Running head: ETHICS AND VALUES IN THE WORKPLACE

Ethics and Values in the Workplace

Karl Kuhn

Running head: ETHICS AND VALUES IN THE WORKPLACE

Introduction
Potter Stewart, an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court from 1958 to 1981,
said, Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have the right to do and what is
right to do. Although this was said quite some time ago, it relates to todays world
tremendously. As culture changes, peoples ideas change and therefore peoples ideas of
ethics change. Along with this, regulations in the workplace evolve. Though regulations
have become tighter, there are still loopholes and ways to get around them and a common
thought from business people is to do whatever it is to get profit, whether right or wrong.
Stewart said it best because although it may be possible and regular to do something
wrong to get a profit, ethics leads someone to not do that because it is not right. Ethics
and values is a field that has grown greatly in the business world to become what it is
today because it is now seen that when it is incorporated it can lead to success, but can
also lead to failure if it is ignored.
Ethics in Todays Workplace
The first question asked is where business ethics is at today. The best way
to determine this is to see the change that it has taken over time. History shows that ethics
have always been extremely important (De George, n.d.). The 10 Commandments have
been used and looked up to for all of time and are still used today as a standard to follow
(De George, n.d.).
The business world in the 16th century thrived and depended on good business
ethics (Are business ethics getting worse?, 2013). When businesses were made, there was
a purpose that was declared and this mainly consisted of their contribution to society (Are
business ethics getting worse?, 2013). This thought and practice continued to be a priority

Running head: ETHICS AND VALUES IN THE WORKPLACE

over time until the 1900s and more specifically then 1970s when the economy started to
stagnate (Are business ethics getting worse?, 2013). Around this time, big corporations
started becoming the norm in the business world and small and medium sized businesses
started becoming less relevant (Are business ethics getting worse?, 2013). Because they
were able, they split off and became more secluded with the work that they did (Are
business ethics getting worse?, 2013). This led the businesses to believe that growth
could be revived by the reduction in the role of the State and this then led to the State
becoming less willing and able to intervene (Are business ethics getting worse?, 2013).
All of this ended up in the decrease of business ethics because it was regulated
less. Anything that turned a profit was now allowed and encouraged. Banking sectors
began to show extreme risk on the spreadsheets and this led to a collapse in the system
(Are business ethics getting worse?, 2013). In the years after this, the Corporate Social
Responsibility promoted business ethics because of the past series of events and
attempted to prove that ethics within the workplace were a must have (Are business
ethics getting worse?, 2013).
Many people argue that ethics have not changed throughout time but that is
because ethics is backed up by human nature so it would make since that this would not
change (Are business ethics getting worse?, 2013). Recently, there have been a large
increase in regulations and scrutiny and this makes it easier to recognize malpractice in a
business (Are business ethics getting worse?, 2013). Additionally, companies with
incentives show a risk because workers are then willing to make unethical decisions and
make errors in judgment to make a sale or to meet the required checkpoint (Are business

Running head: ETHICS AND VALUES IN THE WORKPLACE

ethics getting worse?, 2013). Structure within these businesses may need to be modified
to increase their overall ethics.
Others argue that ethics in the workplace have been increasing greatly (Are
business ethics getting worse?, 2013). The past 100 years have shown great improvement
in health and safety, discrimination and equality, and labor laws (Are business ethics
getting worse?, 2013). Investing has become very prevalent and a business in itself and
because of the rise in this, investors are almost required to ask more questions for their
own safety and they will only comply with the business if these questions are answered
and are satisfactory (Are business ethics getting worse?, 2013).
With the improvement, there have been three main factors that back it up: public
scrutiny, economic climate, and regulation and legislation (Are business ethics getting
worse?, 2013). Reputation has become a
leading factor in success in large
corporations and along with this, public
opinion is at an all time high (Are business
ethics getting worse?, 2013). It is shifting
greatly because of the exposure of corporate malpractice and abuse of power. Edelman
Trust Barometer says that trust in the CEO has reached an all-time low (Are business
ethics getting worse?, 2013). Social media has also led to an increased spotlight on
workplaces across the country and this also increases the possibility and ability to expose
malpractice (Are business ethics getting worse?, 2013). With the tight economic climate,
corporate businesses have also been put under a different spotlight and a lot more
pressure (Are business ethics getting worse?, 2013). Lastly, the economic crash in 2008

Running head: ETHICS AND VALUES IN THE WORKPLACE

renewed a new focus on regulation with ethics in the workplace (Are business ethics
getting worse?, 2013). Legislation is starting to attempt to bring an workplace culture
back that encourages and requires businesses to hold a purpose within the business to
bring ethics back as a main priority (Are business ethics getting worse?, 2013).
Success in Ethics
Success in ethics means success in the workplace, but in order to be successful it
is important to be familiar with what surrounds an ethical workplace. Having a workplace
that holds ethics as a main priority can lead to great success, although it may be harder to
obtain. Obtaining an ethical workplace can be obtained through three main topics and
attributes: professional integrity, academic integrity, and personal values (Thomson,
2013).
Professional integrity can make or break your career because this allows the
worker to build credibility (Thomson, 2013). Credibility can lead to contacts and
connections and this is arguably the most important aspect to a business today (Thomson,
2013). Following simple guidelines can lead to professional integrity and essentially this
success that is seen in the workplace. These guidelines may include meeting deadlines,
achieving preset goals, complying with the standards of the employment, and building
relationships through mutual respect (Thomson, 2013). This is fundamentally behaving in
a professional and ethical manner in the workplace.
Next, academic integrity means adherence to ethical principals (Thomson, 2013).
However, someone who truly has academic integrity is someone who not only who
follows justice not only based on the social norm, but also their own logical rulings
(Thomson, 2013). This integrity can differ from different things within the business

Running head: ETHICS AND VALUES IN THE WORKPLACE

world including non-disclosure of information in the workplace, keeping on track with

procedures and policies set by the company, and upholding client privileges (Thomson,
2013). Academics is an aspect that is looked at before selecting worthy candidates to by
employed and is then is a foundation for success in the workplace (Thomson, 2013).
Lastly, personal values are something that varies from person to person. It can
vary from the collection of religious, social, or family values and this relates back to a
previous point of the 10 Commandments being a guideline that people follow with their
values (Thomson, 2013). These values allow the employee to better make the decisions
that they make throughout a normal day in their work. It allows people to differentiate
what is right and what is wrong and what they will do and what they will not do
(Thomson, 2013). This line of ethics is very blurred in todays world because something
that may be seen as ethical in one culture may be seen as totally unethical in another
culture.
Four things that are very important within personal values are the golden rule,
honesty, confidentiality, and leading by example (Scott, n.d.). The golden rule has been
followed throughout history and is a simple practice that ensures people to treat others
how they would like to be treated. This keeps disturbances that may distract or offend
people at a low in the workplace (Scott, n.d.). This rule ensures that respect is kept
between two people. Honesty is the best example of integrity in the workplace and allows
maximum communication in the workplace, which leads to relationships that are harder
to break (Scott, n.d.). Leaders that are honest about company policies have employees
that are honest with the policies and this leads to a company with less corruption (Scott,
n.d.). Confidentiality, while is a great example of integrity as well, is also a legal priority

Running head: ETHICS AND VALUES IN THE WORKPLACE

(Scott, n.d.). Keeping things private in the workplace with customers leads to a level of
trust with customers that is very important in keeping the company intact and keeping a
good reputation with the public (Scott, n.d.). Leading by example can back all of these
practices up. A leader who leads by example has employees who trust them and respect
them and this can lead to a level of respect from the customers. Although there are
blurred lines, all of these actions lead to a much more ethical and successful workplace.
Failure in Ethics
Lastly, ethics are sometimes hard to obtain in the workplace and this can lead to
severe consequences. It is hard because of the previous points of the blurred lines within
it that people can sometimes not pinpoint. Although it is often encouraged, globalization
and diversity leads to confusion in the workplace because people of different
backgrounds have sometimes very different views of morals because of their culture.
Cost pressures can lead to corruption because individuals are sometimes left to
make very important decisions (Driscoll & Hoffman, 2011). As technology strengthens,
working from home is a lot more common and this depletes the option of a community
based work place where human interaction is prevalent (Driscoll et al., 2011). The old
hierarchal management structure is slowly being replaced by teams and this is decreasing
titles in the workplace where people are being told what to do by people more qualified
(Driscoll et al., 2011). The aspect of entrepreneurship is encouraging employees on the
lower level to take new responsibilities and take more risks, which can sometimes lead to
more risk in itself because of inexperience (Driscoll et al., 2011).
Government regulation is sort of being replace by company policies put on by
large corporations, which can lead to a larger possibility of corruption in the workplace.

Running head: ETHICS AND VALUES IN THE WORKPLACE

A good example of the downfall of a company due to

the lack of ethics and morals is the bankruptcy of Enron
in 2001 (Silverstein, 2013). This shows one of the
biggest bankruptcies of all time while also showing
corporate Americas moral failings. It is a reminder of
the implications those who hunted surplus at the
expense of their communities and employees (Silverstein, 2013). It proves that
companies will cross boundaries related to the law at the attempt to gain any kind of
profit. It has always been like this and it always will but with the increase of regulations,
the mistakes will be noticed and will lead to more regulations in the future.
Their failure has shown that a clear-cut mission code of ethics is essential to
success because although Enron was extremely successful and was even the nations
seventh largest publicly-held corporation, they lacked this code of ethics and the
company was essentially destroyed and everyone involved with it was very negatively
affected (Silverstein, 2013). Sixteen executives of the company were sentenced to prison,
people lost jobs, and shareholders lost money (Silverstein, 2013). Shareholders are very
important to a business but their satisfaction needs to be balanced with the companys
code of ethics and constituents (Silverstein, 2013). Corporate codes are practical
approaches to decisions that are made everyday and should not be seen as a joke.
These meaningful cultures will encourage and allow employees to come forward
with their concerns and the ethical corporation will let these concerns be heard. Having a
company with employees holding these concerns back can be very unhealthy and
detrimental to the workplace they are working in. Companies with poor ethics and values

Running head: ETHICS AND VALUES IN THE WORKPLACE

will be exposed and on the other hand, companies with good habits in this field will be
shown and will shine. Concrete principles lead to good company evaluations and
essentially a great reputation that can attract people that have the same goals of success in
mind.
Conclusion
It is clear that this topic is very important in the workplace and needs to be paid
attention to. Ethics and values is a field that has grown greatly in the business world to
become what it is today because it is now seen that when it is incorporated it can lead to
success, but can also lead to failure if it is ignored. Business ethics have grown because
of the rules and regulations that have been set, but people still have a desire to do
whatever they can to succeed and this sometimes gets in the way and creates problems.
Keeping it in mind and having it as a priority can lead to success and a well-run business.
Ignoring it and not taking it seriously can lead to the failure and self-implosion of the
business and this is seen first hand from past people and businesses. Looking deeper into
the topic, it is easy to see that business ethics can make or break a workplace and it is
up to executives and employees to set goals that show ethics and values as a priority, and
execute these goals.

Running head: ETHICS AND VALUES IN THE WORKPLACE

10

References
Are business ethics getting worse? (2013, January 1). Retrieved from
http://www.goodcorporation.com/business-ethics-debates/are-business-ethicsgetting-worse/
De George, R. (n.d.). A History of Business Ethics. Retrieved from
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/business/conference/presentation
s/business-ethics-history.html
Driscoll, D., & Hoffman, M. (2011, May 4). Why Ethics Matter: A Business Without
Values Is A Business At Risk. Retrieved from
http://www.corporatecomplianceinsights.com/why-ethics-matter-a-businesswithout-values-is-a-business-at-risk/
Scott, S. (n.d.). Examples of Integrity in the Workplace. Retrieved November 11, 2014,
from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-integrity-workplace-10906.html
Silverstein, K. (2013, May 14). Enron, Ethics And Today's Corporate Values. Retrieved
from http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2013/05/14/enron-ethics-andtodays-corporate-values/2/
Thomson, D. (2013, January 1). The importance of values and ethics in the workplace.
Retrieved from http://www.insidebusiness360.com/index.php/the-importance-ofvalues-and-ethics-in-the-workplace-35435/