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Running head: COMMUNICATION ETHICS 1

Communication Ethics

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COMMUNICATION ETHICS 2

Communication Ethics

Ethical organizations use communication to align formal procedures and policies with the

informal aspects of the organization such as culture and beliefs. Through the communication of

ethics, employees in startups or multinationals are made aware of the principles and moral

standards governing the organization. The ethics stipulate the codes of conduct that employees

must observe to ensure the realization of business goals. Understanding the business

environment that startups and large corporations operate enables management to streamline

communication of ethics to commensurate with the needs and circumstances of the organization.

Organizational culture has a significant impact on communicating ethics thus necessitating the

need to align culture with the communication strategies of the firm. Creating and promoting a

culture that facilitates communication makes it easy to champion for the observance of ethics.

Communicating ethics is a challenge at a workplace facing a shift in cultural paradigm as the

organization moves from a startup environment to a much larger organization with defined

policies and governing standard operating procedures that reward ethical behavior and punishes

lack of compliance.

Startup company environment

Organizational structures tie together all facets of an organization ensuring that

individuals job activities contribute to the realization of the goals and objectives of the business.

Startup companies struggle to identify the structure that is the right fit for the organization.

Often, they will try more than one organizational structure to identify what works best. The

reporting and organizational structures of most startups are not defined as the organizations are

trying to figure out ways of streamlining operations. Startups that are large attempt to define

reporting channels to ensure effective and seamless communication across the organization. The

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division of workload in startups depends on the size of the business. For a small startup, the

division of work is not clearly defined as an individual my find themselves engaging in different

roles. Larger startups have a more defined division or work system. Work is divided according to

functional departments.

Multinational organization environment

When developing organizational structures, multinational companies face two challenges,

integrating the local markets and allowing local markets to specialize. Therefore, the reporting

and organizational structures of multinationals must find a balance between the two competing

factors. The organizational structure of multinationals must be strategically aligned to facilitate

growth and success. The organizational structures of multinationals take the form of matrix,

functional, or divisional. Functional structures divide organizations according to specialty or

functional departments such as customer service, sales, research and development, or marketing.

Employees report to a departmental manager, and subsequently, the manager reports to senior

management. Divisional structures divide organizations according to projects executed or

products. The matrix structure integrates different structures, for example, divisional and

functional. In such cases subordinates report may to two bosses. Companies will evaluate their

circumstances to determine which structure contributes to the realization of business goals.

Communication in the workplace

Communication is among the most crucial aspects of the business as it drives

organizational efficiency, employee morale and productivity, and fosters employee’s sense of

ownership toward the company. Workplace communication, whether external or internal, must

be clear, open, and honest to drive efficiency of operations. Organizational culture is one of the

significant factors affecting the effectiveness of communication. The culture of an organization

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affects the attitudes that organizational members have toward communication. If management is

open to ideas from subordinates, such a scenario creates a culture that promotes seamless,

honest, and transparent communication. Conversely, leaders that do not allow employees to

voice their opinions create a culture of one-sided and ineffective communication. In the long-run,

the employee will not bother to get involved in the decision making and company operations.

Integrity-based and ethics-based culture systems foster communication by ensuring

communication is transparent, honest, and upholds the values of the organization. Ethics and

integrity-based systems ensure the responsible conduct of organizational members (May, 2013).

Lack of ethics and integrity prevents effective communication because it disregards the quality

of information being transmitted concerning validity, accuracy, and reliability. Ultimately, the

lack of ethics and integrity creates a situation where organizational members will be second-

guessing any information relayed to them resulting in poor communication.

How organizational size affects communication

Other than organizational culture, effective communication is affected by the size of the

organization. Communicating in smaller organizations is easy because it is easier to hold a

meeting where management can seek the input of employee on a one-on-one basis. Face-to-face

communication makes it easy and less time consuming to get feedback from employees on

various issues. Management can easily communicate ethics and train employees on ethical

principles in smaller organizations. Communication breakdown in large organizations is

common making the realization of effective communication a challenge (Jex, Britt &

Dawsonera, 2008). First, the large size hinders personal communication as management cannot

reach each employee due to time constraints. Second, the influx of information from various

departments makes communication challenging inhibiting the timely response to all

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communication. When employees do not get feedback, they feel that their input is not valued

making them hold back even when they have genius ideas. Lastly, apathy and lack of

accountability by supervisors may make them ignore information and feedback from employees

to senior management. It is important to underscore that large corporation can achieve effective

communication by having a communication strategy that facilities easy and timely transmission

of information. Large Corporation relies on technology to communicate such as by using emails,

telephones, video calls, and company websites. The lack of personal touch makes it difficult to

communicate ethics emphatically.

Role of vision and mission in setting up the ethics tune

A firm’s vision and mission statement communicates the strategic direction of the

organization, guides business functions and activities, and guide individual behavior. The

corporate vision is one of the leading factors influencing perspectives of ethics in the workplace.

Moreover, they form the foundation for the organizations’ strategy, plans, culture, and policies.

Since ethical practices are critical for the success of the business, the vision and mission must be

aligned with ethics. An ethical enterprise must ensure that its mission statements communicate

and reaffirm its position and expectations on ethical behavior (Kolb, 2008). A vision that reflects

ethics inspires employees to align their actions and motivations to comply with the firm’s ethical

requirements. The vision and mission play a critical role in setting the tune for ethics because it

determines and influences how people behave toward each other in the organization and their

interaction outside the organization.

A lack of consistency in a firm’s position on ethics presents loopholes for unethical

behavior. Expectations for ethical behavior must be enshrined and communicated in every

written and unwritten rule of the organization. An organization may have a well-stipulated ethics

COMMUNICATION ETHICS 6

policy by failure to integrate and communicate this policy in all aspects of the organization

presents gaps and opportunities for unethical conduct. If the established ethical path is not

supported by the vision and mission, organizational members are likely to disregard the ethical

path. The disregard arises because the mission that ought to provide strategic direction in the

firm does not support the ethical path. For the business to achieve high levels of ethics, they must

ensure that the ethical path and principles commensurate with the strategic direction of the

business.

Relationship between ethics and culture

The culture of an organization defines the organizations’ attitudes toward culture.

Organizations whose employees have poor moral standing will disregard ethical principles and

behave however they please. However, employees that are morally upright will comply and

adhere to ethical principles. An unethical organizational culture adversely affects the business in

more ways than one. First, it creates a scenario where the company could lose credibility if the

general public becomes aware of its unethical conduct. The company brand image gets ruined

leading to loss of business as consumers do not want to be associated with unethical companies

(Mele

, 2009). Second, it destroys employee’s relationships by brewing animosity among

employees that comply with ethical standards and those that do not. The lack of trust prevents

teamwork and collaboration thus destroying the performance of employees. Third, unethical

issues may lead the business to legal problems resulting in financial loss associated with paying

hefty fines for breaking government laws regulating the conduct of business.

Since unethical cultures are more of a cost rather than a benefit, organizations must strive to

change such cultures by communicating ethical expectations to promote integrity. Changing

unethical cultures has its costs. First, employee resistance is one of the most factors as employees

COMMUNICATION ETHICS 7

fight the new change to maintain the status quo. Employees that are used to getting things done

by whatever means will protest any attempt to make them conform ethical standards. Second, the

organization has to spend time and money educating and communicating to the employee on the

importance of ethics.

Benefits of changing unethical culture

Changing an unethical culture to an ethical culture is critical to the success of an

organization. The change in culture begins with top management communicating the importance

of ethics in the workplace. One benefit of changing culture is that an ethical culture cultivates

productivity and teamwork. Communication and dialog regarding ethics foster integrity, and

openness and this supports the formation of effective teams. Subsequently, aligning personal

values and organizational values motivates employees to perform optimally (Wrench, 2013).

Second, ethical cultures contribute to the success of the business because it eliminates expensive

legal issues that erode profitability, promotes employee satisfaction, and attracts more consumers

as they prefer to purchase from ethical firms.

Conclusion

As the organization transitions from a startup to a large corporation, its policies and

standards advance, and this presents a new challenge of communicating ethics. The challenge

arises where the large size hampers seamless communication hence making employees aware of

ethical principles becomes difficult. However, leaders can mitigate this by establishing

communication strategies that encourage effective communication. The role of communication

in the compliance of ethics cannot be overstated because the compliance with ethics rests on the

ability to make the employee aware of the ethical principles they must observe.

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References

Jex, S. M., Britt, T. W., & Dawsonera. (2008). Organizational psychology: A scientist-

practitioner approach. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.

Kolb, R. W. (2008). Encyclopedia of business ethics and society. Thousand Oaks: Sage

Publications.

May, S. (2013). Case studies in organizational communication: Ethical perspectives and

practices. Los Angeles: Sage.

Mele

, D. (2009). Business ethics in action: Seeking human excellence in organizations.

Basingstoke [England: Palgrave Macmillan.

Wrench, J. S. (2013). Workplace communication for the 21st century: Tools and strategies that

impact the bottom line. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger.

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