Ethical Issues
Ethical Issues in OB
Kris Jones
Organizational Behavior
Prof. Thomas Stone
June, 11, 2012
Ethical issues have become a significant concern in organizations, especially in recent years. Ethics involves the study of moral issues and choices; concerned with what is right and wrong, bad and good and define what people should do (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2011). One of the problems regarding ethics is organizations and their people don’t always share the same idea about right and wrong and are faced with ethical decisions on a daily basis.
Recent events and highly publicized criminal acts of some CEO’s and other executive officers of United States corporations have placed company behavior on the front page. Some of these corporations include WorldCom, Enron, Adelphia Communications, Computer Associates and Tyco. Executives from all of these companies have been convicted of crimes including fraud, conspiracy, insider training, bank fraud and falsifying records, with jail terms ranging from six to twenty-five years (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2011). In some of these cases, the criminal acts resulted in complete destruction of the company. Due to the acts of these and other executives, high accountability standards and penalties under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are in place in the United States (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2011). Conducting business in an unethical manner can result in low employee morale, unethical employees, losing customers, fines and jail sentences for taking part in the unethical and illegal acts. Ethical issues in organizations are a particular concern due to the potential long lasting effects unethical behavior has on the company and all of the people involved, including employees, customers, shareholders and the communities where the companies are located. There is considerable pressure on companies and their leaders to perform and meet shareholder and company set goals. With all of the pressure to succeed and meet these goals,
Kris Jones
Organizational Behavior
Prof. Thomas Stone
June, 11, 2012
Ethical issues have become a significant concern in organizations, especially in recent years. Ethics involves the study of moral issues and choices; concerned with what is right and wrong, bad and good and define what people should do (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2011). One of the problems regarding ethics is organizations and their people don’t always share the same idea about right and wrong and are faced with ethical decisions on a daily basis.
Recent events and highly publicized criminal acts of some CEO’s and other executive officers of United States corporations have placed company behavior on the front page. Some of these corporations include WorldCom, Enron, Adelphia Communications, Computer Associates and Tyco. Executives from all of these companies have been convicted of crimes including fraud, conspiracy, insider training, bank fraud and falsifying records, with jail terms ranging from six to twenty-five years (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2011). In some of these cases, the criminal acts resulted in complete destruction of the company. Due to the acts of these and other executives, high accountability standards and penalties under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are in place in the United States (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2011). Conducting business in an unethical manner can result in low employee morale, unethical employees, losing customers, fines and jail sentences for taking part in the unethical and illegal acts. Ethical issues in organizations are a particular concern due to the potential long lasting effects unethical behavior has on the company and all of the people involved, including employees, customers, shareholders and the communities where the companies are located. There is considerable pressure on companies and their leaders to perform and meet shareholder and company set goals. With all of the pressure to succeed and meet these goals,
References: Bray, C., Albergotti, R., Futterman, M.. (2012, March 19). Mets Owners to Pay $162 Million to Madoff Trustee, The Wall Street Journal (Online) Retrieved March 19, 2012, from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304636404577291210170314378.html?mod=WSJ_business_whatsNews Bryan, C.. (2012, March). the role of leadership FRAUD IN DETERRENCE. Financial Executive, 28(2), 20-23. Retrieved March 16, 2012, from ABI/INFORM Complete. (Document ID: 2605018821). Elango, B., Paul, K., Kundu, S., & Paudel, S.. (2010). Organizational Ethics, Individual Ethics, and Ethical Intentions in International Decision-Making. Journal of Business Ethics, 97(4), 543-561. Retrieved March 19, 2012, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2223205251). Ethics; Studies from Illinois State University Reveal New Findings on Ethics. (2011, January). Investment Weekly News,1407. Retrieved March 17, 2012, from Banking Information Source. (Document ID: 2243085631).