Research Paper on Ethical Mind: Business Owner's Role in Employee-Business Relationships

Introduction

In the Harvard Business Review article titled, "The Ethical Mind", Bronwyn Fryer examines the role of ethics in modern-day business and the role that every stakeholder plays, especially with regard to the role of the business owner. The general thesis of the paper posits that it is incumbent upon the role of the modern-day business owner to take deliberate actions that mold the relationship between the employees and the business. He further posits that employees ought to be prepared to get fired for their beliefs and that any employee that goes against this norm is a slave.

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Fryer defines ethics as a kind of behavior that is deliberately cultivated by individuals with the sole intention of making a difference in the community and the societies in which they live. The first benefits of a disciplined mind are the befit that accrue from application of the self in the school environment (Fryer, 2007). Over time people become professionals in whatever fields they continuously practice for instance project management, accounting, finance, and human resource. In each of these fields, professionals find various ways of applying ethics and good behavior for the benefit of other people and for the maintenance of personal dignity.

The author notes that values of ethics begin at home where parents form the first institution of reference and learning by directly imparting upon the children the values that form a major part of their character. Children look up to their parents to determine whether they play by the rules or take pride in their work. They absorb their parents' political and religious values and look to see whether their parents play fair. As they get older, however, their peers become more influential in their lives. This article, therefore, seeks to question the validity of the social institutions around which children grow and whether or not they form the right foundation for the children's moral and ethical growth.

I agree with the sentiments expressed by Fryer in the article "The Ethical Mind". I especially concur with the notion that an ethical mind broadens the idea of respecting other people into something abstract. The author encourages people to think about the kind of workers they want to be and what it would be like for other employees to adopt the same mentality as theirs. A person who possesses a respectful mind prefers to be exposed to other people because he or she has nothing to hide. The author makes a clear distinction between a respectful and ethical mind because people can be respectful and not ethical and vice versa. People who may have been respectful as children may turn out to be unethical because being ethical transcends personal thinking and learned behavior.

The author offers an example of a community center called Reggio Emilia situated in northern Italy in which offers the local residents excellent services to cater to the needs of their toddlers while at work. The author, however, notes that when people grow up within a society that instills morals and ethics, the negative influence from other people within the same society can undermine such efforts. The article alluded to 56 percent of students in a study from the Duke University who admitted to cheating in their exams as some of the reasons why ethics is of primary significance in the learning institutions as well as the workplace. Finally, I agree with the ideas presented in the article because I think the author raises fundamental points at a time when the value of ethics both in schools, society, and the work environment is under great threat.

Learning Styles

I agree with most part of the results of Kolb's Learning Style Inventory. For instance I concur with the section that posits that when I learn, I am careful. This is a fact because I believe that I am a cautious person who likes to carefully examine new thoughts and ideologies before I can resign myself to believing in them. I was honestly surprised to learn about how I take inexperience and how I react to this experience. Going by the learning style grid analysis, I take inexperience at the scale of 6 and act on this information at a scale of 2.

One professional example of the learning style is a situation in which the management places the employees under training for them to be equipped with the essential skills they need to be competent and effective in a skill like Information Technology. However, since it is a new skill to which many are not accustomed, they fail to implement them in the workplace and would rather stick to their old ways of doing things. An academic example of this form of learning is the type in which students are trained in a field like psychology and counseling but fail to apply the same skills they learn in solving their personal life issues. This could be because they do not believe in what they were taught or believe it was meant to help everyone but them.

Team Building

In the Harvard Business School article, "When Teams cannot decide", Bob Frisch examines how stalemates in groups could potentially turn the leaders into dictators by default. The article stresses the fact that at times leaders do not know it when their group members turn them into people they could never imagine being (Frisch, 2008). In a thesis, the article stresses that it is impossible for all the group members can come up with a synonymous type of collective group decision because of the virtue of difference that every member of the group possesses.

My team members perceive me as someone who is a team worker because I am sympathetic understanding and sensitive. Moreover I show a strong concern for social interaction and lead from behind. I can learn that I place the needs of the team ahead of my personal ambitions and that this may at times be accompanied by bouts of indecisiveness.

How Team Work impacted Me

My participation in teamwork allowed me to grow as an individual and generally had tremendous impact on my personality. Not only did I get to know more about how to deal with other people but I also learned about my individual character traits and how to harness my strengths to become attain the peak of my potential. I learned invaluable lessons of perseverance, tolerance, and commitment to the overall goals of the group. Moreover, I learned that it is fine for the members of the group to differ but they can do so in a civilized way and can work through their differences.

Critical Thinking

The 1968 quotation quote by Rosseau stresses the need for unity and togetherness in order to achieve collective goals especially with regards to the running of an organization. the first part of the quotation states that a man cannot be strong enough to be the master all the time. This is to say, no matter the strength a leader possesses, he or she cannot do everything on their own all the time and therefore needs teamwork or the input of other members of the team in order to be successful. According to Collinsa & Cruickshanka, (2015) although team leaders may be held accountable for the overall responsibility of the team, form part of the team and must consult with the rest of the team members to as to come realize resolutions that are all-encompassing and that address the needs of every member of the team.

The second part of the quote says a leader can only succeed at dictating over members of the team if he manages to turn obedience into duty and force into right. According to Carnevale et al., (2018) leaders who express dictatorship tendencies towards other members of their team are likely to elicit narcissistic tendencies which may in turn run down the course of the entire group. Teams comprise individuals with diverse opinions, outlooks about life, skills, and abilities. Therefore the team leader should view every individual in terms of their specific abilities and skills and must hold them to account for their individual contribution to the team.

According to Daniel Goleman, leaders that lack emotional intelligence can create a difficult situation for the other employees to survive (Goleman, 2004). Goleman epitomizes the virtue of emotional intelligence as the sine qua non for leadership and hence all leaders must cultivate the virtue as part of the mechanism that makes them stand out in the field of business. Additional skills essential for effective leadership include the skill of self-regulation, self-awareness, social skill and empathy. Therefore, in the scenario above, Goleman would endeavor to incorporate all the views and the ideas of the other members of the team as essential components in the wholesome process of leadership.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is a very essential component in the workplace and more for positions of management in which individuals are charged with the duty of caring for other people's welfare. According to Schutte & Loi, (2014) higher application of emotional intelligence is connected to flourishing in the workplace. Additionally, it is connected with social support and power in the workplace. Social support and power normally oscillate between workplace success and emotional intelligence.

According to Keskinaet al., (2016) managers with a high level of emotional intelligence are better suited to handle cases of high pressure and stress situations, constructive criticism, decision making, and conflict resolution. This is especially significant since 75 percent of managers value emotional intelligence over intelligence quotient. Although experience can increase the likelihood of acting with high emotional intelligence, exercising empathy and constantly trying to fit into other people's situation improves the affinity to act with emotional intelligence.

Self-awareness is an essential skill that underpins emotional intelligence. For instance the awareness of one's self helps them listen keenly to the plight of other people, take note and recognize nonverbal cues of communication, and gives people the confidence to confront many social situations that help them develop such skills. According to Sarawati et al., (2012) the personality and the emotional intelligence of the managers have a direct implication on the self-esteem of the employees and generally their overall performance.

References

Carnevale, J., Huang, L., & Harms, P. (2018). Leader consultation mitigates the harmful effects of leader narcissism: A belongingness perspective. Decision Processes, 146(1), 76-84. doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.04.003

Collins, D., & Cruickshanka, A. (2015). Take a walk on the wild side: Exploring, identifying, and developing consultancy expertise with elite performance team leaders. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 16(1), 74-82.doi. 10.1016/j.psychsport.2014.08.002.

Frisch, B. (2008). When Teams can't Decide. Harvard Business Review, pp. 1-9.

Fryer, B. (2007, March ). The Ethical Mind. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2007/03/the-ethical-mind

Goleman, D. (2004). What Makes a Leader? Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2004/01/what-makes-a-leader

Keskin, H., Ekber, A., Hayat, A., Saziye, A., & Kayman, S. (2016). Cyberbullying Victimization, Counterproductive Work Behaviours and Emotional Intelligence at Workplace. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 235(1), 281-287. doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.11.031

Sarawati, S., Ishak, J., Shah, M., & AbuBakar, Z. (2012). The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Relationship of Personality and Self-Esteem at Workplace. Social and Behavioral Sciences, 63(1), 150-155.doi. 10.15242/ICEHM.ED1214111

Schutte, N., & Loi, N. (2014). Connections between emotional intelligence and workplace flourishing. Personality and Individual Differences, 66(1), 134-139. doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.03.031