Negotiation and Compliance: An Article Analysis
Dick Olver, chairman of BAE Systems, writes an empirical analysis of negotiation and ethical compliance in the article “Ethical Business Cultures”. His approach is that of an expert in both observation and experience in the analysis of negotiation and the behavioral aspects of corporate culture. Every successful enterprise requires the strong foundations of leadership and the willingness of the rest to believe in the vision of the leader and to follow him or her. Olver understands this firsthand and believes that implementing change in the form of an ethical working environment is key to a company’s success and employee happiness, overall.
Though he asserts that there is a chain of command in every business, ethics is one area where all members of a working team must work at equally. Therefore, though demonstrating the effective use of ethics begins at the top of an organization, it can only be sustained by all employees’ involvement in it’s continuation. Olver readily outlines the processes of both the means by which employees eagerly accept the ethical vision of the business leader and the constant need for management to reinforce ethical behavior.
There are no apparent flaws in his reasoning, as his expertise in the business world serves as a seemingly credible source of both advice and information. Olver initially lists three ways in which managers can negotiate compliance with their employees. A manager must be aware of what is important and communicate this to employees faithfully. He or she, also must take responsibility for ethics “embedment” and not depend or delegate this upon others.
Finally, Olver suggests that questions must be asked in order to gauge the current level of diversity and willingness to accept diversity within an organization if that company wishes to acquire global contracts. Olver also lists eight standards for leaders in an ethically and globally motivated environment. To annotate this extensive information, the most key aspects of his experience and advice will follow. Leaders must consciously implement and improve benchmarking, reporting, and transparency features of company goal achievement, as this helps to keep all employees and global partners abreast of current procedures.
Similarly, laws and contracts must be upheld and protected, but not at the level that interactions within the company and with outside agencies would be so secret as to arouse suspicion. The key here is that transparency is of the utmost importance in gaining trust in employees, but that not everything can be completely transparent in any organization. Olver concludes his writing with an encouragement to all business leaders to help implement an ethical environment using his expertise and experience. His conclusions are that all business leaders must be strong and determined in practicing their negotiation skills with their employees.
The fear of change is common in all business settings, therefore negotiating change within an organization must be the priority of the business leader. He or she must confront the fears of change and convince others to follow that new direction of fearlessness. Having the ability to lead and to instill trust and ethics in employees yields much satisfaction and takes great skill. This not only benefits the manager in their self-esteem in their ability to positively negotiate, but it helps employees to remain happy and productive while yielding great results for the company and the bottom line.
