Ethics

Consider the history of the United States. For more than a hundred years most Americans considered slavery to be justified and desirable. It was part of social custom. Moreover, throughout history, many groups of people, including people of various nationalities and skin colors, as well as females, children, and individuals with disabilities, have been victims of discrimination as the result of social convention treated as ethical obligation. Yet, all social practices violating human rights are rejected, and have been rejected, by ethically sensitive, reasonable persons no matter what social conventions support those practices (Ajzen, I. and Fishbein, M., Eds).

According to the dictionary, ethics is "the study of the general nature of morals and of the specific moral choices to be made by a person" (Dictionary.com, n.d.).

When we feel proud of ourselves and what we believe in, we are less likely to act unethically. Believing that holding to our ethical values will lead us to success in the long term. We take time to reflect on where we are, evaluate where we are going, and determine how we are going to get there. Ethics constitute who and what we are. Ethics will affect our decision making in some form or another. It may have been that the decision was going against your ethics. Most of us should trust our conscience and instincts. Often we measure our ethics in terms of our morals and conscience. That means that ethics reflect the values we believe are important. However, when we do have an ethical reaction against something, we should consider that reactions to be an alert to start using critical thinking strategies to understand why we feel that way.

Our professional life, ethics can impact our professional values, treatment of customers, and our business integrity. Student life, ethics will determine your academic honesty, as it relates to cheating, research, plagiarism, as well as your relationships with classmates.

Case Study One - Good Ethics

Michael Weaver writes - "Customer service has always been one of the most important areas involving business ethics. In my own experience I have witnessed it increase customer loyalty dramatically when ethics are practiced in a meaningful manner. At my current job the company I work for has currently revamped the way that customers are dealt with. The new focus has shifted to being customer friendly above all else. The best example of this I can give is our customer care line. Customers use this line to call and let us know how we are doing. When we get a customer complaint it is directed to my district manager so that the situation can be addressed. It works as a great training tool that helps us resolve any issues that affect customer service. We also use these calls to see how we can better serve particular customers. On an ethical stand point in the company I see this as a means to ensure all employees throughout the company treat our diverse customer base equally. This not only shows the customer that we care but it also points out any problems we have with our employees. It is used as a training tool to make sure that all employees are aware of the importance of treating people in an ethical manner." In Michael's situation, customer complaints are given the utmost importance. This attitude is supported by upper management. The company is also able to determine which employees need more customer service training through this method. By being understanding, attentive and empathetic with their customers, this company is behaving in an ethical manner throughout the organization.

Case Study Two - Bad Ethics

Marisa Hayden writes - Between the years 2001 to 2003, I worked as a Marketing Coordinator for a forensic engineering firm in Houston. It was primarily run by men. They had a very "good ol' boy" mentality and it was evident. The only female employees were administrative, or secretarial. They had only one female Vice President. She was tall, leggy and wore very short skirts. She was often praised for her beauty and feminine appeal in business meetings! She played the gender game well at this company. For the rest of the women employed, there was no room for advancement. We also did not receive respect from our male job superiors. We were often referred to as "sweet thing", "hun", "baby-girl", "baby-doll" or other derogatory names. On several occasions I personally experienced sexual harassment directly from the owner of the company! He made comments about my body and said very sexual things to me. I felt so uncomfortable, embarrassed and offended, yet I was scared and felt that if I complained, I would lose my job. Losing my job was not an option for me being that I am a single mother and sole provider to my child. Instead of voicing my complaint, I remained silent. For months I felt so uncomfortable and I hated going into work. Soon after this incident, they transferred a younger woman from another department to our department. She had admittedly slept with many of the male employees. She had no college education, and had no experience in the position they placed her in. However, like our female Vice President, she knew how to play the gender game. She wore very