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Ethics in the Business World

In theory, business and ethics should go together just like bread and butter. However, this is not always the case and oftentimes you hear news in the media that one business or another has been caught in a bout of corruption. Ethical misconduct can be found all over the workplace from the mail room to the CEO, however, if dealt with correctly, it can become a problem of the past. In a study done by Reuters, more than half of U.S. workers have seen at least one type of ethical misconduct in the workplace.

The problem is that in these cases over 45% of workers did not report violations because they feared retaliation or felt that nothing would be done to denounce the unethical behavior. The costly consequences of corporate America?s ethical scandals may not have taught the majority of the U.S. business community anything, as reflected in the Reuters study. So, what is the problem? Not enough leaders are taking the initiative help resolve these issues. For starters, most businesses should put more effort into rewarding ethical behavior in the workplace.

If workers are afraid of retaliation, then something is seriously wrong. This is exactly why there is a whistleblower law in effect, in efforts to protect the employee from any form of retaliation. Businesses should continuously emphasize on a regular basis the importance of behaving ethically. A comprehensive ethics training program and on-going follow-up would certainly help create an ethical culture. Additionally, the ethical role-modeling of the senior leadership speaks volumes to employees.