Apoorva Mahajan

HOW MAY ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND CULTURAL

DIFFERENCES INFLUENCE LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
STYLES ON AN ORGANIZATION?
Google is a multibillion, multinational corporation that specializes in Internet based
services; it has headquarters in California, and offices around the world with approximately
55,000 employees. It was also voted by Fortune magazine as one of the best companies to work
for. Ethics is the judgement between what is morally right and what is not while culture is the
customs, arts, traditions and social achievements of a particular nation, peoples, or group. These
two things often affect many aspects of a business, especially Google.
Using ethics in treatment of employees can be beneficial to Google because if each
employee is treated similarly, there will be less conflict in the workplace and productivity will
not hinder. This will also mean that there will be less chances of a trade union forming, leading
to lower chances of collective bargaining and strikes occurring within the business itself - mostly
because the demands of the Google employees are being met: they are given privileges and
facilities including cars, gym facilities, and 30% of their work time is their own work. Since this
is provided to all employees, the business cannot be accused of behaving unethically because
none of the employees are being treated unfairly. If Google however, had highly skilled workers
who worked for low pay and in unsafe working conditions it would be considered unethical.
Most of the ethical decisions that involve managers are centered on the organization
while the leaders have to focus on the people. A good leader in Google would be willing to take
the blame for bad outcomes to the organization if it means to protect their employees from
unwarranted criticism. If an employee is inexperienced and commits a mistake during their work,
the decision to keep them on the grounds that the worker deserves a second chance can be seen
as ethical because it is giving the employee a fair chance to fix their mistakes. This could be
shown as a paternalistic leader, because they are focused on their employees and inspiring their
employees to achieve the best they can.
The same ethical decision if taken by the manager might have a completely different
result; managers complete objectives and if an employee commits a blunder, this might set the
manager behind on their objectives. This would force the manager to see the employee as a
liability to the business and to prevent further economic loss to the business, the right decision in
the mind of the employer might be to sack the employee. This could be seen as unethical because
the manager is thinking of the profits, rather than the employee who has a major stake in the
business.
A drawback of ethics of having an existentialist view of ethics as Google does, is that the
system can be easily exploited: this is especially so with Google since they follow a Laissez faire
method of management which places a lot of trust in their employees. There is also the question
of irresponsibility. Is it ethical to give workers so much responsibility and to wholeheartedly trust
them, especially if they havent proved themselves to be trustworthy. Some workers may abuse
this right and in the particular type of work culture that Google has, the management may not be

Apoorva Mahajan

aware of this problem until much later, meaning that the business could be very well losing out
on profit and the problem would go on undetected which could be seen as unethical to the other
stakeholders that are part of the business, especially the shareholders.
Stakeholders that are most likely to be affected by the ethical decisions that the
management and leaders take are shareholders and employees. Shareholders would be affected
by the decisions due to the fact it affects their return on capital employed; if most of the net
profits of the business are going into paying salaries and corporate social responsibility then the
shareholders will not be pleased because the amount of dividends they will receive will decrease
in quantity; this could be seen as unethical because most of the capital employed that Google
runs on often comes from its shareholders and if they are not paid accordingly, it could be seen
as unfair.
Employees are equally affected by managerial decisions because it is under the
instructions of the managers and the treatment of the managers that they are required to do their
work under; if an employee is given special treatment over the others it may seem like the
employer is being partial and it could be unethical to do so. However, Google manages to treat
all its employees fairly, creating a powerful work culture where all the employees are respected
and treated equally.
Cultural difference are often common within businesses, especially a business which
contains a high ethnic diversity; this can cause culture clashes between the different work
cultures, i.e. a lot of business focus on either power or role culture and so employees who are
new to Google may find it difficult to adjust to the person culture that is prevalent in the
business. Person culture is more individualistic and the employees are are allowed to provide
their own input, make their own decisions and have the freedom to express themselves. This is
shown in Googles practice of providing 30% of employee work hours to be dedicated to what
the employee wishes to do. Obviously this shapes the management style at Google to be one of
laissez faire due to the fact that the managers just provides objectives for the workers and they
are allowed to do it their own way, leaving the focus on the employees.
However, there is also the idea of power distance - measuring the extent to which the less
powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that
power is distributed unequally. This can be seen as shaping the work culture to be more power
culture and the manager exhibits traits of an autocratic management which could make the
employees unhappy because their voices are not being heard; at the same time, it could make
work more efficient.
Stakeholders that are affected by the culture within the business are employees and
managers. Employees are affected the most because they are put under the strain of the culture
that the business operates under. It depends from employee to employee because some work
better in person culture because it allows them to express themselves but some employees are
lazy and require a push - in which power culture is the best to use.

Apoorva Mahajan

Overall it can be said that ethics have a strong role to play within the business because
the treatment of employees can affect the productivity and motivation of the workers; if the
employees are being treated unfairly, there might be a feeling of resentment towards the
management and leadership. Culture is closely linked to where the business is, for example a
business in Japan will have a higher power distance than a business in California - it in turn
affects the business way of leadership and management.