The Importance of Ethics in the Workplace Essay

According to the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of ethics is ‘Moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity ’. Henceforth this means that workplace ethics are the morals that all employees must/should act upon. The scenario chosen to study is scenario 7. In this scenario a worker at a high end clothing line has put on a little weight and has been threatened to be fired unless the weight is lost. After this experience the employee feels as if they are being bullied and treated unfairly.

When I was fairly young, I tended to see ethics in black-and-white terms: everything was either wrong or right. When I entered the world of business, however, I began to understand that behaving in an ethical fashion is a continual challenge, given the different obligations one is subjected to on a daily basis. For example, what if my boss, to whom I have an obligation, asks me to perform an unethical action as part of my job? What if I am asked to bend the rules for a client? A worker must have a strong sense of his or her character and personal values, and those of the larger organization as a whole, to respond effectively to these ethical challenges. I have seen examples of this phenomenon both in private, for-profit organizations, where I began my working career, and also in government service, the arena in which I have worked for fourteen years.

Ethics and moral obligation are something that we all encounter at one time or another. Even in a professional setting, all persons should act in a manner that would uphold the good of society. Why is it that good, ethical and moral behavior is not always adhered to? Is it because some people do not understand ethics and what it means to be ethical? To be ethical, one has to decide between right and wrong, determine what is for the betterment of society and act accordingly. Ethics have three basic criteria that must be met – obligations, moral ideas, and consequences (Ruggiero, 2004). Businesses have their own code of ethics and the individuals within that business have to determine

Ethical standards in business are important for every leader to know and understand. The book Ethics 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by: John C. Maxwell discusses ethics in the world today. When people make unethical choices, the reason they do because of three main pitfalls. People do what is most convenient to them, people tend to do what they must do to win, and people rationalize their choices with relativism. In this summary, Maxwell’s definition of business ethics will be framed, examples of ethical standards and guidelines, the meaning and contrast of ethical thinking and ethical behavior, and how to avoid these major pitfalls to live an ethical life. The

Jill Jones is a smart, loyal, and accomplished 45-year old woman faced with an ethical dilemma at work. She has spent the last 27 years working for a mid-sized, family-owned business, Candy Corporation, and has worked her way up to the position of Vice President of Sales. The company’s owner and CEO, William Potter, has announced that he is considering his oldest son, Henry, to take over the position of CEO. The change will move William to finally achieve the role of Chairman of the Board. Currently, Henry is a very successful branch manager for the company’s Miami office. However, the proposed change would make Henry her new boss. Jones has mixed emotions over the appointment of Henry to the CEO position since a number of years ago Henry sexually propositioned her and made her life miserable at the time. She had not disclosed the incident to anyone (Assignment #1 Making an Ethical Decision Scenario, 2015).

The study of Ethics is an important branch of study. It is as important as the study of the sciences, math and business. At its core the study of ethics provides a framework to make decisions on how we conduct our lives. Almost every action we take has ethical implications that affect our own lives and the lives around us. This is important to consider in the business world, since the decisions made by business organizations can affect the lives of millions of people world wide, as well as the ecological health of the planet. The first four chapters of the text provide readers with several interesting ethical concepts that have implications for business professionals. The two topics that stood out as having the greatest potential for wide ranging effects are the historical perspective on business ethics and hiring ethical people. Studying and understanding history provides a strong foundation for making decisions in the present. Hiring decisions have as large effect on an organization’s success as purchasing or marketing decisions.

The business world is where most people work during their lives to make a living for themselves. Those same businesses run on a thin line of being ethical or crossing that line and ending up splayed on the front page of the next day’s news. During the first two chapters of Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, it is discussed that business may allow themselves to slip into being unethical, and pay the price for a greater reward. Ron Carucci, a writer for Forbes.com states in his article, “Will Your Ethics Hold Up Under Pressure”, that “Helping businesses to perform just a little better, just a little more ethically, is arguably the most important project humanity can undertake.” Having ethics in business does aid a company in

As a manager, you are the role model for staff. You set the standards, adhere to guidelines, and exemplify what you expect staff to model. By doing so, you are establishing and sustaining an organizational culture of ethics and integrity, which is the backbone of all successful endeavors. However, even the best structured organizations face ethical dilemmas in the workplace. It is how management recognizes and addresses these occurrences that will either set them and their team up for success or for failure. One of the biggest hurtles management can overcome is to be aware of their surroundings because when management fails to notice and act, it is an “ethical failure” (Bazerman & Sezer, 2016, para. 5).

The law currently recognizes two types of sexual harassment in the workplace. Quid pro quo harassment and hostile environment harassment. "Hostile environment" involves making unwanted sexual advances or other verbal or physical contact with the goal of reasonably obstructing an individuals work performance or alternatively effectuating and intimidating, hostile or formidable

Sexual harassment in the workplace has always been an issue, even before women were introduced into the working environment in the twentieth century. In recent years this issue may have become more publicized than before and not as overlooked as it used to be, but it unfortunately affects people all across the nation, both men and women alike. From that fast food chain where your kid is working at, to that fortune 500 company you’ve never heard of, it is happening. Over the last several decades most people think that the conflict concerning sexual harassment has dissolved but in reality not much has changed. Today most people argue that sexual harassment isn’t as bad as it used to be, back before woman had many rights. Those who oppose the movement against sexual harassment believe that most cases, if not all, are due to today’s society being overly sensitive and politically correct. Others argue that isn’t an issue about being overly sensitivity, but instead is a result of the failure to educated workers about the definition of sexual harassment and their options of recourse.

Running a business is about more than just making money. It requires adequate consideration to a number of issues, of which ethics is most certainly one. As a business grows and becomes more significant, it impacts the lives of people in so many ways. But without a clear understanding of business ethics, a company can lose its business by ruining its reputation and alienating employees, suppliers and the local community around it. With recent expansions in global businesses and the decrease of trade barriers worldwide, the importance of ethics in business has been further underlined.

Marisa Schultz, Amy Lee, and Eric Lacy of the Detroit News quoted Wendy Wagenhiem of The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan who stated, "At least two dozen other states prevent lifestyle discrimination, and that's possible in Michigan as well if people are concerned about their privacy, as well they should be" (Lacy, E., Lee, A., and, Schultz, M 2005). Additionally, according to Schultz, Lee, and Lacy, there are 29 other states that have laws regarding smoker's right, yet the 1.9 million smokers in Michigan do not have any laws to protect or help them. Furthermore, Michigan smokers feel they pay enough since they pay "one of the highest cigarette taxes in the nation" (Lacy, E., Lee, A., and, Schultz, M 2005). Now they may have to pay by losing their job and their income.

Ethics in business is defined as the principles to distinguish right from wrong and to choose ethical actions. It is the standard governance to all concerned to practice mutual respect and to establish morality in order for the entire organization to benefit. This leads to the development of code conduct that must be followed by the organization. It is highly important that the top senior management and leaders must set the standard attitudes and behavior in the entire organization to press ethical concerns. Because of the consequences of ethics in different organizations, senior leadership’s responsibility is to provide ethics because of their authority and responsibility; this has evolved significantly as a primary influence to change (Ciulla, 2004).

Ethics in the workplace and sometimes the lack thereof can significantly influence the success of an organization. Effective leaders often approach ethical dilemmas by identifying alternative actions and their consequences on stakeholders. The aftermath of the disasters caused by Enron, WorldCom, and other businesses, once prominent companies, resulted in a significant loss of confidence in business leader’s conduct. Organizations in today’s highly competitive business environment must develop an ethical culture to withstand the ever increasing scrutiny by customers, governmental regulatory agencies, and their competition. In order for companies effectively to navigate through the ethical

Quid pro quo and hostile work environment are the two recognized types of sexual harassment under Title VII. To be