Address the problem
How do companies react to ethical dilemmas?
Ethical dilemmas are a consequence of organisations operating in a world with different players and different expectations. There is a wealth of different expectations from the players of how the organisation should relate to for instance employees, equal opportunities, and environmental issues.
These are the words of Visiting Professor Tor Hernes from the Department of Organization. He has just published the book 'Ethical Dilemmas in Management' with Christina Garsten.
The two authors bring attention to how ethical dilemmas arise and how companies address them.
A wave of ethical responsibility
The ethical behaviour of a company is significant to how the company and the products are perceived by the outside world and it is therefore an important management aspect.
- The consequence of the past years’ wave of Corporate Social Responsibility is that more and more companies have set up ideals to live by, says Tor Hernes.
He points out that it is important that the company is still aware of the emergence of new dilemmas and how it should relate to them.
- Many companies have sets of rules on how to relate to the environment and equal opportunities. The rules may be effective, but at the same time there is a risk that they could breed complacency. In some cases, rules may even cause the companies to be less ethical, says Tor Hernes.
The lightning conductor – removes focus
Among other things, the book introduces the ‘Lightning conductor model’.
- When companies tackle a dilemma, it often happens by emphasising something else. They try to remove the focus from the actual problem or describe it as something else than what it really is instead of addressing the problem, says Tor Hernes.
Contact: Visiting Professor Tor Hernes, tel.: +27 14 41 37
The book aims at students who are interested in supplementary reading besides the syllabus.
Read more about the book here