Is unethical decision more a

function of Individual choice or

Decision maker's work
Environment

Submitted by
Sourabh Soni (ITBM)
PRN NO. 07030241032
????
 MARTHA STEWART
 CEO of Living Omnimedia.
 ESTIMATED WORTH=$638 million .
 In 2001 she was named the third most
powerful woman in America
 American business magnate,author of
several books, hundreds of articles on the
domestic arts, editor of a national
homekeeping magazine, host for two
popular daytime television programs
 ANOTHER FEATHER………
 She was convicted in 2004 of criminal
conspiracy served five months in prison followed
by five months of house arrest and two years of
probation.

 REASON:convicted of lying to investigators

about a stock sale, avoided a loss of $45,673 by
selling all 3,928 shares . The day following her
sale, the stock value fell 16%
 “THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS
BUSINESS ETHICS”
 “There’s no such thing as business ethics--
there’s only ethics. People try to use one set of
ethics for their professional life, another for their
spiritual life, and still another at home with their
family. That gets them into trouble. Ethics is
ethics. If you desire to be ethical, you live it by
one standard across the board.”
-John Maxwell
(writer ETHICS101)
 BUT……..FOR THE RECORD
ETHICS ARE..
 Ethicsis not about the  It’sabout the way they
way things ought
are. to be. SOURCE-WIKIPEDIA
 Bad apples; bad barrels; or
both?
2 Theories-
 Bad Apples-unethical
Apples- behavior attributed to the
personal characteristics of individuals

 “Man is an animal with primary instincts of

survival.Consequently, his ingenuity has
developed first and his soul afterward. Thus the
progress of science is far ahead of man’s ethical
behavior.”
-Charlie Chaplin
 Bad Barrels,—
Barrels the theory that organizational
and societal variables in the system
influence unethical decisions and
behaviors within the organization.
 The “apple” at the top of the barrel sets a
critical example to employees.
 An Organisation should have a safe system
for reporting unethical behavior, even a safe
channel for questioning the CEO’s actions.
Unethical
Unethical Managerial
Managerial Behavior
Behavior

Authority
Authority and
and Power
Power

Handling
Handling Information
Information

Influencing
Influencing the
the Behavior
Behavior of
of Others
Others

Setting
Setting Goals
Goals
 Workplace Deviance
Organizational

Production
Production Property
Property
Deviance
Deviance Deviance
Deviance

Minor Serious

Political
Political Personal
Personal
Deviance
Deviance Aggression
Aggression

Interpersonal
 Ethics in the Workplace
Why is ethics an important topic
 Cost - Avg. org looses $9/day per employee to fraud and
abuse
 Morale – people feel better about their jobs and
themselves
 Competitive Edge – people prefer to work with those they
can trust
 Legal Risk
Examples of Unethical Behavior

 Lying
 Withholding needed information
 Making long-distance calls on business lines,
duplicating software for use at home.
 Abusive or intimidating behavior towards
employees
 Misreporting actual time or hours worked
 Discrimination
Ethical Issues In an Organization

 Privacy in the workplace

 Whistle blowing
 Conflict of interest
 Bribes, payoffs, and kickbacks
 Organizational abuse
 Intellectual property
 Corporate responsibility
 Drivers of Unethical Behavior

 Unrealistic objectives
 Dissatisfaction at work
 Financial difficulties
 Ability to rationalize behavior
 Deteriorating loyalty
 Ethical Challenges in Business – The
Big Cases

 WorldCom
 Bernie Ebbers, former CEO found guilty of
securities fraud, masterminding $11 billion
conspiracy, sentenced to 25 years in jail.
 Tyco
 Dennis Kozlowski convicted of grand larceny.

 Enron
 Andy Fastow plead guilty to fraud and
conspiracy. Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling have also
been convicted.