In the midst of the numerous court cases over the years, Yahoo has decided to take a stand and re-educate their employees on ethical behaviour and compliance. Employees are required to watch an online video that covers the company’s code of conduct and it touches on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Sarbanes –Oxley Act .
“Sooner or later, an employee's going to do something they shouldn't have, if you have taken all the appropriate steps with code-of-conduct training, the penalty that will be imposed on that company will be dramatically reduced. That could be worth tens of millions of dollars.” (Finkel, 2010)
Proper channels of communication are opened up with this new ethics training program, from top to bottom the employees of Yahoo are given more power in that they have a better understanding of how organizational behaviour is to take place. Management can rest a bit easier in knowing that they have passed down information to employees that can help point the company in a new direction free of controversy. Employees now know what is expected from them and how they can go about obtaining organizational goals.
Studies have shown that employees react more favourably when information is passed to them this way. Yahoo’s new training program is working to promote new ideals and offers the employees an incentive to be a part of the company’s future and strive for superiority. (Shah & Higgins, 1997)
The way Yahoo seemed to be reacting prior to their new campaign was with more of a focus on trying not to make the company look bad, they were just trying to produce as much output as they could instead of figuring out how to concentrate on efficiency. Thus they created a effectiveness versus efficiency conundrum, this made the employees feel as though they were being punished every time the company screwed up and their reward was the fact that they still had a job. (Shah & Higgins, 1997)
To summarize:
- the company went from a coercive power approach to a reward power approach, they are starting to take note that employees respond better when they are encouraged as opposed to being frightened or forced.
- Yahoo’s idea is that they have worked effectively in the past but that has not attributed too well to overall organizational success over the recent years, their goal is to make their employees more efficient so there are less mistakes, more success, and greater cohesiveness.
References
- Finkel, E. (2010). Yahoo takes new 'road' on ethics training. Workforce management, 89(7), 7. http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/business-ethics-corporate/14852640-1.html
- Shah, J. , & Higgins, E.T. (1997). Expectancy x value effects: regulatory focus as determinant of manitude and direction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(3). http://www.columbia.edu/cu/psychology/higgins/papers/shahhiggins1997.pdf
Oliver Bush - Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies. Currently studying to become a Technical Communicator/Writer
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