Unethical Behavior, Essay Example

Ethics may be defined as the application of moral principles (Koehler, 2003). Ethics may derive from different sources such as professional organizations, leaders, organizational cultures, our belief systems, and community cultures. Globalization has increased the intensity of competition in many industries and organizations and their members are facing increasing pressure to maintain growth and profitability. Even though reputation and ethical behavior pay in the long term, employees and organizations are often focused on short-term gains. Thus, the competitive pressures sometimes compel them to engage in questionable and unethical conduct in order to meet or exceed expectations.

There are several factors that may force employees to engage in unethical behavior. One reason employees engages in unethical conduct is because they expect to be rewarded for the gains made through unethical means (Sims, 1992). We often hear about accounting misstatements because executives know they will be rewarded according to the stock price of the company and even after the unethical conduct is exposed, many executives still keep their jobs or do not pay back all of the ill-gotten gains. Another reason why employees may be motivated to engage in unethical behavior is the characteristics of the organizational culture. Some organizational culture prefer to be secretive and may punish whistleblowers or too open and honest employees (Sims, 1992). Another reason may be sole focus on the end results, without any regard for the means. We often see this on Wall Street where managers often preach profit as the sole motive of an organization and encourage employees to cut corners where possible.

Employees may also engage in unethical behavior due to the influence of their leaders according to a theory called social learning. According to this theory, leaders influence employees by way of modeling processes which means employees learn about acceptable and non-acceptable behavior by observing their leaders’ behavior and their consequences (Kidwell & Martin, 2005). Thus, if leaders engage in unethical behavior and do not face any punitive action, it may also encourage the employees to follow the suit. Similarly, if an employee is celebrated for his ethical conduct, it will also motivate other employees to engage in ethical conduct.

Unethical conduct is not always intentional. Sometimes the employees may not be sure about the ethical nature of their actions. The organizations could attempt to provide guidelines but it is not always possible to cover every possible situation in the Code of Ethics. It may also happen that the employees may not be aware of the legal requirements and may rely upon their judgment which could turn out to be on the wrong side of the law. The companies could develop policies that may provide guidance to employees in such unique circumstances. An example of a guidance policy may be to contact a supervisor when in doubt.

The companies have other potential options as well that may encourage and promote ethical conduct by the employees. One solution is to implement reporting procedures. One example may be to report every gift given or received during the course of a business conduct. Another solution is to keep a written record of all events where there is a potential of unethical conduct instead of merely verbally informing the superiors. Some employees fear retaliation so the companies can encourage reporting of unethical behavior by allowing anonymous tips through email or on the company message board (Handfield, 2004).

Unethical behaviors are often motivated by the possibility of a bigger compensation award, thus, companies may take steps to ensure that unethical behaviors are not only discouraged but employees are also penalized financially. The companies may even reward employees for ethical conduct even if the ethical conduct may have resulted in an economic loss, to send the message that the means to achieve the results are as important if not more than the results. These policies align employees’ economic interests with ethical behavior. The companies may also implement compensation policies that only reward the long-term performance. This will also help employees shift focus from short-term gains to the long-term future of the companies. When employees do engage in unethical conduct, the companies should not hesitate to discipline them or even fire them to send the message that it will not compromise on its principles. More than anything else, the companies’ leaders should take the lead in setting personal examples because leaders play a huge role in setting organizational norms and behaviors as well as defining organizational culture to new employees.

Companies should include ethics in employee training programs in which employees could also be reminded that ethical conduct is not only the right attitude in business but also benefits the organization in the long term. Besides this, one cannot underestimate the importance of leadership, organizational culture, and compensation in promoting ethical conduct among the employees. In addition, the company should also ensure employees that they will not be retaliated for reporting unethical conduct so that everyone is committed to the best interests of the organization.

References

Handfield, R. (2004, July 21). Conflict of Interest – A Hot Topic! Retrieved May 9, 2012, from http://scm.ncsu.edu/scm-articles/article/conflict-of-interest-a-hot-topic

Kidwell, R. E., & Martin, C. L. (2005). The Role of Leaders in Influencing Unethical Behavior in the Workplace. In Managing Organization Deviance (p. 73). Sage Publications.

Koehler, W. (2003, Spring). Professional Values and Ethics as Defined by “The LIS Discipline”. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, p. 99.

Sims, R. R. (1992, July). The Challenge of Ethical Behavior in Organizations. Journal of Business Ethics.