Pan-Pacific Conference XXXIV. Designing New Business Models in Developing Economies

commenting that good staff would leave the
organisation if ethics were not upheld in the
workplace. Conversely any staff not inherently
ethical would feel uncomfortable and would likely
leave of their own accord.
Can you think of a time when a decision was
made by a manager that was against the values
of the organisation?
All respondents were of the opinion that the reason
for the improper behaviour displayed by Managers
B, C and D were driven largely by ambition as well
as arrogance that they can get away with the
behaviour due to the position they hold in the
company. The position held by the manager
therefore had an impact on the behaviour of the
manager. Hanson (2008) is also of the opinion that
managers are placed under a significant amount of
pressure to make decisions on behalf of the
organisation which leads to additional stress and
incorrect decisions being made.
What were the consequences faced by the
managers highlighted for behaving in an
unethical manner?
There were substantial consequences for the
manager that committed fraud as described by
Respondent C. The company took legal action
against the manager and the case is still under
investigation. The managers with behavioural
misconduct as described by Respondent D and E did
not experience any repercussions and are still with
the company. The company has however
experienced an impact as staff members have left
the organisation whilst the remainder of the staff in
the particular teams has low morale and have seen
an increase in absenteeism. Both respondents
commented that they are concerned with the
disconnect shown by Human Resources when these
incidents were reported. It does however seem that
the organisation has identified this as a shortcoming
as Human Resources has moved from a central
function into the various business units to create
alignment to the strategy and values.
How familiar are you with the governance
structures in your organsiation?
Respondent A commented that the governance
structures would not necessarily change behaviour
as behaviour takes a long time to change. Five of
the Respondents indicated that reward and
consequences reinforce behavioural change and will
impact the behaviour of the organisation.
Respondents B and D commented on the
governance structures being in place to enhance the
decision making framework in order to reinforce
behaviour. It was evident that all respondents saw
the managers’ role as very important in setting the
tone for adherence to regulations.
How familiar are you with the ethics structures
in your organisation?
Overall the Respondents feel that the ethics
structure is entrenched in the organisation. It is also
noted that this entrenchment is the work of
continuous ongoing programs run within the
organisation. Respondents E and F felt that more
could be done to keep the awareness fun and
interactive, with staff to keep interest in the
learning. Respondent A felt the role of the manager
was crucial in entrenching the frameworks and
keeping it live for the employees. Moore (2015), is
of the opinion that the organisation provides the
framework or ‘vessel’ in which its members are
allowed to operate in and live their values and
virtues. Managers in general behave in an ethical
manner
Do you feel in general that the managers in the
organisation behave in an ethical manner?
All of the managers showed strong correlation in
that they believed that almost all managers adhered
to the core values and behave in an ethical manner –
walking the talk by demonstrating how to behave in
an ethically responsible manner. Two respondents
spoke about the 80/20 principle to describe how the
majority of the managers behaved in such a way so
as to set the organisation on an overall ethical
pathway. Respondent C indicated that noncompliant
managers would not last long in the
organisation. Respondent D pointed out that growth
in the company has resulted in many middle
managers being head hunted from other companies
bringing in some cultural elements from these
companies.
CONCLUSION
The researchers found that the organisation was
overall ethical in its operations and that, in general,
this was congruent with the overall values and
ethics of the individual managers interviewed as
well as those spoken about in the interviews. The
respondents were in agreement that they have a
great responsibility and impact in terms of how their
employees conduct themselves and can influence
the behaviour of their employees. This influence
will therefore have an impact on the behaviour of
the organisation and therefore the ethical conduct.
The respondents were clear that managers have the
ability to influence their staff members, be it
positive or negative. The respondents also noted that
the presence of a governance structure will only
enhance the intrinsic values of the employees and
will not instill positive behaviour unless it was
already present. The ethical culture in the workplace
is supported by various initiatives including
awareness programs by the Compliance department
as well as an external contracted Auditing firm
which employees could engage with should they
feel they are unable to handle any particular ethics
issue internally.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The culture of open and transparent dealings in the
organisation is to be jealously guarded so that it
may perpetuate and continue to be a feature of the
working environment at the organisation. This is
especially true due to the financial nature of the
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