Business ethics : practical proposals

While most people agree that the inculcation of ethical awareness is desirable, the means of stimulating this awareness vary among companies, industries and cultures. The fundamental question surrounding the difference between social responsibility and ethics is addressed. Guidelines for establishing ethical priorities from both the individual, group and organisational perspectives are provided. <br /

What should be done : a practical approach to business ethics

The decision-making process in business frequently involves ethical considerations. Although ethics often come down to personal decisions, those decisions ultimately affect the corporate image of an organisation. It has been shown that sound ethics are good for business, and therefore it is important that managers encourage their staff to recognise and to implement the company\u27s ethical priorities. This article looks at practical ways for managers to establish ethical priorities at three levels: an individual level, a group level and an organisational level. Each of these levels is explored, and the benefits and disadvantages of different action-related strategies for encouraging an ethical awareness will vary among companies, industries and cultures &ndash; no single method is universally appropriate. However, all managers should consider how ethical standards can best be introduced and communicated throughout their organisation. Ethics is not just a &ldquo;flavour of the month&rdquo; &ndash; it is here to stay, and presents a challenge to all managers.<br /

ESTUDO SOBRE AVALIAÇÃO DE DESEMPENHO DE ENFERMEIRAS — REFERENCIAL TEÓRICO (PARTE I)

Nesta primeira parte do estudo é apresentado o que há na literatura profissional sobre a evolução da Administração de Pessoal segundo as diferentes escolas e teorias administrativas e é discutida a interação indivíduo-organização desde o enfoque mecanista até o enfoque sistêmico. O enfoque sistêmico é explicado pelo conceito sociológico das organizações. A avaliação de desempenho è estudada como parte integrante da administração de recursos humanos que, especificamente na área de saúde, é considerada um subsistema do sistema de saúde. Como referencial teórico, específico da avaliação de desempenho, são analisados os objetivos de avaliação, os métodos e técnicas utilizados, o preparo dos elementos que participam do processo avaliativo, a freqüência em que é realizada e os sentimentos que envolvem o avaliador e o avaliado. No âmbito de atuação da enfermagem é evidenciado o que ocorre na avaliação de desempenho das enfermeiras, em outros países, e é salientada a escassez de estudos sobre o assunto na realidade brasileira.This first part of the study presents the literature on the evolution of personnel administration and discussess the organization/individual interaction from the mechanistic up to the systemic focusing. The systemic approach is based on the organization sociologic concept. The performance evaluation is studied as an integral part of human resources administration which in the health area, is considered a subsystem of the health system. The objectives of evaluation area analysed as well as the methods and techniques used, the training of the individuals participating in the evaluation process, the periodicity of the evaluation process and the feelings of both the evaluator and the evaluated person. As far as nursing is concerned it is underlined what has been done on nurse performance evaluation in other countries. The lack of studies on this subject in Brasil is stressed