In Mark Bickford’s post he discusses the ideas that contrary to popular belief, promoting ethics in the workplace can actually help rather than hinder a business. In the article- “Is it better for business to actually do good or to just look like it’s doing good?” Craig Dowden expands on this idea as well. He states that organizations that demonstrate corporate citizenship behaviours (he defines as “investments made in environmental, social, or governance initiatives”) can be up to 9 times more successful in reaching their business goals. Both Authors prove that Ethics can not only not hurt a business but can quite positively influence it.

The popular saying of “Nice guys finish last” is the mentality many people have not only in the business world but in everyday situations, whether it comes to relationships, competitions or your job, many people believe the honest way is the worst way. I disagree with this mindset and believe if enough opened their eyes and look at the facts that are provided in Mark Bickford’s link in his blog and the article I included in here they would realize that Nice guys can finish first. No matter what business it is, and what it’s objectives are, following the rules will do nothing if not help your business. 

While companies don’t openly support unethical actions in their business place, management, through lack of involvement allows such actions to take place. Many guidelines are set in place to ensure deadlines are met and regulations are followed, however the expectations of the company when it comes to ethics is rarely ever touched on. In the article “the slippery slope of getting away with small stuff” the author provides examples of cases when an employee makes a few small unethical decisions and by everyone turning a blind eye to it pretty soon that environment allows the individual to make detrimental decisions to the business. Very often famous scams such as the one by “Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff” mentioned in the article starts with just small actions. Giving the employee the benefit of the doubt and not implementing consequences for small unethical actions is what makes scandals possible. It may start with a small amount of stealing or lying but if they get away with it the first time, there is a stronger incentive to do it again. If an employee feels pressure to execute their tasks efficiently and successfully, they may end up cutting corners and taking shortcuts, unaware whether the business disagrees with their actions or not. I think businesses should have clear and obvious rules when it comes to ethics in the workplace because they owe it to both their employees and consumers.

References:

Borzykowski, Bryan. “The Slippery Slope of Getting Away with Small Stuff.” BBC Capital. BBC, 7 Aug. 2014. Web. 10 Sept. 2014. <http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140806-the-slippery-slope>.

Shapiro, Mike. Cartoon on the devil and business ethics. Digital image.Cartoon Resource. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2014. <http://www.cartoonresource.com/archive/business/ethics/bet140-sh.aspx>.