Question

Deloitte and Touche (2007) did a survey on workplace ethics. It is believed that the behavior of managers has the most influence on ethics in the workplace. The unethical behavior of managers usually includes misuse of company property, giving preferential treatment, verbal abuse, and harassment either sexual or racial. Employees consider it okay to ask fellow workers for favors, use company material for personal use, and take sick days when they need time off. The other two top reasons for unethical behavior are lack of personal integrity and lack of job satisfaction. In 2009, the annual Deloitte’s Ethics & Workplace Survey focused on the use of the social media. The majority of business executives believed they have a right to know how employees portray themselves and their organizations in online social networks (Deloitte, 2009). The workers, especially the 18-34-year-olds, disagree stating that it is not their employers business to meddle in their online activity.

Post responses to the following questions:

• Are individuals responsible for their own ethical or unethical behavior?
• Why do other people, especially your bosses, influence your ethical behavior?
• How may attribution and reinforcement be used to strengthen people's confidence in their ethical beliefs and overcome unethical practices by bad management?

Answer 1

1. According to my opinion, it is true that individuals are responsible for their own ethical or unethical behavior in an organization. In an organizational world with expectations of shortcomings, increased productivity, and stiff competition, it is not surprising that many employees feel pressured to cut corners, break rules, and engage in other questionable behaviors. Increasingly they face ethical dilemmas and ethical choices, which require them to identify right and wrong conduct. If they uncover illegal activities in their company, they should whistle? Should they give an inflated performance appraisal to an employee that he likes, knowing that he can save that employee's job?

The formation of good moral behavior has never been clearly defined, and in recent years, the line separating right from wrong has blurred. Employees see people around them embroiled in unethical practices - elected officials take pad spending accounts or bribes; Corporate executives increase profits so that they can cash in attractive stock options. When those people are caught, they start giving excuses that "everyone does". The ethically correct way to behave in a global economy is different perspectives on certain ethical issues which are particularly difficult because there are different cultures. Is it any surprise that employees are losing confidence in management and increasing uncertainty about appropriate ethical behavior in their organizations? All these things show that employees are responsible for their ethical or unethical behavior.

2. The bosses or managers of the company definitely influenced the employees to behave ethically. These leaders also promote the core ethical benefits that make up a company's culture. These managers are influenced by the top leaders and influence the people they lead.

• A manager's ethical actions usually have the most impact on employee ethics. Regardless of what you say, people believe that your actions best represent your beliefs and intentions in a given case. If the sales manager lies, completely mislead or deceives customers about their sales staff, chances are that employees will take this as a model of expected actions.
• Communication plays a role in influencing ethics, although it usually needs to be supported by tasks. Managers are usually expected to express company policies and procedures on ethical matters to their employees. During new employee training and orientation, managers often review the company's handbook. Their attitude toward strongly emphasizing or indicating policies suggests guidelines that influence employee thinking. Managers communicate ethical standards and expectations through company or staff meetings.
• When an employee makes a poor ethical decision, a manager is affected by his response. By quickly addressing and correcting the incident, the manager shows a conviction to strengthen the standards. An important follow-up is to train the employee on a more ethical approach. If a manager ignores or does not fix bad ethical action, he or she normally takes the employee as passive approval and is more likely to repeat bad ethical behavior in the future.

3. What can managers do to create a more ethical culture? They can follow the following principles:

• Become a visual role model. The employee will see top tasks Management as a benchmark for appropriate behavior. Send a positive message.
• Communicate ethical expectations. Reduce moral ambiguity by sharing the organizational code of ethics that follows the organization's primary values and ethical rules.
• Provide ethical training. Schedule seminars, workshops, and training programs to reinforce the organization's standards of operation, clarify what practices are permissible, and address potential ethical dilemmas.
• Possibly reward moral acts and punish immoral people. Evaluate managers on how their decisions measure against the organization's code of conduct.
• Provide a safety net. Formulate such policies so that employees can discuss ethical dilemmas and challenge unethical behavior without fear of reprimand. These may include an ethical consultant, ombudsman or ethical officer.

The task of establishing a positive ethical environment is to start at the top of the organization. Positive ethical attitudes move employees down, Those showing low levels of humble behavior and high levels of cooperation and support. Finally, employees whose moral values are similar to their department are more likely to be promoted, so we can think of an ethical culture as well as drifting from the bottom up.