Values, Ethics and Working Collaboratively

This document discusses the meaning of ethics, factors influencing ethics, and the importance of workplace ethics in an organization. It also explores two UK laws that promote good ethical practices. Additionally, it explains collaborative working, strategies, values, interpersonal skills required, benefits, promotion of equality and diversity, embedding British values, and consequences of poor collaborative working.

Values, Ethics and
Working
Collaboratively

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1 ...........................................................................................................................................4
A) Explain the meaning of Ethics and also discuss various factors that influence ethics. ....4
B) what are the importance of workplace ethics in an organisation. .....................................5
C) Discuss two UK laws that helps in promoting good ethical practices in an organisation.6
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
What is collaborative working?..............................................................................................9
What strategies would you use?.............................................................................................9
What values would guide you?...............................................................................................9
What interpersonal skills are required?................................................................................10
What are the benefits of collaborative working?..................................................................10
How would you promote equality and diversity in the workplace?.....................................10
How are British Values embedded into collaborative working?..........................................11
What are the consequences poor collaborative working?....................................................11
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Organisations are formed when various different types of individuals come together with
varied interest and different backgrounds on a same platform to achieve common goals and
objectives. It is very important for these individuals and the organisation to practice and carry out
the activities of the organisations effectively, by following ethical practices at the organisation.
Ethics plays a major role while carrying out business activities. Using unfair practices to earn
profit by the organisations can lead to scandals which could impact the company by destroying
the reputation and brand name of the company (Facer and Pahl, 2017). Ethics and value at the
organisation also helps in making healthy relations between the individuals working in an
organisations.
This report will explain about the ethics and how business ethics are influenced by the
issues of environment and culture. An understanding will be demonstrated of the personal skills
which will help in ensuring that the people are treated with dignity. Lastly, an understanding of
working collaboratively will be demonstrated within range of work sector.

TASK 1
A) Explain the meaning of Ethics and also
discuss various factors that
influence ethics.
Principles and the values that an
individual use while governing own actions
or decisions is termed as “Ethics”. This code
of ethics helps an organisation in taking fair
decisions, regulation of the policies, etc.
Almost all the companies have ethical code
which they practice while making any
decision or carrying out any activity of the
organisation so that they can maintain its
reputation in the market and get effective
productivity (Luu, 2019). There are various
benefits of practising ethics in an
organisation like: it helps in promotion of
the teamwork, helps in fostering positive
and good image in the eyes of public, etc.
There are several factors that influence the
ethics like: their own personal code of
ethics, rules and regulations of the
government, legislations, company's ethical
code, social pressure, etc.
Unethical scandal: Boohoo Group Plc
Boohoo is an online fashion retailer
which was founded in the year 2006 and is
headquartered in Manchester, United
Kingdom (UK). The company found itself to
be in a scandal after an investigation on it
was done by “Sunday Times” in the year
2020. The investigation claimed that
company Boohoo have links to the modern
times slavery. The factory which supply
clothes to the company Boohoo was paying
only £3.50 for an hour. But the minimum
wages to be paid is £8.72 for an hour. The
condition of the factories was not suitable
for the workers to work and they were not
given any protection from COVID-19. Soon
after this, the shares of the company dropped
due to the unethical practices of it.
The company violated the human
rights and also the rights of labours while
carrying out its business practices which
were unethical in terms of workers. This
scandal lead to formations of many
campaign groups that started revolution for
the same. These type of corporations must
be held accountable for always prioritising
profits and revenues over the rights of the
humans and their safety.

B) what are the importance of workplace
ethics in an organisation.
Workplace ethics are the rules and
the procedures that helps a company in
carrying out its activities while maintaining
professional and healthy relationship
between the employee and employer
(Roszkowska-Menkes, 2018). Workplace
ethics plays a very crucial role in the growth
and development of an organisation.
Workplace ethics have many importance in
an organisation which are as follows:
 This helps in the protection of assets
of the company as the ethical
behaviour of individuals in the
company will know of their duties
and responsibilities towards the
company.
 Ethics at workplace helps in
increasing the productivity of the
business as the employees will value
their work and achieve their targets
on set deadlines.
 It will help the company in the
development of teamwork as the
employees will perform their task in
responsible way.
 This will increase the brand value of
the company and also its public
image as the workers will be
dedicated and the company will be
continuously achieving their targets
or goals.
 While adopting ethics at workplace,
company will easily be able to adopt
changes or strategies that will be
beneficial for the growth and success
of the company.
 This will also help company in
making decisions easily as with the
ethics in the company decision will
be respected and followed in
systematic manner.
For example: Boohoo Group Plc
The company was a into retail
industry who sells fashion online. The
company was getting its supply from an
industry of its own where the practices were
unethical. The company was not providing
minimum wages to the workers working in
the industry and also they were not provided
with and health and safety measures during
the rime of lock down or COVID-19. This
lead to the spread of corona virus among the
workers. The company paid no attention to
the fact and was busy trying to earn more
profits and generating revenues. This
unethical practice of the company lead to
falling of its shares in the market.

C) Discuss two UK laws that helps in
promoting good ethical practices in
an organisation
Ethical practices are very important in an
organisation as it helps in carrying out
business activities efficiently, legally and
systematically (Nicholson and Kurucz,
2019). There are many laws that helps in the
promotion of the good and ethical practices
in an organisation. The two of them are
stated below: The human Rights Act, 1988: This
act helps in guaranteeing people with
all the necessary means that will
satisfy them with their basic needs
like: food, shelter, clothes, etc. This
act also guarantees life, security,
equality, etc. of individuals. This act
also helps in protecting people from
the abuse of the powerful people.
Boohoo company must comply this
law into their practices so that the
workers are treated fairly and are
provided with heath and security.
 National Minimum Wage Act,
1998: This act provides individuals
with the guidelines of the minimum
wages across whole of the UK. This
law was introduced so as to protect
the workers from getting exploited
by their employees and against the
payment of low wages. This law
helps in ensuring that the workers are
getting paid at least the minimum
amount of wages decided. By
complying this law by Boohoo
company, they can fairly treat the
workers by providing them with the
minimum wages so that they can
fulfil their basic needs and
requirements.
From both the above laws explained,
the unethical behaviour of the companies or
organisations can be prevented. These laws
will be very helpful in promoting the ethical
practices at the company as non-compliance
of it is punishable under the law.

TASK 2
The initiative of making donations and providing work opportunities as part of some
social responsibility, commonly falls under the category of “Social Work”. The said work is
done to provide help people in relieving their sufferings, making improvements in the lives and
in the communities, alleviation of poverty, working for the welfare of the children, etc. (Drew
and Thomas, 2018). All this can be done by making donations or raising funds to helps poor or
people in need by providing them with basic necessities, etc.
The company Boohoo Group Plc is also indulge in various social works to benefit the
society. The company have held many charities of sample sale, bake sales, etc. The company
have also developed collections and later made donations for charity to various different causes
like Pride, Breast Cancer awareness Month, etc. Later donation made by the company was in the
year 2020 when they made donation over $300,000 to all those charities that were helping
Australia with tackling wildfires.
All these charities and donations helps company in clearing bad images of them in the
market or to increase the already created good image and reputation in the market. This ethical
practice of the company is very beneficial not only for their own reputation but also for the
society and its people. There are many issues which can be faced by the employees when they
become part of any organisation like: unethical leadership, Discrimination, etc.
Unethical Leadership is the unethical behaviour of leader of the company when they
unethically or illegally carry out the activities of the company. This also refers to the violation of
the existing or current moral standards of the company. This type of leadership creates problems
not only for the employees but also for the company (Barraket and Loosemore, 2018).
Discrimination is the state when an individual in the company is treated differently from that of
others on the basis of various factors in a negative manner like: on the basis of colour, sex,
disability, religion, etc.
There are various rules which are expected to be followed by an employee of an
organisation from the public and the clients of the company such as integrity, objectivity, etc.
Integrity means that an employee must possess honesty and also shall have moral principles.
This will help him in conducting ethical practices at the organisation (Ziegler, 2017). Objectivity
is important rule as this helps employee in making decisions fairly, ethically and in a balanced
way. This attribute is very important for the employees who are involved in the process of

decision making as they have to exercise professional judgement delivery. Professional
Competence concerns mainly with the maintenance of professional skills and knowledge which
helps in achieving success at the work. Confidentiality helps in maintaining the secrecy of both
the company and the client. This way the critical informations are not leaked (Farazmand, 2017).
Professional behaviour is the behaviour of the person which is expected to be adopted by the
employees as this requires universal compliance. There are various principles which are made for
the employees to be followed so that they maintain the professional behaviour at workplace.
The General Data Protection Regulation Act (GDPR) makes every individual responsible
to follow the principles provided while using any personal data and to make sure that such an
information is used legally, fairly and with transparency. There are 8 rights provided by GDPR
like right of access, right to be informed, right to object, etc. In Right to be informed the
organisations are expected to inform and be transparent on how the personal data is being used
by them. In Right of access, an individual have right to know of the information which was
accessed and also how was that processed. In Right to rectification, an Individual will have right
to rectify their personal data which was inaccurate or incomplete.
In Right to erasure, the individuals can ask for removal or deleting of the data without
asking any question by the company. In Right to restrict processing, The individuals under this
have right to suppress the processing or blocking of their personal data. In Right to data
portability, individuals are allowed to access the data of their own for their self purpose (Farr,
2018). In Right to object, The individual have right to stop the usage of their personal data and
raise their objection if it is being used for marketing, research, etc. In Rights that relates to
automated decision making and profiling the right for the protection of the interest of the
individuals is provided against those decision which were made automatically.
There are many laws that are provided by the state so that both the individuals and
organisations are protected. These laws are to be complied with by the organisations so that they
do not indulge themselves in any unethical practices. Laws are made for the benefit of the people
and non compliance of it will be harmful for the company as they will be held liable for penalties
and punishments.

TASK 3
Organisations are very important part of the country as they help in its economic
development. The practices of them are expected to be ethical so that the activities carried out by
them do not cause any problem for the company. The main purpose for formation of company is
to generate profit (Schaltegger, Beckmann and Hockerts, 2018). This purpose can be achieved
only with support of group of individuals which company hires. To achieve this purpose and
goals, the organisations creates collaborative working environment for these individuals.
What is collaborative working?
Working in an environment while collaborating with various individuals of the organisations so
that the work is completed fast is termed as collaborative working. This is referred to as a process
adopted by group of individuals in an organisation who constructively are involved in exploration of ideas
and powers which will help them to think beyond limited vision of their own. In this process the members
of the tea working collaboratively can easily communicate and share their ideas with each other.
What strategies would you use?
When the employee working at an organisation are free to communicate or if they can freely
share or express their ideas then this increases the productivity of the company. When any company uses
strategies that are right it will help in improving team productivity. The few strategies that can be used
are:  Communication: The leader must communicate their expectations and also listen to employees
expectations. This helps in boosting the overall team collaboration and helps in increasing overall
efficiency of the employees.
 Creation of transparent Roles: The manager must assign the task and responsibilities to the team
members in a transparent manner with the help of any tool of software. This transparency
between all the team members will help in working efficiently.
What values would guide you?
The values which would guide employees for collaborative working is teamwork. The team who
works together in collaboration is the essential of any collaborative working. Such a team, working in
collaboration is needed to have a common goal towards which they communicate and express their ideas.
Having quality teamwork , making communication with the members of team, keeping transparency, etc.
are few of the values that guide for collaborative working.

What interpersonal skills are required?
For working collaboratively with others it is important that the individual posses various
interpersonal skills. Communication is very important skill as it helps in making conversation with team
members and builds trust between them. Critical thinking is another skill which is required so that this
help in creation of new innovation by generation of new ideas. There are many other interpersonal skills
such as: problem solving, time management, emotional intelligence, etc. which are very helpful while
working with a team in collaboration. All these skills helps in achievement of goals with other team
members effectively.
What are the benefits of collaborative working?
Collaborative working have many benefits for both the company and for the employees. The few
of the benefits are explained below: Problem solving: Working in collaboration with other members of the team helps in solving
problems which might arise while working or making any important decision (Walumbwa,
Hartnell and Misati, 2017). When an individual is stuck on some problem, collaborating with
other team members and finding their perspective on similar problem often helps in solving the
solution.
 Enhance learning: Working in collaboration with the people who have different skills, mindset
and different perspective for the work or things then, this helps the members of the team as they
learn a lot from each other as there is constant exchange of thoughts, experiences and knowledge.
How would you promote equality and diversity in the workplace?
For any organisation to have healthy work environment it is important that there exist equality
and diversity. For this, the company must promote it to make people aware and stop any act which do not
promote equality and diversity. This can be done by company in many ways out of which few are
mentioned below: Identification and prevention of Unconscious Bias: The company shall identify the unconscious
bias and then must identify how it is affecting other people at the company. This identification
will help company in taking effective measure to prevent. Careful with Language: It is important to choose right word while making communication with
the people as the people in company are expected to treat each other professionally and in a
manner which do affect other individuals sentiments and emotions. The words or language of the
individual must not be against the promotion of diversity and equality.
 Training: By providing proper training to the employees and workers of the company, awareness
of equality and diversity can be promoted in an organisation. The company shall in their training

programme explain the laws regarding non compliance of equality and diversity so the
individuals are well aware of its non compliance.
How are British Values embedded into collaborative working?
There are four fundamental British values that are embedded into collaborative working. They are
as follows: Democracy: In this the organisation builds such an environment where every individual are
aware of their responsibilities and rights related to freedom and equality (Molderez and
Fonseca, 2018). For example: Leadership, making decision jointly, etc. Rule of Law: This rule is embedded by the organisation to make the work environment for the
individuals safe, secure and happy. For example: Codes of conduct of organisation, policies of the
company, etc. Respect & Tolerance: The organisations do not follow or promote any values or beliefs. All the
various and different beliefs are respected and no discrimination is done on any of this basis. For
example: prejudice and discrimination, embracing diversity, etc.
 Individual Liberty: Under this, all the team members are expected to protect the rights of
themselves and of others.
What are the consequences poor collaborative working?
Any organisation if have poor collaborative working then this will impact the
organisation negatively. Few of the consequences are mentioned below: Productivity: Poor collaborative work leads to decrease in the productivity as there will
exist no sync between the members of the team while working which will affect their
performance at work. Quality: Poor collaborative work impact the quality of the product and services as the
quality is impacted when the employees do not have a good working environment. Poor
work environment badly impact the work of the employees which results in providing
poor quality of products.
 Profitability: When the team which was suppose to work in sync and in collaboration do
not work in that accordance then it directly impact the productivity and quality of the
products and services which in result impact and decreases the profits of the organisation.

CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that ethics plays major role in an
organisation. Practices of the organisation must be ethically conducted so that they do not face
any risky challenges that could harm image and reputation of the company. Therefore, the
companies must adopt provisions and policies that are related to the ethical practices at
workplace. This helps company in enhancing its productivity and profitability. The ethics in
company are also important for the individual to follow especially when they are all working in a
team together. The organisations now a days promote working by collaborating its employees by
forming teams. This helps in enhancing the quality of work and also the work is fast completed.
This leads to the growth and success of the company.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Barraket, J. and Loosemore, M., 2018. Co-creating social value through cross-sector
collaboration between social enterprises and the construction industry. Construction
management and economics. 36(7). pp.394-408.
Drew, K.K. and Thomas, R.J., 2018. From separation to collaboration: Perspectives on editorial–
business collaboration at United States news organizations. Digital Journalism. 6(2).
pp.196-215.
Facer, K. and Pahl, K. eds., 2017. Valuing interdisciplinary collaborative research: Beyond
impact. Policy Press.
Farazmand, A., 2017. Governance reforms: The good, the bad, and the ugly; and the sound:
Examining the past and exploring the future of public organizations. Public
Organization Review. 17(4). pp.595-617.
Farr, M., 2018. Power dynamics and collaborative mechanisms in co-production and co-design
processes. Critical Social Policy. 38(4). pp.623-644.
Luu, T.T., 2019. CSR and customer value co-creation behavior: The moderation mechanisms of
servant leadership and relationship marketing orientation. Journal of Business
Ethics. 155(2). pp.379-398.
Molderez, I. and Fonseca, E., 2018. The efficacy of real-world experiences and service learning
for fostering competences for sustainable development in higher education. Journal of
cleaner production. 172. pp.4397-4410.
Nicholson, J. and Kurucz, E., 2019. Relational leadership for sustainability: Building an ethical
framework from the moral theory of ‘ethics of care’. Journal of Business Ethics. 156(1).
pp.25-43.
Roszkowska-Menkes, M.T., 2018. Integrating strategic CSR and open innovation. Towards a
conceptual framework. Social Responsibility Journal.
Schaltegger, S., Beckmann, M. and Hockerts, K., 2018. Collaborative entrepreneurship for
sustainability. Creating solutions in light of the UN sustainable development
goals. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing. 10(2). pp.131-152.
Walumbwa, F.O., Hartnell, C.A. and Misati, E., 2017. Does ethical leadership enhance group
learning behavior? Examining the mediating influence of group ethical conduct, justice
climate, and peer justice. Journal of Business Research. 72. pp.14-23.
Ziegler, R., 2017. Social innovation as a collaborative concept. Innovation: The European
Journal of Social Science Research. 30(4). pp.388-405.