Unit 3: Organizational Culture, Diversity, and Ethics
In this unit, you will look at organizational culture and how it provides a company with its own workplace climate and personality. Organizational culture includes attitudes, values, and work styles which, when managed properly, can lead to a highly productive workforce.
A diverse workforce brings together people from different backgrounds. Each individual brings his or her own experiences and expertise to the table. The blending of these backgrounds can enhance productivity by allowing for the free flow of new ideas and creativity. This unit will explore the importance of a diverse workforce, and how managers can make the most of their employees' individual knowledge and approaches in order to reach corporate goals.
Management sets the tone not only for a corporate climate; it also sets the standard for personal behavior. In this unit you will also learn about the importance of ethics - that is, "doing what is right" or "doing the right thing." In light of recent major business scandals borne out of unethical behavior, almost all business schools have devoted aspects of their curricula to the study of ethics. In order to understand how to apply ethics to different circumstances, you must understand how ethics can vary based on differences in society, culture, and politics. There are a number of different philosophies purporting to explain how to apply ethics to decision-making, but none of them are absolute. However, understanding these various philosophies can help you reach workplace decisions that are more ethically grounded.
This unit will conclude with an exploration of business ethics in the modern-day workplace environment. An organization and its managers have duties - including legal and ethical responsibilities - that they must uphold as part of their service to their stakeholders, including investors, vendors, employees, and the communities in which the organization operates.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 20 hours.