Integrity and Total Quality

Another aspect of ethical behavior is integrity. Integrity, as a personal and organizational characteristic, combines hon­esty and dependability. When an individual or an organiza­tion has integrity, ethical behavior automatically follows.

Quality tip

Corporate Values Are Not Just for Show—They Must Be Real

A mistake frequently made by organizations is adopting a set of corporate values that no one really intends to accept or follow. These values look impressive when displayed on the wall of an organization’s lobby and on the organization’s Web site, but when it comes to informing behavior or guiding decisions they are ignored. Adopting corporate values and then ignoring them is worse than not adopting them at all. Stakeholders will soon know if the organization’s leadership is serious about its stated corporate values. A set of corporate values that is adopted and displayed but ignored soon becomes an indictment against the organization rather than a tool for lifting it up.

It is important for managers in a total quality setting to understand that although honesty is fundamental to it, in­tegrity is more than just honesty. People with integrity can be counted on to do the right thing, do things correctly, accom­plish tasks thoroughly and completely, finish work on time, and keep promises. The same is true of organizations.

Managers with integrity will keep the best interests of their organization and employees in mind when making deci­sions and in all other aspects of their jobs. Committing to not knowingly harming an employee, a customer, the organiza­tion, or the public at large forces managers to think about the consequences of their actions before taking them. This princi­ple also applies to employees and the organization as a whole.

Source: Goetsch David L., Davis Stanley B. (2016), Quality Management for organizational excellence introduction to total Quality, Pearson; 8th edition.