must understand our area of responsibility, listen and respect all viewpoints, be an effective part of the team, attend meeting attentively, and treat all people with respect and dignity. “When working with a team, each member needs to understand when to back off his ore her ideas, and when to press ahead.” Teamwork is a vital part to an organization. If not handled properly, it could tear a company down.
Accommodate New Ideas
We can choose to look at our businesses from one of two perspectives: (1) If it ain’t broke, why change anything? Or (2) If it ain’t broke, how can we make it better? Take time to review every process and product in your business. Determine what can be improved, how, and by when.” We should “cultivate and encourage new ideas from others.” New ideas can come from staff and customers or even competitors. “Though our primary focus must be on our own business operations, we cannot ignore the competition.” We must be aware of what they are doing and adjust our processes accordingly.
Paying Taxes
No one likes to pay taxes, but it is necessary that we pay them. It is imperative that we are honest when filing tax returns. We can not help others avoid taxes either. We must file the appropriate W-2’s and 1099’s to ensure all income is reported to the taxing authorities. A business owner must be careful not to charge personal expenses in the business to lower tax liability.
Hiring Illegal Workers
“Depending on the estimate, twelve to eighteen million people currently live in the United States illegally.” There are many views on this topic. One view is that laws must be followed and hiring illegal workers is unethical. The rationale given for hiring illegal workers is the company can not afford to pay higher wages.
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
“No person should have to endure any type of forced attention; be offered promotions in exchange for favors; or be subjected to crude or vulgar jokes, pictures, or any other offensive communication. Harassment falls into two categories. The first is trading or promising jobs, promotions, or raises in return for attention or sexual contact. The second type of harassment is creating a poor environment that includes crude and explicit jokes, emails, or pictures. A workplace should be free of all harassment and disrespectful comments directed toward anyone at any time.”
The Real Bottom Line
To be ethical leaders, we must place God first in our lives. “If you have not taken the step of making Jesus Lord over every area of your life, including your business, you may do so right now. The hallmark of a true Christian in business is taking this step of spiritual maturity—this is true integrity.”
Personal Insights
With business conditions today, what the author wrote is – or is no longer true – because:
During the recent economic downturn, integrity has become even more important. Companies must act ethically when reporting financial information. If people lose faith in our financial system, our economy will completely fall apart. Then it is possible we will have a larger recession or even a depression.
If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently:
1. I would have defined integrity better in the first chapter. The chapter allows a person to come to his or her own conclusion of what integrity is, but I think a solid definition at the beginning would have been helpful.
2. I feel that the book repeated a lot of things more than one time. I would have made it more streamlined and combined subjects that were related.
3. I would have more “previews” in the chapters. When I began reading a chapter, I didn’t know where it was headed. I have to think about the flow and organize the thoughts.
Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:
1. One thing that really hit me in the “Paying Taxes” chapter was not including personal expenses in the business. I previously worked for a small CPA firm, and some of the clients put “questionable” transactions through. This made me think more of that. I also thought about dairy farmers that claim a business expense for the electricity their house uses. Is this really ethical? How do you split the business from the personal expense?
2. The teamwork chapter was extremely relevant to me. I learned some tips that I believe I can use to help myself become more successful.
3. I need to learn to listen more. I am a very busy person and I want to complete tasks as quickly as possible. I have to begin taking time to listen to the people around me for advice and ideas. My way is not always the best.
I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:
1. I will always use the teamwork pointers. If I work in industry accounting, I will need the teamwork skills to work on big projects that will be put into place. If I work in public accounting, I will be working as a team to complete audits.
2. I hope to one day be a manager, and I will use the guidance from the book to deal with my employees ethically.
3. I learned a lot about how to interact with customers. I think this is an area that I can improve, and the book definitely gave me some great examples to follow.
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Contact Info: To contact the author of this “Summary and Review of Integrity in the Workplace,” please email Skyler.Seal@selu.edu.
Biography
David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Business, can be viewed at http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.blogspot.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of works he has helped his students to turn into editorially-reviewed publications at the following sites:
Management Concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)
Book Reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and
Travel and International Foods (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/).
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