Enron, Tyco, Krispy Kreme, and even Martha Stewart have had their share of ethical dilemmas and troubles. With the seemingly downward spiral of ethics in the United States, many people have begun to re-evaluate the definition and limitations of ethics, especially within the workplace. Stories of ethical problems and ethics surround people in everyday situations. Here, we will examine two case studies one of which is a story of wrongful conduct and the other is a story of serving best interest. In today's society, everyone is entitled to a rags-to-riches story and wealth beyond their wildest dreams, but is it worth the cost of overlooking and ignoring the importance of ethics?
Two popular unethical practices in today's workplace involve fraud and deceit. According to the Miniature Guide to Understanding the Foundations of Ethical Reasoning, "The proper role of ethical reasoning is to highlight acts of two kinds: Those which enhance the well-being of others?that warrant our praise?and those that harm or diminish the well-being of others?and thus warrant our criticism." It goes on to say, "For any action to be unethical, it must inherently deny another person or creature some inalienable right." It refers to fraud and deceit as being unethical in-and-of themselves and defines each; "Fraud: The intentional deception that causes someone to give up property or some right." "Deceit: Representing something as true which one knows to be false in order to gain a selfish end harmful to another." (Paul & Elder 2003)
Monica's first job after transferring to Charleston, South Carolina was with a mortgage company. After four separate interviews over a period of four weeks, she believed this company was a reputable company to work for consi ...