Ethics in the Worplace

As individuals we have personal values and beliefs that are a part of who we are as a person. Some of these values and beliefs are things that are learned from our parents, grandparents and other individuals that influence our lives. We also acquire values from some of things that we have experienced in life. As we navigate our way through the workplace, we encounter situations that may challenge our values and beliefs. When these incidents occur we need to ensure that the right decisions are being made. Ethics in the workplace is a responsibility of everyone who is a part of the organization. According to the textbook, (McShane & Von Glinow, 2010) the three major ethical principles are utilitarianism, individual rights, and distributive justice. Byrne (2010) described utilitarianism as “You perform the action that maximizes utility for the greatest number.” For example, a company may decide to maximize profits which will benefit shareholders. The cost of these profits may be that some employees may loose their jobs. Many of us that are citizens of the United States have individual rights. These are rights that are guaranteed to us. I worked for a governmental organization and it appears that employees do not have certain rights when compared with employees in a private industry. As a government employee, citizens have the right to request employee salary information, date of last performance review and other personal information. Lastly, there is the principle of distributive justice which attempts to place people into groups based on preset levels. This is a process that has its’ on set of issues. A couple of years ago, all employees within the organization received a 2% raise. During the performance evaluation p...

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In conclusion, ethics determines how others view an organization. Leaders must stress the importance of ethics and the effect that it can have on the company. Since leaders are representatives of the company, they must lead by example. A tone must be set throughout the organization that ethical behavior is a requirement and not an option.

Works Cited

Byrne, A. (2010). Resolving ethical dilemmas. Keeping Good Companies (14447614), (8), 502-

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Heilman, W. (2011, March 16). UCCS speaker: Ethics policies must be enforced consistently. Gazette, The (Colorado Springs, CO).

Hipple, J. R., & Olson, S. (2011). Values-Based Leadership Isn't for Wimps. Public Relations

Strategist, 17(1), 22-24.

McShane, S & Von Glinow, M (2010), Organizational Behavior: Emerging Knowledge and

Practice for the Real World. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.