Can You Be 80% Ethical?
A report released last week shows trends that reflect today's values. The report was based on a study conducted across twelve Indian cities and the respondents were executives at the entry and middle levels.
- Nearly half of respondents said it was quite appropriate to use the office telephone to make personal calls - even long-distance calls.
- About 55% said it was OK to fudge expense accounts.
- Almost half had no qualms about recording their entry times as being within permissible limits, even when they arrived late. Similarly, they did not hesitate to mark the exit time as required even when they left early. (This finding was restricted to manual systems).
- 60% admitted to lying while applying for leave, a figure that reached 75% in some cities.
- Another 60% found nothing wrong in carrying office stationery to their homes, while 63% said it was okay to do personal work during office hours.
- 62% considered offering someone a bribe "normal and ethical" behavior
These findings, from several major cities and across different industry sectors, inevitably lead to the question, "Are we witnessing the downside of ethics in the workplace?" More worrisome is the rationale of the respondents - when top management can charge millions on the expense account, what's wrong with our doing it at the level of hundreds or thousands? Thus, the effect of leadership on organizational culture is also brought into sharp focus.
B V Krishnamurthy responded to the article with “Ethics itself is a grey area, there being no absolute right or absolute wrong.” Some time ago John Maxwell tells about the reaction when he decided to write the book “There’s no such thing as business Ethics.” Maxwell explained that Ethics is binary, you either have it or you don’t.
Years ago the CEO of RJR Nabisco ordered so many aircraft for himself and for his aides that a separate hangar had to be built to house them. Whose money was it anyway? And what happens to the Agency Theory Concept?
Did we learn anything from the collapse of once large and perceived-to-be-infallible organizations?
Follow this Ethical Decision Tree if you need a roadmap.
Source: Harvard Business Review
Click Here to enlage this Ethical Decision Tree
How about you? Where do you draw the line between acceptable behavior and dishonesty? Can there be something like 80% honesty?
If your company outsourced to India does this cause you concern?
Send your responses via our contact page
ASK YVONNE...
Question: I work for a boss who yells at me at least once a day. Nothing I do is good enough and she micromanages my work. What can I do the ease the stress from this boss. I love the people I work with but these daily tirades are starting to affect my health.
Answer:
What you’re experiencing is called “workplace bullying” and has been happening more often in the workplace. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal says “Experts define workplace bullying as subtle, persistent and often nondiscriminatory harassment of co-workers. Unlike sexual or racial harassment, workplace bullying isn't necessarily illegal. But bullying can contribute to absenteeism and turnover and escalate into illegal behavior if left unchecked.” Emotionally abusive co-workers can hurt a company's reputation with customers and employees and poison a work environment.
"Workplace bullying" can include sarcastic comments, social exclusion or work sabotage.
Send your questions for "Ask Yvonne" to yvonne@yvonnefbrown.com and I will answer in our next newsletter
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Read the new article titled “8 Things to do When Requesting a Business Loan” Billionaire Bill Bartmann recently shared his knowledge on how to prepare for a business loan. I learned many valuable techniques for ensuring that you obtain the loan you need to grow your business. The material is presented as a checklist that will prepare entrepreneurs for success.
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