The Management Environment And Management s Ethical and Social Responsibilities The Management Environment Defined The environment of management in any industry is the sum of all the social cultural economic and physical factors that influence the lifestyle of an individual organization or community The Management Environment The following factors influence Managers Social Aspects of the world created by people as they interact with each other Cultural Ways of life people create in a particular group or society Economic Physical The Management Environment Manager s ability to act or react is limited by Internal Constraints originating within the organization 1 Organizational Documents 2 Limited Resources 3 All resources are limited to some degree Organizational Guidelines 4 Define what organizations can and cannot do red tape such as policies and procedures that influence the behavior of managers and employees Custom Long Established Practice Those practices carried on for so long by mutual consent unwritten law The Management Environment External Constraints imposed from outside Legal and Political Considerations 1 Such as laws and regulations taxes and political stability Constraints imposed by the public 2 Growing influence of consumers over the practices of any organization Actions of Competitors Effect of Labor Unions 3 4 Where unions exist management s action is limited by contracts with them Society s effect 5 Society as a whole ultimately sets the legal and social climate in which organizations operate by what it will accept The Economy 6 Economic factors that affect management actions include interest rates inflation rates unemployment availability of capital Contemporary Trends That Affect Management Managers must deal with a constantly changing environment Changing ideas about work and authority New set of values for current American society The revised American dream Quality of life issues emphasis on self fulfillment and achieving personal happiness Cleaner environment Consumerism rights to safety be informed choose be heard Egalitarianism the advocacy of social political and economic equality Which means Managers must be people oriented Align personal and organizational goals Contemporary Trends Government Intervention in business despite deregulation in key industries government regulation has generally increased Equal Employment Opportunity and its affect on minorities and women Title VII Civil Rights Act 1964 Affirmative Action Occupational Safety and Health Act 1970 Safety and protection guidelines Increased complexity for managers by government intervention Contemporary Trends That Affect Management Globalization Expansion of markets internationally Forces managers to become more productive Leads to more efficiency Fosters more creativity by managers Consumerism Better educated consumers refuse to accept defective and or inferior products Consumer demand satisfaction of complaints Contemporary Trends Demographic Diversity Factors that affect population affect workforce and management Demographics statistical study of human population with emphasis on size and density distribution and vital statistics Aging more diverse population Aging population creates many opportunities for sport managers wealthiest healthiest and most active senior citizens in history largest market Contemporary Trends Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere Martin Luther King Jr For most of history Anonymous was a woman Virginia Woolf Diversity differences among people in a population with respect to gender age race or ethnicity religion cultural beliefs social class physical ability and sexual orientation Requires diversity training to prepare people to deal with diverse workforce and demands of a diverse population Contemporary Trends Shift to a Service Economy More manufacturing production jobs lost to foreign markets Nike Managers in service organizations perform same management jobs work closely with consumers Continued Emphasis on Technology and Technological Change Managers must encourage innovation Managers must introduce employees to all technological changes and gain their acceptance of them Managers must retrain employees displaced by technological change Management s Ethical and Social Responsibilities Ethics and social responsibility are two of the most prominent topics in management today Unethical and illegal practices of managers in all types of organizations appear in the news on a daily basis Many colleges today require courses in ethics and social responsibility for management students Management s Ethical and Social Responsibilities Ethical behavior has grown to mean legal virtuous or highly moral behavior Ethics is generally considered to be a set of moral values or principles Ethical behavior goes beyond what is legally correct and adds to the behavior a degree of social responsibility Ethical Responsibilities Deontology Teleology theory of moral obligation results are the true reality utilitarianism the ends justifies the means Managers must balance Achieving objectives Maintaining the internal system Adapting to the environment Making Ethical Decisions Considerations Utility Rights Is the action fair Intent Does it respect the rights of those involved Justice Does it optimize benefits Is there an absence of prejudice Most Organizations have a Code of Professional Ethics Principles to Guide Decision making Toward better Ethics 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tell the truth Maximize well being of owners within the law Balance interest of stakeholders Achieve most social good you can Follow standard business practices Keep contractual and promissory obligations Treat employees with dignity and respect Social Responsibility Defined The duty of business to promote or at least not damage the welfare of society The moral and ethical content of managerial and corporate decisions over and above the pragmatic requirements imposed by legal principle and market economy Acting in the best interests of society in general Social Responsibility Management s most Important social responsibilities 1 2 3 4 5 6 Provide safe products Provide a safe and healthy environment Protect the physical environment Provide equal opportunities Obey the spirit and letter of laws be ethical Provide public service programs
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