Q: Describe the unethical behaviours born out of the 2004-2009 Zimbabwean economic challenges that developed into cultures and suggest how managers can counter them.

It is a sad truth that the 2004-2009 Zimbabwean economic challenges led its citizens, companies, service providers and even the government as a whole into taking part in unethical behaviours, which even up to this day are being practised and replenishing no matter how much we try to fight them away. Before dealing with the fundamental issues raised by this argument and its implication, l will first address the problem of defining unethical behaviour. The Encater (computer program) definition of unethical behaviour is any action that is aimed at taking advantage of another without their knowledge or consent or manipulating someone without their permission.
The 2004-2009 Zimbabwean economic crisis resulted in a hyper-inflation rate of over 231million per cent where goods and services were being sold at artificially inflated prices. The government was failing to perform duties and support companies and banks as it’s supposed to. This led to the closure of certain companies and banks. Salaries were structured in such a way that top officials would get paid unjustifiable salaries and bonuses at the expense of other workers whose salaries were below the poverty datum line. These things are happening even up to this day regardless of the economy restoration. The inflation has stayed at a constant rate of 3,1 per cent for the past three years but that does not outweigh the fact that we have devalued the borrowed foreign US currency which was the routine of the day during the economic crisis. Banking institutions are still struggling after the economy restoration. 10 out of 25 financial institutions have recorded losses in the first quarter of 2010. The recorded losses were mainly caused partly by high non-interest expenses in the form of salaries, employment benefits and general administration expenses against that there is low income generation capacity. Despite banks like CBZ, CABS and Standard Chartered recording profits in excess of US million during the first quarter, they also continue to face challenges, in actual fact they should be earning more than this if challenges are not as tough as they are. The Zimbabwean banks are currently failing to get enough finance to enable them to run its business operations at the full capacity. The banks are struggling to meet the minimum capital requirement set by the RBZ. To expand operations banks need adequate cash, and this can be found through many ways and it is these ways that are currently unavailable. Getting loans from other banks, foreign companies, the Central bank and deposits from individuals and institutions are possible ways to raise finance. Foreign currency is very scarce in the economy due to poor export performance and lack of international capital flows. As far as the banking sector is worth to play a crucial role in the overall economy they are worth to be supported. The idea of closing inefficient banks may not be the right decision rather they have to be supported. The banking and financial sector links various economic sectors and hence have a strong link to the level of economic development. The government of Zimbabwe should promote and loosen the rules governing their closure so that no elimination is done to the sector rather it should be aided to expand its services.
Due to the crisis there was excessive human capital flight and hence those with great expertise migrated to greener pastures. Even some crucial staff were lost through retrenchment as a way to avoid too much overhead costs. This left companies with no option but to employ less qualified or even unqualified workers. Nepotism was promoted; the work superiors granted favours and jobs to their relatives regardless of merit or desired qualifications. Due to this a lot of staff is lacking a lot of experience and hence challenges remains pinning the sector. Even after the economy restoration less qualified people are being employed especially in the education sector. Temporary teachers who possess only advanced level passes are being employed to teach advanced level students. This has greatly depreciated our education in the sense that “advanced level students are teaching other advanced level students”. To eradicate these unethical behaviour managers should employ workers for jobs that perfectly match the education attained. For those employees who are already in the company managers should run assessments if the employees have qualifications for the job they are doing, and if not then move them relative departments
Unethical behaviour in business runs the gamut, from simple victimless crimes to huge travesties that can hurt large numbers of people. Whether it is stealing a pen, padding an expense report, lying to avoid a penalty or emitting toxic fumes into the air, unethical behaviours cannot be condoned by a company. During the 2004-2009 economic crisis employees misused time thereby extended tea and lunch breaks beyond the allocated time. Workers would come late and leave early for work but would falsify time sheets. Since food and resources were scarce for everyone, employees would personalise office resources. Today employees take home office supplies, use business computers for personal tasks, pad expense accounts and abuse sick time or allotted personal days. Unethical behaviours also includes having another employee sign a time sheet for you while you are away, or not signing out for lunch hours or other nonapproved time off. Though these may seem like minor infractions, they eventually have an impact on the bottom line of the company, which then hurts all employees. Theft also affects employee morale and is disheartening to those who choose to behave ethically. To end this, managers should create a code of conduct that clearly states what type of offenses are actionable and how they will be dealt with. This kind of upfront information will not only help your employees to act in accordance with your mandates; it will also give you legal standing should you be forced to demote fire or otherwise punish a worker that does not comply with your policies. Managers should also lead by example and reinforce consequences should an employee misbehave.
The economic crisis made top officials more corrupt and prone to bribery. Being employed had to come with a favour in return, be it money, services or favours, something had to be done to the one who got you as a token of appreciation. Ladies had to return intimacy favour to get a job and to continue being an employee. These meant workplace romance increased. The working conditions were just not ideal for the employees as they would work more hours for fewer wages. Some companies stopped providing food for the workers for breakfast and lunch breaks. Workers would be forced to violate their conscience and do things they knew are wrong; the driving force being threats of being fired. Even after the economy restoration corruption and bribery are still the order of the day. In the police department every crime has a price now. If you offend the law all they need is bribery money and you will be free no matter how big your crime is. The police are also making unnecessary roadblocks where motorist will made to pay unjustifiable fines as a way to make money. Employees are still working under threats and discrimination of workers is still being practised. Some employees are still earning salaries below the poverty datum line. Companies are failing to make salaries on time. To solve this, managers should make unions that protect the rights of employees and introduce suggestion boxes.
The 2004-2009 Zimbabwean crisis led to companies not taking procedures to protect the environment, wildlife and human lives. Companies would emit dangerous gases into the air and toxic substances into rivers and blame it on the economy that was not stable for them to build and maintain their proper disposing systems. The electric and water suppliers were no longer reliable as they would sometimes fail to supply to supply their services. These unethical behaviours have actual developed into cultures even after the economy restoration. Unethical behaviours by companies, such as unreliable supply of water and electricity, releasing pollutants into the air, can affect cities, towns, waterways and masses of people. Though accidents can occur, the unreliable supply of water and electricity and release of harmful toxins into the environment due to lax safety standards, improper maintenance of equipment or other preventable reasons is unethical. If a business willingly continues production of a product knowing inherent environmental risks exist, it can certainly be categorized as unethical behaviour. In order to carter for these managers should introduce catalytic converters to convert the toxic gases into harmless gases before they are emitted into the atmosphere.