Sociofactors and ethics of management.

Management as an activity is implemented in organizations that are made up of people. From this point of view, it is obvious that management is a social phenomenon. And, indeed, management in social systems is aimed at coordinating the activities of different people (which is especially important in the conditions of the division of labor). And, therefore, management is closely connected with social processes and phenomena.

Until the middle of the twentieth century. managers' approach to the relationship of the company and society based on the following provisions:

- “what is good for the company is good for society”;

- matter of business - business;

- it is necessary to implement the principle of free entrepreneurship (profits should be obtained with minimal restrictions on the part of society).

However, with the beginning of the scientific and technical revolution, the opinion prevailed that such an absence of restrictions creates a serious social injustice. Society introduced a number of restrictions: laws on child labor, minimum wages, labor protection, antitrust, etc. At the same time, consumers began to make demands because of monopoly prices, falsification of goods, unfavorable conditions for purchases, dishonesty, collusion, political influence, environmental pollution, etc. All this led to a significant increase in control over the activities of firms in the following areas: technical characteristics of the product, production volume, environmental pollution); production processes (labor protection, pollution standards, wage control, employment generation); behavior in competition (prices, collusion, hiding the truth); profit (withholding, distribution); access to resources; management (worker participation; employment-related decisions).

At the same time, the firm is the “wealth generator” of society, since it generates goods and purchasing power for their acquisition; supports the expansion of social infrastructure and provides income for capital; creates jobs at home, suppliers, in the public sector; provides for your own growth. To realize all this, numerous complex connections are necessary and, obviously, the success of a company depends on how they are regulated, who regulates and controls them and how.

Analysis of the corporate strategy of relations with society should cover three main areas: analysis of goals, analysis of restrictions, analysis of the external force field in which the company operates. The approach to choosing preferred goals should take into account the main groups operating in the " field" of the company and their interests: the society as a whole, the local community, shareholders, creditors, consumers, managers, employees of wage labor. The interests of groups acting in the " field of forces" of a firm can be both opposite, and coinciding, and neutral, therefore an analysis of possible coalitions and the choice of a preferred strategy is necessary.

Thus, it can be said that the firm’s commercial strategy is being transformed into a commercial-social-political strategy. Accordingly, firms and their managers need to:

–To carry out ideological reorientation to actions in the social environment;

–Expand the information system to the socio-political area;

- learn to understand political processes and political behavior;

- create an infrastructure for political action;

- take into account social aspects in the system of incentives and rewards;

- to reflect all this in an appropriate way in the management structure of the company.

Figure 6.1 presents the priorities of the company in terms of its social responsibility.

The social role is a way of behavior that corresponds to the norms accepted in the community of people, expressed in the expectations of the environment. The social role is divided into role-playing behavior, that is, those specific actions that a person performs, and role expectations - what others are expected from the carrier. Naturally, there is not always a coincidence between behavior and role expectations, and therefore society creates a system of social control, an important part of which is the totality of sanctions - punishments for deviating from role expectations.

The responsible approach of the manager to his business is to create the most favorable conditions for the long-term cost-effective functioning of the enterprise. Such an approach is answered by entrepreneurship within the framework of the existing legal opportunities and on the basis of generally accepted moral and ethical standards. A law-abiding, respectable manager must make decisions based equally on the interests of the firm, society, and his own. Neglect of any of these factors disrupts the normal functioning of enterprises and, at best, leads to their coagulation.

Fig.6.1. Priorities of the company in terms of its social responsibility

 

The position of managers plays a large role in making decisions that must combine ethical and commercial (business) standards of conduct. In the management process, the manager must take into account four main arguments that can lead to incorrect behavior.

1. The confidence that this activity does not go beyond the boundaries of ethical and legal norms.

2. Confidence in the compliance of the given activity with the interests of the individual or organization and that such actions are expected from the individual.

3. Confidence that the activity is “safe” because it will never be exposed.

4. The confidence that if this activity helps the organization, the organization will treat the manager condescendingly and even favorably, will protect the person who is engaged in such activities.

Management is responsible for creating a moral climate within the organization. Top-level managers should be responsible for defining loyalty boundaries in relation to the organization’s possible illegal activities. Since this boundary (limit) at the time of crisis may disappear or be blurred, it must be clearly defined. Managers have the right to expect loyalty from employees in a competitive environment, but they cannot expect loyalty as opposed to law, morality, or society itself.

 

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