Ethical Issues in the Workplace
Ethical Issues in the Workplace
By Jonathan Dough
Excelsior College
Abstract
Problem Employee and Office Ethics: Most companies have at least one problem employee or “bad apple” in the bunch. These bad apples are labeled as problem children, the 2 percent, or other choice names. The bad apple normally doesn’t fall far from the tree. Meaning, the employee is only as good as the office ethics and rules of conduct allow him or her to be. These are issues that Supervisors have to deal with on a daily basis. Some Supervisors fall to the wayside because of these individuals.
The first ethical dilemma is with Mr. Slobecki. Mr. Slobecki is a Mr. Slobecki is very boisterous about a variety of subjects, to include politics, religion and life as he sees it in general, just to name a few. He believes that he is the subject matter expert of everything, but works in an entry-level customer service position. Mr. Slobecki also has a wife that works in the same office with him. Normally, this is frowned upon, but the management allowed it to happen. Mr. Slobecki feels that any issue he has should go to the forefront of all other issues, no matter how small they may be. Mr. Slobecki and his wife are not very well liked by the other employees in the 20-person office. They tend to push their ways on others and it is normally not appreciated. Employees tend to talk amongst themselves but not to others, especially if it is something they can handle on their own. Mr. Slobecki wants to go to lunch with his wife every day. He even stated that he will plan his lunch breaks when his wife goes, no matter what. Mr. Slobecki and his wife also plan their vacations together. So instead of one customer service representative being gone from the office, they leave a void in two positions for one vacation. This causes a ruckus with some of the other employees and it is addressed in an office sensing session with the Supervisor. The other employees explain that it is
By Jonathan Dough
Excelsior College
Abstract
Problem Employee and Office Ethics: Most companies have at least one problem employee or “bad apple” in the bunch. These bad apples are labeled as problem children, the 2 percent, or other choice names. The bad apple normally doesn’t fall far from the tree. Meaning, the employee is only as good as the office ethics and rules of conduct allow him or her to be. These are issues that Supervisors have to deal with on a daily basis. Some Supervisors fall to the wayside because of these individuals.
The first ethical dilemma is with Mr. Slobecki. Mr. Slobecki is a Mr. Slobecki is very boisterous about a variety of subjects, to include politics, religion and life as he sees it in general, just to name a few. He believes that he is the subject matter expert of everything, but works in an entry-level customer service position. Mr. Slobecki also has a wife that works in the same office with him. Normally, this is frowned upon, but the management allowed it to happen. Mr. Slobecki feels that any issue he has should go to the forefront of all other issues, no matter how small they may be. Mr. Slobecki and his wife are not very well liked by the other employees in the 20-person office. They tend to push their ways on others and it is normally not appreciated. Employees tend to talk amongst themselves but not to others, especially if it is something they can handle on their own. Mr. Slobecki wants to go to lunch with his wife every day. He even stated that he will plan his lunch breaks when his wife goes, no matter what. Mr. Slobecki and his wife also plan their vacations together. So instead of one customer service representative being gone from the office, they leave a void in two positions for one vacation. This causes a ruckus with some of the other employees and it is addressed in an office sensing session with the Supervisor. The other employees explain that it is