Reinemund (1992) shares that
values or morality is no different between individuals and organizations. He states that an organization’s character
can be shaped just like an individual, and this is the first realization that
hits a CEO of any large organization.
The second realization is just how tough the task is. The struggle to define a corporate vision for
ethics and what it really means presents some interesting dilemmas. A lawyer
friend of Reinemund’s said that, if asked, most people would tell you that they
try to do the right thing. (Reinemund,
1992). Taking that into consideration,
when addressing the five scenarios presented by Lifland (2006), I hope that the
people caught up in the scenarios, “would do the right thing.”
Case No. 1 –
The boss’s expense report
Setting the stage: “Lilly’s”
boss conveniently loses his expense report for his last trip. On his way into a meeting, he drops a blank
report on Lilly’s desk and asks her to fill in the blanks, saying, “Make it add
up to $300 or so.” Ethical dilemma: It
is not wrong to re-create a lost expense report, as long as it is accurate to
the best of her knowledge. It is wrong,
however, to just fill in the blanks and make it add up to the amount her boss
designated. (Lifland, 2006).
Using, the STL-C method,
Lilly needs to stop and take a deep
breath. She has time to put her thoughts
together, because her boss went to a meeting.
As she thinks through her
dilemma, she could look at previous expense reports to the same or similar location,
and take notes of expenses he created.
Lilly should not make any negative assumptions, unless this is an
ongoing issue, and prepare her notes on that assumption. She will need to prepare herself to listen to
her boss’s reasoning for asking her to do something, which on the surface, seems unethical. Lilly should write a note and put on his door
or telephone that she would like to meet with him in regards to the expense report. Finally, Lilly needs to communicate her
concerns to her boss that she cannot ethically just “create” an expense report
for him or her. She can bounce
historical data off him, and then call those vendors and ask for copies of
receipts. She can assist in writing
statements for expenses that do not have traceable receipts. An example would
be parking at the airport, which even without a receipt can be verified by his
flight itinerary and knowledge of what the lot charges for parking. (Cahn &
Abigail, 2011).
Kaushik (2008) reports that
the issue of workplace ethics encompasses issues such as cheating on expense
reports, doing personal work during office hours, offering bribes, sexual
harassment, and calling in “sick” inappropriately. There are differences in the definition of
workplace ethics, but there are also similarities. Based on this, there are organizations that
formulate some “safe” rules that will work for their company.
Case No. 2 – Lunch
reservations
Setting the stage: Ever since
“Emma” took the job last year, her boss has asked her to schedule a weekly
lunch date with his mistress. Emma does
not like doing it, but she has made the reservations anyway. Last month, Emma met her boss’s wife at a
business luncheon. Now that the wife has
met Emma, whenever the wife calls and your boss is out, she asks, “Can you tell
me where he is?” Emma cannot stand being
an accomplice. What should she do?
Ethical dilemma: Emma has already crossed the unethical boundaries by
making the weekly lunch date. Now she is
feeling very guilty because she has met her boss’s wife. If she knows where her boss is, she should
tell the wife (ethically) and ethically she should stop making lunch dates for
her boss and his mistress. (Lifland, 2006).
It is not Emma’s place to
confront her boss’s wife and spill her guts.
But it is Emma’s place to communicate with her boss that she will no
longer make reservations for him and his mistress, regardless of the
consequences. Depending on the company,
Emma may be obligated to report his wrong-doings to his boss or Board of
Directors, if he continues to have a fling using company assets (Emma as an
example) to coordinate this weekly affair.
If Emma’s boss is the owner or CEO and in essence does not have anyone
to account to, she can only control her actions and her ethical standards. Emma needs to ask to meet with her boss to
discuss her concerns. She should ask for
a female representative from Human Resources, if available, who would be bound
to keeping the conversation confidential.
Emma needs to share with her boss that, although not illegal in society,
that having an affair with his mistress is not healthy for the company’s
appearance and well-being. She can
almost guarantee that if she knows about the extra-marital lunch date, that
others in the company do as well. She
should not make any threats, but not be intimated by threats of being fired or
laid off because she is taking a stand.
This is a second reason that having a witness with her is a good
idea. She needs to apologize for being a
part of the ethical wrong-doing and not allow herself to be put in this
position in the future. If her boss is
unwilling to change his ways or let Emma go, that is no longer her concern.
Case No. 3 – Dinner
a la corporate card
Setting the stage: “Ken,” a
very attractive manager from another department, asks “Jane” out to
dinner. Jane is very surprised when she
arrives at a restaurant with average prices of $50 per plate. But she enjoys the meal and the conversation
– especially since work does not even come up in conversation. Dessert and after-dinner coffee are added to
the bill. The big surprise comes when
Ken pays for everything with the company’s credit card. What should Jane do? Ethical dilemma: A seemingly non-company date
is being paid for with company credit card.
(Lifland, 2006).
Using, the STL-C method, Jane
needs to stop and take a breath, but
ask the waiter to not take the payment and give her a moment. Jane should not jump to assumptions that he
is doing something illegal, without first talking to him.
She does not have a lot of time to think, but should be able to address
her concerns pretty quick. Jane should
ask if the company asked him to take her on a date for reasons dealing with
work. Maybe Ken was supposed to propose
a work deal with Jane but got caught up in the moment. If he tells her that dinner was strictly
personal, she needs to volunteer to pay for dinner if he is unable to pay with
a personal credit card, because she does not want to contribute to something
that is potentially illegal. It is
possible, he pulled out the wrong credit card my mistake. (I have personally
made that mistake, but caught it before the waiter picked up the payment). If Ken becomes defensive over the entire
ordeal, then she should pay the tab and let him know that she will not be going
on a date when him in the future. Jane
should then speak with Human Resources or the Resource Manager about the
situation and recommend they audit the company’s personal expense credit cards.
(Cahn & Abigail, 2011).
Case No. 4 –
The confidential report
Setting the stage: It is
afternoon and “Mary” has just received a very bulky interoffice mail
package. As she begins sorting the
contents, she discovers a cover letter addressed to someone else and a folder
stamped, “Confidential” in big, red letters.
As Mary begins to put it back in the mailbag, half of the contents of
the folder slip out and fall all over her desk.
Since it is “Confidential,” Mary tries not to look, but she cannot help
herself. She discovers her company is
involved in the scandal of the century. What
should she do? Ethical dilemma: The
temptation to say something to someone other than who the letter was addressed
to. (Liflang, 2006).
Unless illegal activity was
noted, such as illegal drug deals or blackmail, it simply is not ethically
right for Mary to say anything to anyone outside who the envelope was addressed
to. Since the scenario does not say it
was illegal, just a scandal, which does not necessarily mean illegal, Mary
needs to put the contents of the envelope back together and take it to the
intended recipient. If it truly is the
scandal of the century, it will become public at some point, but it should not
come to the public’s eyes through Mary.
She needs to let the intended recipient know that she inadvertently saw
the documents, but will keep it confidential.
If Mary is punished because of the turn-of-events, then she needs to
report everything to her Human Resource director. A side note: If the “scandal” is something
that is illegal in the eyes of the
law (federal or state), she must take the contents to the nearest (appropriate)
law enforcement and explain the situation.
Case No. 5 – Party
Marty
Setting the stage: Marty is
another administrative assistant who works in “Peggy’s” office. Over the past two years, the two of you have become
great friends. The only thing you do not
like about Marty is her cavalier attitude toward “sampling” company property,
such as packages of ballpoint pens and reams of paper for her home computer. Peggy has never said anything before, but now
Marty has gone too far. Yesterday, she
announced that she had “borrowed” the keys to a condo at the corporate
retreat. “No one will be this weekend,”
she says, “so I am throwing a party! Wanna
come?” You know Marty’s boss has no idea
his keys are missing and you are uncomfortable participating in such an
incriminating activity. What should
Peggy do? Ethical dilemma: Allowing
Marty to “sample” or “borrow” company property and not saying anything, which
has know gone to a new level of “borrowing” the corporate condo for a private
party.
Using, the STL-C method,
Peggy cannot take a lot of time in addressing the immediate issue of the
condo. However, she needs to stop and
take a deep breath and then ask Marty to sit down in a private place so they
can talk. If Marty refuses, Peggy needs
to tell her they need to talk or she will go to Marty’s boss. Peggy is assuming that Marty’s boss does not
know about her using the condo for a party, so Peggy needs to address that
question first. If Marty claims he knows
about, then Peggy needs to validate that is the truth (and tell Marty she is
going to validate the information). If
Marty gets defensive or aloof about no harm, et.al., then Peggy needs to
explain that ethically she is wrong in borrowing something without asking. The condo is insured and Marty and Peggy’s
corporation is liable for any damage or misconduct that occurs as well. Peggy needs to explain to Marty that even
though they are friends, friends should not let friends make unethical
decisions that affect mutual friends, their workplace, or outside
associates. Peggy needs to admit to
Marty, too, that she has been enabling her by watching her take ballpoint pens,
copy paper, et.al., off the premises for personal use, and she can no longer
stand by and watch her do that. She can
give Marty 24 hours to purchase the pens and paper that she took and put her on
notice. If Peggy finds out that Marty
has permission to borrow the condo, she still needs to hold Marty accountable
for the other items she took from the company.
Perego (2012) has come up
with a great idea that could help corporations solve ethical dilemmas: an app
for employee’s Smart phones. An ethics
app could offer caution on missteps to avoid as well as advice on common
issues. Organizations could customize
the app with its business or professional code of conduct and ethical
standards, and even relevant federal or state laws. It could also work as a personal assistant,
helping the user track his or her progress toward the goal of being a more
ethical employee. Perego claims that
often the issue of ethical behavior comes down to our personal behavior. We know intellectually what the right thing
is to do, but we just choose not to do it.
This could be the wave of the future: E-tools to make us more ethical.
References
Cahn, D. & Abigail, R.A. (2011), Managing conflict through communication.
(4th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education.
Perego, M. (2012). Good conduct
is there an app for that? Public Management (00333611), 94(2),
2-3.
Reinemund, S. S. (1992).
Today's ethics and tomorrow's work place. Business Forum, 17(2),
6.
