Equal Employment Opportunity
Such a concept as equal opportunity employment (EEO) first emerged after the adoption of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 (Burstein, 1994, p 247). This law was aimed at protecting applicants or employees from discrimination on the basis of their religion, age, sex, race, or ethnic origin. EEO can be applied to different kinds of relations between companies and workers, for instance, application to the job, remuneration offered to the employees, promotion opportunities, or retirement package (Buckley, 2008, p 13). EEO is closely connected with workplace diversity and tolerance. A company, which adheres to the principles of EEO, must take measures to ensure that none of the employees is discriminated against. As a rule, companies do it by providing counseling to the employees, representing the minority populations. Compliance with the principles of EEO is essential for maintaining organizational values and accomplishing its mission. The thing is that in this way the company shows that it displays equal levels of respect to its employees irrespective of their differences. Every organization has to prove that it really acts as a responsible corporate citizen. To some degree, responsible corporate behavior is essential for sustaining good relations not only with the employees but with customers as well. Overall, the key tenets of EEO should not be regarded as some necessity imposed from outside, but rather as the key to survival.
Organizational Code of conduct
A code of conduct can be understood as a set of rules which govern various aspects of organizational behavior. It is particularly important when we are speaking about its relationships with different stakeholders such as customers, employees, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and so forth (Mamic & International Labor Office, 2004, p 227). These people and organizations are influenced by the decisions of the company’s management yet at the same time they have the power to affect its performance. Thus, the organizational code of conduct is tailored to better meet the needs of these stakeholders. Overall, it is possible to say that these rules touch upon different activities of an organization such as financial reporting, production standards, customer relations, product marketing, etc (Collins, 2009, p 13). The organizational code of conduct is based on the principles of integrity and willingness to benefit the community. Furthermore, this set of rules has to emphasize such values of the company as respect, responsibility, and trustworthiness (Collins, 2009, p 13). They are essential in accomplishing the mission of an organization. Again, it is necessary to emphasize the idea that a code of conduct is indispensable for the effective management of a company since it regulates the daily activities of the employees.
Organizational Systems
Such a term as the organizational system has a great number of definitions. Scholars interpret it as the way in which the employees of a company are configured and related to one another (De Wit & Meyer, 2010, p 168). Overall, the organization system consists of the following components culture (the values of management and workers), structure (workplace hierarchy), internal economy (budgeting), procedures and methods (production methods), remuneration policies (Daft, 2007, p 379). These organizational systems show employees interact with the management and with one another, how their work is assessed, and most importantly how the company does develops its budget and allocates resources. The management structure can have a profound impact on the performance of company. This concept consists of several important areas like task allocation, the monitoring of employees’ work. Furthermore, when speaking about organizational structure, we should also discuss the level of autonomy given to each worker. For instance, in hierarchical companies an employee is strictly subordinate to the higher-ranking executives; moreover, this person is continuously supervised. In contrast, the management of a flat organization involves employees in decision-making and encourages them to display initiatives (Daft, 2007, p 379). Thus, it would not be an exaggeration to say that organizational systems and especially their structure determine the operations of a company.
The role and Positioning of IT
Information technologies are aimed at supporting different organizational activities such as planning, supply chain management, communication between departments, document management, marketing, distribution, and so forth (Mahr, 2010). IT helps the management to achieve their objectives, by making the company more time-efficient and reducing operational expenses. Information technologies are also essential for maintaining the quick flow of information between various business units of a company. This role becomes very crucial if we are speaking about large companies consisting of multiple departments or subsidiaries (Kangas, 2003, p 223). Without them, these organizations would have become very cumbersome and slow. On the whole, one can argue that the role of IT is most supplementary but without them, every business process can become impossible or much less effective. The key question is how to develop IT system of company. Some organizations prefer centralized ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solutions which provide the management to control resource allocation, sales, budgeting etc. Other companies prefer to use a separate application. Each of these approaches can be appropriate; as a rule, the choice depends on the structure and size of a company. Overall, successful companies can hardly be imagined without effective utilization of information technologies.
References
Collins D. 2009. Essentials of Business Ethics: Creating an Organization of High Integrity and Superior Performance. NY: John Wiley and Sons.
Buckley J. 2008. Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance Guide. Aspen Publishers Online.
Burstein P. 1994. Equal employment opportunity: labor market discrimination and public policy. NY: Transaction Publishers.
Daft R. 2007. Organization theory and design. NY: Cengage Learning.
De Wit B & Meyer R. 2010. Strategy: Process, Content, Context, An International Perspective. NY: Cengage Learning.
Kangas K. 2003. Business strategies for information technology management. London: Idea Group Inc.
Mamic I. & International Labor Office. 2004. Implementing codes of conduct: how businesses manage social performance in global supply chains. London: International Labour Organization.
Mahr F. 2010. Aligning Information Technology, Organization, and Strategy: Effects on Firm Performance. Munich Gabler Verlag.
The United States Senate. 1964. “Civil Rights Act of 1964”. Web.