The head of a company convinced clients to invest in the business with the intention of going through with the promise of expanding their shares. Committed to living up to his promise, he communicated his intentions to employees and welcomed their suggestions while allowing them to participate in the decision- making process. His determination to live up to his promise also communicated to the employees the importance and respect with which he held them. This is especially because accomplishing such a promise would have involved a more aggressive managerial approach bordering on disrespect of employees but the company head just led positively by example. This situation is an example of the use of ethical standards in management communications. According to Men (2015), leaders promote ethical communication by allowing participation of employees in decision making and being role models to them which inspires them to uphold ethics in the organization.
The company head decided to communicate his intentions to employees by engaging them because it helped to establish a good, trustful relationship with them. According to Kumar (2010), a leader who forms good relationships with employees ensures the establishment of trust as well as a sense of security. Formation of good relationships is one importance of communicating in an ethical manner as this includes showing respect to co-workers and trusting them in business. As Keeble (2006) cautions, “ethical work practices embodying respect for the welfare of employee stakeholders are not an optional, ‘nice’ element of the conduct of business”. Also, through communicating his intentions by setting an example, the leader ensured that he established a system of values that would lead to employees respecting him as well as each other.
Moreover, even when the company head seemed hard pressed to lie due to temporary negative results, he still managed to candidly reassure the clients while also spurring us to put more effort without undue harassment; which are hallmarks of ethical communication. For cooperation to exist, roles of the team players have to be clarified, which further provided the head with an opportunity to take an ethical perspective in addressing his subordinates (Men, 2015). Each player also has to fulfill his responsibilities and give their best to promote the achievement of objectives. Communication that supports ethics in an organization should be visionary in that it inspires and guides employees to achieve goals.
- Keeble, R. (2006). Communication ethics today. Leicester, UK: Troubador Publishing Ltd.
- Kumar, R. (2010). Basic business communication. New Delhi: Excel Books.
- Men, L. R. (2015). Ethical leadership role in internal communication. Public Relations Journal,
9(1), 1-22.
