Running Head: THE BUCK STOPS HERE: OR DOES IT?

The Buck Stops Here: Or Does It?

Ivelisse Maldonado

Organizational Ethics and Moral Responsibility/XMGT 216

July 8, 2012

Michael Smith

THE BUCK STOPS HERE: OR DOES IT?

President Harry Truman had a sign on his desk in the Oval Office, inscribed with the slogan, “The buck stops here.” President Truman wanted all those who entered his office to understand that he believed ultimately, he was responsible for the way the country was governed. (Mitford, M. 1951.) Using the principles espoused by Trevino and Wiley (2007) as a guideline, President Truman thus exhibited one of the qualities necessary to be an effective manager. It is noteworthy to point out that the original slogan was “pass the buck,” a reference found in business and life every day, in which responsibility for a decision or an undertaking is passed on or blamed on someone else, (Mitford, M. 1951.) a policy President Truman abhorred. Did every decision on every topic cross President Truman’s desk? Certainly not, but the president chose to be a role model, set an example of the former, rather than the latter, and indicate to the electorate that he was the ultimate manager. All managers should aspire toward a similar goal. What then is a manager? There are many who have the title but never accept the role. Leaders need no titles. John C. Maxwell, noted speaker stated, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” (Maxwell,J. , 2010.) Trevino and Wiley (2007.) cite James Shaffer’s four drivers of engagement: line of sight, involvement, information sharing and rewards and recognition as starting points for being an effective manager. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we can be.” (Emerson, R., 2010.) To truly be an effective manager one must not walk ahead of his co-workers, nor should he walk behind them. The respected manager walks with his colleagues, always listening, always learning, about not only the business, but also about his employees, and

THE BUCK STOPS HERE: OR DOES IT? ultimately himself. The respected manager is involved, has a plan and is eager to share it with his or her staff. The successful manager is aware of his employee’s strengths, weaknesses, misgivings and shortcomings, and uses rewards, recognition and persuasion to keep his staff out of the United States national average of 16% of workers who are disengaged, costing businesses between 292 and 355 billion dollars each year. (Trevino, L., Nelson, K. 2007.) The issue that is most important and, in my opinion, one of building blocks in establishing a strong foundation toward running a successful team is performance evaluations. At 32 years of age, and having had five different jobs during my life it is fair to say, I have never experienced a fair, honest or comprehensive performance evaluation regarding my work habits, diligence or lack thereof. There is, or at least seems to be, in every work environment I have experienced, a kind of “good ole boy” network. This does not suggest it refers only to men-but it is that group who has the manager’s eye or attention. Morally, a manager should be ambivalent toward those that curry his or her favor. Gifts, drinking together after work, parties, and doing favors non work related have no correlation with that which occurs from 9 to 5. Human nature unfortunately suggests otherwise. Moreover, those in management MUST have the ability to face up to their responsibility to meet face-to-face with colleagues to discuss issues regarding work performance. Because of the “good ole boy” modus operandi I have experienced, it becomes virtually impossible for the boss to truly be the boss, lest he or she hurt someone’s feelings to whom they feel indebted or owe favors to. Evaluations should occur on a regular basis, both written and verbal to coincide with company evaluations that generally occur every six months. Each employee, morally and ethically, has the right to know what his job performance is, both strengths and weaknesses.
THE BUCK STOPS HERE: OR DOES IT?
There is not a person on earth who does not respond positively to a pat on the back or an “attaboy!.” Effective managers should use the performance evaluation as a teaching tool and as a recognition attribute for colleagues who achieve or surpass his or her clearly stated goals.
There is no way to improve a poor performance evaluation when one has no knowledge of what has been done wrong, or what is needed for improvement. Individuals who observe those that are being rewarded for not doing their job and being given superior evaluations not only become actively disengaged, there is a tendency to become angry and to undermine not only company goals but to become divisive in their relationships with other team members. The truly great managers follow the advice of an unknown sage who opined, “A good leader inspires others with confidence; a great leader inspires them with confidence in themselves.” Ethically responsible management suggests that management is open, honest, fair and responsive to the dignity of the individual. Recent transgressions in business such as the Enron scandal, the WorldCom debacle and other assorted sundry scandals suggest that the new millennium has not progressed much farther than the old millennium in terms of those looking for an opportunity to short shrift their corporations and their colleagues. How can a mid level manager in a sales department be looked upon as above the fray when top CEOs are robbing people blind? In truth, the answer is simple. It involves being ethical, honest open, and loyal. A good manager is ALWAYS a positive role model for his or her employees. No individual is omniscient or omnipotent, but the quality manager finds an answer to a question that he doesn’t know the answer to. An effective manager realizes and understands that no two individuals are motivated in the same fashion. Thus, it is the manager’s responsibility to be

THE BUCK STOPS HERE: OR DOES IT? innovative, to be insightful, to be creative so as to determine the hot button for all of his workers. My personal experience regarding performance evaluations is they have always been presented as a kind of retribution or revenge rather than a tool to improve my performance. It is almost as if the “big bad wolf” is coming to administer the review. The incident I will discuss occurred in May 2012. I am a medical assistant, one of six who work at our clinic. The doctors who run the clinic are Serbo-Croatian by descent. My ethnic background is Puerto Rican, and three of the other assistants are also Hispanic. The remaining two assistants are Serbo-Croatian. I preface my remarks by stating I am in no way prejudiced or judgmental by nature. I am a very conscientious worker, grateful for the opportunity to work in a medical environment, and believing that my experiences here will greatly benefit me in what is to be my life’s work-nursing. I regularly go above and beyond the call of duty to assist my doctors. I use my own car to drive for supplies, take samples for evaluation and pick up vaccines. I have no regular hours since our practice relies on individuals with a state medical card, thus we accept walk in patients daily. The average number of patients seen per day averages about 50, but we often see as many as 75. I don’t complain I love my job. The Serbo-Croatian assistants however don’t enjoy the same work ethic. Both are regularly late, and take turns coming up with hare-brained excuses to leave early. In truth, I don’t care what others do I am here to do my job. However, when we received our semi-annual evaluation, the two Servo-Croatian assistants were praised for their efforts and given a $1.00 per hour raise, a fact they lauded over the rest of us. When it was my turn to be evaluated, the doctor merely told me to sign the evaluation and informed me I would receive $.25 more per hour. When I attempted to question him as to what I had done wrong, or
THE BUCK STOPS HERE: OR DOES IT? where I needed to improve he became unsettled and hostile. In reviewing the evaluation it was clear, that no aforethought or effort had been put into completing it. Every box was checked satisfactory and there were no comments of any kind- positive or negative. When I mentioned what the two Serbo-Croatian assistants had related to the rest of us, the doctor went ballistic telling me it was none of my business how he conducted his practice or evaluated his people. This is the only evaluation I will receive this year. This incident has seriously dampened my enthusiasm for my chosen profession. That being said, I will continue to do my best, and hope to be recognized for my efforts in the future-either at this clinic or as a registered nurse. Through the course of this paper the ethics and moral issues regarding being a manager have been examined and discussed. When all is said and done, is there truly an organization or an individual that can truly claim, “The buck stops here.” If there is, we haven’t seen him or her for a very long time.

THE BUCK STOP HERE: OR DOES IT?

References
Emerson, R.W. (2010). Quotations: Business Ethics. Josephson Institute. (). Retrieved from: http://josephsoninstitute.org/quotes/quotations July 7, 2012
Maxwell, J.C. (2010). Quotations: Business Ethics. Josephson Institute. (). Retrieved from: http://josephsoninstitute.org/quotes/quotations July 7, 2012
Mitford, M. , (1951).The Buck Stops Here Desk Sign. Harry Truman Library and Museum. Retrieved from: www.trumanlibrary.org/buckstop.htm July 5, 2012
Trevino, L., & Nelson, K., (2007). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. (4th ed.). Hoboke, N.J.: Wiley.