The Problematic of Legal Compliance and Ethical Responsibility in the Organizational Environment

Abstract

The authority of an organization or institution requires a legal system to which the individuals working within it must adhere. The proper management and success of the institution depend on two basic factors: compliance with laws and organizational regulations as an imposed bureaucratic procedure, and ethical responsibility as a personal choice stemming from the individual’s values. Each of these is linked, on the one hand, to the management style and the economic nature of the institution, and, on the other hand, to the individual’s culture and value system. This is what management systems in most institutions focus on, as their success or failure depends on it. However, what is observed in the Algerian institution is that compliance with the law is completely absent under a culture of non-submission, because adherence to legal regulations is considered a weakness and a diminution of one’s value and status. Likewise, the individual’s ethical responsibility toward his work is marked by a value-based defect, which is considered the result of practices that were, and still are, prevalent in the organizational environment.