The Times
Newsletter
A Special Report:
Ethics in the Workplace
the officials from these companies push their
employees to work harder, faster, and longer in order
to reach the demands of becoming an Apple supplier.
One official, whose business is now a supplier for
Apple said, “The only way you make money working
for Apple is figuring out how to do things more
efficiently or cheaper, and then they’ll come back the
next year, and force a ten percent price cut”. Even
Apple executive Tim Cook said, “You can set all the
rules you want, but they’re meaningless if you don’t
give suppliers enough profit to treat their workers
well. If you squeeze margins, you’re forcing them to
cut safety” (Curtis, 2012).
November 26, 2012
Contributing authors: Jordan Benike, Miranda Bialk,
Jessica Purath, & Lindsey Rasmussen
Examples of Contemporary Unethical Practices
Tim Cook actually went to China to visit one of
Apple’s larger suppliers, Foxconn Factory, to see
firsthand the working conditions. Cook and the
auditors slammed Foxconn for forcing their
employees to work long hours in dangerous working
conditions. Foxconn has promised to make
improvements and bring their plants in compliance
with Apple’s code of conduct. Hopefully this is
encouraging other suppliers as well (Ethics Bob,
2012).
by Jordan Benike
Cheap labor in China provides consumers with
remarkable iPhones, iPads and iPods every day.
However, over 312 audits have been performed over
a three-year period, and auditors have found
consistent violations of Apple’s code of conduct.
According to “Apples unethical business” (2012),
violations include the following:

Employees are involuntary working more than
sixty hours a week.

Hiring of under-aged employees

Falsified records.

Workers being paid less than minimum wage.

Pay being withheld as a form of punishment.

Improper disposal of hazardous waste.

Over one hundred workers that have been injured
by toxic chemical exposures.

(Photo retrieved from Ethics Bob, 2012)
Even a major corporation like Apple, who provides
brilliant technology and merchandise to millions of
people, does so by cutting ethical corners and
behaving in such a corrupt manner. It is up to us, the
consumers, to demand more social responsibility and
ethical business practices of our businesses.
References
Curtis, J. (2012, January 27). Apple’s unethical business practices.
Very high suicide rate among Apple workers.
Companies from around the world are in pursuit of
becoming a supplier for Apple. The Apple executives
that visit these foreign companies are demanding, and
Retrieved from http://jessecurtis.blogspot.com/2012/01/applesunethical-business-practices.html.
Ethics Bob (2012, April 2). Hooray for Apple CEO Tim Cook for
seriously addressing labor issues in China: When will Nike
follow suit? Retrieved from http://ethicsbob.com.
by Miranda Bialk
Recently an independent investigation by Ernst &
Young revealed that Ikea has been involved in
unethical business practices. This investigation
uncovered that in the 1980’s Ikea used forced prison
labor to produce furniture. Even though this occurred
decades ago, it is causing a publicity nightmare for
Ikea.
A representative for Ikea stated that measures were
taken to try to prevent prisoners from being used in
production, but they were apparently not effective.
Ikea is not the only corporation that was found to be
involved in this unethical practice (Kulish &
Werdigier, 2012).
their employees with a safer, healthier work
environment. Workers continue to be overexposed to
harmful chemicals as well as very high levels of heat
and noise not suitable for the workplace. A large
number of workers are also experiencing respiratory
sicknesses. There have also been appalling rates of
verbal and physical abuse and sexual harassment is at
an all-time high. On top of all of this, there is forced
overtime, rejection of sick leave, scarce medical care,
and employees who have died or are dying (Axe,
2010).
An organization such as Nike cannot claim to be
ethical with conditions such as these. So when it
comes to buying a pair of Nike’s, perhaps the slogan
should be Just Don’t Do It (Axe, 2010).
References
Axe, D. (2010, May 10). Nike: Just don’t do it. Retrieved from
http://www.ethicalfootprint.wordpress.com/category/
Based on this example it is evident that ethical
guidelines are necessary in business. Incidents of
unethical behaviors like this could lead to the demise
of large companies, even if they have had an
outstanding reputation in the past. It is essential that
these ethical guidelines be solid and enforceable at all
levels of a corporation.
References
Kulish, N. & Werdigier, J. (2012). Ikea admits forced labor was
used in the 1980s. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.newyorktimes.com.
by Jessica Purath
Nike is a major sports brand that has made an
extraordinary name for itself while at the same time
taking part in multiple unethical practices. For
example, the company does not give its workers
acceptable wages. Workers are paid less than the
locally-determined minimum wage, and as a result,
have to work overtime just to pay their bills. Many
employees must work 80+ hours a week just to
provide for their families (Axe, 2010).
Another example of their unethical business
practices, are the dangerous and unsanitary working
conditions. So it seems that although Nike has
improved their public image, they cannot provide
unethical-companies/.
Strategies for Creating an Ethical Workplace
Culture
by Jordan Benike
Ethical workplace cultures are ones that make it
easier to do the right thing and harder to do the wrong
thing. It is important that a business instills these
values in their company culture. It all starts with who
is being recruited and who gets hired. When looking
at potential candidates, it is important to understand
that most people have the capacity, desire, and
willingness to be ethical, but sadly, most people also
have such a tremendous desire to succeed that they
sacrifice their ethical ways in order to climb to the
top. It is important to emphasize that these values are
expected of the candidates (Josephson, 2010).
The company must enforce their ethical culture by
believing in it and backing it up. To reinforce the
importance of maintaining an ethical workplace
culture, there are some values that employees should
understand and adopt. According to Kerns (2003)
these values are:

Courage and Integrity: The courage to act
ethically and with integrity.

Wisdom and Knowledge: Using knowledge to
solve problems ethically and to do what is right.


Justice and Fairness: The fair treatment of
people. Ethical leaders value and embrace fair
advice and guidance.
Creating-and-Sustaining-an-Ethical-Workplace-Culture.
What are work ethics? (2002). Retrieved from
http://allaboutphilosophy.org/what-are-work-ethics-faq.htm.
Self-Control: The ability to avoid unethical
temptations. Put personal motivations aside and
do what is right.
Ethical awareness and ethical cultures grow in times
of worry and anxiety. Management and supervisors
engage in more ethical behavior when the company’s
well-being or even its continuation as a company
may be on the line. A company’s ethical actions
make a huge difference in its workplace culture.
Employees that are prone to act up are less likely to
do so when they know management is attentive and
ready to act (Ethics Resource Center, 2009).
It can be easy for someone to fall into an unethical
trap at work. Honesty, such as not lying, stealing,
cheating or embezzling is one of the most important
ethical principles to adhere to. Work ethics
demonstrate many things about who a person is,
including the following: valuing what one does,
doing a job well, having a sense of purpose and being
part of a greater picture, and desiring to do the proper
thing in a given ethical situation ("What are work
ethics”, 2002).
There are many reasons to practice ethical behaviors
in the workplace. Employees want and deserve to be
treated ethically. A workplace culture allowing
unethical behavior can breed bad manners of
damaging and criminal activity. Practicing ethical
behavior is the socially responsible thing to do.
Unethical behavior in the workplace culture can have
a major impact on workplaces, communities, and
stakeholders. Listening to each other, effectively
recognizing each other’s hard work, and practicing
good ethical behavior gives a positive boost to
everyone in the workplace (Kerns, 2003).
References
Ethics Resource Center (2009). 2009 National business ethics
survey: Ethics in the recession [PDF document]. Retrieved from
docsharing.next.ecollege.com.
Josephson, M. (2010, November 16). Creating an ethical
workplace culture. Retrieved from http://josephsoninstitute.org/
business/blog/2010/11/creating-an-ethical-workplace-culture.
Kerns, C. (2003). Creating and sustaining an ethical workplace
culture. Retrieved from http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/
Ethical Leadership Practices in Business and
Industry
by Miranda Bialk
What is ethical leadership and why is it so important
in the business world today? According to research
conducted by the Ethics Resource Center, it is
important for leaders to be ethical because they exert
power and influence behavior in organizations.
Whether or not an environment is ethical drives
whether or not employees feel pressured to
compromise their ethical standards (Ethics Resource
Center, 2010). As a result, leaders have a significant
impact on the success of an organization.
In a strong ethical culture, ethical values matter and
are apparent through the actions of employees,
especially management. Management on all levels
should lead by example in regards to ethics. While
senior leaders do set the tone for action, they are not
alone in the success or demise of an organization.
Leaders on every level need to act ethically
(Berghofer & Schwartz, n.d.).
What is an ethical leader? This leader would
recognize that positive relationships are essential for
organizational efforts. Good quality relationships are
built on respect and trust and reflect principles of
trust, respect, integrity, honesty, fairness, equality,
justice, and compassion.
The benefits of ethical leadership can be seen on
three levels of the organization – on an individual
level, a team level, and an organizational level. On
the individual level it is recognized that the emotional
exchanges that persons have with one another
determine the quality of their mood and performance.
The effects of emotional toxins can be seen in an
individual’s work, family, and personal
environments.
A team works better when all people are working
together, supporting and encouraging one another.
Team players will work to achieve their personal best
which will reflect in the performance of the team as a
whole. A leader with emotional intelligence will
value all members for what they contribute to the
team.
An analogy can be used to illustrate how ethical
leadership benefits on the organizational level. The
organization can be likened to a physical body.
Trillions of cells work in perfect harmony and
cooperation with one another. They know how to
support one another to produce a healthy body that is
good for the well-being of all the cells. If a cancerous
cell enters the mix, this could lead to the breakdown
of the body and destroy it. In the business world if
people don’t honor each other’s worth and recognize
their inter-dependence, it could lead to the
breakdown of the organization and even ruin it
altogether (Berghofer & Schwartz, n.d.).
How can leaders strive towards ethical
environments? If leaders adhere to the “Six Pillars of
Character” employees will likely want to follow suit.
These pillars are: trustworthiness, respect,
responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. Once
employees and employers alike are following these
pillars, they will have created an ethical environment.
This ethical environment will lead to trust which in
turn encourages a good working environment
(Mullane, 2009).
Ethical leaders must also make ethical decisions
consistently and with transparency so that employees
can clearly see that is the expectation. An ethical
organization is a community of people that work
together with mutual respect, grow personally, feel
fulfilled, contribute to the common good, and share
rewards of a job well done (Berghofer & Schwartz,
n.d.). Overall, there is certainly abundant proof that
ethical leadership is beneficial in the business world.
References
Berghofer, D. & Schwartz, G. (n.d.). Ethical leadership: Right
relationships and the emotional bottom line in the gold standard
for success. Retrieved from http://www.ethicalleadership.com/
BusinessArticle.htm.
Ethics Resource Center (2010). The importance of ethical culture:
Moral Courage in the Workplace
by Jessica Purath
According to Sekerka and Bagozzi (2007) Aristotle
suggested that courage is both an end and a means in
creating a comprehensive good. This is not an
objective but instead it is a sane choice. Just because
something is a repetitive behavior does not mean that
it is right and making the decision to confront a
situation can be hard. The strength to bring moral
courage to the workplace means overcoming the
threat of harm from what could come of bringing
things to the attention of someone who can take care
of it.
Moral courage is the inclination to challenge a
situation in order to do the right thing. This also
means that the cost of doing the right thing is not
involved or considered. An example of this would be
telling a boss that a co-worker regularly changes
his/her punch-in times to give themselves more
hours. Another example would be leaking
incriminating company papers to the media (“Moral
courage in the workplace”, 2012).
According to Miller (2005), there are five
components of moral courage: recognition, moral
choice, behavior, individuality, and fear. It is
important to be faced with moral situation because
the first step in developing moral courage is to
recognize or identify the issue at hand. The next step
is to compare the situation to one’s personal morals
and values; this is what tells someone they may need
to act. This is the moral choice and whatever course
of action or behavior is chosen reflects what someone
believes is the right thing to do. However, not
everybody has the moral courage to handle every
situation, which is where individuality exerts its
influence. Someone who is willing to face the
penalties of their chosen behavior is he who
possesses moral courage. Moral courage is what
someone must have to overcome the fear of what s/he
may experience in their attempt to stand up to a
situation for the betterment of society.
Increasing trust and driving down risks. Ethics Resource
Center: United States of America.
Mullane, S. (2009). Ethics and leadership [PDF document.
Retrieved from http://www.bus.miami.edu/_assets/files/
executive-education/leadership-institute/ethics-and-leadership.
pdf.
It is important to have moral courage in the
workplace because it can change the way a business
operates. It could create a more responsible and fair
work environment. It may also improve society. In
letting a supervisor know about the wrongdoings of
coworkers, they may have the opportunity to change
their old habits. Sometimes these improvements may
occur by setting up corrective disciplines, although
legal measures may need to be taken if something
illegal takes place. A positive example would be
bringing attention to sexual harassment in the
workplace so it can be dealt with and hopefully no
one else will have to experience it. Thus, moral
courage has the ability to benefit everyone (“Moral
courage in the workplace”, 2012).
There are significant correlations between workplace
ethics and a business’s economics. As a result, when
unethical or illegal acts take place, it has the ability to
negatively affect the entire business. However, when
someone possesses moral courage and thus is able to
tell someone about the situation, the impact is has on
the business may be lessened. A great way to
promote moral courage is by setting a good example
through leadership. If the leadership is strong,
workplace ethics can be just as strong (Ethics
Resource Center, 2009).
References
Ethical Resource Center (2009). 2009 National business ethics
survey: Ethics in the recession [PDF document]. Retrieved from
docsharing.next.ecollege.com.
Miller, R. (2005). Moral courage: Definition and development.
[PDF document]. Retrieved from http://www.ethics.org/files/
/u5/Moral_Courage_Definition_and_Development.pdf.
Moral courage in the workplace (2012). Retrieved from
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/moral-courage-workplace20589.html.
Sekerka, L. & Bagozzi, R. (2007). Moral courage in the
workplace: Moving to and from the desire and decision to act.
Business Ethics: A European Review, 16 (2). Retrieved from
http://www.academia.edu/166179/Moral_Courage_in_the_
Workplace.
Protecting the Whistleblower
by Lindsey Rasmussen
The first employee protection laws were established
late in the 1970s. In addition to anti-discrimination
legislation, they contained provisions making it
illegal for employers to retaliate against employees
who reported ethical or legal violations. Later
legislation, like Truth in Lending, the Fair Credit
Reporting Act, and the Environmental Protection
Act, contained similar provisions. Despite such
provisions, federal employees remained unwilling to
report problems because of their fear of retaliation.
Congress’ response was to pass the Civil Service
Reform Act (1978), legislation protecting the rights
of government employees who reported violations. In
1989, this protection was extended to nongovernment
employees with the passage of the False Claims Act.
This same year, employee protection was further
extended through the passage of the Whistleblower
Protection Act. These laws provided protection
against the disclosure of information and for
government employees who refused to participate in
unethical or illegal ways (Ravishankar, 2003).
Although these laws provide plenty of protection for
government whistleblowers, there has been very little
provided to those working in the private sector.
According to Tom Devine, the legal director for the
Government Accountability Project (GAP),
whistleblowers have spent far too much time and
money trying to prove retaliation, and unless they
receive media attention, will continue to experience
such act. At this same time, courts began to recognize
it was against public policy for employees to be
terminated for refusing to break the law for their
employer, or for reporting such acts, which was the
case with at-will employment policies. As a result,
states began to provide protection to whistleblowers
in the 1980s; currently all but 15 do (Ravishankar,
2003).
In 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Corporate Reform Act
was enacted, providing for the first time
whistleblower protection to all employees working
for publicly traded companies. Provisions of this act
make it illegal to “discharge, demote, suspend,
threaten, harass or in any manner discriminate
against” whistleblowers; establish the penalty of up
to 10 years for executives who engage in retaliation;
require boards to establish procedures for hearing
whistleblower complaints; give the Secretary of
Labor the authority to order a company to rehire a
terminated employee without a court hearing; and
give the whistleblower the right to a trial without
having to endure months of administrative hearings
(Ravishankar, 2003).
More recently, in May 2011, the Dodd-Frank
Whistleblower Rules were approved by the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) by a 3-2 vote. The
Dodd-Frank Act was initially created by Congress to
hold Wall Street accountable and avoid future
financial disasters; central to this legislation were
provisions providing strong protections for
whistleblowers. The business sector went to great
lengths to stop this law and lobbied the SEC to
instead pass rules limiting whistleblower protection
and hence the effectiveness of the entire law. Their
attempts proved unsuccessful and the SEC approved
the rules, many of which were proposed by the
National Whistleblowers Center (NWC). The newly
adopted rules include incentives for internal
whistleblowers and rewards for employees no matter
where they file their whistleblower claims –
externally or internally (NWC, 2012).
The most recent whistleblowing legislation passed
through the Senate less than two weeks ago, on
November 13, 2012. The Whistleblower Protection
Enhancement Act provides significantly improved
protection for federal employees who report instances
of fraud, waste, and abuse, and makes it easier to
reprimand individuals who retaliate against these
employees. The Government Accountability Project
(GAP) has been working for over 12 years on
legislation to improve protection for whistleblowers,
and although this most recent law does not include all
of the changes they sought, according to Tom
Devine, it strengthens the right to free speech for
government employees like never before (Johnson,
2012).
The legislation protecting whistleblowers, especially
the most recent laws, should help create a workplace
environment where employees feel safe to report
ethical and legal violations. But, the truth is,
whistleblowers continue to experience retaliation,
just in more subtle forms. Therefore, the issue
becomes this: how can companies encourage their
employees to report ethical and legal violations? In
other words, how can organizations create a
whistleblowing culture? Research suggests the
following conditions are necessary: employees must
be educated on the steps that must be taken to
communicate their concerns internally; employees
must believe that their concerns will be taken
seriously and will be investigated; and employees
must feel confident that they will not suffer
retaliation for reporting their concerns (Barnett,
1992).
To achieve these conditions, specific strategies must
be implemented. According to Ravishankar (2003),
businesses should utilize the following strategies in
their effort to promote a whistleblowing culture and
thus help protect the whistleblower in the workplace:


Create a formal policy for reporting ethical and
legal violations and against any acts of
retaliation.
Encourage whistleblowing at all levels,
especially management, to communicate an
“open-door” policy for filing complaints.



Talk about the company’s commitment to ethical
behavior on an ongoing basis to create an open
and honest workplace culture.
Require that all complaints and allegations be
investigated promptly and thoroughly and the
results of the investigation be reported to a
higher authority.
Find out how employees feel about the
company’s commitment to ethical behavior in an
attempt to assess its whistleblowing system.
It is important to note that such strategies are not a
cure for ethical and legal violations within the
workplace. However, they are a step in the right
direction. The goal should be a workplace
atmosphere where a commitment to ethicality in all
its forms is apparent and at work, literally.
References
Barnett, T. (1992). Why your company should have a
whistleblowing policy. Sam Advanced Management
Journal. Retrieved from http://ethics.csc.ncsu.edu/old/
12_00/basics/whistle/rst/wstlblo_policy.html.
Johnson, H. (2012, November 14). Senate passes whistleblower
protection enhancement act. Daily Whistleblower News.
Retrieved from http://www.whistleblower.org/blog/42-2012/
23333-senate-passes-whistleblower-protection-enhancement-act
-daily-whistleblower-news.
Ravishankar, L. (2003). Encouraging internal whistleblowing in
organizations. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/
publications/submitted/whistleblowing.html.