UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR

• Values


  Exert influence over our attitudes, and attitudes influence our behavior
• Values


  Are integral to attitude formation and to how we respond to people and situations
• Core virtuous values (M.Seligman)


  • Wisdom
  • Knowledge
  • Self Control
  • Justice and Fair Guidance
  • Transcendence
  • Love and Kindness and Courage and Integrity
• While all values are desirable, not all values are virtuous. People have different values and virtuous depending on their conditions in life. Yet we want and prefer to be with people who are virtuous.
• Measures to encourage ethical behaviour in organizations

  1. Any gap between knowledge about what to do and actual actions needs to be closed

  2. Managerial leaders must be very deliberate about who joins their organization

  3. New personnel need to be socialized into the organization so as to advance virtuous values

  4. Accountability and follow-up are critical in putting virtuous values into practice

  5. Managers can positively impact the practice of ethical behaviour by fairly allocating organizational resources and linking them appropriately
• Measures to control unethical behaviours


  1. Create a Code of Conduct

  2. Reinforce Consequences

  3. Show Employees Appreciation

  4. Welcome an Ethics Speaker

  5. Create Checks and Balances

  6. Hire for Values

  7. Using incentives/reward systems
• Types of behavioural standards and codes of conduct

  • Inspirational-Idealistic
  • Regulatory
  • Educational/Learning-Oriented
• Inspirational-Idealistic codes of conduct


  Specify global themes such as "Be honest", "Show integrity in all matters", "Practice wise decision making"
• Regulatory codes of conduct

  Prescribe clearly delineated conduct, designed to help as a jurisprudential tool when disputes occur, more of a "do and don't" approach
• Educational/Learning-Oriented codes of conduct


  Offer principles to guide decision making and behavioural reactions into likely situations, compatible with building a learning organizational culture
• Different unethical behaviours

  • Misusing company time
  • Abusive behavior
  • Employee theft
  • Lying to employees
• Steps to proactively address unethical behaviour at work (B. Goldfield)

  1. Create a code of ethics

  2. Establish a protocol

  3. Empower employees

  4. Continuously review the code
• The 10 most common examples of unethical behaviour (Institute of Leadership and Management in the UK)

  • Taking shortcuts / shoddy work
  • Lying to hide mistakes
  • Badmouthing colleagues
  • Passing the buck (when you don't get your work done)
  • Slacking off when no one is watching
  • Lying to hide your colleagues' mistakes
  • Taking credit for other colleagues' work
  • Pulling a sickie(Taking excuse under sickness cover)
  • Lying about skills and experience
  • Taking low value items
• Dealing with unethical behavior (Careerbright.com)

  1. Don't Take Action without Evidence

  2. Follow Company Procedure

  3. When the Issue Goes Beyond Being Unethical

  4. Consider Going Elsewhere