Introduction
Organizations are established to achieve certain goals, and the achievement of these goals depends on the ability of all the stakeholders to develop strategies. To achieve goals, it is important that an organization should have ethical standards that should be aimed at achieving the goals. Ethics provide a guideline for achieving the goals which have been established by an organization. Ethics are important to both the organization and the employees. To study ethical behaviors in an organization, questionnaires are very useful in reducing the time and cost used in obtaining information from respondents. It is also important that teamwork be encouraged in an organization so that all the goals can be achieved effectively.
Importance for organizations to address the issues of ethics
The corporate image of an organization is improved when it adheres to ethical standards. Consumers in the global market have become aware of the need for the companies selling products to adhere to ethical standards. Some of the ethical requirements required to be maintained are protecting the environment, maintaining good standards for the employees, having good relationships with society, and many others. Maintaining these standards is important to an organization because it helps reduce bad reputation, which may hinder the organization from achieving a good competitive edge in the market. A good corporate image improves the market position of a company and provides better sales in a competitive market environment[1].
Organizations that address issues of ethics are able to differentiate their brands in the market. In a competitive market environment, companies strive to become unique by conducting their activities in the best way possible. Adhering to ethical standards helps a company becomes recognized by customers in the market, and this helps differentiate its products from other companies selling similar products. The brand image of a company that has good CSR practices is high, and this makes the products of such a company become more unique[2].
Adhering to ethical standards helps an organization acquire a license to operate in a market where there are many regulations and taxation systems. Failing to maintain ethical standards makes an organization legible to many regulations and taxes. Governments have put in place requirements that organizations operating within their jurisdictions should observe. Failure to maintain these standards can cause an organization to lose a lot of money through penalties, fines, and taxes. It is also a great risk to practice unethical activities because, in some cases, the legal systems of a country can force a company to close down. By practicing corporate social responsibility, an organization is able to convince the government as well as the general public that it has an adequate measure to safeguard the health and safety of its environment, customers, and all other stakeholders. Strict measures are not imposed on organizations with a good record of ethical practices[3].
Good ethical practices help an organization become alert about its risk management activities. A good public image is built over time and can be spoilt within hours, especially when a simple incident of corruption or environmental damage occurs. Maintaining a good corporate image is expensive because an organization must be alert about all activities happening at all times. Becoming reckless is dangerous because the organization can damage its reputation. In addition, there are legal charges involved when unethical issues are reported, and these may cost a lot to the organization. Organizations are forced to build a culture of conducting the right thing at all times to reduce the risks that may be associated with unethical behaviors[4].
Addressing ethical issues or corporate social responsibility is of great importance to employees in that they become loyal, motivated, and willing to work in such organizations for a longer period of time. Corporate social responsibility programs help in the recruitment and training of employees. In addition, an organization is able to retain a substantial number of employees, especially when there is a high rate of labor turnover in the labor market. Employees seek to know the level of corporate social responsibility of an organization so that they can determine whether they can work with it. Organizations with a good CSR rating have the advantage of recruiting and retaining employees who are professional and skilled in their areas of operation. Additionally, employees have a good perception of organizations that have good CSR because they feel that society is benefiting from the activities of the organization. Ethical practices within an organization make employees become motivated to work hard to make for the benefit of all stakeholders[5].
The interest of employees is well protected when an organization practices ethical standards. An organization with good ethical standards ensures that employees are protected at their place of work and that they have all that they require working efficiently. Legally, it is a requirement that all organizations should avoid discrimination of whatever kind to all employees. In addition, organizations need to have better facilities and a good working environment to avoid injuries to employees. It is also ethical that organizations should provide good remunerations that align with the job done by the employees. When an organization maintains ethical standards, the employees benefit by getting better working conditions. As such, CSR is used to attract professionals and qualified employees as well as retaining the existing employees[6].
Benefits of using questionnaires for organizations
Questionnaires are uniform, and they are used to evaluate people in a standard manner. This makes questionnaires more objective in evaluating the people in an organization. There is no room for people to create new things, and this establishes a common judgment about the issues being examined. As such, a general overlook of an organization is obtained when an organization uses questionnaires, and this helps prevent biases that may be developed when individuals are provided with opportunities to use other methods of evaluating the organization[7].
It is faster and cost-efficient to collect data using questionnaires. To collect information by the use of questionnaires, an individual is required to distribute them, and the respondents fill in the required information and then collect the questionnaires. This reduces the time of collecting information from every respondent. The number of people involved in collecting data is minimized because they are only involved in the distribution and collection of questionnaires. As such, few costs are incurred, and time is saved in the entire exercise[8].
There are no biases when questionnaires are applied. They are uniform, and respondents are required to answer similar questions. This prevents biases in the kind of information provided. In most cases, the questions applied are familiar to most of the respondents, and this helps collect data more efficiently. In addition, a large amount of data is collected by the use of questionnaires because there are different types of questions focusing on all aspects of the issues being targeted[9].
What makes teams cohesive and successful
Training team members makes them successful in performance. Training involves providing the members of a team with the important skills required in performing the duties bestowed upon them. Regular and continuous training is required to provide the employees with skills for better and improved performance. In modern market environments, there is a very high rate of technological changes, and there is a need to train on upcoming skills so that people can improve their performance. Training improves the level of innovation that a team has, and this helps the members to become creative in their activities. Innovations are important because they help develop differentiated products, and this improves the performance of teams[10].
Leadership is an important aspect that makes teams successful. Through leadership, team members are motivated to contribute willingly to the goals and objectives of an organization. As such, the members achieve goals that had been planned. Leaders provide a guideline to their followers, and this encourages them to have the passion for achieving goals that have been established. Leadership is a very strong tool that enables teams to achieve challenging tasks within the scheduled deadlines. It is important for leaders to show their followers the way to follow by acting as good examples and providing better opportunities to pursue the goals which have been established[11].
Teamwork is an important tool that makes teams achieve their goals. Becoming united in all activities enables teams to achieve their goals. Unity is achieved when people are able to perform their duties according to the set standards. Team leaders have an obligation to unite all the team members and to encourage them to have a common vision and to avoid conflicts of interest so that all the goals can be achieved. When people are united, they are able to develop ideas that are better than when working individually. The team members provide synergies to each other, and this helps promote the performance of the team[12].
Proper management is an important aspect in making teams successful. Management involves planning, organizing, controlling, and directing all resources of an organization so that the goals can be achieved. It is the role of the team leaders to manage the teams and to provide resources to the subordinates. When teams are well managed, the members are able to achieve the goals which have been established. Therefore, successful teams are achieved by good management strategies[13].
Conclusion
Corporate social responsibility is an important tool that organizations use to protect the welfare of their employees as well as improve the image. Practicing ethics in an organization is important because it helps manage risks, improves the level of employee retention, and improves the brand image of a company. To collect data about ethical issues, questionnaires are applied because they are time-saving and cost-efficient. Teams become successful when they achieve the goals which have been established. Such success is achieved by the application of training to all team members, providing good leadership to the followers, and integrating the spirit of teamwork among all concerned stakeholders.
Bibliography
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Worsam, Mike. Effective Management for Marketing. Elsevier, 2003. p. 109. Web.