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HRM Review Magazine
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This article argues that leaders can create better organizations by initiating a mutually shared ethical culture with their followers or employees. By sharing a joint ethical framework and generating positive relationships, bonding and cohesion develop which promote organizational culture. While organizations scramble for ways to optimize success, they consistently disregard or denigrate the value of their human capital and the gains to be made from building trust and positive values. In other words, companies often forget what makes success or failure: its people. As a result, organizational problems arise from widespread unethical workforces. Developing a collective ethical culture is one long-term solution to many of the problems witnessed by organizations. In this article, a business tool is introduced, that suggests ways in which a communal culture might be created. The solutions offered here aim at bringing people together to develop a preferred culture that is appropriate to their organizational needs.

 
 
 

A company's ethical culture is an understanding that the people share, determining the morality and thus the organization's deeds (Appelbaum & Shapiro, 2006, p. 1-2). Ethics originate from factors such as social accountability, individual morality, and professional codes that can control a firm's ethical climate. Therefore, ethical problems often derived from the organizational culture. The potent power of the organizational culture determines ethics; what workers highly value can make unethical actions appear either attractive or unacceptable, depending upon this organizational climate (Appelbaum & Shapiro, 2006, p. 1-2).

Hence, organizations can exert enormous cultural pressure on staff, for ethical or unethical culture, which makes this a place to establish cultural transformation. According to Appelbaum & Shapiro, ethical defiance has become rampant in business; insubordinate employees are sabotaging employers, even to the point of withholding work effort (2006, p. 1-2). This research demonstrates harmful effects from lack of values that result in higher costs for companies (2006, p. 1-2).

Organizational studies link unacceptable behavior such as this, to the type of climate in the organization. Positive interaction between workers helps foster organizational cohesion. This interaction together actually builds a bond among them (Appelbaum & Shapiro, 2006). This last fact can be applicable in developing ethics within an organization and bonding by sharing positive cultural attributes in organizational culture. The sum effect of all this is that leader and follower or manager and staff come to see and value ethics as a joint venture

 
 
 
 

HRM Review Magazine, Leaders and Followers, Ethical Culture, Organizational Culture, Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument, OCAI, Modern Management, Human Resources, Corporate Culture, Leadership Styles, Organizational Strategies, Market Culture.