Quality Management

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Quality Management Ethics

• Course Instructor
• Dr. Syed M. Ahmed, Ph.D.
• College of Engineering Computing
• Florida International University, Miami, Florida

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Major Topics

• Ethics Defined
• Trust and Total Quality
• Values and Total Quality
• Integrity and Total Quality
• Responsibility and Total Quality
• Managers Role in Ethics
• Organizations Role in Ethics
• Handling Ethical Dilemmas
• Ethics Training and Codes of Business Conduct
• Models for Making Ethical Decisions
• Beliefs versus Behavior Why the Disparity?

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Ethics Defined - 1

• Ethics is the study of human behavior within a
  moral context.
• Morality refers to the values that are
  subscribed to and fosters by society in general
  and by individuals within the society
• Ethics attempts to - apply reason in determining
  rules of human behavior that translate morality
  into everyday behavior.
• Ethical Behavior It is that which falls within
  the limits prescribed by widely accepted moral
  values.

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Ethics Defined - 2

• Guidelines for Determining Ethical Behavior
• Distinguish the concepts of legal and ethical
• A persons behavior can be well within the
  prescribed limits of the law and still be
  unethical.
• Blanchard and Peale suggest the following 5 Ps
  which help managers and employees make ethical
  choices in the work place.
• Purpose Individuals see themselves as ethical
  people.
• Pride Individuals apply internal guidelines
  have self-esteem.
• Patience Individuals believe right will prevail
  in the long run.
• Persistence Individuals are willing to stay
  with an ethical course of action.
• Perspective Individuals take the time to
  reflect and are guided by their own internal
  barometer to take ethical decisions.

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Ethics Defined - 3

• Factors That Influence Ethical Behavior
• Managers in a total quality setting need to
  understand the factors influencing a persons
  behavior.
• L.K.Trevino suggests 3 personality measures that
  can influence a persons ethical behavior
• Ego strength Ability to undertake self-directed
  tasks.
• Machiavellianism Extent to which a person will
  attempt to confuse others.
• Locus of Control The perspective of people
  concerning who or what controls their behavior.

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Trust and Total Quality

• Total Quality approach cannot be achieved without
  ethical behavior.
• Ethical Behavior builds trust and trust is an
  essential ingredient of total quality.
• In attempting to build trust in the workplace,
  managers should take the initiative.

Fig 1. Elements of Total Quality that depend on
Trust
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Values and Total Quality

• Values are those deeply held beliefs that form
  the very core of who we are.
• A persons conscience or internal barometer is
  based on his or her values.
• Ethical Behavior begins with Values.
• Values that lead to ethical behavior are as
  follows
• Fairness
• Dependability
• Integrity
• Honesty
• Truthfulness

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Integrity and Total Quality

• Integrity as a personal and organizational
  characteristic combines honesty and
  dependability.
• When an individual or an organization has
  integrity, ethical behavior automatically
  follows.
• People with integrity can be counted on to
• Do the right thing
• Do things correctly
• Accomplish tasks thoroughly and completely
• Finish work on time
• Keep promises.

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Responsibility and Total Quality

• Part of ethical behavior is to accept
  responsibility.
• People generally want to blame others for their
  own short comings and failures In a total
  Quality setting, people are responsible for their
  actions and accountable for their performance.
• Accepting responsibility helps build trust,
  integrity, and all other elements of ethics.

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Managers Role in Ethics

• Managers have 3 main responsibilities
• - For setting an example of ethical behavior.
• - For helping employees make ethical choices.
• - Helping employees follow ethical behavior.
• Following are 3 approaches for managers to carry
  out their responsibilities
• Best Ratio Approach People are basically good,
  hence create appropriate conditions.
• Black-and-White Approach Right is right, wrong
  is wrong, hence make ethical decisions and carry
  them out.
• Full Potential Approach People are responsible
  for realizing their full potential, hence
  decisions made should focus achieving this
  potential.

Fig 2. Approaches to Ethics
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Organizations Role in Ethics

• Organizations have a critical role to play in
  promoting ethical behavior among their employees.
• An Organizations tasks in ethics can be
  summarized as
• Creating an internal environment that promotes,
  expects and rewards ethical behavior.
• This can be achieved by establishing policies and
  practices promoting the atmosphere.
• Setting an example of ethical behavior in all
  external dealings.
• Organizations should set an example for their
  employees.
• This motivates them to be ethical.

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Handling Ethical Dilemmas

• Managers response to ethical dilemma is very
  important.
• Following are the guidelines, managers can use in
  such situations.

Fig 3. Guidelines for handling ethical dilemmas
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Ethics Training Codes of Business Conduct

• Ethics Training
• Ethical behavior and the rationale for it can be
  taught.
• In ethics training
• Stimulate discussion
• Facilitate, dont preach
• Integrate ethics training
• Highlight practical applications
• Few examples of the topics that are widely
  addressed in corporate-sponsored ethics training
  programs are
• Drug and alcohol abuse, Employee theft, Quality
  control etc.
• Code of Business Conduct
• Written Codes of Business conduct encourage
  employees to do the right thing.

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Models for Making Ethical Decisions

• Decision making models used for determining
  ethical behavior can differ just as the values of
  organizations do.
• Most widely used models are
• Categorical Imperative Model black-and-white
  model
• Full Disclosure Model functional criterion
• Doctrine of Mean Model Average between 2
  extremes
• Golden Rule Model Do unto others as you would
  have them do unto you
• Market-Ethic Model Any legal action that
  promotes profitability-ethical
• Organizational Ethic Model Loyalty to
  organization
• Equal Freedom Model Organizations have freedom
  to behave
• Proportionality Ethic Model World is so
  complex, decisions are not clear
• Professional Ethic Model Principle of peer
  review

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Beliefs vs. Behavior

• Ethics in workplace manifests itself through the
  application of values.
• Most, but not all, people subscribe to these
  values.
• Several Reasons explain the disparity like
• Self-Interest/Self-Protection
• Conflicting Values
• Tangible/Intangible Immediate Deferred
• Making Ethics Tangible and Immediate

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Questions/Queries