The culture needs to be underpinned by clear values that all staff understand and can apply. There needs to be a robust values based decision making process which ensures decisions are made in a consistent manner with reference to a wide range of stakeholders.
Read Business Ethics video transcript
All organisations whether they be commercial, public or not for profit need to balance their books. So, financial probity is important. The problems come when profit becomes the over-riding purpose of the organisation and all decisions are measured in monetary terms.
One reaction to the dubious if not totally unethical decisions made by some high profile organisations recently is the call for greater regulation. At Elgood we don’t believe this will solve the problem.
If an organisation seeks to achieve survival in the medium to longer term we believe they need to have a decision-making process based on a strong set of values clearly communicated throughout the organisation. Those tasked with decision making, particularly strategic and policy decisions, need to give greater weight to other performance indicators.
By building a decision-making process which enables everyone to see how their decisions align with the organisations values and the impact of these decision on success they can create a stable and profitable organisation.
The society within which organisations operate has changed. It’s no longer sufficient to focus purely on financial stability. How you go about your business matters just as much as what you do.
Fiat Chrysler lost $2.3 billion in stock value following accusations that they had installed software to cheat emission tests. VW lost 30% of its value. In both cases the bottom line and delivering against targets set by the management drove unethical behaviour. The net result was a catastrophic impact on financials and long-lasting damage to their brands.
Experiential learning is the most effective way of ingraining values in business as usual. To find out more about how we can help please contact us.
Many organisations create their values and adopt a decision-making framework but fail when it comes to the adoption and application of them on a day to day basis. We can help organisations to embed their values into decision-making. Research has shown that business games and simulations achieve greater positive behaviour change and greater learning than case study discussions. Through a business simulation game participants experience the difficulty of grappling with ethical issues in a business context by weighing up the need for more revenue versus the danger of purchasing from suppliers whose standards cannot be verified.Values Based Decision Making
We can help you improve your business decision-making process and ensure decisions are made in a consistent manner that supports your organisation’s values.
All organisations need to balance their books to be sustainable, but this does not have to be at the expense of behaving in a responsible and ethical manner. Organisations run along ethical lines are more successful in the long term.
Read more about Ethics in business, the importance of values, or download one of our White Papers:
