Organizational Ethics in the Workplace

Organizational Ethics in the Workplace

BUS 610

Professor Leo Smith

January 9 2012

Ethical issues in Organizations are not uncommon. A recent online survey taken indicated that 83% surveyed rated a company’s record of business ethics as “very important” when deciding to accept a job offer (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2009). This is a high percentage that expects to work for an Organization that has a blemished record from ethical issues. There are many challenges facing organizationsand everyone from store level managers to CEO’s needs to join in the effort to curtail this tide of unethical conduct.

Organizations should have a major concern with ethical issues when it impacts customers, shareholders, employees, and the overall company. Practices such as illegal and unethical behavior on Wall Street, pension scandals in which disreputable executives gamble on risky business ventures with employees' retirement funds, companies that expose their workers to hazardous working conditions, and blatant favoritism in hiring and promotion are valid concerns. The most persuasive and complex problems facing business organizations today is managing ethical behavior. It is concerning when crisis of ethics undermine our competitive strength. Especially worrisome is unethical behavior among employees at all levels of the organization. For example, a recent study found that employees accounted for a higher percentage of retail thefts than did customers (Silverstein, 1989). The study estimated that one in every fifteen employees steals from his or her employer.

Employees’ decisions to behave ethically or unethically are influenced by a myriad of individuals and situational factors (Glover, Bumpus, Logan, and Ciesia, 1997). For instance a person that feels he or she has been treated unfairly by management might react to a situation unethically. A person’s economic situation or background might also affect their ability to act in a way that is not ethically acceptable. A fear of...