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Unethical behavior in the workplace Essay
Challenges of leadership ethics in the modern era
Ethical decision making and behaviors
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4. She Stole My Idea These approaches also lead to different ways of assessing ethical behavior, and individual rights, such as the right to freedom of expression or the right to privacy, are of paramount importance. The communal approach, on the other hand, would have us focus on the common good (Brown, 2015). Therefore, I will be using both approaches in a relevant situation. I believe Amy has done that because she wanted to seem as valuable person bringing new ideas, which she could not do it alone at least at that particular time. Amy thinks by marking others idea as her own that she will be able to get credit in front of her leaders, forgetting that part of her core responsibilities is to ensure ethical behaviors are to follow at times. Unfortunately, this unethical behavior will set an …show more content…
Secondary and as soon as we finish the meeting I will speak to Amy directly and in privet to tell her that her unethical behavior was not expected and reasons behind doing that and then a discussion will take place to see how we can work together based on ethical principles built on mutual respect. Most employees are at the conventional level of cognitive moral development, they are looking outside themselves for guidance in ethical dilemma situation and develop social exchange relationships that result in employees reciprocating in positive ways. In conclusion “leaders influence followers by demonstrating high ethical standards in their own conduct and by using the reward system to teach employees vicariously about the outcomes of ethical and unethical behavior in the organization” (Trevino, 2005, p 83).
Gomes and Grant are not the only two employees that have faced an ethical issue in the workplace, employees in numerous different organizations encounter similar dilemmas. However, they should all consider the consequences that will follow if they choose to act unethically. Rather, employees should possess and abide by a code of ethics so as not to potentially put their reputation and future in danger along with that of the organizations they work for.
The article starts of on Amy reflecting on how for years the way she approached work was to be a nice thoughtful person to everyone, even when it wasn't necessary. She states how she would always say please and thank you and express concern for other peoples problems, in their work life or in their personal life. She very clearly stated that she was not a boss, but had a mid level position in the company, and implied she never understood why she was stuck there and had not moved up in rank in the company.
Leaders who treat their employees with fairness, honesty, and provide frequent, accurate information are seen as more effective. According to Robbins and Judge (2014), “trust is a primary attribute associated with leadership and followers who trust a leader are confident their rights and interest will not be abused” (p.193). The old General Motor Corporation had eleven different CEO’s from 1923 until 2009 each with their own unique leadership style, which directed employees toward the organization goals. Unfortunately, many of the top level managers under the CEO’s had the tendency of filtering out information that did not match up with their pre-conceived notions about a particular issue and they lacked upward communication. One consumer goal of General Motors was to build trust in the company so people would be repeat customers, but building trust between employees and establishing an ethical culture was not a top priority of the organization. Goal directed leadership alone is important, but differs from a structure of leadership based on ethics. It is important to note, that effective leadership may not be the same as leadership founded on ethical principles. Business competence must exist, along with personal leadership accountability in ethical decisions. Within the General Motors organization, ethics and leadership did not interconnect; there were misalignment between the
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
Their organizational initiatives are often self-serving; however, the emerging workforce isn’t motivated by selfish managers. This selfish behavior often turns into unethical conduct. Unethical dealings in the workplace are always wrong. It is crucial to promote ethical behavior. Everyone must understand that once caught, unethical behavior is not just a problem for those directly involved, it is everyone’s problem.
I certainly agree to the author and McNerney that the unethical dysfunctional company norm is the root cause of the ethical issue. It is this norm created by the predecessors who never set good ethical examples that influences the employees. They believed the politically safest way of executing tasks would be mimicking how their superiors get their jobs done.
An integrative model for understanding and managing ethical behavior in business organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 9(3), 233-242. Doi: 10.1007/BF00382649
Every day, in a plethora of different situations, virtually every person has to make a multitude of decisions regarding how to interact with other people. Despite many centuries of intense study and theorizing by some of the most brilliant philosophers in the world, there is no single consensus on how people should choose to act towards others. What have been developed, however, are different systems of ethics describing idealized ideas of how human beings should treat themselves, treat others, and what they should strive for both personally and for society as a whole. In addition, many people cobble together their own personal systems of ethics based on personal experience and various degrees of formal ethical education.
An ethical leader has a significant effect on the manner staff performs in a team and what they
All human societies and communities have basic ethical principles that constitute certain moral codes. People formulated these principles and rules many centuries ago; they are fundamentals that structure human behavior and as such are included in all major religious and ethical systems. One of these basic rules is “do not steal”, something children are taught from their very early age. In our rapidly developing and dramatically changing contemporary world, ethical issues and problems are becoming ever more important and urgent. Maintaining basic ethical principles in a variety of settings and conditions requires more than accepting major moral values; it calls for courage, commitment, character, and strong and flexible reasoning and judgment. Ethical principles have been developed by different philosophical teachings and theories that analyze and structure worldview principles including, as one of their basic parts, ethical issues. In their everyday life, people often use words “good” or “bad” defining by them what they understand as ethical, or moral behavior or that which is immoral or unethical. They normally make no discrimination between ethics and morality, although the former “seems to pertain to the individual character of a person or persons, whereas morality seems to point to the relationships between human beings” (Thiroux Jacques P.20). The simple definitions of “good” and “bad”, however, turn out to be complicated and even controversial when we try to formulate consistently the principles that underpin them or define standards for judging and evaluating these norms.
The term “ethics” discusses how one’s morality needs to take acknowledge that of the rest of the members of the group or community t...
Organizations are constantly tested with various moral and ethical problems and dilemmas. Organizational leaders are the key to establishing an ethical climate in the workplace. By understanding and improving their own moral reasoning, and the biases that affect moral judgment, they enable themselves to make better decisions. This has a catalytic effect that positively increases organizational climate, ultimately improving all organizational behavior.
In many circumstances, employees’ behaviors are likely to follow their leader. Enron’s leadership has been extremely influential due to exemplified charismatic. For example, Heffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay, CFO and one of executive member in Enron, greatly encourage employees to follow their lead. Their incompetence accounting profession directly affects lover level of employees. Eventually, those manipulating accounting activities affect company collapse. Once leadership has done unethical professional accounting behaviors, unethical acts become accepted. Employees have many reasons for remaining quiet. While Enron still have ethical internal rules, when leadership in Enron did not abide and did not provide corresponding example of employees to follow (Prentice 2003, p. 417). Which eventually make Enron’s become one of the largest corporate scandal frauds.
“Ethical leaders within an organization cannot make every ethical decision by themselves” (Ferrell, 2015). In centralized management, the top people make all of the decisions. There are still however many opportunities for lower level employees to make unethical decisions. Management can promote ethical behavior at every level by being a good example and following its own code of conduct. The ethical environment should also be closely monitored. When someone makes a really great ethical decision, that person should be recognized. By rewarding good behavior, others will naturally want to receive these rewards as
Ethics is the responsibility of each individual person, but starts with the CEO and the Board of Directors, setting the right tone at the top and moves down through the organization, including setting the tone in the middle. A company’s culture and ethic standards start at the top, not from the bottom. Employees will almost always behave in the manner that they think management expects them, and it is foolish for management to pretend otherwise (Scudder). One of the CEO’s most important jobs is to create, foster, and communicate the culture of the organization. Wrongdoings or improper behavior rarely occurs in a void, leaders typically know when someone is compromising the company