Ethics in the workplace

1. Ethics in the workplace • My bus broke down and was held up by robbers. • I was arrested as a result of mistaken identity. • I hurt myself bowling. • My curlers burned my hair and I had to go to the hairdresser. • I eloped. • My cat unplugged my alarm clock. • I’m stuck in the blood pressure machine at Wal-Mart. • I forgot to come back to work after lunch. • Yesterday, I forgot to take the Sunday paper inside. So this morning when I went outside to get the paper, I thought it was Sunday when I read the newspaper. By the time I figured it out that it is in fact Monday, it was too late.

2. Ethics and leadership “The primary issue is not whether leaders will use power, but whether they will use it wisely and well.” (Gini, 1998)

3. “Catch-all” Global business standards • Fiduciary Principle: Act as a fiduciary (representative) for the company and its investors • Dignity Principle: Respect the dignity of all people; protect the health, safety, privacy, and human rights of others • Property Principle: Respect property and the rights of those who own it • Transparency Principle: Conduct business in a truthful and open manner • Reliability Principle: Honor commitments • Fairness Principle: Engage in free and fair competition, deal with all parties fairly and equitably • Citizenship Principle: Act as responsible citizens of the community • Responsiveness Principle: Engage with parties who may have legitimate claims and concerns relating to the company’s activities

6. Factors affecting morality & ethics Society’s moral climate Business’s moral climate Industry’s moral climate Organization’s moral climate Superiors Individual Policies Peers Source: Carroll & Buchholtz (2006), Business & society: Ethics & stakeholder management

7. “Ethics”? Ethics: The inner-guiding moral principles, values, and beliefs that we use to analyze a situation and decide what is the “right” way to behave. Ethical dilemma: A situation in which you must decide if you should act in the “right” way, when doing so may go against your own self-interest; or, having to decide between two courses of action that are likely to harm one party and benefit another.

8. A Model of Ethical Behavior in the Workplace Internal Organizational Influences RoleExpectations • Ethical codes • Organizational culture • Organizational size • Structure • Perceived pressure forresults • Corporate strategy • Individual • Personality • Values • Moral principles • History of • reinforcement • Gender Ethical behavior External Organizational Influences Neutralizing/enhancing factors • Political/legal • Industry culture • National culture • Environment • Top MGT Team • Characteristics • Age • Length of Service • Military service • Heterogeneity

9. Your 2 cents… Can ethics be learned in a classroom or from a textbook; or is it something that’s inscribed in our character?

10. Behaving ethically involves… • Recognizing that an ethical dilemma exists • Interpreting the situation in terms of the actions possible, and the effects of these actions on the self and others • Judging which course of action is morally right • Giving priority to what is morally right over other considerations • Demonstrating the strength and skills to follow through on the intention to behave morally

11. An example from a former student… I worked for an internet company and the owner had decided to close the business, which, at the time, I wasn’t aware of; and they stopped fixing all of the customers’ internet problems. I had been getting phone calls from the same few frustrated customers who needed their internet connections for work and hadn’t had access for weeks; but I couldn’t get a straight answer out of my boss about what was going on, and was just told to tell them we would be out that day to work on it, which I knew wasn’t the truth. Instead of thinking ethically, and asking my employer more questions and becoming an advocate for the customers, I just did as I was told because I wanted to keep my job.