What is Ethics?
Ethics is the branch of philosophy that deals with morality. It is concerned with
distinguishing between good and evil in the world, between right and wrong
human actions, and between virtuous and non-virtuous characteristics of people.
The Ideals and Concepts That Guide Me through Life:

It’s never too late!

The golden rule - treat others the way you would like to be treated.

What goes around comes around! In other words, good things happen to good
people.

If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.
The good/moral and the bad/immoral in my personal life:
Good/Moral:

Have empathy for all creatures great and small.

Honesty is always the best policy.

Be loyal – it’s the pledge of truth to oneself and others.

Treat all people, including you, with dignity and respect.

Work hard and with a positive attitude.

Give an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.
Bad/Immoral:

People tend to be generous when sharing their nonsense, fear, and ignorance.

Sometimes we judge ourselves pretty harshly. We blame ourselves for things we
have absolutely no control over. We criticize, berate, and even disparage
ourselves, treating ourselves far worse than we’d ever treat other people.

Gossip is shared by the misinformed, who often sound like fools, while creating
ongoing drama and disorder.
The good/moral and the bad/immoral in the business world today:
Good/Moral:

Fundamental ethics - conducting your business affairs with honesty and a
commitment to treating every customer fairly may be a key determinant to the
success of a company.

Diversity - recruiting a diverse workforce, enforces equal opportunity in all
training programs and is accomplished when every employee is able to enjoy a
respectful workplace environment that values their contributions.

Decision-making – processes should center on protecting employee and
customer rights, making sure all business operations are fair and just, protecting
the common good and making sure individual values and beliefs of workers are
protected.

Compliance and governance - businesses are expected to comply with
environmental laws, federal and provincial safety regulations, fiscal and monetary
reporting statutes and all applicable civil rights laws
Bad/Immoral:

Theft - employees take home office supplies, use business computers for
personal tasks, pad expense accounts and abuse sick time or allotted personal
days.

Vendor relationships – the practice of accepting gifts from a vendor in exchange
for increased purchasing is not only unethical, it may have legal repercussions.

Bending the rules - if an employee is asked to perform an unethical task by a
supervisor or manager, turning the other way to avoid trouble for another
employee, withholding information that can change an outcome.

Environmental unethical behavior - releasing pollutants into the air, the release of
harmful toxins into the environment due to lax safety standards, improper
maintenance of equipment or other preventable reasons.

Wages and working conditions-not paying workers a fair wage, employing
children under the legal working age, and unsafe or working conditions.
Everyone has worked with unethical practices in one form or another. It’s
having the strength and courage to report or walk away from these
businesses once we realize it is happening.
Ethical Behavior in the Workplace:

Justice - the Golden Rule - treat each other and all clients and customers fairly
and equally. Anti-discrimination laws are examples of just employee practices.

Integrity - the courage to do what is right despite popular opinion.

Confidentiality and privacy practices - A healthy work culture displays respect for
employee privacy. Employees practice confidentiality by refraining from gossip
about colleagues' private issues.

Self-control - self-control prevents difficult situations from escalating into conflicts
that disrupt workflow and threaten staff morale.
Unethical Behavior in the Workplace:

Deliberate deception in the workplace includes taking credit for work done by
someone else; calling in sick when you are not; sabotaging the work of another
person; misrepresenting the product or service to the customer.

Violation of your conscience - forcing you to do something you know is wrong.

Coercion - the basis for workplace sexual harassment.

Failure to honor commitments – example – overtime pay promised not paid.

Unlawful conduct - padding expense accounts, raiding the supply cabinet,
passing around counterfeit software.

Disregard of company policy - most employers clearly state company policies
against deception, coercion and illegal activities. They also strive to convey an
image of trustworthiness to their customers and employees.
Summary
Ethical change in the workplace is not only possible; it is our obligation to our
clients and to the public! In a business setting, being ethical means applying
principles of honesty and fairness to our relationships with coworkers and
customers. Ethical people make an effort to treat everyone as they would want to
be treated themselves. It is imperative to building customer loyalty, retaining
valuable employees and avoiding legal problems.
References: Phillips, Cindy, Kinds of Unethical Behavior in Business,
Demand Media. Found online at http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-
unethical-behavior-workplace-10092.html
Oster, Kenneth V, List of Ethical Issues in Business , Demand Media. Found online at
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-ethical-behavior-business21067.html
,
Morley, Miranda Examples of Ethical Behavior in Business Meetings, Demand Media.
Found online at http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-ethical-behavior-
business-meetings-21680.html