The Importance of ethics in the Workplace

The Importance of ethics in the Workplace

Ethical behavior is very important within the workplace just as it is in the personal lives of individuals. For a business to be successful there is the need for trust to be built among various parties like managers, employees, suppliers, customers and even competitors. There are six ethical terms that form a foundation of trust upon which is the base of ethical business practice. They include ethics, values, morals, integrity, character and laws. Ethics is defined as a set of rules that describe conduct that is acceptable in the society (Goree, 2007).  Values are customs, acts and institutions that are regarded
in a favorable way by a group of people. Morals refer to a mode of conduct or set of rules on which a society is based. Integrity is following a moral code when making daily decisions. Ethics is not only how people think or act but it is about character. Character is the driving force of what one does when no one is looking. Laws are a series of regulations and rules that are designed to express needs of people.
An example of an ethical dilemma that can take place within the workplace is an employee conducting personal business during company time. It is an abuse of the employer to conduct personal business when one is supposed to be doing what they were employed to do. There are various traditional theories that can be used to resolve ethical dilemmas.  One of the common theories that can be used in ethical decision making is the utilitarian theory (Goree, 2007). It is especially used when decisions that have consequences that involve a large group of people. This is because it involves weighing the good and bad that result from an action. The best action should be one that provides more good or no harm to other people.



Reference
Goree, K. (2007). Ethics in the workplace (2nd ed.). Mason, Ohio: Thomson/South-Western.