Running Head: ETHICAL CHALLENGE 1

The Ethical Challenge of Communication and Employee Discipline in the Workplace

Hector Lucero

MGT/426

March 5, 2015

Glenn Arola

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 ETHICAL CHALLENGE 2

The Ethical Challenge of Communication and Employee Discipline in the Workplace

This managerial study will define the ethical challenges of communication and employee

discipline during times of implementing change in the organization. The problem of

communication is of vital importance for the manager, since there should be transparency and a

time frame in which to reveal certain goals and objectives. Within the change or innovation

process, the manager must be fully aware of the morale of the employees during change when

discussing new ways of management. More so, during this communication process, the manager

must also be aware that there may be resistance to change with unruly or undisciplined

employees that may not approve of the changes being made in the workplace. These ethical

challenges provide a framework in which communication must be monitored to help the

employee see the effectiveness of the change and to improve employee morale. In some cases,

the manager has no control over the personal life of an employee, which can cause serious

disruptions when implementing change. In essence, an analysis of the ethical issues of open

communication and employee discipline will be defined as potential barriers for implementing

change in the organization.

For managers, ethical communication issues found in the process of change that occurs in

the rules and regulations are announced to the employee within the organization. The ethical

problem of open communication brings forth two important points, which define (a) the

transparency of certain goals for change, and (b) the public and private methods of

communication managers chose to reveal to the employee. These ethical approaches define the

level of managerial conduct in communicating change for the employee. Without a strategic

method of communication, the ethical rights of the employee may feel violated due to the

openness or secrecy of managerial communications about changes being created in the

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 ETHICAL CHALLENGE 3

organization. In some cases, ineffective managers may choose to divulge the entire change

policies for the company without taking into account the ramifications of these new ideas.

Contrary to this method, a manager may seek to use responsible and incremental methods of

communication, which may help the employee adapt to the new changes through what is called

“relational communication”:

Some managers use of relational communication theory and prefer to build trust

considerately and responsively in a manner that may not be as assertive as that of

managers in meeting their own needs. (Petrick & Quinn, 1997, p.84)

This approach to open communication defines the ethical issues that present a challenge

to managers that may seek to announce certain changes over a certain period of time, or by

revealing all the details of these changes in a single meeting. This is an ethical issue because

certain employees may like to hear the changes in a single public setting, while other managers

may seek to slowly integrate various changes over the long term in a more discrete manner.

Certainly, managers need to take into account the method of communication that may best suit

the employee environment and the resistance factors of the employee into account. Ethically, the

various methods of communication are vital to understanding which method may best suit an

organization for building stronger morale and improving manager/employee interpersonal

relations in the workplace.

Another ethical issue during times of change is the way employees deal with new rules

and regulations on the job. In many ways, the manager does not have control over an employee’s

personal life, nor the various problems of resistance that can occur during the implementation of

change within the organization. In this manner, the manager must deal with the moderation

process in which the employee must be evaluated for their performance and their interpersonal

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 ETHICAL CHALLENGE 4

habits. In an employee perspective, an individual may possess various immoral or unethical

behavioral values, which may pose a threat to the organization. The ethical issue of self-control

in the workplace will be one of the most ethical challenges that a manager may endure during a

time of change. These aspects of management are critical for implementing change, since many

employees may feel vulnerable to the new rules and may directly challenge them on the job:

Managers must have the willingness to set limits, control self-indulgence, and delay

immediate gratification. Many of the problems of western society, including financial

crimes, drug addiction, and verbal aggression overflow into the workplace. (Pertrick &

Quinn, 197, p.92)

This aspect of “mediation” in the workplace defines the underlying ethical issues that

define employee discipline and the problems of self-control that may interfere with the change

process. The manager must be aware of the numerous downfalls of personal behavior, which

may “overflow” into the workplace, especially when the organization is seeking to implement

new rules and regulations. In some cases, the employee may already know the company rules,

yet they are unwilling to follow these ethical and moral guidelines due to personal problems

outside of work. Certainly, one of the most important ethical issues is to define these moral and

ethical problems found in the employee, which can help the mitigation or mediation of these

issues that are disrupting the workplace. Therefore, the ethical issue of employee discipline and

self-control are major ethical issues that the manager must define and resolve in order to make

successful changes during a time of transition or innovation.

Finally, the combined effect of ethical issues in communication and employee-disciple

are often interrelated in the management process, which define a more comprehensive view of

these major barriers to change in the organization. In many cases, Ethical approaches to

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 ETHICAL CHALLENGE 5

communication can help to alleviate many of the personal grievances of certain employees that

resist change in the workplace. The manager may choose a variety of differing methods of

communication, but it is important to gauge the level of intolerance or resistance to change that

has become a part of the employee culture. In addition to gauging the employee culture, it is

important to define the rules and regulations that the employee must follow, especially in regards

to what is expected of the employee during the implementation of new policies. However, the

manger will inevitably encounter immoral or unethical employee habits, which must be mediated

and resolved in order for change to successful at an ethical level of conduct. The manager must

take direct responsibility to ensure that the rules and regulations of moral and ethical conduct are

communicated in a transparent, yet responsible manner for the employee to comprehend over

time. Without a strong base for communication, the ethical conduct of the employee may veer

towards patterns of undisciplined behaviors and immoral conduct that can reduce morale in the

organization. These ethical issues are important to define, especially within the context of

implementing change in the organization's rules and regulatory expectations of employee

conduct. Therefore, a combination of communication and employee discipline is crucial ethical;

issues that may pose challenges to the manger seeking to bring forth change in the workplace.

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 ETHICAL CHALLENGE 6

References

Petrick, J., & Quinn, J. (1997). Management ethics. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.

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