Team Ethics and Competitive Advantage †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Team Ethics Competitive Advantage. Answer: Challenges: The case study under concern is observed in the LIBOR scandal faced by Barclays Plc and the review of the case study is intended to draw feasible inferences regarding the challenges vested in the case as well as possible recommendations to address the challenges. The recommendations could be based clearly on the comprehensive review of challenges pertaining to ethical leadership on the basis of different theoretical frameworks. First of all, the LIBOR scandal created the consequences of loss of trust among the market participants. Since the estimation of London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is largely based on the trust and commitment among the large banks operating in international financial markets, the scandal presents formidable pitfalls leading to loss of trust in leadership (Rose Sesia, 2013). The comprehensive evaluation of the case study also provides viable insights into the challenge of competing functionally in a systemic market environment alongside addressing the concerns of widespread corruption (Srivastava, Franklin Martinette, 2013). Complicit involvement of regulators in presenting ambiguous implications associated with a corrupt system could also be accounted as a major challenge that can be identified in context of the LIBOR case study. Since the exchange rate is established on the grounds of involvement of the different large banks and in the concerned case study, the conspiracy involved unrequited reduction in LIBOR by Barclays for dealing with the financial crisis or to offset losses (Rose Sesia, 2013). The manipulation of LIBOR was considerably observed in derivative trade transactions. However, Barclays was not the sole perpetrator of the incident since 20 other banks were collectively involved in lowering the LIBOR rates thereby leading to profound red uction in the average LIBOR rates that was responsible for inducing formidable losses for investors. Therefore, the ethical concerns have to be reviewed from the perspective of potential reasons that could be observed as profound challenges for Barclays Plc to realise team ethics (Manroop, 2015). Barclays is subject to challenges regarding the LIBOR scandal due to the lack of precise estimation of group norms and avoidance of accountability. The lack of emphasis on the task at hand for the organization and its employees could be perceived as a major reason for imposing considerable ethical pitfalls (Matava, 2016). The aspects which must be taken into consideration in context of the task significance in teams involve the core dimensions associated with a job, critical psychological issues and the personal as well as professional outcomes associated with the task (Petersen, Pavlidis Semendeferi, 2014). The core job dimensions are observed profoundly in terms of identity of the task and significance of the task in the organizational context. The critical psychological issues such as information regarding the potential outcomes as well as experiencing responsibility for the professional outcomes are also involved as inherent factors describing the precedents leading to ethical d iscrepancies (Rose Sesia, 2013). The interpretation of McClellands theory of motivation could prove to be a viable explanation of the challenges encountered by Barclays with respect to the LIBOR scandal. The necessity for achievement could be observed as a major reason for the promotion of unethical practices such as lowering of the LIBOR rates (Siedel Haapio, 2016). Leadership issues identified in the case study could be reviewed with respect to the scope of destructive leadership (Strand Freeman, 2015). The validation for destructive leadership could be observed in the instability of monitoring frameworks and the existence of a culture that promotes toxic leadership. Destructive leadership is also characterized by the preferences of leaders to emphasize on their self (Rose Sesia, 2013). The CEO of Barclays, Robert Diamond had to resign from his post due to the action taken by British regulators albeit with his profound indications towards the reprehensible action taken by different team members which indicates another challenge regarding team ethics (Srivastava, Franklin Martinette, 2013). Recommendations: The recommendations which could be used to address the team ethics challenges and the cheating implications presented by Barclays Plc and its associated employees can be derived from the concerns of addressing team norms and values. The formation of team ethics served as a major pitfall in context of the cases observed ethical limitations thereby leading to considerable losses for investors (Siedel Haapio, 2016). The organization should consider the foremost recommendation of involvement with authorities and agencies that consider penalisation of banks for unethical activities. However, from a critical perspective the issue poses sustain possibilities of the banks manipulating LIBOR rates according to their interests. The consideration of another recommendation is observed in favouring transparency in the activities of the banking sector. The central authorities and banks could work in coordination to present transparent reports which would be validated on the grounds of individual audits conducted at each bank in the market environment (Wise, 2014). It is also imperative to consider the appointment of an independent regulatory body that could be accounted for monitoring the operations of the regulatory bodies involved with the banks. The outcomes which could be derived from such recommendations would be observed in the working of the regulatory bodies with explicit diligence following the precedents established for the exchange rates. The LIBOR rates could be associated with profound references to addressing the concerns of forced manipulation in the banking sector. The central authorities could consider the appointment of personal executives in large banks where the functions of the banks can be monitored effectively. The executives should consider reporting the unwarranted activities of banks noted in changes in financial position of banks comprising of references to the reduction in trading rates. Another potential recommendation that could help Barclays t o recover from the notable incident of LIBOR case would be to improve its public image as an ethical organization based on credible values. The positive outcomes that can be rendered by opting for initiatives such as a public relations campaign which would help the company to gather back the trust of stakeholders. Stakeholder approach has been a major theoretical highlight which proved to be successful in resolution of profound ethical scandals. The stakeholders such as investors could be assured of the companys validity as an ethical service provider through communicating the appointment of new executives and employees. This would enable stakeholders to perceive a contrasting change in organizational structure thereby contributing to the resolution of the challenges encountered by Barclays in response to the LIBOR scandal. Solution: Barclays has to finalize on a specific solution that would enable them to revise the flaws in team ethics. The concerns faced by Barclays could be profoundly addressed on the grounds of an understanding of self as well as others. The stakeholder approach and the implementation of a rational decision making process could serve as prolific attributes in the solution for the case study of Barclays. Stakeholder theory implies managers to ensure addressing the needs of a wide assortment of stakeholders by paying considerable attention to their requirements. Furthermore, the stakeholder approach would enable Barclays to address the ethical concerns related to employees, investors, community and other banks. Another significant highlight of the stakeholder approach is observed in the implications of moral standards, bribery, fair trade and human rights. The rational decision making model would enable the bank to ensure decision making through a group approach according to Schein. The possib le methods which could be used to frame the solution of Barclays case would involve authority rule imposed by central monitoring authorities, consensus and groupthink. The implications of groupthink would enable the bank to override all inherent motives through unanimity to prefer alternative courses of action that can benefit the cohesive group of banks. References Rose, C.S. and Sesia, A., 2013. Barclays and the LIBOR Scandal. Manroop, L., 2015. Human resource systems and competitive advantage: An ethical climate perspective. Business Ethics: A European Review, 24(2), pp.186-204. Matava, M.J., 2016. Ethical considerations for analgesic use in sports medicine. Clinics in sports medicine, 35(2), pp.227-243. Petersen, A.M., Pavlidis, I. and Semendeferi, I., 2014. A quantitative perspective on ethics in large team science. Science and engineering ethics, 20(4), pp.923-945. Strand, R. and Freeman, R.E., 2015. Scandinavian cooperative advantage: The theory and practice of stakeholder engagement in Scandinavia. Journal of business ethics, 127(1), pp.65-85. Srivastava, M., Franklin, A. and Martinette, L., 2013. Building a sustainable competitive advantage. Journal of technology management innovation, 8(2), pp.47-60. Sagas, M. and Wigley, B.J., 2014. Gray area ethical leadership in the NCAA: The ethics of doing the wrong things right. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 7(1), pp.40-57. Siedel, G. and Haapio, H., 2016. Proactive law for managers: A hidden source of competitive advantage. CRC Press. Wagner III, J.A. and Hollenbeck, J.R., 2014. Organizational behavior: Securing competitive advantage. Routledge. Wise, S., 2014. Can a team have too much cohesion? The dark side to network density. European Management Journal, 32(5), pp.703-711.