Ethics in the Modern Workplace

Paper Summary:

The image of organizational ethics suffered severely from recent Wall Street scandals. However, experts suggest that, in times of distress and tough economic conditions, it is more important than ever to remain faithful to personal and organizational moral principles. This paper shows that, even though companies cannot build the individual morality and personal ability to recognize right from wrong, effective communication, guidance, or resources availability, an example set by upper management and formal education can help students and employees avoid ethical risks and make knowledgeable ethical decisions. The paper analyzes various problems associated with moral behavior and decision making in the modern workplace and discusses several ways to improve and promote workplace ethics.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary
I Introduction
II Body
1 The Concept of Workplace Ethics
2 Organizational Ethics Policies and Their Purpose
3 Is Workplace Ethics a Myth? The Facts
4 Reasons Behind Workplace Ethics Decline
5 Workplace Ethics Today: Its Importance and Ways to Improve It
6 Promoting Ethical Behavior Through University Education
7 Ethics Courses in University Curriculum: Problems and Opportunities
III Conclusion
IV Bibliography

From the Paper:

"In 1996, Archer Daniels Midland Company pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $100 million dollars for fixing the price of two corn-based products that cost consumers millions of dollars a year (Hunter-Gault, 1996). In 2000, Firestone and Ford Motor Company had to apologize to their consumers for a series of deadly accidents linked to tire failures, while trying to pin blame on each other. In 2002 Ford/Firestone scandal was followed by the largest corporate bankruptcy in the US, the collapse of Enron, whose "rapid expansion - and escalating profits - turned out to be based on false accounting methods that artificially inflated its size and potential" (Enron puts itself, 2002). Since the Enron scandal erupted, many more scandals tarnishing the names of once-mighty companies, such as Andersen, WorldCom, Xerox, Tyco, Merrill Lynch and others came to light (Wall Street Scandals, 2002). Are the scandals that have shaken the confidence in corporate America just the result of a few bad apples, or do they indicate a tragic tumble of corporate culture, integrity and business ethics?"

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