Ethics in the Workplace
Anna Quindlen said, "If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all." Ethics is defined in the text as the rules or principles that defined right and wrong conduct. Ethics are about making decisions that may not always feel good or seem like they benefit you but are the “correct” decisions to make. “Do unto others as you would have done to you,” the most famous of the golden rules. It is not just catchy phrase; they are words of wisdom that any productive member of society should live by.
ENRON is the most infamous example of where any since of ethics were no where to be found. This case is a classic example of a couple of things: First, the actions displayed by the CEO’s of ENRON are how not to use a since ethics in any way, shape or form. Second, their actions painted a harsh and pragmatic picture of what can happen when ethics are completely neglected. Had any sort of ethics been considered in the first place by the leaders, there would not have been a scandal.
Ethics are supposed to improve our lives, invoking good feelings of a job well done. Perhaps the reason ethics has been such a sore subject is because they are so often poorly used. What about using your gut feeling? Why is being an “adult” no longer viewed as knowing the difference between right and wrong?
Thankfully for us, ethics are making a comeback, in what seems to be just in the nick of time. More corporations and business people are realizing that ethics shouldn’t be left at the workplace door. Ethics have just as much a place in the workplace as they do in private. There shouldn’t be separate sets of ethical rules for your personal life and your work l ...