Body Art in the Workplace You walk into an interview, as you sit down, cross your legs and start to admire the new pair of heels you bought specifically for the interview, you notice you forgot to put a Band-Aid aid over the rather large but feminine tattoo that you have on the top of your foot. You uncross your legs and nonchalantly slide your feet under the table, but it is too late! The woman who is sitting across from you interviewing you, who decides the fate of your professional career, has already noticed it. She raises her eye brows and crinkles her nose and quickly compliments your new shoes because she is aware you saw her disgusted facial gesture. You get a very unfriendly vibe throughout the interview and notice she has mentioned what a professional place ABC company is to work and is already insinuating you might not fit in with the culture there. In the workplace is it ethical to be judged or discriminated against for a tattoo or tattoos you have on your body? What about other forms of body art, such as piercings? Can one make a sound decision on your work ethic and intelligence on appearance alone? In the textbook, Understanding Business Ethics, Stanwick and Stanwick (2009) wrote, “Ethics can be defined as the values an individual uses to interpret whether any particular action or behavior is considered acceptable and appropriate” (p. 2). Business ethics are not much different. In the same textbook Stanwick and Stanwick (2009) state, “Business ethics can be defined as the collective values of a business organization that can be used to evaluate whether the behavior of the collective members of the organization are considered acceptable and appropriate” (p. 3). The difference between ethics and business ethics is if you are evaluating the behavior individually or collectively as a whole organization. Being part of an organization that you do not back their ethical beliefs and culture would make it rather
References: Beccky, D. (2010, March 28). Ethics in the workplace. Retrieved from http://business.wikinut.com/Ethics-in-The-Work-Place/18dd260q/ Goldner, H. (2010). You’re going to wear that? Appearance in the workplace. Retrieved from http://www.americanbar.org/content/newsletter/publications/gp_solo_magazine_home/gp _solo_magazine_index/goldner.html Gundersen Lutheran Policy (2010) Pyrillis R. (2010). Body of work. Workforce Management, 89 (11), 20-28 Stanwick, P