Ethics Violations in the Workplace

In the paper below, I will outline an ethics violation that occurred where I work and give the outcome of the ethics violation based on the ethics code that is in place at EDMC. In addition, I will take one through the steps that EDMC has developed to report a violation and the way that one can also report the violation if they do not get closure when going through the proper channels.

Ethical Case

When working for any corporation it is very important, that one reads and understands the company's ethics policy of the company where they are employed.

The story that I am about to tell is what happens when one does not have a clear understanding of the ethics policy and unknowingly violates the policy.

T was a custodian that worked for the university for 7 years. He was a hard worker that was diligent about doing his job. When I managed the bookstore, he would come by often just to say hello. He was a single father that had several children and he worked hard to make ends meet for his family.

He came into work on a Saturday to clean the carpets for the college and on his way to his car in the parking lot and came across a distraught student who had locked her keys in her car. She said that she could not get a hold of her parents and did not have enough money to call a company to unlock the door. She was very upset as she was new to town and did not know anyone therefore she was afraid that she would be left in the parking lot until she could locate her parents to pay for the car to be unlocked.

T not understanding the ethics policy told the student that he could unlock her car for her and she agreed, saying she would pay him the thirty dollars that she had in her possession. He proceeded to unlock the car for her,...

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...nk for bringing it to the attention of the college.

Conclusion

As one can see, the way that T's violation was handled was clearly in line with the ways ethics violations are to address in the Employee Code of Ethics Document. The proper chain of command was followed and Human Resources were contacted to evaluate the situation before a decision was made on how to handle the violation. The steps taken by South University prove that they take the code of ethics seriously and are committed to protecting the student against this type of violation and preventing the damage that it may have caused to the college's reputation. The way in which the situation was handled speaks volumes about the ethics and integrity of EDMC and South University.

Works Cited

EDMC. (2014). Business ethics policy and code of conduct. Retrieved from http://www.edmc.edu/pdf/code-of-conduct.pdf