How Personal Can Ethics Get?

ABSTRACT

This paper is about a case study, “How Personal Can Ethics Get.” It tries to discuss many issues related to ethics. First, it discusses how personal differences and preference can impact organizational ethics. Second, it discusses how organizational policies and procedures can impact ethics. Third, it discusses the ethical dilemmas Valerie Young is facing. Finally, it provides a recommendation on what Valerie should do when she notices her boss is performing unethical behavior.

Ethics can be described as system of moral principles (Dictionary, 2010). People have ethics developed from their beliefs about what they think is right and wrong. Many can have different ethics in different situations. Integrity is a big factor in ethics. People may have different ethics in different situations, but it’s always the right the thing to do by telling the truth. However, when it comes to workplace ethics there are some “rule of thumb” ethics that are expected for one to know. Ethics are often thought of by many as something that is related to the personal side of life and not to the business side. It is commonly understood that there are ethics and then there are workplace ethics. In some businesses, having ethics may actually be frowned upon. This is usually due to the fact that business is about doing what’s best for the bottom line and not always about doing the right thing. Often we don’t stop to realize that there is no difference between personal ethics and ethics in the workplace (Smith, 2004).

Ethics in the workplace is a matter of guidance principle, and faith. It is a system of principles governing morality and acceptable behavior of participants within a team of partners (Ferrell, Hirt, & Ferrell, 2009). This is usually in a business environment. Ones personality and how each person understands what "Code of Ethics" means is according to the company they are working for and its handbook. I have met both sides. There are people who like...