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432 Part 4 • Leading
doesn’t personally have the information, there should be some way to get the
A Question of Ethics information easily and promptly. 46

Want to vent about your boss or your company? How Can We Get Employee Input and Why Should We?
Now, there are apps to do just that: Yik Yak, Nokia’s intranet soapbox, known as Blog-Hub, is open to employee bloggers
47
Whisper, and Memo, among others. In these around the world. There, employees have griped about their employer, but rather
apps, users post anonymous messages about than shutting it down, Nokia managers want them to “fire away.” They feel
their employers. Giving and receiving feedback that Nokia’s growth and success can be attributed to a “history of encouraging
can be a significant challenge for employees employees to say whatever’s on their minds, with faith that smarter ideas will
and managers. Yes, providing the opportunity for result.” 48
employees to offer honest feedback about their In today’s challenging environment, companies need to get input from their
managers and workplace is commendable. But employees. Have you ever worked somewhere that had an employee suggestion
are apps that provide a platform for employees box? When an employee had an idea about a new way of doing something—
to do just that, but anonymously, the answer? such as reducing costs, improving delivery time, and so forth—it went into the
suggestion box, where it usually sat until someone decided to empty the box.
If your professor has assigned this, go to the As- Businesspeople frequently joked about the suggestion box and cartoonists lam-
signments section of mymanagementlab.com basted the futility of putting ideas in the employee suggestion box. Unfortunately,
to complete these discussion questions. this attitude about suggestion boxes still persists in many organizations, but it
shouldn’t. Managers do business in a world today where you can’t afford to
Talk About It 5: How do these apps that ignore such potentially valuable information. Exhibit 13–4 lists some suggestions
let employees post anonymous feedback benefit
employees? Managers? for letting employees know that their opinions matter.

Talk About It 6: What ethical dilemmas Why Should Managers Be Concerned
might arise because of these apps?
with Communicating Ethically?

Fifteen percent of employees say they wish their managers
would improve their communication skills, especially in
clarity and transparency. 49

It’s particularly important today that a company’s communication efforts be ethical. Ethical
communication “includes all relevant information, is true in every sense, and is not decep-
50
tive in any way.” On the other hand, unethical communication often distorts the truth or
manipulates audiences. What are some ways that companies communicate unethically?
ethical communication It could be by omitting essential information. For instance, not telling employees that an
Presented material that contains all relevant impending merger is going to mean some of them will lose their jobs is unethical. It’s
information, is true in every sense, and is not also unethical to plagiarize, which is “presenting someone else’s words or other creative
deceptive in any way 51
product as your own.” It would also be unethical communication to selectively misquote,

Exhibit 13–4 How to Let Employees Know Their Input Matters

Hold town-hall meetings where information is shared and input solicited.

Provide information about what’s going on, good and bad.

Invest in training so that employees see how they impact the customer experience.

Analyze problems together—managers and employees.

Make it easy for employees to give input by setting up different ways for them
to do so (online, suggestion box, preprinted cards, and so forth).
Source: Robbins, Stephen P., Coulter, Mary, Management, 13th Ed., © 2016, p. 421. Reprinted
and electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., New York, NY.