Ethics in the Workplace

Essay by fitzy3001College, Undergraduate September 2007

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Ethical situations occur sometimes on a daily basis in the work environment.

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, ethics is the discipline of dealing withwhat is good and bad with moral obligations. Ethical conflicts are inescapable today ashuman interactions become increasingly frequent and complex. (Fang, 2006). People aresometimes faced with some sort of ethical decision at any given point in their life,especially while at work. In a poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports for the Hudsonprofessional-staffing firm, 31% of respondents said they have seen a co-worker engagingin some sort of unethical or illegal behavior (Dolliver, 2005). Keeping this in mindemployees need ethical and decision making skills and the ability to understand how todeal with real-life ethical situations.

Ethical dilemmas that are handled poorly can adversely affect the work environmentEthical situations should be dealt with very carefully. All parties involved need to ensurethat the situations are handled appropriately and professionally. Unethical behaviors maybring about short-term benefits but can damage a company's long-term interests(Fang, 2006).

Everyone has seen an ethical situation handled poorly at some point during theirworking career. Here is an example of an ethical issue which was handled poorly. Ayoung, naïve woman was working in a male oriented environment. She was just like hermale counterparts very excited and motivated to be there. Amy was finally in the AirForce, working on aircraft just as she had always dreamed of. Everyone at work wasvery nice to Amy; she was an attractive, smart girl. Her immediate supervisor, John,really liked her and took her under his wing. Amy looked up to her supervisor, not onlyas her mentor but also as her friend.

John had been in the Air Force for 10 years, married for 11 years, and had threechildren. There were times when they were required to travel together on business. Onone particular trip,