essays on unethical behaviour

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Unethical Work Behavior: Causes, Consequences, and Prevention Strategies

From embezzlement to harassment, unethical behavior in the workplace is a pervasive issue that can have far-reaching consequences for both individuals and organizations. It’s a topic that often lurks in the shadows, whispered about in break rooms and hushed conversations, but rarely addressed head-on. Yet, the impact of such behavior can be devastating, rippling through companies like a toxic undercurrent, eroding trust, and undermining the very foundations of a healthy work environment.

Let’s face it: we’ve all witnessed or heard about instances of unethical conduct at work. Maybe it was that colleague who always seemed to be “borrowing” office supplies for personal use, or the manager who consistently favored certain team members over others. These seemingly small infractions might appear harmless at first glance, but they’re often just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to counterproductive work behavior .

So, what exactly constitutes unethical work behavior? At its core, it’s any action that violates moral principles, professional standards, or organizational policies. It’s the dark underbelly of the corporate world, where personal gain often trumps integrity, and short-term benefits outweigh long-term consequences. From the boardroom to the mailroom, no level of an organization is immune to its insidious influence.

The prevalence of unethical behavior in modern workplaces is, quite frankly, alarming. A 2021 survey by the Ethics & Compliance Initiative found that 49% of U.S. employees observed misconduct at work. That’s nearly half of the workforce witnessing behavior that goes against ethical standards. It’s a sobering statistic that underscores the urgency of addressing this issue head-on.

Why is it so crucial to tackle unethical work behavior? Well, imagine a workplace where trust is non-existent, where employees are constantly looking over their shoulders, and where the company’s reputation hangs by a thread. Not exactly a recipe for success, is it? By confronting and mitigating unethical conduct, organizations can create a more positive, productive, and sustainable work environment. It’s not just about doing the right thing (although that’s certainly important); it’s about fostering a culture that drives long-term success and employee satisfaction.

Common Types of Unethical Work Behavior: The Usual Suspects

When it comes to unethical work behavior, there’s a rogues’ gallery of common offenses that plague organizations. Let’s shine a light on some of these unsavory characters:

Theft and fraud are perhaps the most obvious and tangible forms of unethical behavior. From pilfering office supplies to elaborate embezzlement schemes, these actions directly impact a company’s bottom line. But it’s not just about the financial loss; such behavior erodes trust and can create a culture of suspicion among employees.

Harassment and discrimination, unfortunately, continue to be prevalent issues in many workplaces. These behaviors can take many forms, from subtle microaggressions to blatant acts of hostility. They not only violate ethical standards but also legal ones, putting companies at risk of lawsuits and reputational damage. Moreover, they create a toxic work environment that stifles creativity, productivity, and employee well-being.

Misuse of company resources is another common form of unethical behavior. This could be as simple as using the office printer for personal projects or as complex as utilizing company data for personal gain. While some might view these actions as harmless, they represent a breach of trust and can lead to significant losses for the organization over time.

Falsifying reports or documents is a particularly insidious form of unethical behavior. Whether it’s fudging expense reports, inflating sales figures, or manipulating financial statements, these actions can have severe consequences. Not only do they mislead stakeholders and potentially violate legal regulations, but they also undermine the integrity of the entire organization.

Violating confidentiality agreements is a form of opportunistic behavior that can have far-reaching consequences. In our interconnected world, where information is power, breaching confidentiality can lead to loss of competitive advantage, damage to client relationships, and even legal repercussions. It’s a betrayal of trust that can be difficult, if not impossible, to recover from.

Root Causes of Unethical Work Behavior: Digging Deeper

Understanding the root causes of unethical work behavior is crucial if we hope to address and prevent it effectively. It’s easy to point fingers at individuals, but often, the problem runs much deeper, embedded in the very fabric of organizational culture and systems.

Organizational culture and leadership play a pivotal role in shaping ethical behavior. When leaders turn a blind eye to misconduct or, worse, actively engage in it themselves, it sends a clear message throughout the organization that such behavior is acceptable. As the saying goes, “A fish rots from the head down.” Leaders who prioritize short-term gains over long-term integrity set the stage for widespread ethical lapses.

Pressure to meet unrealistic goals is another significant driver of unethical behavior. In today’s hyper-competitive business environment, employees often feel pushed to the brink, expected to achieve ever-increasing targets with limited resources. This pressure can lead otherwise ethical individuals to cut corners, manipulate data, or engage in other unethical practices just to keep their heads above water.

A lack of ethical training and guidelines can leave employees ill-equipped to navigate complex moral dilemmas. Without clear boundaries and expectations, individuals may find themselves inadvertently crossing ethical lines. It’s not enough to assume that everyone shares the same moral compass; organizations need to actively educate and guide their workforce on ethical standards and decision-making.

Personal financial stress can also be a significant driver of unethical behavior . When employees are struggling to make ends meet, the temptation to engage in theft, fraud, or other unethical practices for personal gain can become overwhelming. This underscores the importance of fair compensation and financial wellness programs in fostering an ethical work environment.

Peer influence and groupthink can lead even well-intentioned individuals astray. In a work environment where unethical behavior is normalized or even celebrated, employees may feel pressure to conform to avoid being ostracized or to advance their careers. This “everyone else is doing it” mentality can quickly spiral into widespread misconduct.

Consequences of Unethical Work Behavior: The Ripple Effect

The consequences of unethical work behavior extend far beyond the immediate act itself, creating a ripple effect that can impact every aspect of an organization. Let’s explore some of these far-reaching implications:

Financial losses for the company are often the most immediate and quantifiable consequence of unethical behavior. Whether it’s direct theft, fraudulent activities, or the misuse of resources, these actions can significantly impact a company’s bottom line. In some cases, the financial damage can be catastrophic, leading to layoffs, bankruptcy, or even the complete collapse of the organization.

Damage to reputation and brand image is a less tangible but equally devastating consequence. In today’s interconnected world, news of unethical behavior can spread like wildfire, tarnishing a company’s reputation in the blink of an eye. This damage can be long-lasting, eroding customer trust, deterring potential business partners, and making it difficult to attract top talent.

Legal ramifications and penalties are a serious concern for organizations grappling with unethical behavior. Violations of laws and regulations can result in hefty fines, legal battles, and even criminal charges for individuals involved. The cost of legal defense alone can be staggering, not to mention the potential for settlements or judgments against the company.

Decreased employee morale and productivity is an often-overlooked consequence of unethical behavior. When employees witness or experience misconduct in the workplace, it can lead to disengagement, reduced motivation, and a general sense of dissatisfaction. This, in turn, can result in decreased productivity, higher turnover rates, and difficulty in attracting new talent.

Erosion of trust with stakeholders is perhaps one of the most insidious consequences of unethical behavior. Whether it’s shareholders losing faith in the company’s leadership, customers questioning the integrity of products or services, or suppliers becoming wary of business relationships, this loss of trust can have long-term implications for an organization’s success and sustainability.

Identifying and Reporting Unethical Work Behavior: Breaking the Silence

Recognizing and reporting unethical behavior is crucial in maintaining a healthy work environment. But it’s not always easy to spot, and even when identified, many employees hesitate to speak up. Let’s explore how organizations can create a culture that encourages ethical vigilance and supports those who dare to raise concerns.

Signs of unethical conduct in the workplace can be subtle or glaringly obvious. Some red flags include unexplained discrepancies in financial reports, sudden changes in employee behavior or lifestyle, consistent violation of company policies, or a pattern of favoritism in promotions or assignments. It’s important to foster an environment where employees feel empowered to trust their instincts and speak up when something doesn’t feel right.

Establishing anonymous reporting systems is a crucial step in encouraging employees to come forward with concerns. These systems, whether they’re hotlines, online portals, or designated ombudspersons, provide a safe space for individuals to report unethical behavior without fear of retaliation. The key is to ensure that these systems are truly anonymous and that reports are taken seriously and investigated thoroughly.

Protecting whistleblowers is paramount in creating a culture of ethical accountability. Employees need to know that they won’t face negative consequences for reporting unethical behavior in the workplace . This protection should be clearly outlined in company policies and reinforced through leadership actions. When whistleblowers are celebrated rather than ostracized, it sends a powerful message about the organization’s commitment to ethics.

Conducting internal investigations is a delicate but necessary process when unethical behavior is reported. These investigations should be prompt, thorough, and impartial. It’s crucial to have a clear protocol in place for how investigations will be conducted, who will be involved, and how findings will be communicated. Transparency in this process, to the extent possible without compromising confidentiality, can help build trust in the system.

Collaborating with HR and legal departments is essential in navigating the complex landscape of ethical violations. These departments can provide valuable guidance on the legal implications of reported behavior, ensure that investigations are conducted in compliance with relevant laws and regulations, and help determine appropriate disciplinary actions when misconduct is confirmed.

Preventing and Mitigating Unethical Work Behavior: Building an Ethical Fortress

Prevention is always better than cure, and when it comes to unethical work behavior, this adage couldn’t be more true. By proactively building a culture of ethics and integrity, organizations can significantly reduce the likelihood of misconduct and create a more positive, productive work environment.

Developing a strong ethical code of conduct is the foundation of any effective ethics program. This code should clearly outline the organization’s values, expectations for employee behavior, and consequences for violations. But it’s not enough to simply have a code gathering dust on a shelf; it needs to be a living document that’s regularly communicated, discussed, and updated as needed.

Implementing regular ethics training programs is crucial in ensuring that all employees understand and can apply the organization’s ethical standards. These training sessions should go beyond simply reviewing the code of conduct; they should include real-world scenarios, role-playing exercises, and discussions of ethical dilemmas specific to the industry or organization. By making ethics training engaging and relevant, companies can help employees develop the skills they need to navigate complex ethical situations.

Creating a culture of transparency and accountability is perhaps the most powerful tool in preventing unethical behavior. This means fostering an environment where open communication is encouraged, where employees feel safe raising concerns, and where ethical behavior is consistently recognized and rewarded. Leaders play a crucial role in this, modeling ethical behavior and demonstrating a commitment to transparency in their own actions and decisions.

Establishing clear consequences for violations is essential in deterring unethical behavior. These consequences should be fair, consistent, and proportionate to the severity of the violation. It’s important that employees understand that unethical behavior will not be tolerated, regardless of an individual’s position or performance in other areas.

Encouraging ethical leadership at all levels of the organization is key to creating a sustainable ethical culture. This means not only holding top executives to high ethical standards but also empowering middle managers and front-line supervisors to be ethical role models and decision-makers. By fostering ethical leadership throughout the organization, companies can create a ripple effect of positive behavior.

In conclusion, addressing unethical work behavior is not just a moral imperative; it’s a business necessity. The costs of ignoring or tolerating misconduct far outweigh the short-term gains that might be achieved through unethical practices. By fostering an ethical work environment, organizations can reap long-term benefits including increased employee satisfaction and loyalty, stronger stakeholder relationships, and enhanced reputation and brand value.

The journey towards creating an ethical workplace is ongoing and requires commitment at all levels of the organization. It’s about more than just avoiding negative consequences; it’s about building a positive culture where integrity is valued, trust flourishes, and employees are empowered to do the right thing.

As we navigate the complexities of the modern business world, let’s remember that ethics isn’t just a buzzword or a box to be checked. It’s the cornerstone of sustainable success. Whether you’re a CEO, a middle manager, or an entry-level employee, you have a role to play in fostering an ethical work environment. So, let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work. After all, creating a workplace we can be proud of is a responsibility we all share.

Remember, cheating behavior and other forms of unethical conduct don’t just happen in a vacuum. They’re often symptoms of deeper organizational issues that need to be addressed. By taking a proactive approach to ethics, we can create workplaces that not only avoid the pitfalls of misconduct but also thrive on the strength of their integrity and values.

Let’s make ethical behavior the norm, not the exception. Let’s build organizations where doing the right thing isn’t just encouraged, it’s expected. The future of our workplaces – and indeed, our society – depends on it.

References:

1. Ethics & Compliance Initiative. (2021). Global Business Ethics Survey. Available at: https://www.ethics.org/global-business-ethics-survey/

2. Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2017). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. John Wiley & Sons.

3. Bazerman, M. H., & Tenbrunsel, A. E. (2011). Blind spots: Why we fail to do what’s right and what to do about it. Princeton University Press.

4. Kaptein, M. (2011). Understanding unethical behavior by unraveling ethical culture. Human relations, 64(6), 843-869.

5. Detert, J. R., Treviño, L. K., & Sweitzer, V. L. (2008). Moral disengagement in ethical decision making: a study of antecedents and outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(2), 374.

6. Treviño, L. K., Weaver, G. R., & Reynolds, S. J. (2006). Behavioral ethics in organizations: A review. Journal of management, 32(6), 951-990.

7. Brown, M. E., & Treviño, L. K. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. The leadership quarterly, 17(6), 595-616.

8. Miceli, M. P., Near, J. P., & Dworkin, T. M. (2008). Whistle-blowing in organizations. Psychology Press.

9. Kish-Gephart, J. J., Harrison, D. A., & Treviño, L. K. (2010). Bad apples, bad cases, and bad barrels: meta-analytic evidence about sources of unethical decisions at work. Journal of applied psychology, 95(1), 1.

10. Weaver, G. R., Treviño, L. K., & Cochran, P. L. (1999). Corporate ethics programs as control systems: Influences of executive commitment and environmental factors. Academy of Management journal, 42(1), 41-57.

Unethical Behavior, Essay Example

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Ethics may be defined as the application of moral principles (Koehler, 2003). Ethics may derive from different sources such as professional organizations, leaders, organizational cultures, our belief systems, and community cultures. Globalization has increased the intensity of competition in many industries and organizations and their members are facing increasing pressure to maintain growth and profitability. Even though reputation and ethical behavior pay in the long term, employees and organizations are often focused on short-term gains. Thus, the competitive pressures sometimes compel them to engage in questionable and unethical conduct in order to meet or exceed expectations.

There are several factors that may force employees to engage in unethical behavior. One reason employees engages in unethical conduct is because they expect to be rewarded for the gains made through unethical means (Sims, 1992). We often hear about accounting misstatements because executives know they will be rewarded according to the stock price of the company and even after the unethical conduct is exposed, many executives still keep their jobs or do not pay back all of the ill-gotten gains. Another reason why employees may be motivated to engage in unethical behavior is the characteristics of the organizational culture. Some organizational culture prefer to be secretive and may punish whistleblowers or too open and honest employees (Sims, 1992). Another reason may be sole focus on the end results, without any regard for the means. We often see this on Wall Street where managers often preach profit as the sole motive of an organization and encourage employees to cut corners where possible.

Employees may also engage in unethical behavior due to the influence of their leaders according to a theory called social learning . According to this theory, leaders influence employees by way of modeling processes which means employees learn about acceptable and non-acceptable behavior by observing their leaders’ behavior and their consequences (Kidwell & Martin, 2005). Thus, if leaders engage in unethical behavior and do not face any punitive action, it may also encourage the employees to follow the suit. Similarly, if an employee is celebrated for his ethical conduct, it will also motivate other employees to engage in ethical conduct.

Unethical conduct is not always intentional. Sometimes the employees may not be sure about the ethical nature of their actions. The organizations could attempt to provide guidelines but it is not always possible to cover every possible situation in the Code of Ethics. It may also happen that the employees may not be aware of the legal requirements and may rely upon their judgment which could turn out to be on the wrong side of the law. The companies could develop policies that may provide guidance to employees in such unique circumstances. An example of a guidance policy may be to contact a supervisor when in doubt.

The companies have other potential options as well that may encourage and promote ethical conduct by the employees. One solution is to implement reporting procedures. One example may be to report every gift given or received during the course of a business conduct. Another solution is to keep a written record of all events where there is a potential of unethical conduct instead of merely verbally informing the superiors. Some employees fear retaliation so the companies can encourage reporting of unethical behavior by allowing anonymous tips through email or on the company message board (Handfield, 2004).

Unethical behaviors are often motivated by the possibility of a bigger compensation award, thus, companies may take steps to ensure that unethical behaviors are not only discouraged but employees are also penalized financially. The companies may even reward employees for ethical conduct even if the ethical conduct may have resulted in an economic loss, to send the message that the means to achieve the results are as important if not more than the results. These policies align employees’ economic interests with ethical behavior. The companies may also implement compensation policies that only reward the long-term performance. This will also help employees shift focus from short-term gains to the long-term future of the companies. When employees do engage in unethical conduct, the companies should not hesitate to discipline them or even fire them to send the message that it will not compromise on its principles. More than anything else, the companies’ leaders should take the lead in setting personal examples because leaders play a huge role in setting organizational norms and behaviors as well as defining organizational culture to new employees.

Companies should include ethics in employee training programs in which employees could also be reminded that ethical conduct is not only the right attitude in business but also benefits the organization in the long term. Besides this, one cannot underestimate the importance of leadership, organizational culture, and compensation in promoting ethical conduct among the employees. In addition, the company should also ensure employees that they will not be retaliated for reporting unethical conduct so that everyone is committed to the best interests of the organization.

Handfield, R. (2004, July 21). Conflict of Interest – A Hot Topic! Retrieved May 9, 2012, from http://scm.ncsu.edu/scm-articles/article/conflict-of-interest-a-hot-topic

Kidwell, R. E., & Martin, C. L. (2005). The Role of Leaders in Influencing Unethical Behavior in the Workplace. In Managing Organization Deviance (p. 73). Sage Publications.

Koehler, W. (2003, Spring). Professional Values and Ethics as Defined by “The LIS Discipline”. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science , p. 99.

Sims, R. R. (1992, July). The Challenge of Ethical Behavior in Organizations. Journal of Business Ethics .

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Six Common Ways People Justify Unethical Behavior

Why we may feel good about ourselves even when we do wrong..

Posted August 31, 2020 | Reviewed by Lybi Ma

Most of us want to believe that we are morally upright people who act according to a strong sense of right and wrong. But when faced with temptations to derive personal benefit by violating moral principles, people do not always take the high road. Research suggests that lying, cheating, and other harmful acts are more common than we might hope.

How are people able to engage in unethical behaviors—often repeatedly—without being overwhelmed by guilt ?

In many cases, psychological processes kick in that frame the behavior as less immoral and the self as moral. Researchers call these self-serving justifications , and they can take many forms. Sometimes they serve to rationalize a desired behavior before it takes place, making it easier to go through with it, while other times they help people feel better about something they have already done.

The following are six common strategies researchers have identified that people use to justify unethical behavior and maintain a positive self-view.

1. Viewing the behavior as a grey area

One way to avoid a sense of culpability is to define a behavior as morally ambiguous, rather than clearly wrong. Some situations are indeed morally complex or confusing, but people may interpret the information at hand in a selective manner.

For example, inconsistent guidelines for public health practices can create genuine confusion, but in some cases, they may also be used strategically to justify whatever behavior is personally desired. For this reason, researchers recommend that rules should be made clear and concrete—not only in terms of what they are but also why they matter.

That said, even when rules are fairly clear, people are often able to find wiggle room. In one study , participants were instructed to privately roll a die either once or three times and report the first number they rolled, for which they would receive an equivalent monetary reward (e.g., $5 for rolling a 5). The results showed that participants in the multiple rolls condition reported significantly higher numbers than those in the single roll condition: For example, 34 percent of the multiple-rollers reported a 6, compared to 19 percent of the single-rollers. The probability of rolling a 6 is only ⅙, or 16.67 percent. The researchers inferred that more participants in the multiple rolls condition must have been lying.

Why might this be? Participants may have more easily rationalized inflating the number they rolled first if it did in fact appear on a later roll—that is, if it “almost could have been” that higher number—than when lying required inventing a number they never saw.

2. Believing the behavior will benefit others

People may also justify unethical behavior by framing it as an act of altruism rather than self-interest. In another study using the die-rolling paradigm described above, participants were more likely to lie about the result of their roll if a second participant would also be paid accordingly to the result, suggesting that the opportunity for an altruistic justification led participants to feel more comfortable using deception for personal gain.

A real-world example of this justification might be present in the college admissions scandal , where some wealthy parents were found to have engaged in unethical behaviors such as fraud and bribery in an effort to secure spots for their children at elite colleges.

In an apology , one parent said the decision came from wanting the best for her daughters, saying “I thought I was acting out of love for my children.” But she also acknowledged that “in reality, it only undermined and diminished my daughters’ abilities and accomplishments,” and that it contributed to making the college admissions process less fair for all students, revealing how the altruism justification can ultimately backfire.

3. Highlighting moral credentials

Paradoxically, it turns out that people are often less likely to behave in alignment with their moral values when they have just demonstrated their morality in another way, a phenomenon researchers call “moral licensing.” The idea is that one good deed can make people feel licensed to forgo another as if they have already checked off that box and can move on.

One set of studies found that participants who reflected on the personal significance of positive traits such as generosity, fairness, and kindness, compared to those who reflected on negative traits or neutral words, subsequently donated less to a charity (around $1 compared to around $5 in the negative traits condition), and indicated less concern with following ethical principles in a hypothetical workplace scenario, presumably because they felt less compelled to prove their moral standing after they had already reflected on their virtues.

In other research , participants were more likely to cheat and steal as part of a computer game involving a monetary reward after they had purchased an environmentally friendly product, compared to a conventional one.

The take-home point is not that reflecting on virtues or engaging in environmentally friendly behavior causes immorality, but rather that people may feel that perceived good deeds let them off the hook in other situations.

In this way, moral licensing can be a double-edged sword: On the one hand, it may encourage moral behavior in the short-term, especially when a person’s moral identity is threatened and they are motivated to reaffirm it, but it is unlikely to be a sustainable source of moral behavior in the long run.

4. Symbolically cleansing

After a transgression has already taken place, research suggests that people may engage in literal or figurative forms of cleansing, as if washing away their sins.

When participants in one study reflected on a past unethical act, compared to an ethical one, they were significantly more likely to choose an antiseptic cleansing wipe over a pencil when these items were presented as free gifts at the end of the study: Roughly two-thirds of those in the unethical group chose the wipe, compared to only one-third of the ethical group.

A follow-up study in the same paper found that the mere act of cleaning one’s hands with an antiseptic wipe after recalling a transgression led participants to feel less guilt, shame , regret, and embarrassment , and they were half as likely to volunteer to help with another study. The researchers’ interpretation of this finding is that cleansing may restore people’s sense of moral purity, reducing their perceived need to compensate for a transgression.

While cleansing behavior may have psychological benefits (as well as hygienic advantages), it doesn’t necessarily have social ones; findings like these suggest that it may decrease, rather than increase, the likelihood that a person will try to make amends or do better in the future.

5. Partially coming clean

Admitting to mistakes can be a constructive step in the process of responding to wrongdoing. But sometimes people admit only to one part of what happened, perhaps a part that is more likely to be found out anyway, rather than fully owning up.

Research suggests that partial confessions may be used to restore people’s moral self-image while allowing them to avoid the negative consequences of a full confession. But this same research finds that in reality, opting for only a partial confession can lead people to ultimately feel poorly about themselves.

6. Demonizing those who have done worse

Another way people may try to feel virtuous after a misdeed is to judge others even more harshly for the same offense. Researchers refer to this tendency as ethical distancing, or “ the pot calling the kettle black .”

They give the example of a college administrator who was known for being especially unforgiving of applicants inflating credentials, but who later was found to have done the same herself in an egregious way, claiming to have degrees she did not have. Other examples might involve politicians making a point of being tough on certain types of crimes that they are themselves involved in.

Studies of ethical distancing have found that it is more likely to occur under certain conditions. First, the person has to see the behavior in question as immoral. Sometimes after a transgression, people will rationalize it by viewing it as less problematic, in which case they might judge others less harshly for the same offense. Second, the person has to believe that their own transgression is unlikely to be exposed, lest they risk appearing hypocritical.

In summary, we often experience a conflict between a desire to see ourselves—and be seen—as good people, and a desire to behave in ways that don’t necessarily align with that self-image. We may try to resolve this dissonance in a range of different ways, from changing the way we view the behavior to changing the way we view ourselves and others.

But as long as we are motivated more by a desire to appear moral than to actually be moral, these self-serving justifications are unlikely to promote behavior that serves our long-term interests, or those of our organizations and communities.

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Shalvi, S., Gino, F., Barkan, R., & Ayal, S. (2015). Self-serving justifications: doing wrong and feeling moral. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24 (2), 125–130.

Juliana Breines, Ph.D. , is a social and health psychologist whose research examines how self-compassion relates to stress reactivity, behavior change, and body image.

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Christina Fallin: “Appropriate Culturation?”

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While climate change poses many abstract problems, the actions (or inactions) of today’s populations will have tangible effects on future generations.

Cover-Up on Campus

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Covering Female Athletes

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Covering Yourself? Journalists and the Bowl Championship

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Cyber Harassment

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Defending Freedom of Tweets?

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Dennis Kozlowski: Living Large

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Digital Downloads

File-sharing program Napster sparked debate over the legal and ethical dimensions of downloading unauthorized copies of copyrighted music.

Dr. V’s Magical Putter

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East Germany’s Doping Machine

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Ebola & American Intervention

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Edward Snowden: Traitor or Hero?

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Ethical Pitfalls in Action

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Flying the Confederate Flag

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Freedom of Speech on Campus

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Freedom vs. Duty in Clinical Social Work

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Full Disclosure: Manipulating Donors

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Gaming the System: The VA Scandal

The Veterans Administration’s incentives were meant to spur more efficient and productive healthcare, but not all administrators complied as intended.

German Police Battalion 101

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Head Injuries & American Football

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Head Injuries & the NFL

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Healthcare Obligations: Personal vs. Institutional

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High Stakes Testing

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In-FUR-mercials: Advertising & Adoption

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Limbaugh on Drug Addiction

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U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte’s “over-exaggeration” of an incident at the 2016 Rio Olympics led to very real consequences.

Meet Me at Starbucks

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Myanmar Amber

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Negotiating Bankruptcy

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Patient Autonomy & Informed Consent

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Prenatal Diagnosis & Parental Choice

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Reporting on Robin Williams

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Responding to Child Migration

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Retracting Research: The Case of Chandok v. Klessig

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Sacking Social Media in College Sports

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Selling Enron

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Snyder v. Phelps

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Something Fishy at the Paralympics

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Sports Blogs: The Wild West of Sports Journalism?

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The Sandusky Scandal

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Wells Fargo and Moral Emotions

In a settlement with regulators, Wells Fargo Bank admitted that it had created as many as two million accounts for customers without their permission.

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Unethical behavior in the workplace: Definition, examples, types, and statistics

Unethical workplace behavior is any action at work that goes against the prevailing moral norms of a community .

At work, unethical behavior can take multiple forms and have multiple targets . From minor to severe forms, everyone can behave unethically, hurting societies, organizations, colleagues, and even the self in the process.

Many studies show that unethical workplace behavior is not only prevalent in most organizations throughout the world, but also extremely costly [1] [2] [3] [4] .

Read on to learn more about unethical workplace behavior.

Unethical workplace behavior and illegal behavior are not the same, unethical workplace behavior can be intentional and unintentional, unethical workplace behavior is anchored socially.

Context defines, to certain extent, what is unethical at work

Individuals and aggregates can be unethical at work

Types of unethical behavior in the workplace, examples of unethical behavior in the workplace, nine impressive statistics on the incidence of unethical behavior in the workplace, references and further reading, definition of unethical workplace behavior.

Most experts define unethical workplace behavior as any harmful action at work that violates the moral norms of the broader community [5] [6] [7] .

This definition highlights five important aspects of unethical behavior.

First, unethical behavior and illegal behavior overlap, but only to a certain extent .

For instance, there are new moral standards that are not yet part of our legal or regulatory systems. Likewise, we have laws and regulations being enforced that are no longer a reflection of our current moral standards.

Regulations and unethical behavior, thus, co-evolve over time and are largely a reflection of the belief system of a community at a given time. More often than not, laws and regulations tend to follow the evolving moral beliefs of a community, but frequently with a delay [4] .

Unethical and illegal behavior at work only overlap to a certain extent

Second, this definition suggests that when people behave unethically they can do it intentionally or unintentionally [8] .

In intentional unethical behavior, people know that they are crossing an ethical boundary and they act purposely . When people chose to behave unethically they can do it for selfish reasons, but also as the result of situations in which all available options have ethical costs. Counterproductive work behavior is another label that has been used for this type of intentional action.

In contrast, people sometimes behave unethically because they are not aware that they are transgressing moral standards . These unintentional unethical behaviors can be due to, for example, failure to notice important information while making a decision, inability to identify the ethical ramifications of a decision , or even lack of knowledge of what is acceptable and unacceptable for a given community.

Third, this definition brings to the spotlight the social anchoring of unethical workplace behavior.

Communities (such as organizations, departments, and teams) develop and implement moral rules to prevent selfish behaviors that can jeopardize their viability, and to stimulate cooperative behaviors among people who depend upon each other [9] .

As social animals, we tend to internalize the moral standards of our communities , and we end up influencing others morally in the same direction [10] [11] .

This cycle sustains the moral standards of a community but can also be a source of tension between communities . For example, we may find ourselves disagreeing with people from other communities on what is right or wrong at work, and struggling to understand their ethical position due to our internalized standards.

Context defines, to a certain extent, what is unethical at work

Fourth, bluntly illegal and unethical acts aside, unethical behavior is highly contextual [12] .

Since what is considered ethical or unethical largely depends on the judgment of the broader community, a behavior can be unethical in one context and common practice in another .

For example, while giving a gift to a former supervisor or to a friend is perfectly acceptable, giving a gift to a current supervisor might violate your company regulations and constitute unethical behavior.

Many workplace behaviors are not ethical or unethical per se; the context and the reasoning behind those behaviors largely define their ethicality.

Fifth, unethical behavior can occur at any level [13] [14] .

Employees, managers, owners, and executives can all behave unethically.

Likewise, aggregates of people (such as groups/teams, committees, and organizations) can also engage in unethical workplace behavior.

Unethical behavior at work comes in many shapes and forms . The simplest way to categorize unethical behavior in the workplace is to consider both the target of the unethical behavior as well as its severity [15] [16] .

In the table below we outline examples of the multiple types of unethical behavior you may face at work based on the target primarily harmed (society, organization, other employees, self) and on the severity of the behavior (minor/moderate and severe).

Table 1. Examples of types of unethical behavior in the workplace, based on their target and severity.



		Misleading communications	Fraudulent behavior Anti-competitive activity
		Production deviance Withdrawal Knowledge hiding	Property deviance and sabotage
		Political deviance Ostracism	Interpersonal deviance Aggression Bullying/mobbing Abusive leadership
		Alcohol and drug use	Unsafe behavior Alcohol and drug abuse

Before adopting this categorization of unethical behavior, it is important to keep in mind three core aspects:

Some types of unethical behavior can have more than one target . For example, unsafe behavior can put you in danger as well as other employees.
Each type of unethical behavior can have both direct and indirect targets and consequences . For example, while political deviance can create an unfair advantage over other employees for a promotion, it can also (indirectly) undermine the long term effectiveness of the team /organization due to the promotion of a sub-optimal employee.
Minor and severe unethical behaviors tend to have minor and severe consequences, respectively. Nevertheless, minor unethical behaviors can also lead to severe consequences and severe misconduct can cause no substantial harm . For example, lack of attention and effort at work – a minor unethical behavior of withdrawal – may lead to unsatisfactory products or services and consequent contract losses – a severe consequence for the organization.

Each type of unethical behavior can manifest in many different ways. Below, you can find a comprehensive list of the most common examples of unethical behavior in the workplace, by type.

Misleading communications [17] [18] [19] (Minor/moderate form of unethical behavior and society targeted)

Advertising a product/service feature that does not exist;
Making misleading claims to clients or suppliers;
Omitting facts so that the inferences about a product/service are different from reality;
Exploiting, without making any explicit or implied claims, an existing false belief about the performance of a product/service;
Creating unrealistic expectations with deceptive marketing practices;
Raising prices temporarily to subsequently apply a pseudo-promotion/discount;
Overpricing products and services.
Evading taxes;
Bribing other companies or governmental agencies;
Fabricating or manipulating quality reports and safety tests;
Violating or ignoring environmental regulations;
Doing business with third parties that do not follow local and international regulations (human rights, for example);
Sharing false information with regulators;
Endangering clients by keep selling a faulty product or service.

Anti-competitive activity [20] [21] [22] (Severe form of unethical behavior and society targeted)

Price fixing (discussing and fixing prices to be charged to consumers with competitors);
Bid rigging (discussing and biasing bids for a contract by, for example, winning contracts in turns, withdrawing bids, or making unreasonably high bids for a competitor to win);
Market sharing (agreeing with competitors the markets and customers that each one tackles);
Information sharing that might reduce the competition (price, stock, market, and plans, for example);
Abusing a dominant market position by selling at a loss to drive competition out;
Agreeing with competitors to limit production with the intention of raising prices.

Production deviance [23] [24] [25] [26] (Minor/moderate form of unethical behavior and organization targeted)

Dragging out work to get overtime payment;
Claiming more overtime hours than you worked;
Making mistakes at work on purpose;
Dragging out work to miss important deadlines;
Purposely leaving work unfinished so that someone else has to finish it;
Distracting colleagues instead of working;
Complaining about unimportant issues at work;
Being nasty to clients;
Covering up mistakes with lies;
Pretending not to know how to do something to avoid a reasonable work request;
Failing to keep up to date records of your input (for example, your text edits, lines of code added to an app, changes in a machine configuration).

Withdrawal [27] [28] (Minor/moderate form of unethical behavior and organization targeted)

Taking excessive personal time for lunch, breaks, and other personal deeds;
Daydreaming excessively;
Pretending to be unwell (call in sick just to take a day off, for example);
Taking an unreasonable time to do a job;
Working on personal matters during normal work time;
Coming late to work or finishing the day early consistently and without reasonable justification;
Playing online or computer games while at work;
Being aware of a colleague’s unethical behavior and failing to address the issue (gather evidence, talk with the person, report the issue, for example).

Knowledge hiding [29] [30] (Minor/moderate form of unethical behavior and organization targeted)

Playing dumb : Pretending that you are not very knowledgeable about something, that you do not understand the question posed, or that you know nothing about the requested information;
Evasive hiding : Sharing knowledge other than the one requested, sharing incorrect or incomplete information, agreeing to help but never actually doing it, providing misleading promises of future assistance;
Rationalized hiding : Justifying one’s knowledge hiding with deceptive regulations, supervisors’ rules, and confidentiality concerns.

In the video below, Professor Catherine Connelly (from McMaster University) explains why knowledge hiding is a problematic behavior at work.

Property deviance and sabotage [23] [31] [32] (Severe form of unethical behavior and organization targeted)

Taking property from the organization without permission;
Wasting organizational property (materials, services, and supplies, for example);
Damaging, on purpose, the organization’s equipment, services, or property;
Placing, on purpose, false or inaccurate information to derail decision-making in the organization;
Destroying or falsifying important organizational documents;
Falsifying receipts to get reimbursements of nonexistent expenses;
Using personal receipts to get reimbursed for business expenses;
Helping others to take property from the organization.

Political deviance [15] [33] (Minor/moderate form of unethical behavior and other employees targeted)

Showing favoritism to people who are important for personal goals;
Gossiping and undermining others to gain personal advantage;
Creating personal connections with others to push them to work beyond job description;
Giving or accepting gifts in exchange for special treatment;
Exploiting peers’ networks for personal gain;
Competing with colleagues instead of working collaboratively;
Claiming credit for a colleague’s work;
Putting forth less effort than colleagues.

Ostracism [34] (Minor/moderate form of unethical behavior and other employees targeted)

Ignoring or avoiding a colleague at work;
Shutting out a colleague during conversations;
Not replying to a colleague’s greetings, phone-calls, or emails;
Giving the silent treatment to a colleague;
Acting as if a colleague is not present in the room;
Refusing to talk to a colleague at work;
Leaving a room when a colleague comes in;
Ignoring a colleague’s inputs in a work debate/meeting.

Interpersonal deviance [16] [23] [35] (Severe form of unethical behavior and other employees targeted)

Making fun of, embarrassing, or making hurtful comments to a colleague;
Cursing at or being rude to a colleague;
Playing unwanted and mean pranks to a colleague;
Making mean gender, ethnic, or religious comments to a colleague;
Littering a colleague’s workspace;
Starting or feeding harmful rumors about a colleague;
Blaming a colleague for personal mistakes;
Starting unreasonable arguments with a colleague;
Making a colleague’s life difficult at work;
Undermining the efforts of a colleague;
Putting down a colleague;
Pushing a colleague to discuss personal issues.

Aggression [36] (Severe form of unethical behavior and other employees targeted)

Hitting a colleague at work;
Physically or psychologically threatening a colleague;
Insulting a colleague at work;
Making obscene gestures to a colleague;
Engaging in threatening eye contact (aggressive staring, for example);
Destroying the private property of a colleague;
Sabotaging the organizational resources a colleague needs to work;
Purposefully breaking your colleague’s working tools;
Failing to alert a colleague of an immediate danger;
Endangering a colleague at work.

Bullying/mobbing [37] (Severe form of unethical behavior and other employees targeted)

Consistently ignoring, humiliating, or ridiculing a colleague at work;
Making, on a systematic way, offensive remarks and unfounded allegations about a colleague;
Repeatedly reminding and criticizing a colleague’s past mistakes and errors at work;
Unfairly accusing or blaming a colleague for something that went wrong at work;
Persistently pointing out that a colleague is, in your view, incompetent and should quit his/her job;
Excessively monitoring a colleague’s work;
Pressuring someone, directly or indirectly, to withhold their rights (such as travel expenses, sick leave);
Allocating an unreasonable amount of work to a colleague at work, or setting unreachable deadlines and performance expectations;
Consistently discharging personal frustrations on a colleague.

In the video below, Dr. Gary Namie (from the Workplace Bullying Institute) highlights the behaviors of the four most common bully types that you may find at work:

Abusive leadership [38] [39] [40] (Severe form of unethical behavior and other employees targeted)

Yelling at supervisees;
Ridiculing, blaming, making negative comments, being rude, and putting supervisees down;
Influencing supervisees through threats and intimidation;
Humiliating supervisees when they fail to reach a desired standard;
Treating supervisees as competitors or inferiors rather than colleagues/partners;
Encouraging or pressing supervisees to engage in unethical behavior – to take longer brakes or to falsify reports, for example;
Lying and breaking promises made to supervisees;
Isolating supervisees by not allowing contact with others or by blocking access to important information;
Intentionally providing inaccurate or false information to supervisees;
Ignoring and diminishing the inputs of supervisees;
Undermining supervisees’ efforts at work.

Alcohol and drug use/abuse [41] [42] (Minor/moderate to severe form of unethical behavior and self targeted)

Using illegal drugs at work;
Using legal or recreational drugs that severely limit productivity and ability to work;
Being unable to perform normally due to alcohol or drug hangover;
Consuming alcohol on the job.

Unsafe behavior [42] (Severe form of unethical behavior and self targeted)

Neglecting to follow safety instructions;
Failing to read safety instructions/manuals;
Endangering yourself, coworkers, or customers by ignoring safety procedures;
Discussing confidential information with unauthorized people.

Unethical behavior in the workplace is far from being an anomaly. In reality, multiple research studies indicate that unethical behavior can be pervasive and frequent in many organizations . Here is a compilation of nine impressive statistics on the incidence of unethical behavior at work.

Abusive leadership and its rippling effects

Abusive leadership is a form of unethical behavior that affects about 11% of workers in the Netherlands [43] , 14% of the US workforce [44] , and 34% of workers in Norway [38] .

Knowing that people who are subjected to abusive leaders tend to retaliate by engaging in unethical actions against their organization, leaders , colleagues, or customers [45] [46] is an additional reason to worry.

In fact, abusive leaders can increase the rate of unethical behavior in organizations way beyond their own actions, as they contribute to a work environment conductive of unethical behavior .

Up to 1/3 of workers are affected by abusive leadership

Some bosses are bullies, but not all bullies are bosses

Large scale studies show that between 10% and 19% of workers, both in Europe and North America, have recently been victims of bullying at work [3] [47] [48] [49] .

Bosses, direct supervisors, and other higher ranks tend to be the primary source of bullying at work – they account for 65% of bullying reports [3] . Hence the expression “bully boss”. Importantly, however, more than one third of bullying at work (35%) is made by peers and by subordinates .

This suggests that in order to truly tackle the problem of workplace bullying we must pay close attention to all sources of bullying at work : higher ranks, equals, and lower ranks.

If you behave unethically once, you most likely will do it again

About 67% of those who behave unethically once end up doing it repeatedly [50] .

Those who engage in an ongoing pattern of unethical behavior may have a faulty character, but may also be subjected to higher and more consistent pressures to misbehave at work. In fact, individual characteristics and organizational environments are among the strongest forces pushing people towards unethical behavior at work [6] .

Importantly, researchers have found that those who remind themselves of their past misbehavior [51] and those who reflect on the morality of their actions [52] , tend to take restorative measures for their past deeds and restrain from engaging in further unethical behavior .

Most of us have witnessed unethical workplace behavior

47% of American workers have witnessed someone behaving unethically in the last year [50] , and 81% of Nordic workers (Norway, Finland, and Sweden) can easily recall observing at least an episode of unethical behavior in their work life [4] .

This incidence of unethical behavior at work is estimated to cost organizations worldwide more than $4.5 trillions per year [1] .

While large corporate scandals catch our attention, everyone can potentially misbehave at work, even if they are committed to follow high moral and ethical standards [53] [54] .

Personal life choices matter for how ethical we are at work

Some people are more prone to behave unethically than others, and some work environments are more likely to cause unethical behavior than others [6] .

Nevertheless, the most consistent red flag for unethical behavior is living beyond means [1] . Indeed, 42% of people who were found engaging in unethical behavior were living beyond their means.

Thus, a substantial amount of unethical behavior at work is due to the choices we make in our personal life , not to the demands of our work.

Pressures, unethical behaviors, and professional roles

Large scale studies depict an interesting picture on how unethical are top managers and employees without a management role [1] [55] .

On the one hand, although top managers feel twice the pressure to behave unethically, they are only responsible for approximately 20% of the unethical behavior detected in the workplace. On the other hand, although the remaining employees are accountable for about 80% of the unethical behavior detected in organizations, the losses they provoke tend to be ten times smaller , compared to the losses provoked by top managers.

The media tends to highlight the expensive cases of unethical behavior perpetrated by top managers. However, many of us commit, intentionally or unintentionally, less expensive acts on a daily basis. Accepting that all of us can fail ethically is the first step towards showing integrity at work.

As the twig is bent, so is the tree inclined

Engagement in unethical behavior appears to start early in life , as more than half of high school students in the US acknowledge that they have behaved unethically during their studies (for example, by cheating in exams or lying to teachers) [56] .

This statistic is particularly troubling since unethical high-school students are up to three times more likely to lack integrity later in life compared to ethical high-schoolers [57] [58] .

The patterns we adopt early in life are likely to continue, unless we take action . Keeping in mind the values, principles, and morals that sustain our integrity in difficult and tempting times is a great starting point to break our questionable patterns.

The ethical patterns we adopt early in life are likely to continue in adulthood

Undetected unethical behavior is costly

Using complex statistical methods, researchers have recently found that one out of nine large companies in the US commit undetected fraud every year ; and that four out of ten violate accounting rules at least once during a business cycle [59] .

This undetected fraud has an annual cost of $275 billion dollars, just in the US .

Such incidence of unethical behavior highlights the importance of having a system in place that promotes adherence to ethical standards and the importance of defining unambiguous, fair, and ethical policies . In fact, research has found that people in organizations with ethical policies written in an unclear and obfuscated way tend to commit more ethical infractions that those with clear and unambiguous policies [60] .

Small unethical behaviors, large costs

Small employee thefts and dishonest behaviors can sum up to large amounts and have serious consequences.

For example, according to the Centre for Retail Research, employee theft in the UK retail sector costed £1.305 millions (about $1.82 millions) just in 2019 [61] . In the US, each case of dishonest behavior costed, on average, $1,139.32 to retail organizations in 2019 [62] . Globally, in 2015, employee theft was responsible for 39% of retail shrinkage (defined as the difference between book inventory and the actual physical inventory). See the video below for additional statistics on this.

Training, codes of conduct, anonymous telephone and online notification systems, and moral reminders are interventions that have been found to be effective in reducing unethical behavior at work, and that most retail companies are currently adopting [62] [63] .

Intentionally or unintentionally, we can all end up engaging in unethical behavior at work.

With all the labels used to describe unethical workplace behavior, it can be challenging to know how to act ethically at work and when are we crossing ethical boundaries.

Being aware of what unethical behavior is and how prevalent it is, and understanding the different types and manifestations of unethical behavior, is going to help us maintain or even strengthen our moral compass at work.

As always, we thank you for trusting your time with ManagingLifeAtWork.com. Until next time, keep an eye on the multiple manifestations of unethical behavior at work .

^ a b c d Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. (2020). “ Report to the nations – 2020 global study on occupational fraud and abuse “. Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
^ Ethics & Compliance Initiative. (2021). “ Global business ethics survey 2021 “. Ethics & Compliance Initiative.
^ a b c Namie, G. (2021). “ 2021 WBI US workplace bullying survey “. Workplace Bullying Institute.
^ a b c Ratsula, N., Romberg, A., and Kvamme, H. (2019). “ Nordic business ethics survey 2019 “. Nordic Business Ethics Network.
^ Jones, T. M. (1991). “ Ethical decision making by individuals in organizations: An issue-contingent model “. Academy of Management Review , 16, 366–395.
^ a b c Kish-Gephart, J. J., Harrison, D. A., and Treviño, L. K. (2010). “ Bad apples, bad cases, and bad barrels: Meta-analytic evidence about sources of unethical decisions at work “. Journal of Applied Psychology , 95, 1–31.
^ Lu, J. G., Lee, J. J., Gino, F., and Galinsky, A. D. (2020). “ Air pollution, state anxiety, and unethical behavior: A meta-analytic review “. Psychological Science , 31, 748–755.
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^ Gächter, S., and Schulz, J. F. (2016). “ Intrinsic honesty and the prevalence of rule violations across societies “. Nature , 531, 496–499.
^ Moore, C., and Gino, F. (2013). “ Ethically adrift: How others pull our moral compass from true North, and how we can fix it “. Research in Organizational Behavior , 33, 53–77.
^ CIPD. (2019). “ Rotten apples, bad barrels and sticky situations: an evidence review of unethical workplace behaviour “. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
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Unethical Behavior and Ethical Behavior

This essay about ethical and unethical behavior examines the contrasts and motivations behind actions deemed right or wrong according to societal standards. It describes ethical behavior as aligning with principles like honesty and fairness that foster community trust and respect. Unethical behavior, contrastingly, involves actions that shortcut moral principles for personal or organizational gain, often resulting in significant negative consequences. The essay also explores how motivations for unethical actions can stem from external pressures or harmful organizational cultures. Moreover, it discusses the importance of cultivating ethical behavior through education, awareness, and protective measures for whistleblowers. Reflecting on the ever-evolving societal values, the essay underscores the necessity for continuous evaluation of one’s actions and their broader impacts, emphasizing the importance of ethical behavior in maintaining public trust and functional institutions.

How it works

In the nuanced landscape of modern ethics, the distinction between right and wrong is not merely black and white but involves various shades of gray. Ethical behavior often refers to conduct that is aligned with widely accepted societal norms and values, promoting fairness, integrity, and respect. Conversely, unethical behavior typically involves actions that deviate from these accepted norms to the detriment of others or oneself. The debate over what constitutes ethical versus unethical behavior is dynamic, influenced by cultural shifts, legal standards, and personal perspectives.

At its core, ethical behavior is about doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. It’s about adhering to principles that foster trust and respect in interpersonal relations. These principles can include honesty, fairness, equality, dignity, diversity, and individual rights. Ethical individuals often consider the broader impact of their actions, making choices that contribute positively to their community and environment. For example, a business practicing ethical behavior would prioritize fair labor practices, environmental sustainability, and honest advertising.

Unethical behavior, on the other hand, often involves shortcutting these principles for personal gain or organizational benefit. Common examples include deceit, exploiting others, corruption, and disregarding laws or ethical standards. Unethical behavior not only damages trust and morale but can also lead to significant social, economic, and legal repercussions. Consider a company that cuts corners on safety to save money; while it may benefit financially in the short term, the long-term consequences could include legal penalties, public backlash, and reduced consumer trust.

The motivations behind ethical and unethical behavior are complex and often rooted in individual values and societal pressures. In some cases, individuals may act unethically due to external pressures, such as challenging economic conditions or unrealistic performance expectations. In other scenarios, the organizational culture itself might foster unethical behavior, especially if it emphasizes success and results over ethical processes.

Yet, it’s also important to recognize that ethical behavior can be cultivated. Education and awareness are crucial in helping individuals understand the implications of their actions. Many organizations implement ethical training programs that help delineate clear ethical guidelines and encourage a culture of transparency and accountability. Moreover, creating an environment where ethical dilemmas can be openly discussed and where whistleblowers are protected rather than penalized can further enhance ethical practices.

The dynamic between ethical and unethical behavior also mirrors the broader societal values and the ongoing evolution of those values. What was considered acceptable behavior in the past may no longer hold true today. As society grows more interconnected and diverse, the ethical frameworks that guide our actions must also evolve. This ongoing evolution challenges individuals and organizations to continuously reflect on and refine their ethical standards.

Ultimately, the distinction between ethical and unethical behavior is crucial for the well-being of individuals and societies. It influences public trust and the functioning of institutions, impacting everything from politics and business to personal relationships and everyday interactions. As we navigate the complexities of modern ethics, it becomes essential for each person to critically evaluate their actions and their broader impact, striving always to align with the evolving tapestry of societal norms.

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15 Unethical Behavior Examples

Dave Cornell (PhD)

Dr. Cornell has worked in education for more than 20 years. His work has involved designing teacher certification for Trinity College in London and in-service training for state governments in the United States. He has trained kindergarten teachers in 8 countries and helped businessmen and women open baby centers and kindergartens in 3 countries.

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Chris Drew (PhD)

This article was peer-reviewed and edited by Chris Drew (PhD). The review process on Helpful Professor involves having a PhD level expert fact check, edit, and contribute to articles. Reviewers ensure all content reflects expert academic consensus and is backed up with reference to academic studies. Dr. Drew has published over 20 academic articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education and holds a PhD in Education from ACU.

Unethical behaviors are behaviors that we consider to be morally wrong. We can get our understandings of ethics from culture, parents, religion, philosophy, or personal introspection .

For millennia, there have been disagreements over what is and isn’t ethical. It differs from person to person and society to society. However, some behaviors tend to be off-limits in most ethical frameworks.

For example, theft, violence, lying, and cheating are understood to be unethical in just about every ethical framework.

Definition of Unethical Behavior

Surprisingly, or perhaps not, what is defined as unethical behavior is totally constrained by the societal norms of the times. What was once a norm a hundred years ago, may be considered absolutely appalling today.

On the one hand, this ever-evolving definition of morality is a sign of progress. Societies become enlightened over time, and so our conception of what is unethical advances.

On the other hand, it also creates a sense of uncertainty. We cannot be sure what definition will be next. To make things even more complicated, every society is different. So, who is to say that the definition of “unethical” in society X should be applied to society Y?

While there are competing ideas about what unethical behavior is, the below behaviors are generally agreed to be unethical in most societies.

Related: Ethical Behavior Examples

Examples of Unethical Behavior

1. taking advantage of misfortune .

The phrase ‘kicking people while they’re down’ is a saying in English that refers to this unethical behavior.

For example, companies that take advantage of disasters to increase prices are engaging in unethical behaviors.

After a natural disaster people need a wide variety of items to rebuild damaged homes. Tools such as electric generators and chain saws are necessary when electricity has been knocked out and fallen trees have to be removed.

Unfortunately, sometimes companies will try to take advantage of this misfortune by increasing prices of much-needed good and services. Prices can go up by as much as two or three hundred percent. That is called price-gouging.

Companies will often say that they must raise prices because transportation and labor fees increase after a crisis. However, many people find that hard to believe and there are local and federal laws against it.

2. Overbilling Clients

Overbilling involves charging people a deceptive amount, such as charging someone for 5 hours of work even though a job only took two.

This is an example of unethical behavior that seems relatively harmless, but can still result in going to prison.

In the legal profession, billing clients for more hours than you actually worked is considered a crime. In fact, in some cases, overbilling can reach the point of being a federal crime. For example, in the U.S., the penalty can be a fine of 10,000 USD per offense and could lead to incarceration. Losing the license to practice law is also a very real possibility.

Overbilling is not limited to the legal profession. In the healthcare industry, overbilling can involve charging for medical tests or treatments that never occurred. Building contractors can also be guilty of overbilling if they charge more for goods or services than was initially agreed upon.

As it turns out, there are many kinds of lies. Of course, there is the bald-faced lie. There is also the lie of omission, the lie of deception, the lie of fabrication, the lie of exaggeration, and of course, the white lie.

Who knew there were so many types of lies?

Obviously, in most situations, lying is considered unethical and a form of Machiavellianism . The only exception is the white lie. This is the type of lie that is done to spare someone’s feelings. Certainly, this kind of lie is understandable, even acceptable.

The other lies however, are not. Sure, there may exist extenuating circumstances. Some factors could make the lie understandable, even excusable. So, each situation needs to be considered on a case-by-case basis. Even then, there is likely to be disagreement among those involved.

4. Kickbacks

A kickback is making an illegal payment to someone to gain favorable treatment.

A kickback doesn’t have to be in the form of money. It can take the form of giving a gift or providing a service as well. Just about anything that has value can be used as a kickback.

For example, a pharmaceutical company might hold a seminar on a beautiful island resort. It invites selected government officials and provides free airfare and accommodation to each one for the weekend.

There is no doubt that the company is hoping to gain a contract or federal approval for one of their products. This is a classic example of a kickback.

5. Money Under the Table

Similar to the kickback, but not nearly as subtle, is the good ol’ money under-the-table trick. In other words, a bribe. Obviously unethical; undoubtedly against the law; and unfortunately, hard to catch.

Giving money under the table is probably one of the oldest tricks in the books. A bribe can be used for just about any nefarious endeavor, and probably has been.

The unfortunate thing is how difficult it can be to catch. After all, there aren’t going to be any electronic transactions between the two culprits. Law enforcement won’t be able to identify any plane or hotel reservations to match up. It’s just a simple “here’s some cash” maneuver.

6. Mistreatment of Animals

There are few acts more appalling than the abuse of animals. This can range from physical abuse of pets by their owners to dog-fighting for entertainment purposes.

Fortunately, many countries have laws regarding these matters.

As society evolves and becomes more enlightened, other, more subtle forms of abuse have been identified. For example, raising poultry in tiny cages is standard practice in much of the industry. However, for a living creature to spend its entire life in a metal cage so small that it can barely move is flat-out cruel.

Animal rights groups have worked steadily to change these practices, and consumers have expressed their opinion through their pocketbooks. Today, more and more poultry farms are moving to “free-range” practices, which allows chickens to spend most of their days running around and wandering fields on sunny days.

7. Child Labor

Believe it or not, even in the 21st century, child labor is widespread in many parts of the world.

Human rights organizations such as UNICEF have been working hard to stop child labor practices for decades. Although their efforts have helped, the problem is so pervasive that today, nearly 1 in 10 children worldwide are forced into child labor.

Several of the world’s most popular products benefit directly from child labor. So, if you like chocolate, use software on your computer, own a smartphone, or wear clothes, there is a strong possibility that children have been involved in the production process at some point.

8. Oppressing Political Activism

In the democratic world, prohibiting the expression of views that are contrary to the ruling government is considered a violation of human rights.

Unfortunately, there are many countries that do not agree.

Journalists or political activists are often silenced because they made their views public. The term “silenced” is a euphemism for what can really happen, such as being put in jail or even murdered.

Yes, that does sound preposterous in the 21 st century, but it is the reality nonetheless. There are many examples available to prove this point, and you can see for yourself if you want; as long as you are in a country that allows an internet search on this topic, otherwise, be careful.

9. False Advertising

False advertising is a statement in advertising that is false or misleading in an attempt to deceive the audience.

Companies have been making false claims about their products since the beginning of commercialism, and before.

It used to be a rampant practice in the 19 th century. Eventually, governments got involved and started passing legislation prohibiting misleading claims in advertising.

Now, some companies use clever techniques to avoid violating a narrow interpretation of the law. For example, in TV and print ads there will sometimes be very, very, very small print marked by an asterisk. That is where the company reveals that some claims in the ad might be exaggerated and “results may vary.”

It is a clever trick, and legal, but unethical nonetheless.

10. Gossiping

The workplace can be a petri dish of interpersonal dysfunction . Office politics, backstabbing colleagues, and sabotage are but a few examples of how people will work to destroy the people around them.

Among those social maladies is the ever-present gossiping. Spreading unsubstantiated information about a co-worker in an attempt to damage their reputation is as old as time itself. Even if the information is true, it is still unethical.

Gossiping creates an unpleasant organizational culture. It fosters an environment of mistrust among people that often need to work together for the company to succeed.

Despite the myriad of troubles it creates, it is one of the biggest complaints that employees have about the office. Those that complain the most might be the biggest culprits.

By contrast, examples of prosocial behaviors in the workplace include cooperation, working in teams, asking for permission, and offering help.

11. Sabotage

Sabotage involves undermining someone else in order to prevent them from being successful.

While in situations such as wars, sabotage is justifiable, it is unethical behavior in the vast majority of situations.

For example, if you are competing against someone else for a job and you lock the door to the waiting room behind you so they can’t get in (and therefore miss their job interview), you sabotaged their chances for personal gain. This is considered unfair and therefore unethical.

Similarly, in sports, you may sabotage an opponent by stealing their equipment or putting an obstacle in their way. Unless these are parts of the rules, you’re engaging in sabotage.

12. Threatening

Threatening other people is often an example of unethical behavior. However, people often do this in order to get their own way.

The classical example of this is mafia bosses who threaten local businesses with violence unless they pay “protection” fees. These threats, also known as extortion, coerce people into doing things they don’t want to do in order to avoid harm.

Another example of a threat is in the playground when the bully says “give me your lunch money or I’ll punch you”. This threat denies someone free will and undermines their right to live a peaceful existence.

13. Bullying

Bullying is a schoolyard tactic and learned behavior that encompasses a range of other unethical behaviors such as name-calling, gossiping, threatening, and exclusion of people based on a popularity contest.

A simple example of bullying is giving another child constant put-downs at school. This will lead the bullied child to feel unsafe at school and unhappy in their learning environment.

Another example is systematically excluding a child from activities in order to exert power over them. This is unfortunately extremely common in classrooms and can cause sadness, anxiety, and stress for kids.

Statistics show that most children will experience or be the perpetrators of bullying throughout their schooling years. It can dramatically change the life chances of children, especially if children withdraw from their studies as a result.

14. Cheating

Cheating involves breaking the rules in order to give yourself an unfair advantage.

Children will often cheat in games before they’re old enough to develop a clear understanding of morals and ethics. But as we raise them, we teach them about ethics and the importance of following the rules.

In adolescence and adulthood, cheating might include asking someone else to write your assignment for you, breaking the rules in sports to win, or counting cards in a poker game.

Another even more sinister example of cheating is when people accept bribes in order to fail in sports. We call this “match fixing”. For example, a tennis player might be paid to lose, so gamblers can put money on the opponent and win big.

15. Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering is an example of unethical behavior that we see politicians doing all the time in the United States.

It is the act of carving-up political districts in order to ensure your political party will win an election.

For example, politicians might decide that there will be one district that his heavily Republican and three that are slightly Democratic. The results might be:

District 1 : 9 votes Republican, 1 vote Democrat
District 2: 4 votes Republican, 6 votes Democrat
District 3: 4 votes Republican, 6 votes Democrat
District 4: 4 votes Republican, 6 votes Democrat

In this scenario, there were 21 votes for Republicans and 19 votes for democrats. You would think that means the Republicans would win because it’s democracy and in democracies the majority rules, right?

But because the districts were unfairly drawn, the Democrats would win 3 districts and the Republicans would only win 1, giving the Democrats an advantage.

Gerrymandering is a big problem in the USA and it’s done by both Democrats and Republicans. It’s clearly an example of unethical behavior designed to disadvantage the majority and advantage the minority.

The examples provided above are wide-ranging, but certainly not exhaustive. It is easy to think of other instances of unethical behavior this list has missed. In reality, there probably isn’t enough bandwidth on a 5G network to describe all possible examples, both past and present.

The good news is that for the most severe examples of these ills, there are people working hard to eliminate their presence. Every day, hundreds of organizations are exerting their maximum effort to save children that are victims of child labor, to free animals from horrid abuse, and to create laws that will prevent those actions from occurring again.

It is a constant battle between good and evil that must exist today, tomorrow, and forever after.

DePaulo, B., Kashy, D., Kirkendol, S., Wyer, M., & Epstein, J. (1996). Lying in everyday life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70 , 979-95. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.5.979

Jane., B. & Merrill, J. (2006). The poison grapevine: How destructive are gossip and rumor in the workplace? Human Resource Development Quarterly, 7 . 75 – 86. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.3920070108

Mohammed, N. (2018). Impact of misleading/false advertisement to consumer behaviour. International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 16 (4), 453 – 465. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEBR.2018.095343

Wise, P. & Blair, M. (2007). The UNICEF report on child well-being. Ambulatory pediatrics: the official journal of the Ambulatory Pediatric Association. 7, 265-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ambp.2007.05.001

Dave Cornell (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/dave-cornell-phd/ 23 Achieved Status Examples
Dave Cornell (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/dave-cornell-phd/ 25 Defense Mechanisms Examples
Dave Cornell (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/dave-cornell-phd/ 15 Theory of Planned Behavior Examples
Dave Cornell (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/dave-cornell-phd/ 18 Adaptive Behavior Examples

Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 23 Achieved Status Examples
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 15 Ableism Examples
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 25 Defense Mechanisms Examples
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 15 Theory of Planned Behavior Examples

the impact of banking crises and natural disasters on households

The first chapter examines the impact of making a promise on the moral cost of being dishonest using representative samples of the US and Norway. The study found that a non-binding promise of honesty significantly reduced lying for a monetary reward by about 30% in both countries.

The second chapter presents a study on the factors influencing patients' honesty about two health-related habits that people tend to lie about: alcohol consumption and nutritional diet. The chapter reports the results from a field experiment that compares different question formulations that doctors typically use.

Pablo Ignacio Soto Mota, PhD Candidate, Department of Economics, NHH.

The authors found that these formulations do not increase patients' honesty as doctors would expect. However, in a smaller sample, it was found that male patients report healthier habits to female doctors (compared to male doctors), suggesting potential gender dynamics in honesty during clinical interactions.

The third chapter evaluates how individuals perceive their responsibility when causing harm as part of a group. Results showed that people were more likely to opt for an action causing harm when they were part of a larger group, highlighting the relevance of "diffusion of responsibility" in group settings. Perceived social norms, indicating group consensus, further influenced these decisions.

Prescribed topic for the trial lecture:

Bounded rationality and moral consistency

Trial lecture:

Karl Borch Aud, NHH - 10:15

Title of the thesis:

Karl Borch Aud, NHH - 12:15

Members of the evaluation committee:

Assistant Professor Siri Isaksson (leader of the committee), Department of Economics, NHH

Senior Researcher Jana Freundt, University of Fribourg

Associate Professor Thomas de Haan, University of Bergen

Supervisors:

Associate Professor Mathias Ekström (main supervisor), Department of Economics, NHH

Professor Uri Gneezy, UC San Diego

The trial lecture and thesis defense will be open to the public.

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100 Words Essay on Unethical Behavior In The Workplace

Unethical behavior in the workplace.

Unethical behavior in the workplace is any conduct that violates accepted ethical standards. It can take many forms, including lying, cheating, stealing, and discrimination.

Lying and Cheating

Lying and cheating are common forms of unethical behavior in the workplace. Employees may lie to their supervisors or co-workers about their work performance, or they may cheat on tests or exams. This behavior can have serious consequences, such as disciplinary action or even termination of employment.

Stealing is another form of unethical behavior in the workplace. Employees may steal money, supplies, or equipment from their employer. This behavior can also have serious consequences, such as criminal charges or termination of employment.

Discrimination

Discrimination is a form of unethical behavior that occurs when an employee is treated unfairly because of their race, gender, religion, or other protected characteristic. This behavior can create a hostile work environment and can lead to lost productivity and turnover.

250 Words Essay on Unethical Behavior In The Workplace

What is unethical behavior in the workplace, types of unethical behavior.

There are many ways people can act badly at work. Some might take things that don’t belong to them, like money or supplies. Others might lie about their work or how well they are doing. Some might even bully or be mean to their coworkers. These actions can make everyone feel unhappy and unsafe.

Effects of Unethical Behavior

When people act badly at work, it can cause a lot of problems. The company might lose money, or its reputation might get worse. This can make customers leave and can make it hard to find good workers. Also, when workers see bad behavior, they might feel it’s okay to do the same, which can make the problem even bigger.

Stopping Unethical Behavior

To stop bad behavior at work, companies need to teach their workers about what is right and wrong. They should also have clear rules and make sure that those who break them are punished. This can help create a good and fair workplace for everyone.

In conclusion, unethical behavior in the workplace can cause many problems, but with the right steps, it can be stopped. It’s up to everyone at work to act in a good and honest way.

500 Words Essay on Unethical Behavior In The Workplace

Unethical behavior in the workplace refers to actions that are not right, fair, or honest. These are actions that go against the rules or the moral guidelines of a company. Imagine someone taking something that doesn’t belong to them, or lying about their work. These are just a few examples of how someone might act wrongly at their job.

Why People Behave Unethically

You might wonder why someone would choose to act in a way that is not right. Sometimes, people feel a lot of pressure to do well at their job, and they think behaving unethically will help them succeed. Other times, they might not understand the rules or why it’s important to follow them. Some people might also see others behaving badly and think it’s okay for them to do the same.

When people behave unethically at work, it can cause a lot of problems. It can make the workplace an unhappy place to be. People might not trust each other, and this can make it hard for them to work together. It can also harm the reputation of the company. If customers find out that a company is not acting honestly, they might decide to take their business elsewhere.

How to Prevent Unethical Behavior

Unethical behavior in the workplace is a serious issue. It can make the workplace a difficult and unhappy place, and it can damage the reputation of a company. By understanding what unethical behavior is, why it happens, and how it can be prevented, companies and their employees can work together to create a fair, honest, and enjoyable place to work. Remember, doing the right thing not only feels good but also helps everyone in the long run.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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Unethical Business Practices Essay

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Introduction

Examples of unethical business practices.

What is unethical business practice? Learn the answer in the paper below!

In the contemporary world, businesses that comply with the rightful ethical conducts are decreasing drastically. In most businesses, at least one business practice is done in an unethical manner. The unethical practices in businesses are adversely affecting governments through the loss of taxes (George & Jones, 2010). Consequently, the world economy is facing a crisis as businesses evade from paying taxes.

With globalization, companies are trying their best to reap maximum profits and outweigh their competitors’ profits at the expense of the global economy. Transparency and accountability is outdated as companies are aiming at one thing; to reap maximum profits at all cost. Cases have occurred where companies that had been involved in unethical practices clear their names in courts through bribery.

The executives of such companies protect their brand names, and they fight to maintain the company’s reputation through corruption. At the end of the day, the government, employees, investors, competitors, and the customers suffer while the crooks enjoy the fruits of their unethical business practices.

This paper will give a stringent analysis of the various unethical business practices and the effect that they have on the organization. The paper will bring in ideas, information, and examples of unethical business practices in major organizations.

Manipulation and exploitation of employees

Employees are very essential stakeholders in any company because they determine the level of productivity of the company. However, some managers take advantage of defenseless employees to exploit them in one way or another. The vulnerable employees have no choice but to be submissive.

Some unethical practices that harm the employers include low wages and unsafe working environment. Some employers have made it a routine to have their private cloakrooms while the other employees use unsanitary cloakrooms. Essentially, any practices that make the employees uncomfortable in the work place are unethical, as they do not comply with the federal working standards.

We take an example of G4S Company, which is one of the largest private companies in the world. The company has a motto of delivering excellent services and maintaining the highest level of ethical standards. However, in the recent past, reports indicated that G4S did not adhere to its motto, and its ability to control its worldwide operations failed considerably.

The executives of the company have turned up to be violent towards their junior employees. The executives confront the employees; they pay then low wages, and increase pressures in the work environment (Hill & Plimmer, 2013).

Unethical business practices are likely to have adverse consequences to the organization. G4S is at the risk of destroying its reputation; therefore, the future of the company is at risk. The G4S Company has existed for decades and it has expanded globally, however, the company can collapse within a short period if its reputation is disputed.

Currently, G4S’s has slipped in its ability to manage its global empire. It was so embarrassing that G4S was unable to supply enough security guards in a contract that would earn it massive profits during the 2012 Olympics. It is noteworthy that G4S operates in third world nations that have rampant corruption and fraud cases.

There is a very high possibility of the G4S executives in such nations to be drawn into unethical practices that may further portray the company’s incompetency. Essentially, there are numerous fraud cases in the management of the company, and those practices are driving G4S into the grave.

Unfair competitive practices

All business people aim at gaining a competitive advantage over their competitors to win the trust of many customers. Companies would spend millions of dollars to employ strategies that would enable them to enhance their sales. However, there are those business people who opt to employ unfair and unethical business practices that result into unfair competitive practices.

Wal-Mart was a victim of unfair business practices in the recent past. The multinational company invested heavily to investigate and determine the extent to which its competitors adhere to the anti-bribery law. Wal-Mart did the investigation in Mexico, Brazil, China, and India, which are its major international markets.

In its investigations, Wal-Mart discovered that its competitors were indeed violating the corruption act that guides foreign investors. One of the Mexican subsidiaries that happen to be Wal-Mart’s major competitors had indeed paid bribes to be allowed to open new stores in Mexico (Clifford & Barstow, 2012).

To make the matters worse, the subsidiary’s parent company suppressed the investigations through bribery. With regard to the mentioned allegations, there is a high possibility that the competitor company evades many other compliance payments to the government though bribery.

The unfair competitive practices would only earn a company massive profits in the short run. However, upon investigation and publicity of the matters, the company will have its reputation destroyed. Unethical business practices as those practiced with Wal-Mart’s competitors will result into bad publicity, and the company may never win the publicity trust in the future even though it struggles to employ ethical conducts.

Moreover, if the courts decide to be very strict with such companies, they may be fined heavily. The executive may receive merciless jail terms and finally, the company may end up becoming bankrupt because of the high costs associated with unethical business practices.

Bending the company rules

In many companies, employees are obliged to submit to their supervisors and managers. They have to obey the authority and perform all their commands. In fact, junior employees have a tendency of alleging to their supervisors in every aspect. Therefore, regardless of how wrong an instruction is, the junior employees are sometimes obliged to abide by the rules of their supervisors and managers.

It is noteworthy that performing unethical practices in the work environment is wrong regardless of where the orders came from. Some junior employees are obliged to withhold information regarding the unethical practices of their bosses for the fear of intimidation, which that is also unethical.

In July 2 2010, the New York Times revealed the case of GlaxoSmithKline Company. The company’s director agreed to pay fines amounting to $3 billion because of promoting a drug for unapproved uses, and improper marketing for other drugs (Thomas & Schmidt, 2012). Further investigations indicated that the company lured the doctors by enticing them with luxury trips and spa treatments.

The company would meet the full payments of hunting excursions and all sorts of luxuries to win the doctors, and force them to promote some unapproved drugs. Moreover, GlaxoSmithKline financed the publishing of a medical journal that had manipulated clinical trial data to promote the use of the Paxil drug in children.

The highly sensitive information was very essential for the prosecutors to file charges against the GlaxoSmithKline Company, and it was very controversial to find out who disclosed those unethical practices. Sure enough, the whistle blowers were some of the employees of the company.

Companies have to be warned that there is a whistle blower policy that rewards employees with substantial rewards. Essentially, whistle blowers earn a great share of the amount that the federal government recovers from the unethical business practices that they report.

In fact, a policy guiding taxpayers against fraud has set aside about $10 billion to compensate the whistle blowers. Therefore, managers and supervisors should be warned that employees would be submitting to their unethical orders to set them up.

Lack of transparency

Companies are always obliged to portray transparency in all their activities. However, cases have occurred where company executives hide some controversial information from the most important stakeholders of the company. Some companies will present false statements to the investors to clarify why they cannot afford to pay the dividends.

Whenever the investors resolve to have the company investigated, the company managers and other executives resist the investigations. The executives of some companies have taken advantage of humble investors to mishandle their propriety. Some executives are even sued for creating false financial statements to deceive the investors.

Moreover, company executives evade form paying the taxes using the false statements. Cases have occurred where auditors are bribed to certify false financial statements so that powerful companies can evade from paying the rightful amounts of taxes to the government.

Company executives ought to know that legal lawsuits have adverse consequences to the company. Firstly, the court can impose heavy fines to the company, which can declare it bankrupt.

The court can order the suspension of the company’s activities for a considerably long period. In the case of molesting the investors, the company places itself at a high risk of lacking investors in the future. Of course, new investors would never buy the shares for such companies, and the company’s activities may come to a spontaneous halt because of the lack of funds.

Unethical treatments to suppliers and customers

Every business must have suppliers of raw materials and customers who purchase their finished products. Essentially, the relationship between the company, its suppliers, and its customers ought to have mutual benefits. However, some businesses are too greedy to allow the other parties to enjoy some good profits.

Some companies pay their suppliers so low, such that the suppliers lack the value of the efforts that they input in their work. As if that is not enough, some companies go ahead to produce low quality or unsafe products.

In case the company faces strict regulations in the country of production, the unsafe products are shipped into third world nations. This very sad incidence affects innocent individuals who purchase such products unknowingly. Some companies are used to offering the intermediaries with kickbacks so that they can continue purchasing their products.

Companies that practice unethical business conducts that harm the suppliers and the consumers should know that their practices might have adverse consequences than anticipated. Once the suppliers find other places where they can sell their products at fair prices, they would stop supplying raw materials for such companies with immediate effect.

Unethical business practices that involves the offering of kickbacks to win customers could have costly legal repercussions. Finally, the consumers have all the rights to file lawsuits in case they consume unsafe products.

Such cases may have adverse consequences to the business, which may end up paying heavy fines, or even being ordered to close down because of their unethical practices. The destroyed reputation of such companies may cause their sales to reduce drastically, and the company may end up being bankrupt.

Deceptive sales practices

Companies’ sales managers are obligated to try all possible ways of making massive sales. However, that does not mean that the companies should involve themselves in deceptive sales practices. In the GlaxoSmithKline case, the company promoted its unapproved antidepressants for human consumption (Thomas & Schmidt, 2012).

The unethical business practice clearly indicated that the executives of the company were extremely selfish. No amount of fine can compensate for the unethical practice of selling unapproved drugs to humans. Further, the company distorted the data of a diabetic drug that recorded very high sales, and it marketed other drugs improperly.

Genuinely, drugs are meant to enhance human life, and the named unethical practices concerning drugs are so inhumane. Even after paying the fine amounting to $3 billion, GlaxoSmithKline does not tremble because their sales exceeded that amount by far.

While GlaxoSmithKline may not feel the pain of paying such a huge fine, the company executives should know that its publicity reputation was destroyed. The company may never gain the huge profits that it made in the past. Regardless of how effective their drugs would be, informed customers will tend to shy away from purchasing their drugs.

Once consumers know that a company employs unethical business practice in their operations, the effects are inerasable. A company like GlaxoSmithKline that has had some good reputation for many years can have its brand name torn down because of a single unethical incident. Therefore, companies that are practicing deceptive and unethical sales practices should know that their practices would tore the company down in a matter of seconds.

Harming the environment

All companies ought to adhere to the pollution norms set by the government. Moreover, the companies should adhere to the corporate social responsibility policy that obliges companies to honor the surrounding environment and the people in it. However, cases have occurred where companies are involved in unethical behaviors that harm the environment.

Some companies release chemical pollutants into the air or into water bodies. Such companies do not care about the repercussions of their ill deeds. The companies release toxics that harm the lives of the living things around their locality.

They evade the expenses that are associated with the treatment of toxics before they are released into the environment. This sad incidence clearly indicates that the greedy executives of such companies care less about those individuals and other living things that are affected in one way or another.

One thing that companies harming the environment without caring ought to know is that some individuals who lived in the past cared about the people in the current generation. They should make it their obligation to think about their descendants who will need a safe environment. Moreover, the affected individuals would be junior employees of the company who may suffer from lifestyle diseases.

Of course, the company will have to cater for their Medicare bills, and pay fines if employees decide to sue the company. It is noteworthy that the worst repercussion of unethical behaviors regarding the destruction of the environment is the lowered organizational credibility.

The company’s partners, customers, and all other stakeholders will feel intimidated to be associated with a company that does not value the environment. Further, the courts can even order the company to be closed down.

Indeed, unethical business practices harm a series of people, whereas; only a few greedy incumbents enjoy the fruits of their ill deeds. Essentially, if the global economy is to be on the safe side, companies must adopt ethical business practices. Business executives must ensure that their businesses spend their investors’ monies in worthwhile projects.

They should ensure that the investors obtain their dividends in time. As discussed, some vulnerable employees suffer in silence, and it is upon the business managers to ensure that they treat all their employees equally. The managers have a responsibility of offering a favorable working environment for all their employees.

They have to ensure that the employees’ salaries are disbursed at the right time. In the case of customers, the involved stakeholders of the company must ensure that the customers obtain quality products and services. Business managers should never take advantage of their might to disadvantage their competitors. Moreover, company managers should understand that the government depends on taxes to develop the nations.

Therefore, company executives are obliged to ensure that the company pays taxes exclusively. Finally, companies are requested to have a corporate social responsibility. Polluting the environment should be outdated, as companies ought to employ practices that are environmental friendly.

Companies should comply with the government’s rules of conserving the air, water, and the general environment. Certainly, if all companies adopt the above named ethical practices, every individual in the world would be very comfortable, whereas, companies will be making honorable profits.

Clifford, S. & Barstow, D. (2012). Wal-Mart inquiry reflects alarm on corruption . The New York Times . Web.

George, J.M. & Jones, G.R. (2010). Understanding and managing organizational behavior (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Hill, A. & Plimmer, G. (2013). G4S: The inside story . Financial Times. Web.

Thomas, K. & Schmidt M.S. (2012). Glaxo agrees to pay $3 billion in fraud settlement . The New York Times. Web.

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Time’s Up for Toxic Workplaces

by Manuela Priesemuth

Summary .

Direct interactions with “bad bosses” can be traumatic, but the problem often goes further than a single individual. Research has shown that abusive behavior, especially when displayed by leaders, can spread throughout the organization, creating entire climates of abuse. But organizations also can also structure work environments that combat abuse by: 1) educating managers about all costs associated with abusive conduct; 2) strengthening anonymous feedback channels where employees can report their experience without fear of retribution; and 3) upholding and enforcing fair and equitable norms throughout the organization.

Millions of people face abusive supervisors and bullies at work . These employees are targets of ridicule, threats, or demeaning comments by their manager on a daily basis, which results in decreased satisfaction, productivity, and commitment to the job as well as the organization at large.

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